what happens in vegas

perhaps we were too exhausted to really enjoy our stay in vegas, but the fact of the matter is we're not really the vegas-liking kind of people. we had fun cruising around in our white mustang convertible (oh rest assured - pictures to come), gawking at the campy exteriors of the hotels and shopping at the ridiculously over-airconditioned shops. but we were too tired to muster up the energy to go out at night, so instead we enjoyed our huge king bed at the aria and totally pigged out at the breakfast buffet.

also, you can never have enough pictures of palm trees, and i was super disappointed this neon museum wasn't open during our stay.

ye rin mok

i know i've been overdosing on work represented by tinker street, but they sure know how to pick their photographers. switching between ye rin mok's landscape and details series, i felt like both struck a curious balance between intimacy and detachment. and i fell for it, hard. frankly i don't really know what to do with these pictures - i'm torn between using them as an inspiration to fuel my own work, or just hanging them all over my wall. 

might do both.

all photos by ye rin mok

le refuge tonneau

my job takes me to the coolest places. last week i went to brussels to discover the refuge tonneau as it was conceived by charlotte perriand and built by cassina, hiding in back garden of the italian brand's headquarters on avenue louise. charlotte's daughter pernette and her husband jacques barsac were there to tell me the story behind the design - charlotte loved to trek in the mountains and wanted to build these kinds of 'refuges' in remote places so they could offer shelter to people like her.

i absolutely loved the little cabane and could totally see myself camping out in one with some friends. though incredibly small, it's designed in such an efficient way it feels strangely comfortable and spacious. and it feels so contemporary, i would never have believed its design was first put to paper in 1938!

wise words for the weekend

i love this play on a font. god i'm such a geek.

silkscreen print by medium control

california calling

now that i have finally recovered from the jetlag to end all jetlags (does anyone else hate flying east as much as i do?), i have started sorting through the literally thousands of photos we've taken during our trip to california. i can't wait to tell you about the cool spots we've visited and the sweet moments we shared, because obviously this wasn't a very ordinary trip - not after this happened.

for now, i wanted to share some snapshots from our day of travel into the states, which was epically long (20+ hours) but surprisingly pleasant. i can't recommend united and lufthansa airlines highly enough - i loved the service on the flight to washington airport and in its lufthansa business lounge. we even took a shower there and felt completely revived when we boarded our second flight, into las vegas. 

speaking of which - what a crazy town. i guess every tourist has a picture of the first slot machines that welcome them to las vegas airport, but i just couldn't resist. i'll be back soon with more pics, but if you can't wait, you can always check out my instagram feed right here to see the snapshots i posted during our trip.

throughout the photos above you can spot: my beloved converse sneakers // my all-time favorite travel cardigan by essentiel // my kipling trolley // this striped h&m tee // aesop and nuxe essentials and rosebud salve // copies of de standaard magazine and wired

raw materials

i am always on the lookout for great places to shop vintage furniture or industrial design that might add a cool touch to our apartment. though i love nothing more than going to the rose bowl flea market in pasadena, unfortunately i'm never able to bring back anything larger than my suitcase can carry. so amsterdam looks like a more convenient place to hunt, especially with this raw materials shop that i recently read about over at mademoiselle's blog. it is definitely going on my list, right up there with vintage design paradise neef louis.

photos by raw materials

nicholas haggard

i love the blend of realism and dreamlike quality in nicholas haggard's photography - it's like he sees the stories behind ordinary details. i love his work, and it doesn't surprise me he gets commissioned by magazines like inventory and brands like converse. 

all photos by nicholas haggard

wise words for the weekend

by the time this quote by herb caen (in a lovely graphic by sam asplen) is posted, we're on our way back from san francisco to brussels. i have a feeling i won't be disagreeing.

graphic by sam asplen

city life

no matter where i look to for inspiration, it seems like new york has a way of creeping in. i love this picture by photographer vivian maier, which she took in new york in 1954. it's so intimate and elegant - a huge source of inspiration. 

i also bumped into the picture below researching home decorating ideas. the wall art combination this swedish blogger made of photos, illustrations and a map of ny just seems perfect in every way.

photo above by vivian maier // photo below by mokkasin

østersbar

there's nothing about antwerp restaurant østersbar that i don't love. it is by far my favorite place to grab some impromptu dinner (they don't take reservations), with its industrial interior - i need more of those subway tiles in my life! - and delish fish tapas. if their crab cakes are on the menu, be sure to try those. but you can't really go wrong here.

ilse acke

i had heard of graphic designer and hand weaver ilse acke before i started following her on instagram, but i love that i actually discovered her work through those quick snapshots and her inspiring blog. better than in any other way, her pictures showcase her graphic style and incredible eye for color. ilse also went to milan design week and posted some pretty rad snapshots to her instagram!
all instagram photos by ilse acke

offscreen

there's a whole slew of brilliant magazines out there, printed on heavy stock and translating the visual language of the online world to reading material that is equal parts design object and savory literature. i'm hell-bent on picking up the next kinfolk while in the states, so as to have the pleasure of reading it in paper instead of on my ipad. but it seems i might need to take a trip to berlin, too, to get my hands on an issue of offscreen. that one celebrates the world behind the screen and the creative minds that run the digital universe. i'm intrigued.
photos by offscreen magazine

ana kras

ana kras' hive standing lamp and bonbon lamp shades made my heart jump the first time i saw them. i love the painter's easel vibe of the first, both of their incredible color combinations, and the fact that these bonbons are just as pretty used as objects.
i'll take ten.
design and photography by ana kras

greetings from palm springs

just a quick note from our trip to the u.s. - the ace hotel in palm springs will forever be the place where i said yes!
if you want, you can follow our travels through my instagram or twitter feed

foxcroft & ginger

i know i already blogged about this place, but i have more pictures of foxcroft & ginger to share. if you're visiting london any time soon, make sure to make the trek out to shoreditch, shop at the boxpark pop-up mall (i wish i would have had time to try a frae frozen yoghurt!) and have a scone at foxcroft & ginger. i didn't have coffee here, so i can't say anything about that - but they do have fentimans lemonade, and you simply need to try that if you haven't before. they also have a very nice patio, and i love their wooden (or is it carton?) cutlery to take outside with you.

everything must go

i love this series about the downfall of america's automobile industry.
all photos by stephen voss

dana tanamachi, pt. 2

remember when i told you about this book cover? and about that wall at the ace hotel that i couldn't get over? silly me only recently figured out that all of those chalk lettering designs i've been seeing around are actually by the same artist. i've mentioned dana tanamachi here before, but i couldn't resist dedicating another post to her. especially since she's been stringing exciting and very different gigs together: from designing a wine label to chalking up a pretty incredible wedding photo background. you could say i'm a little obsessed with her work and more than a little jealous of her brooklyn friends that have custom. made. chalk art. in their loft.
AAAH.
all photos via dana tanamachi

zuriick

last week jesse snyder of shoe label zuriick e-mailed me some pictures of their new summer collection and i'm so glad he did, because i love discovering brands like these. the guys behind it seem really cool, and the shoes look super comfortable and fun. i love a couple of their men's models, too (like this one) because they're so different from what you see around.

but also, i totally and completely love their campaign shots. though they were taken in puerto rica, it's their americana vibe that i like so much.

i found some more work by photographer steven stone and have to say, between the cool dudes from zuriick and stone's bad-ass photography, it's a match made in heaven.

 first three photos are from zuriick's campaign, 
the latter three are other work by steven stone