Tuesday, October 16, 2007

It's not hitting THIS fan, buddy. . .

The curse of surrounding yourself with high-end design magazines is that you invariably find things you wish you could afford and are too cool not to drool over for minutes at a time. I think I may have found the first ever Steampunk ceiling fan. So all you Girl Genius fans with surplus cash, hop on over to Matthews Fan Company and buy one.

They also have really cool glass lighting. So pretty!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

And for my next trick. . .

Just so you don't think I spend every spare moment shopping (not that there's anything wrong with that, mind), I thought I would showcase some other things of interest.

Linda Berkvist is, without a doubt, the most talented digital painter I have ever seen. That is some incredible detail. My god.

She has a lovely self portrait on her site as well:

The whole thing is well worth rumaging through; she has her portfolio divided up, rather unusually, by colors. She has also thoughtfully included some tutorials in case you are sufficiently inspired to have a go at this style yourself. I understand she is also working on a book of fairy tales, and is posting the occasional sample from this body of work on her site:





Another artist that I really like is Audrey Kawasaki.









She has the most delicate style of painting on wood. It reminds me of my own favorite ways to work, which is probably why I like it so much. I've always been more
comfortable with gouache, so I tend to use oils like watercolors, building up layers of depth instead of working up towards highlights like you're supposed to.


I actually did a shameless copy of this picture for myself
because I surely can't afford to buy an original, and her prints tend to sell out almost immediately. It hangs in my entry way, where I can look at it everytime I leave the house.:


Audrey has been incorporating skulls and bones, as well as insects and moths, into her recent work. Pretty girls and decay--how can you go wrong? You should check out her blog for upcoming shows as well as peeks at her newest work.
Speaking of bones, take a look at this. Jessica Joslin (I think I saw her on BoingBoing originally) has a fabulous collection of, um, alternative solutions to taxidermy. I have a small prize for the first reader to have their pet preserved by her.
Aren't they cute?

Silver Bells and Cockleshells. . .

I found a wonderful resource guide to metalsmiths on Etsy. So the next time you are desperately seeking adornments based on cellular structures or internal organs, you need look no further. This is Nanopod's Heart necklace.




She also makes
shirts:




If you're in the mood for something slightly more dangerous looking and you have a few grand burning a hole in your pocket, I suggest you take a look at DiscoMedusa.

If $2500 is not quite in your budget this week, she also has dozens of affordable baubles, like this cell necklace:







I love the different layers in this necklace. The lacey center is a bit of a theme in this shop.

For the unrepentant (but stylish) nerd in your life, Beaujangles has these cufflinks:

Space Invaders! Man, you just can't get away from the inevitable retro-dork reference, can you? No, I didn't think so.


Oh, and just in case you are wondering feverishly what on earth to do for Halloween, you can always go as an Amazonian warrior princess:


You can thank me later. With pictures.