Mumford Spoof

Any band that has me standing for several hours, rubbing up against sweaty strangers just weeks after giving birth to my first child is really pretty special. I'm an even bigger Mumford & Sons fan now after seeing them poke fun at themselves in this music video spoof.

And, I love Ed Helms.


Thanks for the tip, KTB.

We Think Alone

A friend told me about this cool project called We Think Alone - an honest look at how people communicate over email. Its creator, Miranda July, has asked nine people to submit emails they've written to people regarding a number of subjects, like "an email about money," with the feeling that people can communicate so differently over email than in person. As July says, "getting a glimpse of them from their own point of view." These emails will go out to anyone who signs up to receive them, starting July 1. Aren't you curious to read emails from Lena Dunham and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? I am!

Read a little more about the project here. And sign up here.

Thanks for the tip, T.

[photo above from Us Weekly]

Our Christmas Card: A Peek

A little peek here of our Christmas card. Does this wreath look familiar? After seeing Amy Merrick's gorgeous wreath creations & signing up for her class, I decided to draw a wreath based on my favorite creation of hers: the Birds Nest Wreath, and use it on our Christmas card this year. It's letterpressed in neon orange ink, which I think offers a nice color surprise, while still feeling festive.

See more of Amy's beautiful work here.

Bellboy

 

My good friend Mat is one talented guy. He left his art director position at arguably the best ad agency for highly creative work to do what really drives him: making beautiful things with his hands. Bellboy is his company name & this is its latest stunner - a low lying lounge chair made from reclaimed timbers of a New York City Water Tower. I've watched this being made over the past 2+ months & can attest to its intricate detail. Can you see that each piece is a mirror image of the one opposite it? Blows my mind. 

The chair is being auctioned off this weekend as part of the 12 x 12 show - 12 woodworkers chosen to create a piece from one of 12 New York City sites - to benefit woodworking education for the non-profit Brooklyn Woods. Go check it out at Wanted Design. 

Big big congrats, Mat!

Good Shirts

Wants For Sale was started in July 2007 by Christine & Justin Gignac. All of the paintings on Wants For Sale are the price of the actual item shown in the painting, whether that’s “A Slice of Pepperoni Pizza” for $3.00 or “A Gold Watch” for $287.19 - or a "First Night in Vegas" for $299, shown above.

Needs for Sale is its charitable counterpart where the items shown are donated to charity. Good Shirts is a collaboration between UNICEF, BBH New York, and Threadless. The design on each shirt symbolizes the type of aid UNICEF is delivering in the Horn of Africa. T-shirts shown here are Therapeutic Milk for $85.75, Deworming Tablets for $36.10, and Cargo Flight for $300,000. 100% of your donation will go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support life-saving relief efforts for children. Pretty great concept. See all 12 shirts for sale here.

[images courtesy of Wants for Sale and Threadless]

Manhattan in Motion

A beautifully done time-lapsed video of Manhattan.

[Mindrelic - Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic on Vimeo.]

Mara Sprafkin & Charlottesville

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Griffin & I have been so sick! (Having your happy baby not smile for 24hrs is the saddest thing ever!) But we're finally on the mend & able to take our trip out of town. We're heading down to Charlottesville, VA today to visit John's sister & her family as well as John's parents. Charlottesville is such a cute town. Plus, their spring starts earlier, so I'm hoping for some jacket-free fun. While we're there, I want to stop in to see Mara Sprafkin's work at the 2nd Street Gallery. She's working on a community based public art project honoring Charlottesville's namesake, Queen Charlotte. Sneak peek of Mara's work, above. Paul said this will be up all over Charlottesville. I can't wait to see!

Hope you all are doing something fun this weekend!

[image courtesy of Paul Handler and Mara Sprafkin]

Lulu, the book

I got my Lulu book this week & am loving it. It's a compilation of designer Lulu de Kwiatkoswki's personal journals, photos, & drawings from various times & travels in her life. I had a friend at art school in Florence who journaled this way. It's so inspiring to see how people put their thoughts on paper in other ways than (or in addition to) words.

 

And for those of us in NYC, her collages are up at Clic Gallery until May 8!

Introducing & Please Welcome Nicole!

I hired an assistant to help me while I was on maternity leave in the fall - mostly because the mental picture I had of myself fulfilling holiday orders with a 2-month-old on my hip was not pretty. And it's a great thing I did! Not only was I really sick post-baby & wouldn't have been able to do a thing for L&H, but I also got a star of an employee.

Nicole is awesome & has quickly turned into my right hand woman around here. She's an artist/illustrator who studied (and started out in) theater performance and costume design - a background I think you can feel in her work. Her Etsy shop, The Overstuffed Chair, showcases her illustrations - many of which are part of her '365 Project' - which loosely follows 365: A Daily Creative Journal by Noah Scalin. At the end of the year, half of her proceeds from all '365 Project' sales will go to Art Start, a non-profit in NYC that provides art education and outreach to homeless/troubled children in the city. Great project, great cause, great lady.

Stay tuned for more illustrated work coming to her shop this summer & read more on her blog, here.

Please help me formally (and by formally, I mean here on the ol blog!) welcome Nicole to L&H!

[above: a couple of my favorites from The Overstuffed Chair: Tulips and Bundle]

Adele Enersen

Adele Enersen takes these photos while her daughter sleeps.  Amazing.

[all images courtesy of Adele Enerson]

Handmade in Brooklyn

I've been down on Brooklyn these days.  And it's not fair.  It's really just the weather.  I can't take these weekly snowstorms & I end up blaming Brooklyn.  But one thing I will always love about living here, in snow or sun, is that motivated, creative, driven, & talented people are all around me.  Even hanging out at my favorite local coffee shop.  I met Dan of Handmade in Brooklyn over the weekend at Blue Sky Bakery when the owner introduced us.  I love his seemingly happenstance but deliberate style.  His Old Typewriter print immediately jumped out at me.  For something that produces something so linear, it's nice to see it looking a little wonky.  And I love the light & happy Pink Flowers print, below - the sweet sign of warm things to come:)

See more of Dan's work here.

Map by Famille Summerbelle

How great is this World Map print? It's based on the original hand paper cut by Famille Summerbelle designer, Julie.

See the video capturing the nearly 20 hours of cutting that went into the paper cut here.

Famille Summerbelle also has a little gem of a blog you should really check out.

OK Go: 'White Knuckles' Video

These guys have the best videos. I can only imagine how long this took to get right.

Paperfinger Goodies: Calligraphy Stamps

I got the nicest surprise package in the mail on Friday from talented calligrapher Bryn Chernoff of Paperfinger. Inside were all sorts of goodies for me & the babe. A plush lamb wrist rattle (which I promptly put on & shook -- and tried not to cry:)) and some beautiful "it's a", "boy!", and "girl!" calligraphy stamps she made, along with this super sweet return address stamp, above, that says "liz + john + kingsley + 1." I love that she included our furry baby:) I'll definitely be using this one for our birth announcements.

Thanks, Bryn!!! xoxo

Hold Your Horses Video

For all you art history buffs out there: a fun video from the band Hold Your Horses.

Angela Liguori of Carta Inc.

I have gotten to know Angela Liguori of Carta Inc. through exhibiting at the National Stationery Show over the years. Angela sells the most beautiful cotton ribbon, imported from Italy. When Angela saw the ribbon I had chosen for our 2011 Calendar, she said simply, "No." We hopped over to her booth to compare. There was no denying it. She was right. My synthetic ribbon looked & felt like shoelaces in comparison to her Italian woven gorgeousness. I ordered my red ribbon right then & there. I am thrilled for the upgrade - which I'll share with you next week.

Many thanks, Angela!

See more of Angela's work here & check out the goodies in her shop here.

[photo courtesy of Angela Liguori]

Wilco

We saw Wilco this weekend in Montclair, NJ. I've seen them many times, but this one seemed distinct. To start, their set was, well, a set. These standing lamps lit with the music, the backdrop popped with lighting, they gave away two dinners for two to local restaurants, and half way through (and without stopping), they changed sets and did an entire acoustic set. It was pretty great.

See more photos from the Seattle show of this tour here.

[photos by Richie Wireman, courtesy of Wilco]

Soy Este Wallpaper

I recently came across these fun wallpapers distributed by Soy Este. I have a thing for multiples - and things removed from their original context. These are a perfect fit for me.

In real life, I would choose just one of these wallpapers for my home - to catch people by surprise & make them look twice, and not - Oh, another gum wallpaper in here, Sue. But because these fun wallpapers warrant a little fantasy-apartment decoration, I've identified rooms or uses for each of them.


I'd put this one (above) in a children's bathroom, because they should be so lucky to have a bathroom to themselves and stare at candy while they pee.



I'd put this on one wall of a game room. (You'll shoot your eye out!)



This one inside a shelving unit in a bathroom. Pretty.



I'd line my childrens drawers (or mine) with this one.



And this one for a small home office. Seeing lots of matches out like this looks to me like the matches have been freed from their tiny box coffins. So while this room may be small & full of papers with numbers & obligations, you're not locked in there.

See more wallpaper at Soy Este.

OK Go Video

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Loving the new OK Go video for This Too Shall Pass, featuring the Notre Dame marching band. Click on the video to watch or go check it out here.

Wilco comes East!

Hooray! Wilco announces their East Coast tour. Last time I saw them, Fiest came out to play this one.

Love this montage of photos taken above by Autumn de Wilde, which includes Jeff Tweedy's son Spencer. So cute.

Can't wait for April.