Handwritten on: Public art

We have a lot of amazing museums and art collections here in the nation's capital. You can see all of the classic, modern and contemporary masters throughout the 19 museums of the Smithsonian, not to mention the Corcoran, Phillips Collection and the thriving gallery scene. But for all the art there is to take in, there's now a chance to actually take part.

This interactive art installation is called "Before I Die..." It's pretty self-explanatory with the chalkboard-painted wall and the stenciled sentence “Before I die I want to _______”. The original public installation was created by artist Candy Chang. After losing a loved one, she turned the side of an abandoned house in her New Orleans neighborhood into a giant chalkboard for residents to write and reflect on what was important to them. The project has spread to other cities including Amsterdam, Chicago, Querétaro, Lisbon, Brooklyn and London. DC's version of the installation is on the corner of 14th and Q St. NW.





I found out about this participatory piece of art on a walk through the Logan Circle neighborhood and got a kick out of seeing the range of responses. Some were bold and grand, others were weird, funny, in other languages, simple and sweet including:

• Really live
• Become enlightened
• Hike the Appalachian Trail
• See an American female president
• Live in another country
  
• Go fishing naked
  
• Be OK

What do you think this guy was writing? Probably "go bike riding naked".
 
Says Chang about the project:

"It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day and forget what really matters to you... Life is brief and tender, and there is a lot we can learn from the people around us to help us lead better lives."

And isn't that just as good as what you'd get from the old framed classics?

A friendly reminder

Hoping these words are a little mid-week inspiration for you!
 

Handwriting on: Food

We're getting back to our roots/our love of all things handwritten, and we can't be the only ones who've noticed that the element of handwriting has taken over our pantries and is sitting on nearly every shelf in the stores. With the swell of local and sustainable food options and the surge of farmers markets and CSAs, it appears that package designers are trying to tap into that feel-good "foodie" passion.

Without even reading the ingredients or nutritional information, these products give me the feeling of all-natural, homemade goods—with cozy thoughts of our grandmother's canned vegetables, hearth-baked breads, and sweets made from scratch. Does the handwritten label elevate the perception of these products? Do we feel better for buying it? Does it really matter?

Bee Local's use of handwritten locations on their product packaging is clearly an authentic nod to their philosophy on honey. Says the founder: "Unlike mono-crop honey, our urban gardens directly influence the taste profile of the honey to produce very complex and unique honey. Each honey from each neighborhood had its own unique flavor profile. It was just like wine. Honey has its own terroir. Thus Bee Local was born. Bee Local goes far beyond just honey. Bee Local is social enterprise. Everyone has influence on the honey and the health of the bees. Through honeybees we begin a larger discussion about how we treat our environment, urban landscapes and our stewardship of the land around us."

We're not saying the other instances above are using handwriting as just another trick of the trade (come on, Jamie Oliver started his own food revolution for healthy food!). We just love seeing handwriting used to convey something personal and authentic.

1. Jamie Oliver product packaging, designed by Pearl Fisher
2. Designed by Leslie Ortiz
3. Cupcakes courtesy of Martha Stewart 
4. Bee Local honey labels

Did someone say pool party?

Since the temperature is going to be in the +80s the rest of the week on the east coast, I thought I'd share this cool purse from Kate Spade. It's the Pool Party Clutch and is a perfect replica of a swimming pool, "inspired by hypnotic reflections in the pool and all." The blue watery print is on patent cowhide, and the gold plated hardware makes a perfect step ladder into the pool! Refreshing, isn't it?

Now that you've cleaned out your closet during spring cleaning, there's probably a little room for this fun summer clutch—and you can get yours here. Jump on in, the water's fine!

Here's to the crazy ones

Need a little inspiration to get you going today? If this video doesn't do the trick, then maybe you should take a look here.

I couldn't help but feel a spark of energy when watching this 1997 television commercial from Apple's "Think different" campaign along with a sense of connection to some of the 20th century's most iconic inspirations and...well...crazy ones.

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently... While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius."

How many "geniuses" could you name? Here's a cheat sheet, in order of appearance: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon with Yoko Ono, Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog, Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso. Jim Henson especially puts a smile on my face! He makes me think of the rainbow connection, which I have to think is shared by all of these lovers, dreamers and doers.

"What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing? And what do we think we may see?"

I love how this video reminds us to break the rules and take a few more risks. And while you can't top the above-named icons, I wonder who would be featured in today's commercial if this campaign was being revived now. What contemporaries are inspiring people in the same way those in the commercial have done for so many years? Here's to being crazy!

Maira Kalman: hand drawn inspiration

This weekend in DC, the National Portrait Gallery's lecture series featured an artist who shares our love for the personal touch of the handwritten and hand drawn. The guest speaker? Illustrator and writer Maira Kalman, whose paintings can be found in The New Yorker, The New York Times and many books including Michael Pollan's Food Rules (which we've gushed about here before).

Kalman shared sketches from her mother, snapshots of strangers on the street, illustrations of subjects ranging from ordinary objects (like a sofa sitting in someone's curbside trash) to Abraham Lincoln—all paired with clever handwritten commentary and quirky observations on life. The combination of words and images ended with a description of her personal connection to a Diane Arbus photograph of five adults in Halloween costumes. It sounds pretty random, but it all came together in such an interesting way!

Images from MairaKalman.com and kalman.blogs.nytimes.com

Kalman also had a surprise for us: she paired a quote about time by Albert Einstein with the illustration of a man she followed and photographed in a park in Moscow (or was it Berlin?). The illustration was stamped onto envelopes and given to everyone in the audience (see below). She explained her hope that we would fill the envelope with a photo or leaves or some sort of clippings, then stuff it in a book where we would find it in the future as it slipped out from between the pages. 

"The only reason for time is so that everything does not
happen at once." Albert Einstein

And to top it off, Kalman made on-the-spot drawings in each book she autographed during the book signing (check out the an assortment of pomegranates in my new copy of Food Rules!)—it all made for an inspirational afternoon.

Did anyone else happen to catch this talk...and if so, what did you get drawn in your book? If you haven't already, take time to get to know her work on kalman.blogs.nytimes.com.

Handmade in NYC

Finally giving my sweet tooth a rest after returning from my NY trip! We spent the majority of a wonderful girls' weekend tracking down handmade sweet treats. I know—what a surprise, right? Over at Rosebud we're all about homemade cookies, so I wanted to get a little inspiration. Here's what we found:

Levain Bakery was suggested by a co-worker who raved about cookies that were the size of your head and could serve as a substitute for lunch. She wasn't kidding. They offer four flavors of cookies in this tiny bakery on W. 74th Street, but the line regularly goes out the door and up the block. I should know—we went twice. Check out their live cookie cam while you're at it.

Besides their bakery on the Upper West Side,
they're also in Harlem and East Hampton.

Huge. You have to see for yourself.

I had to stop by our former DC neighbors in their new SoHo digs. Georgetown Cupcake's newest spot has an amazing location on Mercer Street and a sugary-sweet interior with pop art prints of cupcakes.

 

Carrie and Miranda put Magnolia Bakery on the map to non-New Yorkers over a decade ago, and countless cupcake stores have been following in its footsteps ever since. Loved their "I *cupcake* NY" t-shirts.

I confess to know nothing about Ladurée but was lucky enough to stumble upon this exquisite Madison Avenue storefront. This is the only location in the US where you can get these beautiful macarons. As you can see, the French really know how to do dessert!

Of course there were plenty of other activities that did not consist of oggling baked goods, but I had to share the highlights!

My favorite fellas go modern

Here's a fun new take on good ol' Bert and Ernie—these art prints were created by Symbol Society in San Francisco. Simple, authentic and a fun throwback! How cute would these look in a kid's bedroom?

via Apartment Therapy

Where's Rubber Duckie?

Seriously sweet food

So Valentine's Day was a few weeks ago, making this post a little less-than-topical, but I wanted to share some photos of my homemade cupid-inspired meal. You might remember how successful my heart-shaped pizza was last year, so I knew I needed to up the ante this time around. Cue the eggplant parmesan with a cut-out heart detail (my cookie cutters were working double duty) and strawberry shortcake with heart-shaped strawberries. Besides Christmas time, this is the only holiday where I go all out with holiday-themed food, so I take this pretty seriously. Not quite sure what I'm going to do next year, but I've got some time to prepare. What do you think?

Before the dish was covered with more cheese and put in the oven.

My first attempt at a double-layer cake. It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself...

Couldn't forget the cherry on top:
my Rosebud Valentine card with handmade heart cookies!

Change of Address in Chicago

Our good friend (can we call her a sister?) recently moved to a new apartment in Chicago and wanted to share her address change. We were excited to create a moving announcement that features the charm of the city (where I lived for a few years) while also highlighting her initial "C". Here's our inspiration:

via Flickr

Our custom creation gives a shout out to the city's classic "L" platform signage (a sampling of Chicago's subway signs above). What better way to represent moving, direction and destination? Here's a sneak peak at our newest project, hot off the press. Be sure to check out our new moving announcements in the shop.

Eat Live Shop has a new crush

We couldn't be happier to be featured on Eat Live Shop this week! Many thanks to Renee, a self proclaimed fashion addict, food junkie and arts & crafts nerd. It's an honor to be her "crush" just in time for Valentine's Day.

"I absolutely love a cute handmade touch! Their cookie collection are actual pictures of cookies they make from scratch and hand paint. The brush painting collection involves using a Chinese brush painting technique on silk and rice paper. The end result is super pretty!"

Be sure to stop by her site and check out all the fun finds, recipes, style ideas, DIY projects and great inspiration!

Our neighbors are movin' on up

These ladies used to be just down the street from us in their original location when Georgetown Cupcakes opened their doors in 2008. A few years later (and countless fans lining all the way up 33rd Street), business is still booming in their shiny storefront just around the corner on M Street. The expansion continues with their new shop opening in SoHo next week. Now some could argue New York is the birthplace of the cupcake craze (remember when Carrie Bradshaw visited Magnolia Bakery?), so they might have some tough competition. Featuring a nod to local images on their cupcakes seems like a smart strategy to get in good with New Yorkers...we'll see how DC translates in NYC!

Georgetown Cupcakes' newest batch (via NYT)