HOW Magazine's 2011 Design Business Annual- Nimbus Feature!

We are absolutely delighted to be featured in HOW Magazine's 2011 Design Business Annual. Two sets of our Pass-Along Recipe Cards will be awarded to two lucky readers. So pick it up today and find out how you can score these nifty holiday giftables! Or order from our site here.

Sticky Wallpaper

Whoa. This is so cool. Not only does this young lady, Payton Turner, make beautiful wallpaper patterns...

but she makes them out of... STICKERS!

 

I knew I should've kept my sticker collection from fourth grade.

Visit Haus and Home for the full article.

2011 Holiday Collection through Tiny Prints!

Click the image to be taken to the site! :)

Pumpkin art

October is my favorite month out of the year. I lived in the midwest for four years and loved going on hayrides, wandering through corn mazes, and returning with a bushel of apples, cider, kettle corn, and a few pumpkins to carve.

While I love the traditional jack-o-lanterns, I love new, tasteful ways to get in the spirit. These painted pumpkins by Alisa Burke are simply gorgeous. Click here for her tutorial! 

Shakin' dogs

These are hilarious photos of dogs in mid-shake by Carlie Davidson.  I don't think it needs much more introduction...enjoy!

Book covers reimagined

I will admit it, I sometimes (almost always) will pick up a book based on it's cover. I'm a sucker for good design, what can I say?
I stumbled across this collection of book covers reimagined on Flavorwire. Here are a few of my faves!

Anne Benjamin, Pride And Prejudice

 

 Jillian Tamaki, The Secret Garden

Nan Lawson, Franny & Zooey

100 Days in Cleveland

I'm totally on a Cleveland kick, but a well deserved one! I just moved from Cleveland to San Francisco and, while I am in love with my new city, I still appreciate and miss a lot of things about good ol' Cleveland. There are so many hidden gems in that city that make it fun and surprising. Our very own Julia Kuo has tackled the task of drawing 100 things she loves about Cleveland. I think it's such a great idea, and I've even learned some things about the city by following her blog. And wow, she's on #91 already! If you haven't seen it already, click here.

Here are some of my favorites:

 

Day 46/100

The Cultural Gardens

There are dozens of cultural gardens on MLK and East blvd north of Chester and south of Superior. Some gardens are better taken care of than others, but for the most part they’re all very beautiful in their own way. This one is the Hungarian cultural garden - my favorite for its beautiful cast iron gate. Others have fancy facades or statues of their most respectable countrymen.
I have good memories wandering through these gardens and running around through the little grassy lawns that connect them. One sunny summer day, I saw multiple wedding parties using the gardens for photoshoots. If one garden was occupied, they would just move down to the next one. (I thought that was so clever.) That same day, M.R. and I heard an ice cream truck and caught it by running as fast as we could in the direction of the ice cream truck music =)

Day 78/100

Tremont

This little neighborhood has changed a lot in the past 5 years. Great places like The Loop, Dante, Bac, and Lilly’s Chocolates have popped up and become staples of the area. Lucky’s bought that little triangle patch of grass across the street. Lincoln Park now hosts performances like the Joffrey Ballet! What was once a dodgy place to live has become the up-and-coming place to find great eats and cute boutiques. I used to be perpetually lost here, but thanks to friends living in an apartment above the Fat Cats restaurant and on W.14th I’ve gotten a little better about finding my way around. My favorite spots here would have to be the La Bodega sub shop, Sokolowski’s, the view from W.10th overlooking downtown, and the couch by the window in Lava Lounge.

You might be wondering why I picked this building to draw. It was currently renovated to become a large apartment complex, but can you guess what it was before? Take a second to think about all the street names around the area. Professor, Literary, College, University, Sokolowski’s University Inn…yes, that’s right! Way back in the 1850s, this was a college town. This building was Cleveland University’s Tremont campus - doesn’t it look like a huge dormitory and oldschool classroom building? It’s something to think about how much this town has changed, and even more exciting to look for signs of what it used to be.

Day 65/100

Edgewater Park

This a view of Edgewater park’s beach and pier from the higher, grassy part of the park. I like this park because it feels more ethnically diverse than a lot of other places in Cleveland: there are people of all skin tones here. Unrelated to the diversity is also a little bit of weirdness - you’ll see all kinds of people lounging on the beach in all sorts of … exciting swimwear. I’ve come here to ride my bike, take walks, swim, fish, fly my kite, and will soon get to barbeque here as well! The last time I was here I heard and followed the sound of beautiful music that reminded me of Beirut. It belonged to the choir of a large Ukrainian church service and baptism that was taking place right by the water!

Lil' Burritos

Ok, I absolutely cannot post about Cleveland designers without mentioning Alex Rodgers of Lil' Burritos.  Not only are the onesies, tees, and totes super adorable and clever, but they are wrapped up to look like burritos. Brilliant.

Modern Pixie

To continue spreading the Cleveland love, I'd like to share another one of my favorite local artists, Modern Pixie. Her jewelry is tiny, delicate, and incredibly unique. I could say just the same about the artist herself!

Horrible Adorables

Horrible Adorables, creations by Jordan Elise of Cleveland, are definitely more adorable than horrible. I spotted one of these guys at Room Service a couple of years ago and was instantly in love. My critter sits in my living room and is one of my most prized possessions. Here are a few of my favorites from her site:

Cinemagraphs

I've been seeing a lot of these subtle animated gifs popping up on my tumblr feed recently, and I have to say I'm pretty entranced. How Harry Potter-esque... For more hypnotizing images, visit Cinemagraphs.com

Jessica Hische on The Dark Art of Pricing

There are a few designers who continuously amaze and inspire me, and Jessica Hische is definitely at the top of my list. She is a versatile lettering artist, designer, and additionally offers frequent invaluable (and sometimes humorous) advice on her blog. Most recently, I found her article on pricing to be amazingly eye-opening and down to earth. For those illustrators and designers out there who run their own business, this is a must-read!

One of my favorite side projects of hers is Daily Drop Cap. I love the imaginative solutions these designers use to illustrate the alphabet. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already!