haylie waring

my visit to the savannah college of art and design was one of the most inspiring trips i've taken in years. the students in the fibers department quite simply blew me away with their dedication to craft and tradition. one of the students who stood out most to me was haylie waring. it's hard to describe that feeling you get when your gut tells you "this is someone with something special" but that's the way i felt about haylie's work. she had such a distinct style and feel to her work that instantly appealed to me. haylie recently launched a blog where she's showcasing some of her work- my favorite being this line of bags made from recycled heavy duty feed sacks. designed as a reusable grocery bag (though i'd proudly tote it as an everyday bag), haylie's bags play with the idea of altering an object that once carried goods to carry food once again, but in a new context. each bag is hand dyed using natural dyes to achieve a linen color, then screen printed, appliquéd, and hand embroidered. in addition, each bag is lined with matching commercial fabric- a reproduction of a traditional feed sack floral. i can't wait until these are available in one of my neighborhood stores but until then, haylie is selling these original prototypes for $125 each. you can choose from E for eggs, T for teapot and M for meat (sadly the cake and strawberries just sold). click here to check out the rest of haylie's work or shoot her an email right here if you're interested in purchasing a piece or would like to discuss working with her on another project (someone should definitely scoop her up while she's still available. if i had my own design firm i'd already be asking her to work for me). [thanks, haylie!]

benedict calland

one of the things i loved about last year's icff was the was designers were integrating textiles into furniture and lighting. there's something about the hand-crafted feel and softness of textiles that really appeals to me. so i was pleasantly surprised to hear from designer (and recent northumbria graduate) benedict calland about his work. benedict produced two chairs that i'm really loving- the first being a piece called aerith. aerith is a beautiful combination of sleek, modern design and traditional materials like wooden toggle buttons and soft, woven textiles. i love the way the chair feels both old and familiar and new and clean at the same time. the soft textile upholstery reminds me of an old sweater while the chair has a nice modern feel that balances out the rest of the design. benedict also created a chair called tifa (seen below) with a curved cushion to encourage lounging. i love any seat that feels like it's welcoming you to lean against it. the yellow upholstery is lovely as well. you can browse the rest of benedict's work and contact him right here. enjoy!

student design

core77 built a fantastic resource for design students called hack 2 school. full of great advice on classes, work and promoting your work, this is one guide you won't want to miss if you're a student or designers fresh out of school. i got to add a little bit to the blog section but the meat of the guide is practical advice from the experts at core77. click here for the full shabang.

mister charlesworth

hearing from students has got to be one of my favorite things in the world. there's something about the world of art and design school that i find endlessly inspiring and creative. so naturally i was thrilled to hear from british artist emily morris who just graduated from design school in the uk this summer. emily graduated with a degree in printed textile and surface design and recently debuted her first collection- a collection of laser cut paper panels called mister charlesworth- at the new designers exhibition. mister charlesworth is a stunning series of panels featuring insect imagery that has been transformed into intricate lace-like cut paper designs. the panels were on display at chiltern st. studio in london (seen above and below) and are really more beautiful than words. emily doesn't currently have a website but if you're interested in commissioning her work or just contacting her you can email her right here. [thanks, emily!]

christine misiak

designer christine misiak emailed me over the weekend and i was blown away by her new/old tea sets. based in durham england, christine created her unique tea sets as her final project at northumbria university. afterwards she showed the set at the 2007 new designers exhibition where she received the peter walker award for innovation in product design. what i love so much about these new/old teasets is the way she reuses old tea set parts and combines them with pieces from new tea sets. a little bit of the old and new is such a fun idea- and it certainly gives the set a distinct look (you can see sketches from christine's design process right here). christine's sets aren't currently for sale but you can view more of her work and contact her online right here. be sure to check out her other tea sets in which she's repaired and repainted found tea sets in bold colors. [thanks, christine!]

pratt in copenhagen

as i continue to blog and work on d*s, the one consistent love i have in the design world is student work. i'm always drawn to student shows and exhibitions far more strongly than the big fairs at javits each year. something about the raw talent and creativity they exude is endlessly inspiring for me. because i live in brooklyn i definitely have a soft spot for pratt and their incredibly talented students. so i was thrilled yesterday to hear from pratt student kimberly lewis who's over in copenhagen (along with her classmates) taking part in a textile design studio. she created a blog to mark her progress and work in the class and i've been poring over it all morning. there's something about watching an artist test things out and then hit their stride that's just so exciting. you can click here to check out kim's blog and watch her textile work progress- her latest linen pieces are really beautiful. [thanks, kim!]

jobs [needed and offered]

every now and then i meet an inspiring student or designer looking for work and want to offer any help i can give. when i was down in savannah at scad i met two such students, lillian farag (that's her work above) and kimb james. both were students in the fibers department and are highly skilled pattern makers. it's tough to find a job straight out of school so i thought i'd share some of their work here in hopes that someone out there is looking for a new hire or might know a spot for them. both of their websites have their contact information so if you think they might be right for your company please don't hesitate to contact them- they're wonderful girls and would be a great addition to any staff. also, speaking of staffs, house & garden is looking for a new editor. details below:

House & Garden magazine has an opening for a style editor with a passion for design and broad experience covering the luxury home design market. The editor will contribute story ideas and produce shopping stories on such topics as furniture, design, kitchen and bath, fabric, and technology. It helps to have writing and reporting experience and ability, deep contacts in the design community, and a strong visual point of view. Applicants should send a resume and cover letter to Eliza_Honey [at] condenast.com.

hopefully someone in our community can help with all of these. in the meantime, i'm working away on a d*s job board that will focus on helping students and those interested in independent design find ways to hire and be hired. stay tuned...

[designs above by lillian farag. you can contact lillian right here]

[3 patterns above by kimb james. you can contact kim right here]

constance swinderman

i wasn't able to get a good photo of constance's beautiful sea urchin ottoman at icff. constance was part of the risd/swarovski project that i was ready to move into- her piece was playfully dotted with crystals along the ribbing for such a sleek but fun design. you can view the rest of the collection (including the chair i would have run away with if it would have fit inside my bag) right here. enjoy!

re: SCAD lecture notes

if you attended the scad lecture on wednesday and would like to download the lecture notes and outline i'll be uploading the documents and posting them this weekend. i'm having a little technicaly glitch getting them uploaded but as soon as they are i will post them right away.

shopSCAD

one of the (many) highlights of my trip was a visit to shopSCAD. i've seen a lot of art school shops and i'll have to say, SCAD is in a league of its own. i was scheduled to stay there an hour (which i thought was nearly impossible) but i could have easily stayed for 2 or 3 just looking at the artwork. the fabulous joe bush (who's about to move to silverlake!) and kyle of shopSCAD were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable about every single tiny piece in the shop, which was founded by amy zurcher and katie runnels in 2003. i felt like i'd stumbled into the home of some incredibly eccentric, artistic (maybe a little crazy?) southern woman with impeccable taste. there were beautiful little pieces tucked into every nook and cranny- not to mention the sculptures hanging from the ceiling. my favorite pieces belonged to artist stephanie howard, who created a series of "shag queen" (named for the dance) illustrations that use stippling and tiny lines and dashes to create the incredible pieces above and below. her work oozes the sort of southern-ness that i crave living up here so i'm in the process of saving up to invest in her work when i can. along with stephanie i really loved molly dingledine's work (i bought some of her wood and pearl earrings) but you can see a big big big slideshow of shopSCAD artwork, products and store shots right here. i hope you'll check it out- the shop is lovely and i've identified nearly everything in the photos (roll your mouse over the photo and then click on the "i" for photo information) so if you'd like to buy anything you see you can find the piece online at shopSCAD and have it sent to you. thanks so much for joe and kyle for making my visit such a fun one.

savannah

i'm heading home today but i just wanted to share a quick sneak peek of what i'll be posting on thursday from my scad trip. this has, without a doubt, been the most inspiring design trip i have ever made. the students working here are creating pieces that have opened my mind and changed the way i think about the entire design process. i wish i could somehow transport all of you down here to see what's going on (you know, oprah style with plane tickets under your laptops)- these students' dedication to the craft and traditions of design have been such an amazing thing to see. i'll be sharing more student work tomorrow but i wanted to share this piece from susana cacho garcia- a gorgeous necklace make of fabric and swarovski crystals (as part of a swarovski-sponsored project). i could have stared at it for hours. after i saw susana's work i headed over to at home- a beautiful home shop in savannah where i picked up these gorgeous vintage handkerchiefs. i'm a sucker for little pieces like this. more to come tomorrow, today is my last day so i'm headed to shop scad and portfolio viewings at the fibers department. have a great day...[thanks so much to everyone who came to the lecture!]

headed south: SCAD edition

i'm hopping on a plane right now (two planes to be precise) to head down to savannah to speak at the savannah college of art and design. i am so, so thrilled to be meeting with such talented students and getting to spend time in such a lovely city. i'll be in town through wednesday morning so if you'd like to swing by and say hi here are the details for my "lecture":

"Design Online: Showing, Selling, and Promoting Your Work On The Web" Tuesday, May 15, 3pm at the Red Gallery.

there will be an introduction by pamela wiley of the fibers dept and i'll be happy to speak with any students and look at portfolios for as much time as i'm allowed. i'll also be visiting classes and doing portfolio reviews from 5-7 on the 15th in gordon hall. i'll of course be visiting with the working class studio and checking out the scad shop and i'll fit in any other sites i have time for. right now i'm just pinching myself because i get to stay at magnolia hall. it doesn't get more beautiful and southern than that. i'll be posting once or twice a day while i'm gone- but i'll be back full time on thursday morning with coverage of the trip- and hopefully lots of beautiful home photos. hope to see you at the lecture if you're in town. until thursday, i hope you all have a wonderful week. xo, d*s

tokujin x moroso

robert at designguide sent over this great video he shot during the milan furniture fair. i wish i'd been able to video tape portions of the fair but thankfully robert masterfully shot many of my favorite shows- including tokujin yoshioka exhibition using more than three million carefully arranged straws. you can watch above or click here for more videos...

d*s scholarship winners!

thousands of you voted (thank you!) and the results are in: we have our 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of the first-ever d*s scholarship. i just wanted to thank all of the talented students who took the time to enter the scholarship contest and share their work with us. it was an honor to talk with you all and see such promising work. and thank you to everyone who donated or bought scholarship goods from the d*s shop- your generosity helped me raise enough money to fund our 1st and 2nd place award. a special thanks to greg at 2modern for offering to sponsor our third place award- 2modern donated $500 to the scholarship fund and i greatly appreciate their help and support of student designers. so, without further ado, the winners are...

first place: EMILY DOVE GROSS

our gig poster queen took the lead on wednesday night and held it through this morning. her work shows a keen eye for line and composition and i look forward to seeing what emily does with her scholarship award and her work in the future. emily will receive the top prize, a $2,000 scholarship to use as she sees fit for advancing her career in design. congratulations, emily!

second place: NATALIE WRIGHT

natalie wright's wallpaper designs really resonated with readers and won her the second place spot in our contest. natalie will be receiving a $1,000 scholarship award. i'm extremely excited to see what she does next and hope that i'll be able to cover her debut wallpaper line in the coming years. congratulations, natalie!

third place: HEIDI CHO

the ladies swept the awards this year and i was thrilled to have heidi among our winners. her furniture, product and textile designs were a big hit with voters and i'm really looking forward to watching her career grow after she graduates. heidi will be receiving a $500 award donated by 2modern.com. we wish you the best of luck, heidi. congratulations!

[thank you to 2modern.com for their generous donation to the d*s scholarship]

d*s scholarship

the polls are closed and our first ever d*s scholarship winners will be announced at 4pm today...stay tuned!

scholarship voting

just a reminder: the d*s scholarship finalists are up and the polls are open. everyone has until friday at 8 am to cast their vote. the winners will be announced on friday...click here to meet the finalists and cast your vote.

d*s scholarship: VOTE

time has slipped away from me and i just realized i've got to get my scholarship funds to the hard-working students who applied to the contest. the applicants are about to graduate so in the interest of time i've decided to forgoe the podcast portion of the scholarship and instead let the students' work speak for itself. today i'll be introducing you to the top 13 finalists and letting everyone vote on who YOU think should win the first ever d*s scholarship. i'll be giving away $3,500 in scholarship funds (saved over the last year from d*s ad revenue) so please vote for whoever you think is the most promising design student. VOTING WILL END ON FRIDAY MORNING AT 8 AM- whoever receives the most votes will be our first place winner (with a prize of $2k). second place will be the student with the second highest votes and so on...so, meet the final 13! [contestants are arranged in alphabetical order]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SARAH BRYANT
[University of Alabama Book Arts Program, 2nd year MFA Candidate]

Click here to read about Sarah's goals as an artist and find what she would do with the D*S Scholarship award.

Click here to vote for Sarah.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEIDI CHO
[Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Furniture Design Undergraduate, Sr.]

Click here to see more of Heidi's work and view her full website.

Click here to vote for Heidi.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FELICE CLEVELAND
[1st Year Graduate Stduent, RISD]

Click here to see a wide selection of Felice's work.

Click here to vote for Felice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GUY MICHAEL DAVIS
[1st Year Graduate Student, The Ohio State University]

Click here to see a wide selection of Guy's work.

Click here to vote for Guy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EMMA EXLEY
[NYU Freshman in Fall 2007]

Click here to see more of Emma's work and read about her goals as an artist.

Click here to vote for Emma.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANNA FRIEDLAND
[San Francisco State University, Art Major (painting emphasis), Senior]

Click here to see more of Anna's work and read about her goals as an artist.

Click here to vote for Anna.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EMILY DOVE GROSS
[Ringling School of Art and Design, Senior Illustration major]

Click here and here to see more of Emily's work.

Click here to vote for Emily.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANDREW HAARSAGER
[Junior Industrial Design Major, RISD]

Click here to see more of Andrew's work.

Click here to vote for Andrew.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REBECCA POLLACK
[School of Visual Arts, MFA Design, 2nd year]

Click here to see more of Rebecca's work.

Click here to vote for Rebecca.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LEILA SIMON
[Massachusetts College of Art, Graphic Design Certificate Program, 2nd year]

Click here to see more of Leila's work.

Click here to vote for Leila.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHRISS SLEVIN
[Rhode Island School of Design- Textiles Dept, Graduate Student]

Click here to see more of Chriss' work.

Click here to vote for Chriss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RICHARD SOUTH
[University of North Carolina @ Charlotte (UNCC) Architecture–Sophomore]

Click here to see more of Richard's work.

Click here to vote for Richard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NATALIE WRIGHT
[Rhode Island School of Design Graduate Program in Textiles-1st year]

Click here to see more of Natalie's work.

Click here to vote for Natalie.