dear ada

holly farrell.

I really like these paintings by holly farrell. Beautifully crafted, there's a lovely dryness and distance to the objects even as they're being realistically depicted. And the ordinary subject matter reminds us nicely that there is beauty in the everyday things that surround us.

bauhaus beauty.

Look at this fantastic blanket I recently found on reference library the other day. My goodness what a piece of art, practical yes, but stunningly beautiful nonetheless. I love it when something so utilitarian can also be so inspiring!

sivan lewin.

I love the feel of these beautiful photographs from sivan lewin. There's a stillness about them that makes me feel calm and comforted. Everyday things, simple and sure. Everything is alright. Lovely.

linzie hunter's matchbook cover collection.

Aren't these vintage matchbook covers from the very talented linzie hunter's flickr collection fabulous? I love the simple, graphic layouts, so timeless and modern. And the color palettes are amazing too. These humble, utilitarian matchbook covers are treated with such respect and consideration through good design. A wonderful reminder that everything, even the most basic of things, deserves a little design attention and love.

amy chin.

Like many of us, I have lot's of things that I cherish and want to have out in my home. Some of these things are small or old or common, but still they mean a lot to me. Which brings me to a personal design problem: display. It's one thing to have all this stuff and it's another to be able to pull the disparate items together into a lovely tableau. It's not my talent which is why I'm so envious of those people that are talented in this area, like amy chin. Styling, merchandising, prop design is not easy, so when it's done beautifully like she does, you've got to sit back and admire (and wish there was a foolproof how-to tutorial somewhere for the unskilled like me). Sigh.

Thanks as always to the always inspiring desire to inspire for the happy link.

make my day award.

Kind thank-you's to imedagoze for giving me a "make my day award" a couple of days ago. It's such a great thing to know that someone who you so admire, likes you back. One of my earliest and consistent favorites, imedagozes blog is always a treat to read. I'm all blushing, still.

So I guess now it's my turn to pay the kindness forward. As it's been said before, this is NOT an easy task. There are so many favorites I want to call out, so to narrow them down to 5 is near impossible. But ever the girl scout, I will endeavor to follow the "rules of the game", which are:

1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make your day.
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3. Tell the award winners that they've won by commenting on their blogs.

So here they are, birdie's "make my day awards":

1. modern craft. Every selection, every object is right on target. I love pretty much everything I find on this clean, fresh, modern and inspiring site. (artwork featured from blog by lee ganier)

2. i heart photograph. Through this wonderful blog, I've learned that I truly love photography as a medium. Thanks to an amazing eye and extensive knowledge of the art form, every visit, every time introduces me to someone's work that surprises, endears, frightens, moves and teaches me. (art featured from blog, by joachim lapotre)

3. another shade of grey. There are so many amazing art and design blogs out there, but the one that consistently rocks my world is this one. A perfect mix of fabulous design objects, beautiful art and tasty links to emerging craft work, this site is always a sure bet for some inspiration and unbridled desire on my part. (ceramic piece from blog, elementclaystudio)

4. felt bug. I've loved mandy prowses drawings since I discovered them on flickr forever ago. Happily too her blog is fabulous, full of wonderful posts about art and craft and the talented people who make the work. It's always an informative and inspirational delight to visit this lovely blog.

5. penguin and fish. I love the terrific mix of art and craft that I always find at this wonderful blog. The work of emerging artists and craftspeople as well as some of her own work is featured here, but what I personally like best, is that much of the work has animals as there subject matter. Big surprise that I love this site right?

byron wolfe.

I came across the amazing everyday the other day and I've been savoring it ever since. Honestly, it's one of the most moving books I've had the pleasure to spend time with in a long time. The artist and author, byron wolfe, is an associate professor in photography at California State University, Chico. As a personal creative assignment, he made one new picture everyday, within the criteria that each photo be "compelling and original". What has resulted is a wonderful, surprisingly moving story of regular life through the eyes and lens of one person. Everyday stuff, stuff you might easily miss if you weren't noticing, stuff that is so achingly wonderful about living. One critic summed it up perfectly for me: "this book is an extraordinary reminder to wake up to the lives we're already living, whose ordinariness might be more than enough." More than enough. I love this sentiment. The world is a very rich place already, there to be seen and celebrated by us if we just notice it, a philosophical approach which has been brought to life so well in this very special book.

gotz deirgarten.

I'm totally loving the wonderful photography of gotz diergarten. The subdued color palettes, the quiet and poised compositions and the overall feeling of geometry as the lead, make these images feel quite remarkable. I love it when everyday things are presented in a way that reveals their inherent beauty so simply and directly.

polar inertia.

Art surrounds us. The random, the utilitarian, the aesthetics and noise of modern, frenetic, urban life surrounds us. Some see it as ugly, and often it is. But other times it's beautiful like this photograph I found on spray glue from the site polar inertia. I find it as intriguing and arresting as many paintings I come across. What's the story here? It's pretty mysterious and impactful. Hm, sounds like art to me!

chick-a-dee.

Design matters. It should solve problems, ideally in an aesthetically pleasing way. Take smoke alarms for example. They save lives, but man, are they ugly. So ugly apparently, that some people don't use them because of how they look. Now I'm not saying I agree with this thought process, but I do understand it. As a type 1 diabetic who wears an insulin pump, I am confronted everyday with living with a designed object that helps keep me alive, but at the same time has some serious design drawbacks. The trade off I make between great engineering and less than fabulous design, is one I am begrudgingly willing to make. But when I think of design in it's highest form, I don't think there should have to be a trade off. Design should enhance the decision to have an life saving object in ones life, not deter it. Design should make it easy to do the right thing.

Like this fabulous example, the chick-a-dee smoke detector by the designer, louise van der veld. Who wouldn't want this wonderful bird in their house, regardless of the fact that it is also a smoke detector? This sweet product leads with design and assumes engineering and function. At the very least, it takes away the excuse of making a bad decision that could lead to great harm. In this case great design not only inspires a smart choice, it also makes it hard to make a bad one. I just love this!

Thanks to the wonderful style files for this happy link!