Wednesday, August 31, 2011

This & That.

Monet's waterlilies have been a lifelong inspiration... 


...I think one of my favorite memories of my sister is watching her, at age 11, plop herself down on the floor infront of one at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris to sketch it herself!

Definitely in need of some art in my life at the moment. Very excited to be celebrating my mom's birthday in the city next weekend, and seeing the Picasso show at the de Young Museum!

Dress by Anthropologie.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

High Line.

It is definitely time for a trip to NYC, if for no other reason than to see the second phase of the city's High Line, the incredible elevated park that has transformed westside Manhattan. What is there not to love?!


Via Fast Co Design:

The extension stretches 10 blocks to 30th Street, more than doubling the length of the first High Line, which debuted in 2009. Designed by landscape architect James Corner Field Operations and hipster starchitects Diller Scofidio Renfro, High Line Part Deux has a raft of features -- including a viewing platform that puts you on par with the tree canopy, a 4,900-square-foot lawn, and loads of seating -- that prove that the new park will be every bit as gawker-friendly as the old one.

This time around, though, the High Line is designed to facilitate additional activities. There’s the Rainbow City installation which we described here and which will be converted into a rollerskating rink in July. There are food trucks galore, both on the High Line and off. 



Images by architectural photog extraordinaire Iwan Baan.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Starr Ridge.

Nestled in Healdsburg, on Westside Road, is a special place that we have come to know as our favorite venue to gather with family and friends over good food and fabulous wine... And that is none other than Thomas George Estates.

The following snapshots are from the Starr Ridge Vineyard Picnic, where thanks to the amazing Sean and Adrienne, we were treated to a lovely afternoon among the vines where we learned all about the unique terrior from the winemaker and enjoyed an incredible estate lunch. 


Photographs by Whitney Wilson.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Writer's Block.

Hello Friday. Two more hours until you set me free. Perhaps then I'll have one of these...

A Writer's Block cocktail, reportedly served at Palihouse in West Hollywood (how appropriate)... I could use one right about now!  Via Apartment34

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Contact.

I instantly fell in love with this piece when I saw it: Philippe Ramette's "Rational Exploration of the Undersea: The Contact"


Additional work to be shared soon.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Geek Out.

Oh Photojojo, you made my morning (yet, again). I completely geeked out perusing the shop this morning.


How absolutely ridiculous is the SLR lens for your iphone?! (The answer is stunningly so.)  However, I don't think I'll be able to resist the film canister memory sticks this Christmas (shhh. Mom you never saw this), and creating my own polaroid postcards (but will probably use powerpoint, rather than slipping them into a sleeve). 

Happy snapping!

Click.


LOVE.  I would kill for a large print of this; it's the perfect combination of my interests.
Via Observando.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Floating Paradise.

Kickstarter at it's craziest. I love this! It's + Pool, a public swimming pool literally floating in the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan (lord knows the big apple needs some public pools in that heat of theirs!).


Via Fast Co Design:  "Though it sounds crazy, similar projects have happened before in Germany and New York. + Pool is a collaboration between three designer dudes from two NYC-based firms -- Archie Lee Coates IV and Jeffrey Franklin from Playlab and Dong-Ping Wong from Family -- and it's appropriately whimsical yet well-thought-out. The main draw of the project is to provide a way for New Yorkers to take a dip in the river without becoming a CHUD from all the chemical gunk. "It filters river water through the pool's walls - like a giant strainer dropped into the river," they explain on their Kickstarter page. The concentric layers of filtration materials that make up the sides of the pool are designed to remove bacteria, contaminants and odors, leaving only safe and swimmable water that meets city, state and federal standards of quality."


Now they need $25,000 to build the filtration system and test it, which is where Kickstarter comes in. I'm with Fast Co though: "Let's face it though, obtaining city permits is going to be much harder than just getting the filters to work."

Lake Huntington.

Finally! Lake Huntington in all of its incredible beauty.


Aren't the clouds stunning?!
Photographs by Whitney Wilson.

100 Snippets of Wit!

Today Witty Designs reached its 100th post! 


Hope you are all enjoying this little venture, as much as I am!
Photograph via Parisian Apartment.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Incepted.

This ought to perk up those dull Monday morning senses!  Check out Vivian Chiu's Inception Chair. Like the movie, the chair has layers of itself within itself within itself.... what witty design!


Vivian is a recent graduate from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and focuses on sculpture and furniture design.

Found via Apartment Therapy. Post dedicated to my chair loving mother.

Happy Monday.



Case of the Mondays?  Check our the Paper Survival Guide by Linus.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Wisdom.


Very exciting changes in my life today! I will indeed be putting all of my energy towards developing myself in the coming weeks, and I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity to do so!!

Quote via the lovely Miss Mary of The Bright Side, painting by Peter Engels.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Future of Play.

Swing and be free! Pop Up City on bringing PLAY back:

“71% of adults used to play on the streets when they were young. 21% of children do so now. Are we designing children and play out of the public realm?” Having considered this, Bruno Taylor of Swing & Be Free decided to install swings bus stops in London.

“This project is a study into different ways of bringing play back into public space. It focuses on ways of incorporating incidental play in the public realm by not so much as having separate play equipment that dictates the users but by using existing furniture and architectural elements that indicate playful behaviour for all.”

Swing & Be Happy. In San Francisco, do-gooders hang swings to spread joy in the Bay Area Rapid Train and unexpected outdoor locations. Jeffrey Waldman believes in this pure sense of joy so much that he raised funds to bring swings to Bolivia. Bolivia has the second highest poverty level in South America. One in four Bolivians are between the ages of 10 and 19 and out of every 1,000 teenage girls, 88 are pregnant. Waldman hopes the swings will bring a little bit of childhood back to Bolivia’s urban areas and “not just spread joy, but spread the desire to create it.”

Swing & Let Go. The Red Swing project has used this basic playset to transform under-utilized public spaces into amusement areas for children, adults, poor, rich people… What has started as a University Architecture assignment in 2007, in Austin, Texas, has grown internationally. All around the world, more than 100 red swings are hung in public spaces and just wait for anyone to sit and to create a personal moment. While the project was expanding, the Red Swing project started to wonder about the differences of public reaction from place to place. I did not manage to get access to their official website or find the results of their analysis, but if you found anything, please leave us a comment! A documentary about the Red Swings Project is available here.


Swing & Create. Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos designed the awesome ’21 balançoires’ for the quartiers des spectacles in Montreal.
“A giant collective instrument made of 21 musical swings; each swing in motion triggers different notes, all the swings together compose a piece, but some sounds only emerge from cooperation. The project stimulates ownership of the new space, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds, and creating a place for playing and hanging out in the middle of the city centre.”
Another participatory work of art is the swing pavilion conceived by the Dutch Studio Elmo Vermijs. It consists of 50 swings with different heights inviting adults and children to enjoy this joyful moment together. “A composition of moving people might arise.” Revigorating, isn’t it?

(Original work by Pop Up City)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Late?

This amazing. There aren't even words. What an incredible urban installation.

"It’s officially called a ‘transfer accelerator’ by Dutch railway maintenance company ProRail, but everyone else would say it’s a slide. Installed next to a stairway at the newly renovated railway station Overvecht in the city of Utrecht, the slide offers travellers the opportunity to quickly reach the railway tracks when they’re in a hurry. But above all, the slide is a great instrument to make the city more playful. The ‘transfer accelerator’ was designed by Utrecht-based firm HIK Ontwerpers, and installed as the final piece of the renovation of the Overvecht railway station.

The designers explain that their slide is meant to be a nice gesture to the travellers. They brilliantly foresaw that such a playful urban intervention can generate large-scale positive spin-off for a disadvantaged neighborhood like Overvecht, and that’s exactly what happened."


"I'm late! For a very important date! no time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" Ringing a bell? Anyone? Anyone?

Found via The Pop Up City.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Uraputki.

As part of the Flux Aura and Artist as Neighbor project, Candy Chang created this fantastic public installation for a community in Turku, Finland, European Capital of Culture 2011. In transforming a pedestrian path that leads to a local university, she hoped to share the ideas and thoughts of citizens - their memories, wished and choices. Nicknamed, "Uraputki" or Career Path, she asked passersby to fill in the blanks with colored chalk: "When I was little I wanted to be ____. Today I want to be ____." 

The project’s aim is to reflect on our lives and how much we’ve changed (or not) — comparing our youth with our present and, at the same time, share all these thoughts with the members of our community.


Given the week I've had (yes, I realize it's only Tuesday), this project made a huge impression on me.  How would you answer these questions?

Via Pop Up City

Tomales Bay.

Continuing to sift through photos from Lake Huntington, but thought I would share this foodie adventure in Tomales Bay from the previous weekend in the meantime...


I swear we ate more than juuuust oysters (well, sort of) but these little suckers made for the best photographs!



Change.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Tiny Prints.

While I [procrastinate on -- I mean] upload and organize photos from this weekend at Lake Huntington, I thought you might enjoy this adorable DIY: tiny polaroid magnets, by Jennifer Kirk at Ambrosia Creative.



Cute, no?
Happy Monday!