Fakes

As much traveling as I do in Hong Kong and Asia, I am inundated with offers to buy fakes. Sometimes, I admit, I take advantage-- mostly because I'm really cheap. I'd love to have a closet of Lacoste shirts for instance, but at $75 a pop, I'm not likely to have more than one. So fakes offer an accessibility that the real goods don't. I like this satirical take on the fake designer bag. What is even funnier here is that these fake bags (all cotton, reversible) are actually make in limited editions! Designed by Zinoo Park for his "Truth and Irony" series.

FOOEY

Julia, one of our friends at FOOEY USA, wrote to tell us they've updated their website with the new summer line. Just in time for the sunshine (and camps!) come these great designs from this smart and innovative design team. I'm a big fan and you should be too! Check them out.

Numbers

I'm a sucker for large numbers printed on anything. Maybe it's the implied sense of order. I love these tea towels from Pedlars, 100% linen, hand printed. Each has a hanging loop with metal eyelet. You can buy them here.

Scandinavian Spring

Kari and I loved our vacation to Copenhagen and Stockholm, partly because it was very stimulating to be in such an aesthetic environment and also everyone rides bicycles, which makes you feel you're in a charming movie or photo shoot. Marimekko is certainly the product of intensely talented designers, but it's also a product of that place, where you can find similar statements from designers of all sorts of goods. Here are some examples from the Spring 2008 catalog-- isn't it great to rest your eyes on these a while. PIllows from Crate & Barrel.

The power of one-color

Looking at the Chinese patterns I found on my trip, I'm reminded of the power of one-color designs. Look at this hand screenprinted fabric by kirinco, executed by Kristie Livermore of Chickbags, whose obsession with bags and purses leads her to some great designs. Look for her totes for children as well.

OR check out my new one-color calendar for 2008. Simple and good.

Susan Benarcik

Artist and designer Susan Benarcik uses her many talents to create sculpture, installations, textiles, and more. She’s created designs for bedding, ceramics, rugs, and 3D wall surfaces. As if that weren’t enough, she makes provocative sculptures and installations with natural materials. Her current show at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
will be up through December 30. Pictured above is a work called “Mental Notes.“ Composed of 30 individual stacks of pages torn from books, the pages are strung on copper wire and hung like chandeliers. Check out Susan’s website for more.

FOOEY

I don’t usually feature clothing on this site, but Chicago friends of a friend have created a fantastic line for children (and adults) that I’d love to promote. Their designs strike a note between cool and whimisical and show a sophistication we’d all love to see in our children. It’s never too early to promote good taste! At Fooey.

New from HABLE CONSTRUCTION

In addition to their incredible line of hand screened fabrics and bags, Hable Construction has long offered some of the best Christmas stockings you can find. Hands down, the teepee and mermaid are my favorites for Elsa and Henry. Also for the first time, they are offering these great felt ornaments. Hable's website.

Margaretha Eriksson

Textile designer Margaretha lives and works in Stockholm. I always respond to the distinctive look of Scandinavian design. Simple but strong. Graphic but sophiscticated. Even the offerings of IKEA are unique in this way. Eriksson launched a new line of rugs this year as well. (Via print and pattern.) See Eriksson's site.

Concetta Gallo

Pillows are a great art form these days-- lots of screenprinting and simple techniques used on a small "canvas." This pillow is blowing out of the Habitat stores and has become a top seller. I like it because it looks like some paintings I like. “This,” says Gallo, “is all about contrast and juxtaposition. I mixed photographs with original drawings, smooth graphic lines with grainy textures, and precious gold finish with a floating, surreal sense of scale.” Plus it's got horses. For details, try
Habitat online.

mod green pod wallpapers and fabrics

Sisters-in-law Nancy and Lisa Mims revamped the wallpaper industry abandoning the standard toxic vinyl (PVC) coatings on most commercial papers. Instead, they returned to a rich tradition of artisan quality hand silk-screened wallpapers without employing vinyl. They use the same water-based, non-toxic inks and silk-screening method as fabrics printers. Doesn't this make you want to screenprint!? Sustainable style. Offices in Boston and Austin. See their website.

URBAN OUTFITTER'S Fall Furnishings

New from Urban Outfitter's FURNISHINGS line, silkscreened pillows with matchbook designs ($28). I bought very similar designs printed on tote bags when I was in India. Of course, I paid 80 cents. Should have bought ten. But I like screenprinting commercial labels or art onto household objects. Check out the furniture line as well at Urban Outfitters

PATAPRI

OK-- with the Renegade Craft Fair opening this weekend here in Chicago, I thought I'd highlight a local craftsperson. [OOPS-- CORRECTION: Renegade is in September-- I need a new calendar] Recently, Patapri has received a little press via TimeOut Chicago and the blog, Daily Candy. I think in PataPri, I've found someone who loves screenprinting as much as I do. Her designs are clean, modern, and wonderfully affordable. Look what you can do in your kitchen or your basement or anywhere! Visit her shop on etsy.

marimekko 2007 catalog

This is great design. I got Marimekko's catalog yesterday and it's amazing how simple and powerful their designs are. I'm forever attracted to the bold, and their patterns convey energy, playfulness, and instant pop to me. Since 1951, this Finnish company has been an innovator and leader in textile design. It surprised me that many of their best sellers were originally created in the 1950s and 60s. They still look comtemporary. A few favorites above and online.

My friends at HABLE CONSTRUCTION

This is comapny is one of my favorites. I first met Katharine in New York three years ago and she knocked my socks off. By then, however, I was already a fan, having bought my wife a Hable Construction bag earlier. Although the company makes many different textile products, from stationery to felt wool Christmas stockings (we have two of those too!), it's their rugged hand-screened canvas that I like the most. I think their most successful design is the simplest: beads. Most designs are one color, silkscreened on canvas. Simple and beautiful. From Hable's website:

Named after their great-grandfather’s road construction business formed in the early twentieth century, sisters Susan and Katharine Hable founded Hable Construction in 1998. Katharine, a born saleswoman, and Susan, an artist with a unique hand and vision, always valued the construction of the well made and the integrity of old world tradition and craft. Susan’s textile designs were interpreted into hand-screen-printed cotton canvas and linen fabrics in an old New England printing factory. Unlike the early collections, available yardage enabled the creation of products that withstood the test of time, such as pillows, tote bags, and home accessories.

LindaLo

Linda Sjodin is an apparel graphic designer is Sweden whose work I saw at the 2007 ICFF in New York. She creates most of her work with pen and ink, then it is transferred to silkscreen or printing plates for use on textiles, napkins, store merchandising, etc. After my trip to Sweden last year, I've become very enamored of Swedish textile design! You can see more designs at lindalo.se

Big Style in a Coaster

These stylish coasters are made by a Hong Kong company called Oni. Although the company is now defunct, I gather a lot of inspiration from their product-- Simply made from two pieces of cotton, the top piece is silkscreened in a 1-color ink and then sewn to the backer. Silkscreening is so cheap and yet so underrated as a process. These squares are simple, absorbant, easy-to-clean, and strong-- once again proving that good design is about thought and simplicity. They retailed for less than $2 each and I'm hoarding a dozen of them.