{La Petite Magazine} Books on Wednesdays...

You may know that I've been writing the feature, For the Love of Books, for La Petite Magazine over the last year. Well, today I started a weekly feature for the La Petite Magazine blog called, Sayer's Book Corner. So, pop on over & check what Sayer & I have been reading lately. We'll be over there every Wednesday. What are you &/or your kiddo reading these days? 

{Good Read} even though I can't read Japanese...

There are many languages on my list to learn these days. I rely heavily on Google translators daily it seems. While learning Japanese seems interesting for a number of reasons, being able to finally read the Paumes series of design books would on top of the list. It takes a special book for me to buy it even though I don't know how to read it- but to buy three books written in a different language would take something special. When I first read about the Paumes books, I immediately went on a search for them. As a New Year's gift to myself, I bought the, children's rooms "Stockholm" & The Finland Family Style book. My favorite thing to do is flip through them before I go to bed. They give me extra creative dreams.  Later, for a birthday/Valentine's Day gift to myself, I added, Paris Creative Couples to my stash.

{These photos are from my Paris Creative Couples book}

{These photos are from my Finland Family Style book}

{& these photos are from the Children's Rooms "Stockholm"}

It seems particularly relevant to share my love for Paumes right now. Yesterday, Paumes started a charity event called "Pray for Japan" for the people suffering from disaster of the earthquake & tsunami. It's an art exhibition in their gallery where all of the sales from the artwork will be contributed via Japanese Red Cross Society. You can view the participants & more about the exhibition here  . If you wish to donate to Japan relief, I've got a button on my sidebar that takes you straight to a few ways to do so- including Red Cross. 

It's always nice to see interesting companies & talented individuals making a difference. It just makes me like them even more. 

{Everyday Inspiration} books & fun...

This was an unusual week. Chris & I had a mini vacation- about  24 hours in another country & visiting with new friends. It's pretty amazing - but with a small kiddo, and many jobs - we just never seem to get away. We met up with Daria (LaLa Shoes) & her husband in Vancouver, BC. Although Daria & I communicated regularly for the last year, we never had the opportunity to meet in person until now (they live in Croatia & were visiting Vancouver). Sayer had a sleep over at his grandparents, we were unplugged from the computer, and footloose & fancy free. A really sweet couple from Vancouver had visited Hutch Studio right before we left & passed on some great little shops to Chris -which in turn sort of created our agenda for the day. One cool shop lead to another & the ongoing theme was books, typography, & vintage finds. Which we all four love. I found this amazing book, The Big Book of Fun, ( that was printed in the early '30's) at a place called Stepback -along with some other small treasures. This place was awesome-vintage & handmade goodness. I went sort of crazy with their collection of Wonderbooks. It was sort of like my mother ship had landed in there. {photos below -except the open book- via here}

Another interesting place that we visited was, The Regional Assembly of Text. This was another special shop that showcased the owner's love of typography & books.  I think we all drooled a little bit in there. {photos below, via here}

We were looking for the recent issue of UPPERCASE Magazine & the very sweet ladies at The Regional Assembly of Text pointed us in the direction of this next place called Collage Collage. It housed lots of wonderful books, magazines, & art supplies. When we showed up, there was a children's art class happening right in the middle of the shop. I think I had a permanent grin on my face while I walked around looking at the books. It made me miss Sayer even more- he would love to take a class at a place like that. I wish it was in our neighborhood. One of the things I noticed was that they had lots of supplies for making comic books there (ie storyboard tablets for kids). {photo below, via here}

Which brings me to another thing- we visited some Comic Book shops too. Daria's husband, Tonci, illustrated a few new graphic novels that are out in stores now (Who is Jake Ellis series) so we visited a some places that were right up his alley. Of course I found some things there too- a Moomin book & a Yo Gabba Gabba comic book to bring home to Sayer. 

Those of you that follow this blog know that I love to take photos. Well, along with "unplugging" from the computer, I took a break from the camera too. I brought it with me because I really did want to document our trip & take tons of photos of Daria & her husband. But, I guess I just really wanted to be in the moment. I find that when I get behind the camera, I sort of go into my bubble. Because of this, the photos of the shops are from their websites & I only have 3 photos of Daria & I. They are quick & blurry. However, if our day was a comic book... we may have looked a little like this. 

It was such a nice getaway- & particularly fun to be with people that had similar interests. I have some cool treasures to fill up this beautiful handmade bag that Daria gave me. But most of them I can hold in my memory. All in all, this book sums up our trip- The Big Book of Fun. Hope you are having a great weekend! 

{Everyday Inspiration} Papercraft ...

Being that Chris loves to work with paper, books, & cardboard lately, I gave him a book called, "Papercraft: Design and Art with Paper" for Christmas this year. It truly was a gift for him- I saw the look on his face when he saw this book in person & knew I had to get it for him. With that being said- I LOVE this book! I've been patient and made a point to not jump on it the minute he opened it up. However, I couldn't  wait anymore. I cracked the book open last night and barely scratched the surface. HOLY MOLY this book is just oooooozing with inspiration & amazing work! It really does have a wonderful variety of papercraft art represented as well. I thought I would give you a peak of some of the artists featured. Seriously, there is sooooo much more & I could go on for hours. But here is a start....

Peter Callesen

Helen Friel 

Edouard Sautai

Brian Dettmer

HIna Aoyama

Elizabeth Lecourt 

Mark Fox 

I'm sure I'll be posting about new discoveries as I plow through this book. It's about 250 pages with a dvd included! Oh joy... this will be a nice little break I think. I have to say, the piece called "Invisible Cities" by Helen Friel, was something that made me think a lot about this blog. 

"She created the work based on a place described by Italo Calvino in his book 'Invisible Cities'.  Each time a new relationship is made, the inhabitants run colored string between buildings."-  Papercraft.

I love that concept and think it would be fun to imagine or realize color strings representing all of the relationships this blog has brought me. Just a thought for now. But it would be interesting to start a project like that  being that it's the beginning of 2011. So if you are reading this blog. Let your voice be heard- you may just become a piece of colored string... 

{wish list} The Elegant Cockroach....

While I certainly love all of the items that I include in my four fun finds posts, this one is on  a special wish list. When I read about this book in UPPERCASE Magazine, I got really excited to see it in person. I'm already a big fan of their books- I have the Suitcase Series: Camilla Engman that I bought myself for Christmas last year. The design of the book is a cool as the inside. It's the whole package.

The Elegant Cockroach from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo.

I think it would be safe to say that any project that UPPERCASE takes on, would catch my interest, but The Elegant Cockroach is first on my list.  Doesn't it look great? I think I would qualify as a whimsical adult, don't you?

{via UPPERCASE}

{Good Read} Being loved...

If someone were to ask what children's book influenced me the most, "The Velveteen Rabbit", would have to be in the top 3. It's a book that I think about almost daily in the studio. The idea of "nursery magic" and what makes a toy "real" occupies my mind when I am making things for klt:works. One of my biggest joys is to know that a child has made one of my creations "real". 

From the Velveteen Rabbit: 

"Real isn't how you are made" said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long time, not just to play with , but REALLY loves you, then you become Real....Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.

Another book that I recently discovered and think about often, is "Dirty WOW WOW and other love stories". This book tells the stories of 50 transitional love objects. The pictures are great and the stories are really touching. The title page writes, "A tribute to the threadbare companions of childhood". Here are a few of my favorites. 

I tend to like to surround myself with well loved things in the studio. I'm sort of mystified as to what sort of qualities a plush or doll needs to acquire such adoration. I like to think of myself as an elf, making toys or plush for children, pouring in as much magical love dust in as possible. Sayer is my only child study right now, along with remembering what I responded to when I was small. But I watch and take mental notes, hoping that I might get the formula right. Here are some of the well loved, or "real" characters that are in our home right now.

This is my mom's doll from when she was a little girl. It has a mark of red lipstick on the arm from where my mom pretended to give her a shot when she was playing nurse. This doll has always been in my various studios.

This is my old Snoopy doll that I loved. It is one of the only stuffed animals that I still have. I found it stashed away for my "someday child". I need to mend the armpit.... before I give it to Sayer.

And here is Murphy. Our friend Pam gave him to us when she found out about my love of ventriloquist dolls. Murphy has been through a lot and is very real. He hangs out on the bench in our hall.

Gunk gunk, which is now Conk, is my favorite of the bunch. This little slug goes everywhere with Sayer. It was the first slug lovey that I ever made and Sayer has had it now since he was 10 months old. Conk has been through about 100 wash cycles and is definitely as real as it gets.  Did you have a threadbare companion? 

{New Book} Coffee Break Companion...

It has been cold and rainy here in the Northwest lately. Kind of the perfect weather to grab a cup of coffee and kick back with a good book during studio breaks. I recently purchased, "The Selby is in your place", which was released in May.  I have been slowly thumbing through the many pages of eclectic interiors and enjoying the major eye candy! 

I became familiar with, The Selby, a few months back and became enamored with the concept. Todd Selby started the project, The Selby, by taking photos of the interiors of his friend's houses and then posting them. His website gained popularity quickly, along with attracting tons of interior submissions. The Selby then became an opportunity to, "offer an insider's view of creative individuals in their personal spaces with an artist's eye for detail," the website explains. 

All I know, is that I am a voyeur at heart. I love being able to take a peek into peoples' living spaces. So, a book like, The Selby is in your house, is right up my alley. It is the kind of book that you notice something different every time you browse through it.  What is your favorite rainy day book?