the last post of the old d*s

this is a bittersweet post to write, as it will be the last one written on this site before the new one goes live. blogger has been so good to me over the past three years but i'm excited to move to a new platform with more capabilities and an improved layout. on monday morning (october 1, 2007) design*sponge will be moving to:

DESIGNSPONGEONLINE.COM

PLEASE NOTE: the site will not load until 10 am on monday morning. until then it will be password protected.

all of the old content has been migrated to the new site, categorized and arranged in a way that makes the site so, so much easier to use. you can browse by categories, look at event calendars, read the guest blog on the same page as the main posts and see some of the many new features we've added to the site (including new people!). i've also answered some FAQ's in the comment section below.

ac and i are headed to montauk today for a much needed break before the new site launches. i have oodles of glitches to fix today so i'll be working on the new site and getting our sneak peek ready for monday. so i hope you all have a wonderful weekend, thank you for all of your support over the last three years. i'll see you on monday morning at 10 am at the new d*s: designspongeonline.com!

ps: the new feed is right here- in case you're reading via a feeder

[photo above from studio job for super design at covent garden]

sample sale

as part of the dumbo art under the bridge festival this weekend sesame letterpress and mooontree arts are having a sample sale this saturday and sunday (SEPT 29-30) at their studio (55 washington street, suite 608) from 11-5 pm. i attended last year and it was a great way to pick up some gorgeous letterpress goods for a discounted price so if you're in the area be sure to stop by! ac and i are taking one last weekend trip before the new site launches so i won't be there but hopefully some of you guys can attend!

american craft

for me, this week's theme was all about "craft". wednesday night i attended the re-launch party for american craft magazine, followed by dinner at craftbar and then a lecture last night with rena tom and amy shaw at the american craft council library. former dwell editor andrew wagner is the new editor-in-chief of american craft magazine and has given the book a complete overhaul. i've spend the last two days pouring through the pages being pretty blown away by not only the gorgeous stories on artists and their studios but the little details like font choice, new page layouts (some of which reminded me of dwell) and their experimentation with cover flaps (when you turn the flap over, rather than an ad, there's a beautiful photo of the cover artist's work with a brief description and teaser for the story inside). some people at the party mentioned having an issue with the international craft coverage inside and the fact that a french artist (the incredible nathalie lete) graces the cover but ultimately after reading through it i agreed with andrew who said, "we're taken with all of the energy emanating from makers in the united states and abroad. w wanted to capture as much of that as possible." there is plenty to see and some truly goregous photography inside so if you're near a bookstore i highly suggest picking up a copy. and definitely check out the story on nathalie lete's work and home- you'll love it. [guide to mirrors next!]

proud fm

i just wanted to thank proud FM in toronto for having me on the radio this morning! to my surprise hosts mary jo and ken invited me to talk about fall design trends this morning and we had a blast- i even got to sing etsy's praises a bit. thanks so much for having me guys!

falling water

my dad always sends me the most fantastic links and this one is incredible. artist and desgner cristóbal vila created a stunning computer graphic movie featuring frank lloyd wright's masterpiece, falling water. the computer movie takes you on a trip that begins in the riverbed below the house and glides you through the construction of the house from beams to finished product- including a tour of the home's interior. the clip is only a few minutes long and is an absolute must-watch. click here to check it all out [thanks, dad!]

weekly wrap up

i'm wrapping up pre-last post today because i want to leave the next post at the top this weekend. it's been a great week here at d*s- there are some major changes going on behind the scenes and i cannot wait to announce them all when we relaunch later this month. i'm lining up some amazing guest bloggers and new content so stay tuned for a new, improved d*s in a few weeks. until then, here are some highlights from this week:

• must see: fantastic slideshow of danish restaurant interiors
• christine misiak: old/new tea sets
• emily morris: stunning student artwork (seen above)
• sneak peek: leigh at jezebel
• heavy metal headboard
• hack to school: core77's must-read guide for design students
• biz lady dates (LA to come soon)
• diy chair project: before and after
• stationery debut: yellow owl workshop
• things we love and under $100: my weekly product roundup at HG

knit night cupcakes

totally off topic but i can't resist these knit night cupcakes. amanda kavanagh sent me this link and i couldn't resist posting them. it's crafty lady heaven. knitting and cupcakes? love it.

biz lady dates!

i'm still planning several of the cities on the tour but i wanted to announce the first date for the biz lady meetups this year: chicago! jayson home and garden was kind enough to offer a space for our meetup so we'll be meeting on thursday, november 15th at 7 pm at jayson home and garden. i'm starting to plan the meeting's events but i just wanted to post a save the date- hope to see you all there! here are the tentative dates for the rest of the tour- i still need to find locations for most of these so if you have any ideas please feel free to shoot me a line or a comment below:

• philadelphia: early october, in collaboration with joy of oh joy!
• san francisco: tuesday, october 23 (no location yet)
• brooklyn: early december (most likely at dwr brooklyn heights)
• los angeles: late january or early february
• portland + seattle: february or march, same week

craft inc.

i'm a little late to the game but i just wanted to congratulate meg mateo ilasco on her wonderful new book, craft inc. it's the sort of book i wish i could write, but never could. meg's expertise in the craft business translated into an extremely practical and inspirational book about turning your craft love into a real, working business. you can pick up a copy right here, or enter not martha's giveaway contest.

rare device west!

i'm so, so thrilled to announce the details for the new rare device in san francisco: starting october 25, rare device will be located at 1845 market street in san francisco and will be run by rena tom and lisa congdon! in addition to carrying a selection of products by small, independent designers from around the world, rare device will now feature regular gallery shows curated by lisa, who will serve as rare device's gallery director. rare device will open with a solo show by artist kelly lynn jones and a reception will be held on october 25, coinciding with the grand opening celebration at the store. i'll be holding the san francisco biz lady meet-up the same week (hopfully tuesday, october 23) so i'll be there for the opening. hope you all can make it! click here for more information [rare device SF is located at 1845 market street, between laguna and octavia guerrero street]

design idea book

i'm not usually a big fan of designer showhouses because i find they feel a little too styled or stuff for me (don't get me started on the way they karate chop pillows). but i really enjoyed karen templer's new design ideas book (sunset books, 2007). the concept is to learn from design showhouses and apply their concepts to your real-life home. most of the book is a look at a wide selection of designer showhouses ranging from modern to traditional. they skew a bit more traditional than my personal style but i've been trying to be a bit more open minded lately and learn from classic design. karen wraps up the book by summarizing the tips that can be learned about color, flooring, paint, wall treatments, etc from these homes. some of the tips you might already be familiar with but i found it really helpful to have them all in one place. click here for more information and to pick up a copy online. [photo above by tria giovan]

[Photography by Jean Allsopp]

[Photography by Tria Giovan]

[Photography by Tria Giovan]

[Photography by Jean Allsopp]

tgif

sorry for the light posting this week- i'm finishing up a little project with some of my favorite bloggers that will launch on monday. it will be a guide of sorts to some of the best resources on the web so be sure to stay tuned first thing monday morning for that. i've got to run off to hg to upload content for next week so i'll see you on monday with the new guide. hope you all have a great weekend! [images above from the one in ten auction via jan at poppytalk]

futuresex/latestart

posting will start a bit later today, around 11 or so. i'm still recovering from probably the biggest surprise i've gotten in years last night. after drudging into the city supposedly to go some rather cruddy soul food restaurant outside of penn station, ac informed me that we would not be meeting our friends at the cruddy restaurant. in fact, we would not be meeting them at all. instead, we'd be going to the justin timberlake concert. i don't think i believed him until justin actually came on stage. i'll admit it, i, d*s, am a huge JT fan (but an even bigger AC fan). so needless to say, it was a seriously awesome night. that boy can dance. i mean, dance. we didn't get home until pretty late so i'm going to take a quick nap and then come back. see you guys in a bit.

biz ladies: the top 5!

well, the results are in and we have the top five cities for the biz ladies nights this year. in order of votes:

• chicago: 19%
• san francisco: 16%
• seattle: 15.4%
• philadelphia: came up from behind at the last minute with 12.2%
• portland, oregon: 12.1%

i'm so excited to visit all of these cities! thank you to everyone who voted- i'll be announcing my schedule and dates soon so stay tuned for dates, times and locations if you're near any of these cities. and...there's one last surprise.

i've decided to add an honorary 6th place because 5th place was such a tight race. los angeles lost by .1% and since i've always wanted to go there i'll be bringing the biz ladies to los angeles, too. that's all my budget can allow for right now but i'll definitely try to host more biz ladies events in additional cities if i can find funding. thanks again to everyone who voted, can't wait to get the meetings started!

flight of the conchords

i had pretty bad dreams last night and woke up to a dreary, rainy day so i could use a little laugh this afternoon. just for fun, a clip from my favorite comedy duo- flight of the conchords. non-design related, but they're certainly some nice eye candy.

biz ladies vote

just a reminder- i'm going to close the voting for the biz ladies coast to coast meetups at 8 am on monday morning. i'll announce the top 5 cities that afternoon and start setting up dates and locations. so if you haven't voted yet, you can do so right here! the current top five are:

• chicago (by a hefty 3%)
• san francisco
• seattle
• los angeles
• portland, oregon

welcome to the parker

ac and i are reality tv addicts. hey paula, making the band 4, hell's kitchen- we watch it all. this summer we've been really enjoying flipping out and welcome to the parker on bravo. while i'm still not sure i love the new trend in programming on bravo towards only doing competition or pop-culture documentaries, i'm really loving these two shows. mainly, welcome to the parker. aside from being a pretty hysterical show (that event planner dude is a disaster) the parker is one of the most gorgeous hotels. designed top to bottom by jonathan adler, the place oozes his 'happy chic' philisophy. but what i love is that he includes some edgier pieces like lots (lots) of nude paintings in the hotel's bar and a vintage "drugs" sign that seems to really bother the (horrible) HR woman at the parker. i've spent most of my time staring at the hotel's details so i thought i'd post some of my favorite images- i'm hoping to head out there next year and see it in person. looks like a fun trip.

setting the mood

this photo at hoping for happy accidents is so beautiful- it immediately makes me feel calm, cool and relaxed. i love the way photography can really capture a mood. click here for more from kelly at hfha.

weekly roundup

it's been a great week here at d*s, thanks to everyone who helped with the new design guides (atlanta and san francisco) and sent in photos of their versions of the wrapping paper/drawer project. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend and i'll see you next week with lots of new sneak peeks. as always, this week's highlights are below. [vintage cups above from deadbirdfinds' etsy shop]

• vote for your city in the d*s biz lady poll!
• new d*s design guides: san francisco and atlanta (recently updated)
• new sneak peeks: lorena barrezueta and alena hennessy
• house renovation fun at the cabin house
• d*s gift wrap/drawer craft project
• d*s guide to sofas: a huge guide according to style and price
• before + after: daylab
• more hand-lettering artists
• things we love + under $100: my weekly finds at HG

biz ladies: coming to a city near you (vote!)

one of my biggest goals for d*s is to help women in design connect with each other to form support groups, collaborate on projects and share resources. today i'm excited to kick off a project i've been wanting to start for a while now. starting this fall i'm going to take the d*s biz lady nights national. the goal is to travel to five major cities this fall, winter and spring and host a meet up for local women running design-based businesses. along the vein of the brooklyn meet-ups i'll be organizing the location, speakers/experts and as many local resources and tutorials as i can. i have a few cities in mind but i thought i'd see what you guys thought of in terms of which cities d*s should visit. i've started a survey right here where you can vote for the city where you'd like to see a meet-up. i'll do my best to set up meet-ups in the top 5 cities this year and hopefully we can kick off a series of biz lady nights in each city that can be run by local artists and shop-owners after i leave. so, click here to vote for the city you want! don't see your city? leave a suggestion below in the comment section. i'll announce the top five later this summer and start working on each event asap. see you soon! [i'll still be hosting biz lady nights in brooklyn, starting this fall]