On the heels of our lastest post about rhythm and nature, it’s only appropriate to share this mechanical animation from English Hedgerow (via PSFK). Bringing ceramics and china to life through augmented reality, the calm and complex worlds of flora and fauna are intermixed with natural patterns.

Yvonne Estrada’s paintings are representations of the shapes she sees in nature. While abstract, a sense of life is visible, as her delicate constructions possess an organic rhythm.

Her latest show represents a departure from her former work, with a singular focus on blue. Cobalt and ultramarine are the main characters in these architectural landscapes.

These pieces hone in on nature’s structural backbone, with biomorphic shapes evocative of algae growth, cells, and nerves. Serving as a reminder that nature links to all, Yvonne Estrada’s work is certainly worth seeing up close. Click here for more info.

Von Lintel Gallery: 520 West 23rd Street Ground Floor, New York , NY 10011

1. 1. Exquisite new work by award-winning illustrator and designer Wayne Brezinka via Aqua- Velvet 
2. 2. Digging these typographic prints by Matthew Kavan Brooks via Miss Moss
3. 3. John Dilnot’s bird and moth dioramas are quite charming via This is Colossal
4. 4. Delightful DIY yarn dyeing with Kool-Aid via Miss Make
5. 5. Tom Davie’s innovative typography posters via designworklife
6. 6. Charming ceramics from Hella Jongerius via The Jealous Curator 
7.  7. A great interview with Agustina Woodgate about her stuffed animal skin rugs via Sign Unseen
8. 8. Pip Jolley’s latest collection of jewelry is inspired by hair products from the 1940/50’s via Style Bubble
9. 9. Love these bright hand-screened pillows from Erin Fleet via design*sponge
10. 10. Lovely FaceMaker wooden blocks from millergoodman via design-milk
11. 11. Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor’s creatures are inspired by creepy western folk songs via Empty Kingdom
12. 12. How absolutely fabulous is Melbourne, Australia’s Pixel Building? via Plenty of Colour 

Coverage by Emily Gup

Tuesday Bassen is an exuberant and bubbly illustrator and designer presently living in Brooklyn after studying at MCAD in Minneapolis and living around the world. Her ‘round the world travels are influences on her work, as well as art nouveau architecture, gas-light era design, and comic books. We love her use of color and how her work maintains a human, hand-drawn feel infused with a hearty dose of a warm heart and a definite sense of humor and quirk.

Recently, Tuesday was named one of GOOD Magazine’s “Top 25 Favorite Female Illustrators” and her clients include Fiat, The New York Times, Studio On Fire, Target, Thinktopia, BUST Magazine, as well as many small businesses. In addition to her own work, she also co-owns Studio Sweet Studio and The City Scout. Her twitter feed is a testament to her good nature and friendliness as she chats with friends and followers, quips about daily life and happily promotes the work of her friends. In recently adopting an FIV+ cat tweeted about by Grace Bonney of design*sponge, she serves as a reminder of how twitter can make a large world and community of creatives feel much smaller.

Book Art is a stunning 220-page compilation of art, installation and design created with and from books. The content is diverse in narrative and ranges from old printed pages wound into creative threads to laborious works of art, decomposed into organic matter.

The fascinating range of examples is proof that—despite or because of digital media’s inroads as a source of information—the book’s legacy as a carrier of ideas and communication is an impressive one. Click here to buy online.

We’re mixing things up today! Whenever creative city tours go live, we usually try to focus on hotspots in a single city (not a bad thing, right?)- though today, I’m stringing a multiple city tour together, under the umbrella of a reoccurring pattern.

While I’m constantly in touch with friends and colleagues living abroad, grilling them on pop culture and random social trends, I’ll say that I’m quite fortunate to have a job that has me on the go when I’m not on the wacom tablet. Scouting inspiration and observing daily routine in cities and suburbs around the globe is absolutely fascinating and something I probably wouldn’t have fallen into had I not left my full-time job six years ago.

So today’s feature. Of the 9 photos, I took 5 of them over the past year. The theme is graphic with unexpected patchwork, reminiscent of mixed media mosaic tiling.

From the curated art world to reactionary street art to the commercialization of home, fashion and printed goods, it’s interesting to see how this trend has seeped into society’s subconscious, revealing an exciting departure from pixelated patterns.

From stucco wallpapering in Lake Como to cement work in Atlanta (via little_ekd in my instagram feed!), to painted patchwork in Glasgow (thank you Pinterest) to a painted grate on Hoiser Lane in Melbourne and a segmented condo facade in Hong Kong, it’s easy to see an outdoor architectural trend here.

In the home sphere, the reinterpretation on soft goods is also obvious. The featured geometric pillows from La Rinascente in Milan are quite similar in color and form to the stucco wall in Lake Como. The unbelievable quilting and embroidered techniques from Alabama Chanin which was recently featured recently in NY Times T Magazine mirror the Glasgow wall with stunning precision.

Mimicking this technique in print, The overlapping hearts are a simple yet striking design I spotted last month in Tokyo. Giving gravity to the theme and tying loose ends where necessary, John Squire’s current show in London features dazzling mosaic work undone in chaotic organic nature.

Drawing from his experience within the construction industry, artist Jay Hardman creates small-scale sculptures and installations that examine contemporary building practices and their effect on communities. Recognized primarily for his cake sculptures, which focus on landscape, this new body of work directs attention towards the construction site. Produced with common building materials and utilizing a miniature-hobbyist’s aesthetic, these works exhibit both an architectural formalism and quaint domesticity that merges sculpture and model making.

Hardman on his work and process:

“I began building with cake in order to depict the chaotic landscape of urban renewal and sprawl that I was seeing take place in American cities, primarily Philadelphia. The methodical dividing and carving up of neighborhoods; entire blocks at a time or house by house, mirrored the way a cake would be consumed. The missing sections, no matter how irregular, provide proof of meticulous and systematic destruction.

The cakes have an inherent ability to captivate and gratify an audience both visually and conceptually. They are profoundly linked to our senses of desire and fantasy, so as a material it is ideal for the surreal landscapes I create. During their design, I play with the similarities between decorative frosting and architectural ornamentation. Crumbs quickly become debris and the distinctions between structure, foundation and earth are muddled by conflicting senses of reclamation and resurrection. This conflict brings to mind issues of homelessness and being without place but also alludes to the need to create a sanctuary out of these imperfect situations.” Click here for more info.

Space 1026: 1026 Arch Street 2nd Floor  Philadelphia, PA. 19107

The walls of my apartment are painted the perfect shade of gray. Perfect, that is, until I decided I prefer separate strains of black and white in combination with each other. There’s something so calming about airy, white walls with strong, graphic accents of black. From the geometric himmeli ornaments to the killer Olle Eksell poster, these additions would be a pretty good substitute to repainting my entire place.

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1. Heirloom Studio Bowls | 2. Himmeli No. 5 Mobile and Olle Eksell Poster | 3. Molly Ringwald | 4.  I’m Ill Sweatshirt  | 5.  Kaj Franck Mushroom Bowl | 6.  Seascape Wallpaper : Winter by Abigail Edwards

Coverage by Valerie Gnaedig

How great is this project by The Crossroads of Freemont? The message is clear, concise and oh so poignant for the melting pot that is America. These crayons should be given to every child on the first day of kindergarden. Just imagine the art that would come…

The fascinating artwork in Sue Havens’ latest show, SpaceKnit, combines a multitude of influences and layered textures. With a strong focus in textiles, geometry and abstraction, many pieces are delightfully three-dimensional, looking flat from the front but showing themselves in new, layered lights as you move around them.

Havens’ deftly composes tension in places where planes transition, as they collide and overlap,  where muted colors meet bright colors, forming a harmonic and balanced, yet discordant tension. The result is a three dimensional journey of abstraction where painting and sculpture collide in a symphony of beauty and artistic grace. Click here for more info.

Event photo via District L

4 4 3  P A S​ Kevin M. Absec Designs, Inc. 443 Park Avenue South, Suite 604, New York, NY 10016

At my first job as a footwear designer, I snapped photos like a pro. Women on the subway, kid appliques at the market, tiger heels on fifth avenue, everything from high to low to everything in between. After leaving the company, it was hard to untrain my eye to go directly to people’s feet…something I still find myself doing on a semi-regular basis.

On my Fall scouting trip to Paris and London, the footwear gods overcame my camera. There were so many treats, I particularly loved the Sandro and Bensimon high tops. Here’s a round up of some of the more interesting (and wearable) pieces from the trip.

1. Bensimon | 2. Sandro | 3. Isabel Marant | 4. BGN Boutique | 5. Adidas | 6. Shop in the Marias | 7. Women having coffee | 8. Shop in the Marais | 9. Nike | 10. Yarn Shop on Rue Charlot | 11. Yarn store in London | 12. Nike at Size (London) | 13. Shop in Saint Germain | 14. Studded Converse | 15. Adidas at Size (London) | 16. Folk | 17-23. Size (London) | 24. Folk

It’s hard to believe Alt Summit‘s upon us again. Thinking back to last year, I had quite the trip. I overcame my inclination to spend my 30th birthday in New York, hopped a plane to a conference where I knew no one and stayed at a hotel a good few miles away on account of my last minute decision making. Was it worth it? Yep, 100%.

It may seem hard to believe, but this photo is real- I took it from my hotel room the first morning of the conference.  Stunning, no? The ladies in the other photos, Sarah, Emily, Janette, and Willo are just a few of the lovely and impressive women I met during my time out west.

So what went down for those of you who are anxious about this week’s festivities? I met a lot of girls. The 99% ratio that’s been occupying Wall Street will make it’s way to Salt Lake for an impromptu social media retreat, not dissimilar to my summer camp days.

There was a lot of networking, business card exchanges, self promotion, impeccable styling, social media workshops, and a visible pecking order btw seasoned bloggers and eager newbies. The parties were fun, the presentations informative and the brand representatives distilled some of the most useful traffic and analytic tips.

If you’ll be making day trips on account of a distant hotel, be prepared to share costs (a one way taxi ride can cost up to $50 or the TRAX will require a transfer) and pack a bag for the day. Luckily, I secured a spot at the Grand America this time around and am very excited to see what’s doing in these much-hyped bathrooms.

Looking forward to Wednesday, safe travels everyone!