MY DREAM HOME: FEELING DOTTY!

When I was on Pinterest recently I stumbled across a mini trend: decorating small spaces in this fabulous dalmatian-style dot print. I love polka dots but this organic take on it is spectacular!

So, I thought I would start a new installment of 'My Dream Home' featuring none other than—you guessed it—polka dots in all sizes and, apparently, shapes! I know, what took me so long?!

sources: spotted bathroom, spotted entry (painted with a stencil!), spotted bookcase

Click through the link to see more spotty goodness!

METHOD & LIBMAN: GOING DOTTY

I have noticed a lot of cleaning products are starting to feature really bold designs, especially polka dots. I saw a commercial for this Method laundry detergent last week and I almost fell over at the sight of their new 'dotty' logo. I LOVE the brightly colored overlapping circles and would probably wallpaper my whole apartment with that pattern if my boyfriend would let me (though really a pillow or two might be kinder on the eyes and look better with my couch). I also LOVE the red and white polka dot pattern on the new Libman wonder mop (I feel like a commercial voice-over just typing that). The old mop only had the small dot pattern, now seen on the inside. The new mop uses the scale of the polka dots to represent different absorbencies in the fabric, giving bigger dots to the more absorbent strips on the outside. The result is a bright modern twist on an otherwise retro 1950s-era pattern. Awesome! This dot patten has also been used for the scrubbers of this green and yellow mop -- a clever and attractive solution to the intersection of form and function.

If you are interested in buying these prettily designed cleaning products check out the Method website here and the Libman website here.

SUMMER CHIC: STRIPES AND DOTS

We all know I love polka dots and stripes and, this summer, JCrew is totally feeding my obsession. It seems like every other top or dress is in one of these patterns (or anchors), but you won't find me complaining!

So without further ado, from top to bottom, left to right:

-------------row one---------------------
Kimono-Sleeve Maxidress, $118
Big-Shot Dot Dress, $158


-------------row two-------------------
Drawstring Tunic in Stripe, $88
Zip-Front T-Shirt Dress, now $69.50


-------------row three-----------------------------------
Vintage Cotton Pocket Tank in Stripe, $29.50
Naomi Top in Polka Dot, $110


-------------row four------------------
Elinor Dress in Polka Dot, $148
Maritime-Stripe Blazer, $118


Have a great weekend! I will see you back here on Monday!

SAVINGS AND LOANS: KATE SPADE AND iPHONE

Have you heard the rumors about Verizon getting the iPhone 4 next year? I have been waiting for the iPhone to go to Verizon forever, and am sort of giddy over the idea that I could finally have a super cool smart phone and good service. Imagine that!

Well, this news has sent me on the hunt again for a cute but practical iPhone case. Not surprisingly, Kate Spade hit it out of the park with this black and white polka dot number (I mean, I do love polka dots). You can pick it up here for $40.

And, while I was there, I hunted around for some other "dotty" accessories and found these two adorable, drool-worthy options. They totally make me want to pack up and go. . . as they say on the website, these two are "spot on"!

top: Gifting Dot Small Henrietta Makeup Case, $60

bottom: Give It A Whirl Large Colin Makeup Case (with interior pouch), $125

INSIDE OUT PROJECT

Yesterday I made a quick little trip to the Highline—a beautiful elevated park in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York—to give some people a presentation on the Whitney's new building. Well the weather was so beautiful, I decided to stroll the rest of the park (which is looking extra lush these days) before I headed back to work. At the end of my walk I stumbled upon this beautiful mural-sized portrait and, not surprisingly, had to snap some shots to share with you. After all, it incorporates two of my favorite things in the whole world: photography and polka dots!


    

Looking a little closer at the work, I was impressed by the way the portrait had been carefully pasted over a number of obstacles, including wiring along the wall, window panes, and indents in the brick. Clearly this was done by a professional. Far to the right I spied one polka dot with writing on it and suddenly everything clicked into place! The mural is part of street artist J.R.'s latest project (remember when I wrote about him here and here?), which is called the Inside Out Project. Here's a description of the super-cool project from their website:

"INSIDE OUT is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. These digitally uploaded images will be made into posters and sent back to the project’s co-creators for them to exhibit in their own communities. People can participate as an individual or in a group; posters can be placed anywhere, from a solitary image in an office window to a wall of portraits on an abandoned building or a full stadium. These exhibitions will be documented, archived and viewable virtually."

A fabulous idea, right?





I immediately went and checked out some of the other projects completed in New York (above in East Harlem and the South Bronx, respectively). Check out Inside Out locations near you and all over the world here.




Still jonesing for more info? Watch this video; it gives you a fabulous sense of the spirit, optimism and joy behind this global initiative and let's you see some of the brilliant uses already in place.

OLYMPICS OBSESSED

I am so excited about the start of the Olympics tonight! Do you get the Olympic fever like I do? For the next two weeks I will be hiding out from the sweltering New York City heat and watching every possible event I can squeeze into my day. But I will also be watching for more than the sporting events; I will be glued to the tv to check out the visual identity of the games too! Want to a see a (monster) preview of all things design-related for the Olympics? Follow me after the jump . . .

NSS 2012: NEW (TO ME) TALENT

This post is part of an ongoing series of wrap ups from this year's National Stationery Show. Please forgive any discoloration or graininess of the photos (the lighting in the Javits Center stinks!) and check out all the other NSS posts here.




Are you ready for a whirlwind wrap up of NSS? Since I am so behind on my recaps, I thought I would break down the remaining booths into two monster posts. So without further ado, follow me to post number one: new talent . . .

OK GO DID IT AGAIN

I have written about the band OK GO's amazing music videos before (see here and here), but this one may be my favorite. I love the intricate interplay of color and perspective and, of course, the occasional introduction of stripes and polka dots!

You can watch more of their videos here; which one is your favorite?


(thanks to swissmiss for the tip)

MY DREAM HOME: MAP WALLS

Anyone who knows me knows I hold a few things dear in this life: family, good food, stripes, polka dots and maps. I love all things cartographic: maps, charts, globes, everything! So for a long time when I have envisioned my dream home I have pictured it to heavily include maps of all shapes and sizes in the decor. Like how great are these map murals? I am drooling over that bathroom, especially with that oversized gold mirror. Swoon!

sources: top, bottom

Click through to see my other map-loving picks!

BUON VIAGGIO (PER ME)

The rest of August is going to be a little crazy, so I am signing off until the start of September. What will be so consuming that I won't be able to share my obsessive tendencies with you? Well, today I am headed to a friend's wedding in Pennsylvania and then I am jet-setting with the boyfriend to Europe for two weeks! It is all very exciting and will surely prove to be fodder for more posts and photos debuted here at the O.I. So be patient, dear reader, I will be back (with great things to share!) before you know it.

Because I have had to pack for myriad occasions--semi-formal rehearsal dinner, wedding, hours of walking and site-seeing, nice dinners out, etc.--my little carry on suitcase had to be meticulously packed, with many clothes doing double duty. I finally managed to limit myself to a handful of clothes in grey, black, dark blue and white in hopes that pieces can be mixed and matched. Figuring out what bags to bring, however, was a little more difficult. Since at any given time my "everyday" bag has to carry sunglasses, a bottle of water, two cameras, film, flip flops, snacks, lotion, my wallet, my cell phone and my ipod, the bag has to be pretty multi-purpose. I have found a couple of "keepers" that I thought I might share with you. (I hope you like them, because they will be up for the next two weeks . . . . )

Hable Construction's Lagoon Small Zip Cosmetic Bag $35

Perfect for wrangling chap stick, your passport, keys and more in the abyss that is the depths of a tote bag.

Le Sport Sac Erika Tote $72

One can always use a deep tote bag with a good zippered pocket or two. I love this print (and many others) from Le Sport Sac.

Boden's Fabulous Overnight Bag £249

Pricey, but super cute. I love the polka dots on this big weekender bag from Boden even if I don't love the price tag.

TAPE IT

Because I am thinking ahead to wrapping all those holiday gifts and because I am absolutely in love with japanese masking tape, I thought I would do a little round up of some of the best options out there online. There are some really great sites offering a variety of colors and patterns at a range of prices. Read on for some of my favorite picks.

Wasabi Masking Paper Tape, MoMA Store, 10 rolls, $25

Monochrome Set of Masking Tape, lovepetitzakkajapan, 6 rolls, $25

Japanese Masking Tape, Design Within Reach, 3 rolls, $12

So Many Pretty Solids Pack, happy tape, 20 rolls, $36.50

Colored Paper Tape with Polka Dots, ArtFire, 1 roll, $17.99

Japanese Masking Tape Set in Blue, Ginko Papers, 3 rolls, $7.50

Enjoy! Feel free to drop me an email if you purchase any of these products and/or if you use them in a fun project. Until then, happy wrapping!

DAMIEN HIRST: THE COMPLETE SPOT PAINTINGS, 1986-2011

If you have read this blog for any period of time, you know that I am obsessed with polka dots. Obsessed!  So, not surprisingly, Damien Hirst's Spot Paintings have always made me smile. Haven't seen them you say? Well the illustrious Gagosian Gallery, which represents Mr. Hirst and has eleven locations all over the world, is out to change that. Starting today every single Gagosian location, from New York to Hong Kong, will be exhibiting the Spot Paintings (totaling all 1500 paintings from the series)! 


Want to see more? Learn about Hirst and the exhibitions here. Also visit the Gagosian shop for a sweet dot clock (love it!) and to download their gallery app.

BACK TO SCHOOL, THE SEQUEL

Of course, as soon as I bought all my school supplies two weeks ago I fell in love with ten other pens, pencils, cases etc. Isn't that always the case, ha? Needless to say, with school now well under way, I am thinking of adding one or two extra treats to my school bag. These are my two favorites:

Dotty Pencils, Lisa Stickley*, ₤5

Office Icons Pencil Pouch, Papersource, $12.95

*this is possibly one of the cutest websites I have ever seen. Hooray for polka dots!

FIREFLIES

You may have noticed that I am a bit out of it these days . . . time seems to be zooming by at lightning speed: my wedding is only about three weeks away! Since I have been spending every moment of free time checking off my endless wedding to do list items, I may have to warn you that I will be posting much less frequently than normal. But I promise I won't abandon you!

With that said I have been struggling to find inspiration that is not wedding-focused to share with you guys. In fact the only thing, of late, that I have found to be suitably jaw-dropping to post here is an exhibition at my museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, on the work of Japanese-born artist Yayoi Kusama. Not only is she the queen of polka dots (see above) but she has a work installed on the first floor of the museum that is positively incredible. Called Fireflies, it is a shimmering room of light and reflection that you are allowed to experience, by yourself, for one magical minute. It is so lovely it is hard to explain, so go see it yourself!

Learn more about the exhibition here.

NSS 2012: LADIES OF LETTERPRESS

On Tuesday I did a marathon run through of the National Stationery Show. I was very impressed with the exhibitors this year—there were tons of amazing new booths and even more wonderful creations by my favorite vendors. This week and into next I will be sharing all the best goods (just like I did here), so stick with me for some serious eye candy! (Also stick with me if my photos are oddly colored or grainy; the lighting stinks in the Javits Center!)





First up is one of my favorite booths: Ladies of Letterpress. LoL (I made have just made that acronym up, ha) is  a group of unbelievably creative ladies who crank out some unbelievably cool stationery. Here where my top picks from their giant booth . . . .







Tella Press is a studio located just a hop, skip and a jump away from me in Brooklyn. I was particularly drawn by the patterns Donatella (the owner and designer) has included in her big, blocky, colorful text. I was also swooning over the graphic wine bottle tags; they would be perfect to tote along to your next summer fete. Learn more about Tella Press here.




    

When I came across the gorgeous stylings of Sixpenny Letterpress, my jaw nearly dropped. There was nothing even remotely like these simple, clean geometries anywhere else in the show, so it is not surprising that everyone was buzzing about Sixpenny. I am particularly in love with their business card (see here) but would also gladly take home everything else in the booth, especially that 'big love' card. Awesome! Get more info about Sixpenny here.




    


Pepper Press is another sweet Brooklyn studio run by a super sweet lady named Ursula, who I quickly realized was clearly my kindred spirit. Just look at her designs! They include polka dots (duh, love them), topographical drawings (maps, my fav) and cool architectural drawings (too awesome). Needless to say you need to check out more Pepper Press goodness here.



   



So apparently all of the LoL are just insanely nice and cool because I think I talked Meg, the brilliant mind behind Moglea, for nearly fifteen minutes. She kindly gave me advice on printing techniques and told me all about her work with Minted (another sweet booth I will post about later!) and all around made me feel welcome in an overwhelming sea of stationery. And her work totally mirrors her loveliness, being decked out with gorgeous hand-drawn floral patterns and curlicued typography. Personally, I would buy stacks and stacks of her 'you are so freaking awesome' and 'home is where your mom is' cards. They are just so. darn. pretty!  Check out more Moglea stuff here and Meg's blog here.