Friday Obsession- 1920s Vintage Typography

Lat weekend, I went to see a great design exhibit at the MoMA. The exhibit featured graphic, colorful ads of Czech, Russian, German and Dutch designers from the 1920s and 1930s.

During the so-called New Typography movement in the 1920s and 1930s modernist designers, "rejected traditional arrangement of type in symmetrical columns, [and instead]  organized the printed page or poster as a blank field in which blocks of type and illustration (frequently photomontage) could be arranged in harmonious, strikingly asymmetrical compositions."

 I would love to get my hands on a print for my apartment...

The exhibit runs through July 26, 2010 at the MoMA

Living in the Great Outdoors...

With only month to go before summer officially starts,  I already looking forward to sitting outside and enjoying the hot, summer nights. Living in the city, space is limited so I am drawn to small spaces where available inch is used to create an inviting outdoor area. (Pops of color and seating go a long way too!) 

Suspended garden pots add color and maximize wall space

Slim cafe chairs provide seating and can easily be stacked for storage

These chairs and table can be easily folded and stored

 Growing healthy food can be easy and compact...

A few things to get the space in order...

Love this vintage blue bench from Terrain

 Seed bombs from Anthropologie

Organize with blackboard stakes from Terrain

Stylish and functional, Anthropologie

Every garden needs a gnome (photo: Living, Etc)

(Photos: Living Etc, Domino Magazine, Apartment Therapy)

For the Love of Myrtle...

In high school, I worked part-time in a flower shop named Wild Thyme. This shop had the most gorgeous myrtle topiaries and started my love affair with this plant... 

Unfortunately, these fickle plants are sort of like having a pet. They need just the right amount of water, sunlight, heat, humidity and regular grooming. If any of these conditions are off, you've quickly got a perfectly shaped dead plant on your hands.
 
However, when maintained these topiaries are beautiful and chic. They are a perfect accessory for the home and have a great architectural quality to them.

Larger varieties that can withstand changes in temperature are also great outside...

They perfect in place of flowers at a party (and can be rented and returned)...

(Photos: Snug Harbor Farm, Living it at Home, Martha Stewart Living)

Multiple Uses...

I found this awesome vintage letter holder the other day and I have racking my brain trying to think of different ways it could be used.

So far I've come up with notecard holder (obvious choice), jewelry stand, photo display and napkin holder.

Any other ideas?

Tossed & Found...

Every so often a book come along, that provides such incredible inspiration that it makes me want to paint and alter every piece of furniture in my apartment. While in Woodstock this weekend I picked up Wary Meyers' Tossed & Found from Still Life Mercantile.

This book features some amazing reused/ recycled and DIY projects. The husband and wife team invite the reader to search their own garages, attics and dumpsters to "select something that somebody (even you) thought had outlived its usefulness. Then, transform that castoff into a piece that’s interesting and usable."

Projects include hanging lights from vintage planters...

Homemade terrariums from mason jars...

And pool noodle chairs among others...

Check out the Design*Sponge article with Linda and John Meyers here. Also check out the incredible Wary Meyers design blog.


(Photos courtesy of Wary Meyers' Tossed and Found)

Going Off-Island...

I ventured off the island this morning, across the water to Staten Island for a meeting.

Being fairly new to NYC, I still hadn't been on the Staten Island Ferry. Much to my surprise... it's FREE, rarely crowded and offers great views of the Statue of Liberty! Definitely worth a trip...

The Great Escape Part 2- Hudson, NY

A 25 minute drive from Woodstock is the town of Hudson, NY. The main street, Warren is every vintage hunter's dream with antique and vintage shops lining both sides of the street.

For foodies, Hudson also offers amazing gourmet dining such as Swoon, Wunderbar & Bistro and Red Dot.

While in town, I stopped at Parlor. The interior is full of comfy arm chairs and it seems like the type of place that you could curl up with a good book on a rainy day.

Wandering down the Warren St, I found some amazing gardens, beautiful old churches and vintage items...

The Great Escape Part 1- Woodstock, NY...

Happy Monday, everyone! I made good on my vow to get out of NYC and headed up to Woodstock, NY, about two hours away. Well known for the 1969 music festival of the same name, this charming town is also packed with great hiking trails, good food and wonderful stores.

After a stop at Budget Rent-A-Car (this "compact" car felt like driving my own personal tank!), my first stop in town was to Bread Alone.  Their delicious pastries and yummy sandwiches were right up my alley. Plus, I needed to grab some food for my trek up the Overlook Mountain Trail.

The trailhead starts a few miles out of town. It's a trek just to get up there, so I would advise taking a car. The moderate to hard trail is five miles round-trip with a steady incline, but the views from the top are definitely worth it.

 Hopefully, this is good luck...

View from the scenic overlook

Along the way you can stop and check out of the ruins of the old Overlook Mountain Hotel which reportedly burned down about four times (the last in the 1960s).

Down the mountain, I explored the kitschy hippie shops with tie dyed tees and Woodstock memorbilia.

Hidden amongst these stores was Still Life Mercantile, which houses a fabulous mix of modern home goods, books and jewelry. I love the way vintage items were mixed in with Jonathan Adler salt and pepper shakers and items from Etsy. I definite must see while in town.

Photos courtesy of Still Life Mercantile

My last stop before heading out of town was Candlestock. This Woodstock institution makes their own beeswax candles and smells delicious inside. The unexpected attraction was the over 6' drip candle sculpture started on Sept 11, 2001. They continue to burn several candles a day to add to this piece... 

More on my trip, including vintage hunting in Hudson, NY coming this afternoon...

Friday Obsession Vintage Ginger Jar Lamps

Researching for this week's Friday Obsession, I have been drooling over vintage ginger jar lamps. I recently saw a picture of my parents living room from the 80s and it reminded me of the fantastic pair of clear glass ones they had.

I love the over-sized feel, the bright colors and the fact that they usually look better in pairs. 

These lattice-inspired lamps are cool because not only to they have a bulb up top, but they also light from within for a softer feel...

For these metal ginger jar lamps, you could really do any color shade up top, I would probably choose black to give them a more modern feel...

(Photos: Little Green Notebook, Revival Home & Garden, Ebay)

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! Here's hoping that helping the earth gets incorporated into everyday life...

 

For some interesting ideas, check out Mashable's 5 More Ways to Go Green for Earth Day...

Rug Love...

I've mentioned my fascination with paint-by-numbers before and when I saw this rug from Anthropologie, reproduced from one of artist Trey Speegle's works, I was immediately in love...

 photos: Anthropologie.com