Domestic Vacations

Captivating photography by Julie Blackmom. I particularly like her work entitled "Domestic Vacations" (seen below).

The Dutch proverb “a Jan Steen household” originated in the 17th century and is used today to refer to a home in disarray, full of rowdy children and boisterous family gatherings. The paintings of Steen, along with those of other Dutch and Flemish genre painters, helped inspire Julie's work.

Julie is the oldest of nine children and now the mother of three. The stress, the chaos, and the need to simultaneously escape and connect are issues that Julie explores in "Domestic Vacations".

"We live in a culture where we are both “child centered” and “self-obsessed.” The struggle between living in the moment versus escaping to another reality is intense since these two opposites strive to dominate. Caught in the swirl of soccer practices, play dates, work, and trying to find our way in our “make-over” culture, we must still create the space to find ourselves. The expectations of family life have never been more at odds with each other. These issues, as well as the relationship between the domestic landscape of the past and present, are issues I have explored in these photographs. I believe there are moments that can be found throughout any given day that bring sanctuary. It is in finding these moments amidst the stress of the everyday that my life as a mother parallels my work as an artist, and where the dynamics of family life throughout time seem remarkably unchanged. As an artist and as a mother, I believe life’s most poignant moments come from the ability to fuse fantasy and reality: to see the mythic amidst the chaos."

Illustrations in styrofoam

Amazing illustration by Cheeming Boey, a computer techie by day and artist by name. Now this is a disposable you wouldn't want to dispose of! Read his interview with Don't Panic here.

Bunting stamps

Adorable bunting rubber stamps by Olive Manna. The fastest way to a handmade party invitation or personalised giftwrap, I say!

Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! x

This may come a little late but I would like to wish everyone a belated and blessed Christ-mas with your family and friends and a very wonderful New Year ahead! Looking forward to sharing more inspirations here on Laissezfaire in 2011!

xoxo Su Ling
(image above from Martha Stewart Kids. A wonderful idea to turn missing socks to good use!)

Packaging that Pop

Beautiful food packaging by Fontos Graphic Design. Seeing this on any supermarket shelf would definitely make me want to buy it, if only just to keep the packaging. Love the colours and modern fonts!

Tea Bag Coffin

An ingenius way to bury your teabags. (via yanko design)

Stump stools

These stools were made to resemble snow on forest stumps were harvested from a fallen maple tree on the forest floor. The upholstery is white leather and copper tacks over sustainably-harvested-latex foam.

Fun drinking fountain

Tapi by Australian company Dreamfarm is a clever invention that turns your ordinary faucet into a fun drinking fountain. Simply press the bottom of Tapi to change the flow of water. What better way to make brushing teeth more fun for kids! (via Designmilk)

Knife Lid

Who needs a spreading knife when you can use the lid? Perfect to your sandwich on the go! (via thedieline)

Make your own doll face

This tutorial on how to make a doll face with a ball and some paste certainly got me intrigued....

Pretty Downloads

If you are fan of all things pretty like us, then you would love these printable wrapping papers and pretty pastel desktop wallpapers with calendars. Free to download from here. All these are designed by Mae, a wonderful brand of wall decal we carry in our store. Thanks Mae! x

Chalkboard calendar

I am absolutely in love with this chalkboard calendar decal by Ferm Living. Just the perfect proportion to frame a yellow post-it note for a very special date.

Hand Cut Leaves

Gorgeous handcut leaves by Owen Gildersleeve for Poogla. Doesn't it set you in the mood for Fall? via Debi van Zyl

Send a Vintage Telegram

How about adding a touch of vintage to that exotic holiday by sending a telegram back home to your loved ones? For under $6, you can hop over to Telegram Stop and arrange for an official-looking telegram to be sent to any address in the world. How fun is that?

If you plan to use this for invitations (perfect for weddings), you can opt to pay a little extra for that oh-so-lovely vintage luggage-tag style RSVP cards too!

Don't you geddit?

I could not resist posting this mug shot of this handmade bunny by Malaysian designer Evangelione. I simply love his bored "don't you geddit?" expression. Available here!

Papier series

Designed as a collaborative project between Saskia and Stefan Diez, this “Papier” series started out with the basic requirements of a travel bag – durability, protection and light weight. Made of Tyvek®, a synthetic recyclable paper that is extremely lightweight, water and tear-proof. Available here.

Help Remedies

Lovely and environmentally-conscious packaging design desing by Minimalissimo for Help Remedies. Their simple and cool design is made primarily from molded paper pulp and bio plastic made primarily from corn. I particularly like their "Help I have a headache" pills (below).

Measuring Dolls

These adorable Russian dolls double up as measuring cups. Which kitchen wouldn't want this? Available here.

Wooden laptop case

ooh...what a wonderful laptop case design this is! I love it when old school meets high tech. A practical design too since this case can be used as a stable base for your laptop (that keeps the heat off) when working off your lap. Designed with a sleek leather lining.

Birds and Bees

I have long been a fan of Linsey Adelman's organic hand blown light pieces and it seems like she has outdone herself again with these birds and bees sculptural table light pieces.

Friendly Reminder

Brilliant ad by colgate!

Wallpaper Art

I am completely mesmerised by the work of UK artist Claire Coles. Claire works using fragments of hand-sourced vintage wallpapers with silks and leather. These elements are layered and intricately embroidered to create a range of different scenes, patterns and illustrations. Each design plays with texture and scale to create a rich and dream like quality to the space. All wallpapers are made to order and designed specifically for the client’s space. I really like this commercial project she worked for Blooming.

You can also purchase Clare's work from her shop here.

Reclaimed Wood

These stairs are constructed using materials are recovered antique floor wood and construction wood from the castle. I simply love the tone and colour of the wood!

Milk Anyone?

This milk carton is designed with the same dimension as a 2 litre milk carton and represents the content of the product in the simplest way.

Building Brick Candles

Reignite those memories of childhood brightly with these eight-wick soy-blend, non-scented candles. Burn alone or stack to burn!

Parts of a Rainbow

Designed by Danish Designer, Christian Flindt, "Parts of a Rainbow" chairs are probably the first of its kind that stack and store side by side. This design won the Design Award at the Copenhagen International Furniture Fair.

Abandoned Memories

Breathtaking photography by Rob Dobi taken of abandoned asylums, theatres, homes, schools etc. in New England.

Portable Grass

Designed by Nine99 Design, “Grass” squares are designed to give a natural touch to the office or home. Completely natural, “Grass” grows indoors with minimal care.

Bag with pig print

Adorable bag with pig print from Daylesford Organic.

Toilet paper tubes sculptures

Amazing sculptures made from toilet paper tubes by French Artist, Anastassia Elias