erika

distracted

House Industries :: Type Designers etc...

Whilst clicking around on the internets I found a type foundry I had never heard of!  What's that, you say?  never heard of House Industries?  That's right, like many a foray into this thing called "Graphic Design" that I never went to school for, I have stumbled into the world of things like "type foundries" and the like.  To some of you, those words mean nothing, to me - they are always treasure troves of excellent graphic inspiration run by witty, thoughtful, super talented people that make pretty kick ass work.  On this particular discovery they also have a storefront where they sell some goods - made by them or inspired by designs from the past.  Here's a smattering of my faves

the Benny Casa doll and his process

The Rosy & Posy casa dolls   !!!!


The Alexander Girard Memory Game   !!!!

loving this pretty picture :  the colors and feeling of it via creatures of comfort
Rowena Sartin

Tumble & Fall :: A new zine by Gracia Haby

all images : Gracia Haby - High up in the Trees

Gracia Haby is by far one of my favorite contemporary artists.  I myself have a long standing relationship with collage - and once stumbled upon her work - have been following ever since.  I think it's been about three years now.  This most recent zine she made is so unbelievable - I just went and bought two.  Thank you Gracia for being so endlessly inspiring!  Get your Tumble and Fall here

Something new & Happy Mother's Day

Top photo is of my lovely niece Abigail - just now starting her six month.  The family came for a lovely visit - we had a great time - Hi guys!  Second is my evergrowing child - Sophia - she's only five but she looks so darn big to me!  Wha' Happened? 
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The something new around here is my awesome new camera :: a Nikon D60 w/ the standard 18-55 lens.  Since it's been raining here so much - and grey - I haven't been too into taking photos.  plus the learning curve of picking up something new can kind of be daunting.  Last night, while Pavel was out back working on restoring a frame, I decided to take the camera out and see what would happen.  I prefer using cameras in their manual setting and so far - I'm really happy with this camera.  I could see myself picking up a 35mm lense, but this is good for now.  It was my Mother's Day and Birthday present from Pavel - it's the big 30 for me this September.  Did someone say party? 

The middle two shots are of our backyard.  When my sister Kira was here, she mentioned the wheat growing - I had to correct her and tell her that it was grass that needs a serious cutting...wheat :)  Those are both night shots having propped the camera on a stable surface w/ a long shutter release.  And the bottom two are of my lovely shaved head man - a first for him.  He's in his studio doing some restoration of gilt frames - Pavel's first profession that he has been doing since he was 15. 

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A big Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there.  I hope it's a sunny - relaxing day!

Pineider :: Italian Stationery & Leather goods

I've been doing a lot of research  lately - a lot of that is focused on European companies that have been in business for 100's of years.  These are the true bastions of commerce in my opinion.  I'm fascinated by them.  I mentioned this company Pineider a little while back.  It's been open since 1774 - a pioneer in bringing moveable type to Italy.  "Francesco Pineider was the first man in Italy to introduce printed letters drawn from the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic tradition, and his avant-garde equipment made it possible to produce perfect, spotless lithographic and copper-plate prints"  Everything hand engraved -  the photos above are the engraving blocks and tools - the fourth photo showing how they make the watermark that gets impressed on the sheets of paper.  This is truly all such an artform - You can visit today located in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy.  Everything they sell is handmade in Italy by some of the finest craftspeople in the world.  Love it.

All this rain...

Is making everything grey.  I just bought a new camera, and haven't gotten a proper opportunity to use it yet as there is hardly any natural light.  boo hoo, right? 

Here are a couple of neutral things that caught my eye today.  The top two are old litho stones from Germany.  The bottom two are old hand painted backdrops for photo's.  All from Installations a store in Houston,TX - via Housemartin

Cigarette cards

all images from NYPL

I don't smoke.  Let's just get that on the table for starters.  But, I do really enjoy these cigarette cards.  A little something to collect in your pack of cigarettes. Started in the late 1800's  usually in series of 25 or 50 - you would collect the whole series.  The series could be on exotic birds - ancient clay vessels- the arms of foreign cities - actors & actresses - famous airplanes...the list goes on!  The world had a keener interest in genuine education 100 years ago - in the forms of things like this - a beautifully printed card in a simple pack of cigarettes.  It reminds me of something you would find on the blog Ancient Industries - Living or Extinct?  These cards ended production in the 1950's.  - but you can visit over 125,000 here