I love typography and I love a good quote - be it funny, moving or just one of those things that make you think 'yes! that's how things are!'. So welcome to Typography Tuesday, a semi-occasional possibly-maybe series (you know I never like to over commit on this blog...) in which I share a quote that's recently caught my eye or ear in some of my favourite fonts. 

We re-watched Muriel's Wedding over the weekend. If you haven't seen it you should. It's an Australian comedy classic. It's ugly and funny, sad and uplifting; all the things a good comedy should be. And Toni Collette as Muriel is so, so great. I'm not a big ABBA fan myself, but this quote struck me. It's one of those brilliantly written bits in a movie that make you chuckle and shed a little tear at the same time. 

The font is Funkydori by Laura Worthington. It's not free, but it's awesome. And as much as I think it's great when we can get fonts for free I also think it's nice to buy a font when you can to support all those amazingly talented designers out there.

Good Things...

The screenshot above is from an add for Shangri La, and I'm kind of obsessed with it right now. Yep, I'm obsessed by an add. It's been on high rotation on airline entertainment systems lately so I've seen it a lot over the past few months. And I still want to watch it again, and again. (How often can you say that about an add?) It's beautifully shot and makes me tear up every single time I watch it. And it makes me want to get a pet wolf... You can watch the extended version of it here. Kudos, add making people.

I was flipping through ELLE decoration UK recently (as an aside, this will be one interiors magazine I'll be keeping an eye out for - surprisingly great) and I came across the above picture of awesome. Just look at that sideboard, that pouf, those gorgeous bowls and...those owl canisters! They're from Graham and Green and I think they're pretty good things.

This is the work of Takashi Iwasaki - a Japanese artist and gallery owner who lives in Winnipeg, Canada. He works in a variety of mediums, but it's the crazy colourful embroidery that draws me in. I adore Miro, and there's a hint of Miro in this work (I think), but then add embroidery to the mix - swoon!

One of my husband's many siblings lives in the UK, and she often pops a DVD in the mail when she comes across a comedic gem she thinks we'll like. Miranda was the most recent of these comedic gems, and yes, we liked! We devoured season one and two, and then force fed the show to anyone who happened to cross our path. Miranda is awkward, clumsy and self deprecating in the best way. She's desperately single, terribly middle class, very likeable and very funny. The plot could read a little like a ladies only sitcom, but my husband is Miranda's biggest fan.

If you hadn't heard my ridiculously talented, endlessly inspiring sister has a book coming out - Find and Keep. From afar I've witnessed the blood, sweat and tears that she's put into this thing, and to see the finished product (which is a-ma-zing) out in the big wide world is pretty darn exciting. Its safe to say that as a family we're more than a little bit proud. I'm heading to the Melbourne launch next week, maybe I'll see you there? (ps. I'm in Melbourne for  24 hours! Crazy town!)

UPDATE : To coincide with the launch there's a super awesome giveaway going on at blog of super awesome The Design Files. Go enter now!

Good Things...

I've been wanting to do a good things post for so very long, months and months, but they do take quite a big, focussed chunk of time to put together and it just hasn't happened.  But seeing as there are just so many really good things out there, I'm committed to bring you more good things in 2012.  Huzzah!

So, let's kick things off with one of those sad but sweet tales...

Meet Morran.  Morran is Camilla Engman's dog, or I should say was Camilla Engman's dog.  Morran featured heavily on Camilla's blog (in fact, documenting Morran's daily adventures was actually what kicked off her blogging life), and entertained readers for many years - he was just so cute yes?

Sadly, Morran passed away late last year, but he lives on in a gorgeous collaborative book which features Morran inspired submissions from illustrators and artists from all over the globe.  You can have a peek at some of the submissions here, and purchase your copy of this wonderful tribute here.  I just ordered my copy - hurry up Mr (or Mrs) Postman!

Then we have the mid century mod stylings from one of my absolute favourite blogs, The Brick House. Not only does Morgan posses phenomenal taste in all things home-y but she is also hi-larious.  How often do you find laugh out loud funny and delicious decor in the one spot?  Not very often.  Go visit, now.  Oh, and there's the odd bit of doggy cuteness thrown in for good measure too.  Good, yes?

Next up is Persona, a photography project from multi-talented guy Jason Travis.  It's a series of diptychs that answers the question 'what's in your bag'.  I believe there is a book coming out soon (yep, it's on the wish list). You can see the whole set (including some animal versions!) here.

And then there's this incredibly awesome book that my incredibly awesome sister gifted me for my birthday.  Holy wow I can not express how truly incredibly awesome it is.  

The book captures the goings on at Butlin's Holiday Camps.  The camps were founded on the desire to provide family fun at a price the English masses could afford, and the photos produced by John Hinde as postcards capture these holiday makers in all their wonderfully colourful, slightly absurd, retro glory. There is so much glorious detail in each image - activities, outfits and decor.  So great.

And lastly, from the BBC comes season two of Sherlock, hooray!  We've only watched the first episode but so far it's easily matching the look and wit of the first.  More please.

Are dead parrots funny?

[Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy wooden peg people by Randomly Generated]

Ok, so last night I was having a conversation with my husband which is a conversation that I've had many times with lots of different people over the years and yet it's something that I still have no answers on.  Hence I am turning to my trusty brain bank (that's you) in the hope that you may be able to shed some light.

The thing is, said husband and two sons really, really love A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Between the three of them they've read the book countless times, listened to the audio book another bunch of times, and watched the TV series way more than once.  It's the same with Monty Python. Every movie watched again and again and again.  Python quotes are thrown in to the conversation at random intervals.  Python documentaries are procured and yes, watched repeatedly.

I kind of get it.  Douglas Adams was funny, John Cleese a borderline genius - they did some good, nay great, stuff. But I've read the book, seen the movie, and I don't want to keep going back there. On the other hand, there is a handful of comedy shows that I would happily watch over and over again (Like Black Books, or Fawlty Towers, or new favourite Modern Family).  

So, over my short life I've been conducting a highly scientific experiment (assuming that by 'highly scientific' one means not scientific at all) and it seems this comedic division runs largely along gender lines.  I don't like to emphasise gender differences, I was happily bought up by a rabid feminist who was always going on about girls being able to do anything and men being a bit pain-in-the-arse-ish at times, and as a reaction to that I tend not to see things through the male/female prism.  But this issue is too important to keep ignoring!

My husband has suggested that the humour of Python et al is largely based on concepts, rather than characters, which puts women off.  He also suggested that women are just not exposed to comedy from an early age, and asked if there was an equivalent female comedic author in the world.  Surprisingly, I did not hit him.  I did however suggest that Python et al is adolescent...

Clearly, I need some answers!   Are you female and watching Life of Brian on a loop?  Is it just me? Do I not 'get' something?  Or do you see this gender divide too?  And what's your theory on why? Help!

Weekend things...

This weekend there was strong, milky tea drunk in cups that came from Retro Vertigo (possibly the best Etsy seller I've come across, amazing customer service!) and there was scrambled eggs on buttery toast with bacon (yum!).  Plus there was the crossword, which we conquered, eventually.

We watched hundreds of pearlescent ballons floating through the blue sky; we played scrabble (and I won two games in a row which is unheard of! Go me!); and we immersed ourselves in the glorious colour of Pedro Almodovar and the hilarity of 30 Rock.  We walked the dogs around the 'hood, but mostly, we stayed at home.

Oh! And I started work on a whole new style of handmade photo notecards, the first step in a complete overhaul of my Jorpins Cards Etsy shop, hurrah!

How was your weekend?

Good things...

Oh my!  So many good things that I'm stumbling across at the moment, I don't quite know where to begin!

First up, UPPERCASE.  I found UPPERCASE a little while ago, as I wanted to get my hands on some of the books they publish (starting with The Suitcase Series, so wonderful!) but I only just realised they had a magazine (doh!).  So I'm now a proud subscriber and the first issue I received (issue 8) could not have been more perfect.  

Yes, the paper stock, the fonts, the colours, the images, the words are all beautiful, but what made this very special is that the issue is all about 'surprising plays of scale' - big things made little, little things made big.  This is heaven for me in no uncertain terms.  Plus there's some lovely letterpress features thrown in to.  Go get it, I say!

Inside the lovely UPPERCASE, there was an article about the art of making miniatures, and putting them together to create the most amazing doll houses.  The article led me to this Flickr group.  But before you click, I warn you, be prepared to waste a fine hour or so marveling at mid-century modern writ tiny!  [photo by More2view]

Next, the BBC series Sherlock.  Now, if someone had of told me I'd enjoy a modern take on Sherlock I would have quite likely said 'bullocks!'.  But...we watched the DVD recently and it was witty and fun and quite darkly beautiful to look at.  It's a bit sad they only made three episodes, I hope there is more soon?  Have you seen it?  Did you like it?

Lastly, some new blogs I've developed minor crushes on.  There's so much to love about artist Kerry's blog seventy tree, and I am a little bit in love with her Big Drop prints.  Also, Katie over at Curating Cuteness does exactly that, I think.  Go have a look!

Good Things...

Some things that happify me right now:

- The September issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.  Yes, yes - the recipes are drool inducing as always, and they have a feature on Korean food (about time!), but this month there is also a heap of really great writing.  There's Kelly Eng writing about the traditional Chinese Battle of the Bills and Frank Moorhouse musing on a perfectly made martini in Shining Water.

But my favourite is AA Gill writing about airports, and - of course - it's the one article I can't find on-line.  Maybe it's because I also spend a bigger-than-average percentage of my life in airports, or maybe it's because I just got back from a trip to my hometown, but his writing on departures and arrivals; on the 'tug of home' and the 'itch and excitement of getting away'; on the 'velcro rip of affection and connection', really struck a chord.

- Starting to build a winter wardrobe.  After a few years living in Hong Kong and having a winter that lasts for around two weeks I am now gearing up for a proper, icy, hovering-around-zero winter in Seoul.  I am loving trolling through Etsy's vintage shops for coats and boots, and the handmade shops for gloves and other knitwear.  My absolute favourite purchase so far are these boots, from this shop.  Plus the AUD$20 winter coat I bought from a Melbourne op-shop that looks like it was tailor made for me - score!

- Having our first visitor stay in our new home in our new city!  There's something so very fun about sharing your 'hood with someone, and for some reason it kind of makes it really feel like the place we call home.

- Re-reading Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.  Do you remember this book?  It's basically an easy to digest history of philosophy, and it was huge when it first came out.  I read it then, but I think most of it went way over my head.  I think more of it's sticking the second time around.

- So You Think You Can Dance (Season 7).  I possibly may have mentioned this before but really, it's very good.  I've laughed, I've cried, I've been humiliated by my husband for liking such a silly show.  If you're in the mood to watch a bit of dance, these performances are especially good: this one, this one, and this one (you can skip through all the intro and judges bits if you want, it's the dance that matters!).

- Being home again and finding the time to get creative.  Holy cow I have so many ideas at the moment, so many things I want to try and projects I want to start, it's almost overwhelming.  I wonder how on earth do you prioritise these things?

[The photo at the top is of a bunch of Persian Buttercups and it's taken by me!  If you like it, have a look at my shiny new Etsy shop for notecards featuring some of my all-time favourite photos.]

Good Things...

[photo by brittalicious]

Some things that happify me right now:

- Roast chicken.  For whatever strange reason I've spent a large portion of my life as a vegetarian (gasp!), so whilst I can whip up a tasty salad and am the queen of delicious pasta dishes I have always been a bit unsure of my meat cooking ability.  I've been experimenting with various tips and tricks for roasting a chook and the other night I hit the jackpot baby - moist, juicy meat and crispy skin!  Yum!  Next time I make it, I'll share the recipe with you if you want?

- Rediscovering the joys of Bill Bryson - his dry wit, super geekery and clear love of language.

- Little Birds.  A cute craft book chock full of awesome projects which all feature birds, of course.  Tweet tweet!  I used it when I made my stuff to send in the Handmade #Tweetswap that I recently hosted (you can have a look here).  I have pretty much flagged every page as 'I want to try this'.  Expect handmade birds for xmas people.

- So You Think You Can Dance (the current US Season).  My passion for certain reality TV shows is my dirty little not-so-secret.  And seeing as the husband is traveling a lot at the moment, I've been able to indulge in a ton of few episodes of SYTYCD.  I am beyond hooked. And I get just a teensy bit over excited watching it - my clapping, cheering and desire to wear leg-warmers / leotards tends to freak the dogs out...

- This video of DJ Mama who is, in fact, a French Bulldog.  Gosh I love the internet!

Happy weekend to you all x

Origami is good

I watched Between the Folds the other week.  It's a ripper of a documentary about the art and science of paper folding.  I found it most compelling to see how a bunch of artists and scientists take something so very passive and common and turn it into a thing of beauty, or an object full to the brim with emotion, or something that solves a complex problem.  And it also occurred to me that origami is the ultimate in handmade - it can't be any other way, can it?

Anyway, I loved it so much that I decided to have a week of origami on the blog!  This week I'll be sharing a whole bunch of stuff related to the wonderful art of playing with paper: origami masters, vintage books, Etsy finds and more.  And yes, there will be an origami edition of Death by Doxie.  Hurrah!

ps. those colourful things in the photo above are origami spinning tops folded by Joe, the origami maker in this blended/extended family.  They look amazing in full flight.  Joe is currently working on some very cool origami flowers so I hope to show you some of those during the week too.