Two totally unrelated things I love are punk music and swiss modern posters. Apparently I’m not alone. New York designer Mike Joyce has combined the two things into an awesome project called Swissted. Based on actual shows, he’s taken the content and created a new flyer for each show all set in berthold akzidenz grotesk medium, all lowercase.
Here are a few of my favorites…mostly chosen for the bands.

I have a special treat for your guys today, before you head off to your weekend. The girls over at Love Me Do Photography recently moved into a new studio, which meant they got to design a whole new space and they have been kind enough to share it with us!

who are you/ what do you do/ where are you located?
We are Carina and Amanda, freelance and wedding photographers operating under the trademark Love Me Do Photography.
Our studio is located in Philadelphia, Pa.

what is your favorite thing about your job?
Taking pictures! You’d think we get tired of always photographing things, but every chance we get to do something fun with photography, we’re on top of it! Also, we like hanging out together. It’s really nice to have a partner working along side with you, especially when you’re self employed. We could be working on totally different projects, but having someone there to talk and joke around with really makes the whole working experience a lot more enjoyable.

how long have you been in the space?
We moved our studio back in May of 2011, but there was a bit of construction still going on, so we officially starting using the space around July or August of 2011.

whats the square footage?
apx 600 sq ft

whats your favorite thing in the neighborhood… or what do you love about the neighborhood?
We have an authentic mexican restaurant right across the street from us. I mean, can you really get much better than that?? There’s also an abundance of coffee shops, bars, restaurants and boutiques just up the block from us, and we share the building with dozens of other artists. It’s a nice little community.

what are your must haves for a creative space?
Good natural lighting is #1. We work with light, so having our space well lit is a must. Also, we didn’t want it to be too bright in there because we work on computers. So we picked a studio that faces northwest. We also wanted the studio to be spacious, yet manageable. We didn’t want something that was going to be overwhelming, but we didn’t want to be squished either. This space turned out perfectly for us!

what was your biggest resource for designing the space?
Thrift stores and our friends. We had collected a good deal of antique furniture and items from thrift shops, flea markets and estate sales. Putting them together took some thought on our end, making sure pieces fit well together and that it just didn’t look like a bunch of mis-matched furniture and items throw about. We also have a good deal of talented friends who hand-made a bunch of our items in the studio.

Here’s a short list:
Desk and bookshelf: made by Kaman + Erland
Large wooden table: made by Jesse Parsons
Buffalo paper mache head: Meg Lemieur

We took ideas from Design Sponge to paint the buffet table (grey and white stripes).

do you have a favorite item or area in the studio?
My favorite item is definitely the Buffalo Head. A close second would be a 4-way tie between my desk, the table, the coffee table, and our pink couch.








I hope you all enjoyed the space as much as I did! Thanks for sharing Carina & Amanda. If you haven’t already checked out the amazing photos that these two take, please be sure to do so…you won’t regret it. Have a happy and inspiring weekend everybody.

I am long over due for a haircut and now that I have a steady paycheck, I am looking forward to getting rid of these split ends and maybe doing something new. I’m thinking about goin’ with something like this (the adorable Jules)..

but I dont think I can pull of those bangs with my face shape…so ill probably go with more of a side swept heavy bang…
I’ve been considering ombre for some time. I like the color on the ends, it feels beachy and sunny but I also love that the top is so dark, something I generally like to keep with my skin tone.

A lengthy but enjoyable pitch video for Bell System Logo by Saul Bass. You have to imagine it was pretty darn impressive in 1969!

we had the most insane sunset tonight! I went out to take a picture, then came inside to find it had gotten even more beautiful, and repeated this again! In and out, in and out, in and out. haha. It was so amazing!

Design firm ManvsMachine recently did a re-brand of UK based digital television channel More4 and the results are pretty amazing.


“The re-brand is centred round a bold, flexible logo that morphs through a series of flips, folds and reveals. The colour palette reflects the vibrant nature of interiors, food culture, fashion and other contemporary lifestyle programming.” _MvsM








While the new mark looks flexible and smart in print form, it really comes to life in motion. See it in action as it shifts and changes for these TV spots.





MvsM also teamed up with installation design pioneers, Jason Bruges Studio to create some insane installation pieces involving hundreds of individual “flipper” units, which I assume will also be used on air. They are really beautiful and fun.

May today bring you joy…

Before the holidays, I crafted up a storm. I wanted to share them all with you, but the problem was, most of them were gifts and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise. But now that they have all been received, I can start to share.

First up, I made was this large envelope clutch. I chose a buttery gray vinyl with hot coral stitching. Because I went with a cheaper vinyl rather than a leather, I hand painted the interior to disguise the textured vinyl backing. I chose to do it in the same color as my stitching as a nice punch of color and surprise on the inside.

Then I decided to jazz it up a bit and created a tassel using some scrap vinyl (painted interior to match) and 2 different colors of embroidery thread (braided to form the cord).





In case you are wondering, it’s perfect for toting your ipad in. In fact, I brought it with me on my interview at my new job.


I made one for myself, both my sisters and my bestie.


Then, I made matching phone envelopes, like so.



man…I really need to start talking my husband into helping me photograph things…awkward iphone mirror pics just aren’t cuttin’ it! ha. Might have to step up my game in 2012.
That’s all for now. I’ll share some more of the crafty projects soon!