I'd like to know...

Today is Monday, so that means it's time for I'd like to know, a weekly post dedicated to talented artists, designers, musicians, etc...all people I'd like to know and who I thought you may like to know of too. My parents live three and a half hours away and PRH's parents live four and a half hours away (their houses are 45 min from each other). We've been thinking about building a cabin somewhere between our parents' houses not only so we have a place to truly relax when visiting, but also a place that acts as neutral ground where both families will feel welcome to hang out when we're in town. I've started doing some research and found an amazing (and inexpensive) solution. So, this week I'd like to know...architect Paul Stankey and his brother Scott Stankey. Their shipping container cabin was featured in the April/May 2008 issue of ReadyMade magazine and I think it's awesome! It cost $15,000.00 to build (not including land and labor) and is such an inventive structure. A quick search on ebay revealed that used shipping containers are only about $1600.00! Cabin, here we come!

Glowing like coals...

We're home...we actually just walked in the door at 11:30 pm. We're all exhausted, but I had to post the photos from the exhibition we saw this weekend at MASS MoCA, an installation called Being Here is Better than Wishing We’d Stayed by The Miss Rockaway Armada. I absolutely love the poetic way they've described what they do:
"We are floating down the Mississippi River on a raft we built from trash. The catch is that we don’t know much about boats or rivers, and we don’t have any money. We know we are blowing crazy hot air, but if the idea makes your eyes glow like coals then you understand what we’re doing."
My eyes were definitely glowing like coals when I saw this installation. According to the MASS MoCA website:
At MASS MoCA the Miss Rockaway Armada will transform the Hunter Center Mezzanine — a place where students and other visitors gather to eat lunch and discuss their museum experiences — into a dynamic, interactive space. Using wood and other materials salvaged from MASS MoCA’s campus, the group will craft an environment that exudes the aesthetic, vision, and essence of The Miss Rockaway Armada’s experiences on the Mississippi River. The idea is to build a new, fantastical environment that inspires a sense of possibility and wonder.
My photos don't do this project any justice, but I'm sure you can tell from the descriptions (and my glowing recommendation to run and see this) that it most certainly was a fantastical space. For more information about their project at MASS MoCA, take a look here. For more information about The Miss Rockaway Armada, click here. Enjoy!

Small school...

PRH, EZ E, and I went to MASS MoCA and the Williams College Museum of Art today. Julie Mehretu (top) and William Kentridge (bottom) had work at Williams and both exhibitions were just gorgeous. We've been fans of Mehretu and Kentridge for a while and we couldn't believe that their work was at a small school tucked into the hills of Western Massachusetts. MASS MoCA is my favorite museum and we saw one of the best exhibitions that I've EVER seen there. I took a ton of pictures and will share them tomorrow. This is one of the images by artist Edward Burtynsky (below) that I really liked though...

Vay kay...

In all of the craziness of this week I forgot to mention that PRH, EZ E, and I are away on a mini-vacation. We're picking up artwork (ok, so maybe a little business related) and visiting friends in Massachusetts. Today we went for a lovely visit to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (I worked there before we moved) and then we're meeting up with friends for dinner. I have to admit that it's been absolutely wonderful to be back in the Amherst/Northampton area...it's so beautiful and clean and progressive. It was a great coincidence to see Studio Cochineal mentioned on Design Sponge today because they're based in Holyoke, Massachusetts (not far from where we are now). I love this piece in particular and even have a perfect spot in our house for it. Studio Cochineal will be showing at icff next week (booth #2172). I'll be back tomorrow (and back next week with my usual Collected post). See you tomorrow!

Last call...

Getting the mail has been so fun lately because each day brings more and more nesting dolls for the nesting doll exchange! Here are two teaser sets: the left photo is from Kathleen of Cake + Pie and the right photo is from Sandra (aka Sosser) of bricolagelife. Beauties! I inventoried all of the dolls today and sent out reminder emails. I've already started photographing and shuffling and will start re-packaging and shipping out the dolls very soon (within the next two weeks). So, if you haven't sent your dolls out yet...this is a friendly reminder to get on it! For more info on the swap, take a look here and stay tuned because I'll also be posting photos of all of the nesting dolls here and on my flickr page. I think you're all going to love what folks have done. They're all so interesting and different!

Color scheme...

I'm incredibly sentimental (just ask my best friend whose eraser collection from fifth grade I still have). EZ E's first birthday is less than one month away and I'm obsessed with making his birthday special (like he'll remember). I can't believe that I've turned into one of those freakish moms who makes a huge deal out of their kid's first birthday party...I'm turning into my worst nightmare. I made this birthday garland for him today, figuring that we could start a tradition and use it every year on his birthday...well, at least until he's too embarrassed about it. I also thought it would look cute above his crib. This is the front with the animals and the back has removable "Happy Birthday" letters. It should probably say, "ABBEY IS A FREAKSHOW" instead. We're having the party at my parent's house and I'm hoping that they'll paint all of their lawn furniture orange to match the color scheme of the party...I'm kidding!!! That would be crazy!

Cookie...

Many thanks to the always charming Joanna (of A Cup of Jo fame) for initiating the tour of our house/interview on the Cookie Magazine blog today. Today was EZ E's first full-day of daycare (many tears shed on the part of both EZ E and me) and I was moping around the house...seeing the Cookie interview brightened my day. We've also changed the apartment around a bit, so it was fun to see. Thanks, Joanna!

I'd like to know...

Today is Monday, so that means it's time for I'd like to know, a weekly post dedicated to talented artists, designers, musicians, etc...all people I'd like to know and who I thought you may like to know of too. This week I'd like to know...John Copeland. Not only are Copeland's drawings/paintings great, but his sketchbooks are stunning (and completely fascinating inside and out). Our friend Tim gave us a book of his work (available on his website) and I highly recommend checking it out.

Suzy B...

For some reason, last week I was thinking a lot about airbrushing and feminism (what a combination) and decided that I absolutely needed an airbrushed portrait of Susan B. Anthony. So, we went to the mall and here she is. I will admit that it's extraordinarily tacky (I insisted on the florescent pink dress), but I'm kind of in love with her. I had it done at the Rainbow Airbrush Co. and then stretched the t-shirt onto a canvas. I'm planning to incorporate her into an installation, so she probably won't live in our dining room for very long.

Oh, and here's some lovely ranuculous I picked up this weekend...just in case good old Suzy B. is making your eyeballs burn.

Trim...

I saw these abandoned houses on Automatism (originally from English Russia). They certainly beat the abandoned houses in our neck of the woods! I can't imagine why they're abandoned. Aren't they amazing? You can see more pictures here.

Design dilemma...

I just want to lay in bed all day today. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I'm obsessed by our lack of a headboard (above). I saw the image below on emmas designblogg and the bottom image on Design Sponge. I love both "headboards" for a few reasons: these are both inexpensive solutions; I wouldn't have to commit to a headboard long-term; and they both fit with our quirky design sensibilities. I bought the materials to make both and just can't decide which would work better in our bedroom. What do you all think?

Collected...

Just out of curiosity I used google image search this week to search the word collections. I actually found some really lovely images, so I thought I'd share them in today's Collected post. The image above is by Hanna Melin. The image below is from the San Francisco State University Library...


These yellow beauties are from the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum. Did you know that caliology is the study of bird's nests? I guess I didn't really know that people studied bird's nests, did you?


This last image is from Danny Seo's blog. I love how these collections are just piled on a shelf.


Three cheers for google image search!

Language barrier...

I'm sorry I disappeared for a day. My in-laws and our nieces are visiting this weekend and I always feel like I need a little time to clean and try not to freak out about their visit (which I never manage to actually do). Anyways, here are some amazing pieces by an artist who I found via Renee (aka Wolfie + the Sneak). I think the artist's name is Hernán Paganini, but I can't read his profile and I'm not going to guess what language it's in...his flickr name is puloverchito. I marked pretty much everything in his photostream as one of my favorites. I think the top piece was a collaboration (again, language issues, so I'm not sure). I am sure that his work is amazing. I'll be back later today with my usual Thursday post. See you later!

Numbered...

File these under: NEED and WANT. I saw these cabinets at OrangeBeautiful (originally from Design Milk) and freaked out! Loads of drawers and numbered drawer pulls...does it get any better?! No. I think these drawer pulls would be perfect in a kitchen..."where's the flour?"..."In cabinet number 12". Organization at it's finest.

Welcome arrival...

I recently ordered these fantastic magnets from the etsy shop i.heart.mies. They came in the mail the other day and they're so fun! I also really like her jewelry...Either of these necklaces below would be a welcome arrival on my pillow for mothers day (giant HINT HINT HINT). I think the tool necklace would make me look like a bad ass. Just what I need for mothers day, right?

I'd like to know...

Today is Monday, so that means it's time for I'd like to know, a weekly post dedicated to talented artists, designers, musicians, etc...all people I'd like to know and who I thought you may like to know of too. This week I'd like to know...the sisters behind Maki Squarepatch. In their words, "Maki Squarepatch is a sister-team shop by Enqi & Pixin. Enqi sells what Pixin makes." So great! Greater still are their drawings/paintings...you can see more here or check out their shop here.

Basket case...

Is it possible to fall in love with a laundry basket? It must be because I saw these laundry baskets on Apartment Therapy and I am in love. They're made by a company in Boston and you can email them at industrialhome [at] yahoo [dot] com if you want a basket of your own.

Margaret...

I'm a book fiend and I especially love art books. We have a lot of them around our house, but this week I bought (and received in the mail) the best book I've ever seen...In the Sweet Bye and Bye, featuring the work of Margaret Kilgallen. I love her work and this book is just absolutely beautiful. For some ridiculous reason I've been meaning to buy it for at least a year and finally decided that I needed it for thesis research. It's completely worth the forty dollars that it costs. If you've been thinking about buying this book..or even if you hadn't been...run, don't walk, to get it. You'll love it!
*photo from Press Pause's photostream.

First birthday...

EZ E's first birthday is coming up next month...well, it's June 1st...and we're already planning a little party at my parents' house, which is about four hours away. I've been trying to figure out some sort of birthday cake to make that could withstand a car ride and hadn't had much luck until today. I'm not much of a baker...ok, ok...I'm not a baker at all. Luckily my mom is really good and she found the most adorable cake that we're going to try to make (I'm so relieved I won't have to make it all myself). The pan is from Williams-Sonoma...isn't it cute?!

Collected...

Today was my last day of teaching for the semester and as I was leaving school I thought, "I'm going to go buy myself a treat...ooooohhhh....I'm going to go get a new wooden spoon". I then quickly realized that I'm kind of a dork if my idea of a treat is a new spoon. However, as Abby of Abby Try Again pointed out, wooden spoons seem to be sort of trendy. So perhaps I'm not a dork after all...I'm just jumping on the trendy spoon bandwagon. Dorky or not, this week's Collected post features lovely spoons from a variety of collectors. The top image is from skinnylaminx and the image directly above this is from stuartking. Here are some others from danske...


and penwren...

simply photo...


and lastly, an image from frangrit's beautiful photostream from a book called The Wooden Spoon, illustrated by Catherine Cambier...