amanda briggs at dear ada

kim carney.

Isn't this lovely! It's by the illustrator kim carney (who kindly gave dear ada a nod on her blog a few days ago). I love the mix of flat, modern motifs, with the calligraphic, nostalgic florish of the bird. I want this as a set of cards or a tea towel for my spring kitchen. Yes please.

angela valamanesh.

These are amazing ceramic objects by angela valamanesh. They make me think of coral or seed pods or branches. Obviously organic they also feel so human made and modern to me, due to their finessed detailing, their matte, unglazed finish and their lovely, dry and muted colors. Oh, I really love these.

Found via a new great design blog find, grijs.

mattia bonetti.

This is a lamp by the designer mattia bonetti. A fabulous, funny lamp. I love the sculpture meets jewelry meets anime meets furniture meets 3-D modeling feel of this piece. It feels totally modern and new to me. Love!

christopher tanner.

The work of christopher tanner that I'm familiar with is far more flamboyant and bejeweled than this piece above. Opulant and layered, yet primal and symbolic too, his work is reminiscent of a gustav klimt detail or an aboriginal pattern, all at the same time. So the above piece is a bit surprising, but oh so lovely. I love the pattern and the line work along with the restrained palette of grey and white. Just wonderful!

tina ratzner blanket.

I had the pleasure of seeing and touching this a-maz-ing, handwoven, 100% merino wool blanket by tina ratzner a few weeks ago. The sustainable story behind it is wonderful. The sheep that makes the wool, are bred in a biodynamic system. The soaps and spinning oils are biodegradable. The dyes used to make the color, contain no heavy metals. The list goes on and on. Which is all very fine and good. But on top of all that goodness is the absolutely stunning softness and construction of this blanket. Well it's actually 2 blankets, "connected" through little strips of jacquarding throughout the pattern and totally reversible. And then there is the perfect color and design. A sophisticated, handcrafted plaid, made with the dustiest sage, the warmest cream and a beautiful, burnished coral. Oh my goodness, did I have to resist buying this beauty. The price is steep and for now, too steep for me. But maybe one day, because truth be told, I can't get this blanket out of my head. What a gem!

mandy prowse.

I'm so in love with these drawings by mandy prowse. I love their simplicity, the narrow color palette of all the studies, the quality of the technique used to create them. I also love the meandering of subject matter, from botanical study to lovely pattern studies and back again. They're so great as stand alone pieces, but how fabulous are they as a grouping? Oh, such fine work!

miss fluff.

This is a nice, nice, nice black and white pattern. I love black and white. And so I love this pattern, among many, from miss fluff.

michael wertz.

Oh I think these illustrations are just wonderful! To see more wonderful illustrations by michael wertz go here. Lovely, lovely.

niki kelce.

I totally love this painting by niki kelce. The colors, composition and technique make for a remarkable piece of art. Love!

spring blast.

It's one of those screaming, beautiful spring days today. Blasting sunshine interrupted by dark, foreboding rain clouds. The plants are budding out like crazy things, growing noticably from day to day. It's a perfect time to transplant, because a nice soaking rain is pretty much guaranteed at some point in the near future. So we're doing that very thing, plus weeding a lot, in preparation for a huge load of compost due next week for top dressing. March is when the hard work is done in our garden. Well worth the effort for months to come.

And Ruppert seems to be enjoying it too...