The Sky is Blue

Images from Osamu Yokonami

Friday is here, yippee! What are your plans for the weekend? I am heading into the nearest city tomorrow for a bit of a payday browse and then going to a BBQ (weather permitting!) in the evening. Lots of tennis will be watched in between, as well as eating lots of strawberries. It is also the summer carnival in my yown (I currently have to squeeze through a Hook-a-Duck and a haunted house to get out of my road).

I love the centre role sky plays in this beautiful photography from Osamu Yokonami. Let's hope the sky is this blue for the weekend ahead!

The Blonde Woman

Images from Aidan Koch

 

When Paul and I were in Barcelona a few years ago, we unexpectedly stumbled across a comic convention. We followed the people dressed as characters with pink hair and outlandish costumes through the Barcelona streets and decided to go in. It was a whole new world to us but it certainly made me see comics in a different light- they are totally works of art!

So I really wanted to share this gorgeous comic The Blonde Woman by Aidan Koch. It's a beautiful comic that is updated every Tuesday. I just love the illustrations (and as I blonde woman I of course love the name of the comic!). I love finding new and different things!

Awesome Urban Cross Stitch

Images from Miss Cross Stitch

This is an awesome public art project from Miss Cross Stitch, public, urban cross stitch. I love it even more as it takes place in some of my favourite places- Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. I love this sort of public art as you come across it when you least expect it- cities are amazing for hiding these sort of gems. In fact, when I went to Paris I trecked all over the city looking for some street art by Parisian artist Nemo, and that was one of my favourite things of the whole trip! Things like this make me want to create my own art project!

What surprise art have you come across in cities? What was your favourite?

Light Work

Images from James Henkel

I love this light work from artist James Henkel. So simple, yet so effective. Light can create the most amazing shapes and images. What's your favourite light? Mine is definitely early morning light streaming through the windows- I just love that.

A Hurricane Thundercloud

Images from My-Bones

Happy Monday morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I see sunshine out of my window, so Monday is already looking to be pretty good! Plus, Wimbledon starts today and I love tennis.

I really love it when you come across projects that you just love straight away. This is one of them! This is a beautiful project by artist Izziyana Suhaimi. Izziyana created these cyanotypes out of Japanese rice paper. She then asked friends to tell their wishes, and these were then cut out of the paper. Absolutely beautiful, don't you think? So delicate. Check out more here.

Happy Sunday

Image from here.

Happy Sunday! I love these neon text installations from Lee Jung. I seriously love weekends with all of my heart! Hope you're having a great weekend too, what have you been up to? Mine has involved eating out, seeing family and friends and getting some fantastic bargains while shopping. Today I am doing lots of reading- my kind of weekend!

Here are some fun links for you to check out this Sunday:

Dip dyed trainers!

Love this painted and decorated cutlery.

Love the colours in this photo.

I just want to say how much I love TED Talks. Love.

I want to make and eat this.

This is a fun London underground print.

Of Recklessness and Water

Images from Elizabeth Weinberg

It's Friday Photography time! Seriously, where has the last week gone? It's absolutely flown by for me. I hope you have some fun plans for the weekend ahead.

I totally love this series of photographs by Elizabeth Weinberg, Of Recklessness and Water. I think it brilliantly captures those moments in the water where you just feel completely free. The splashes and crashes of waves are brilliantly captured. Now I really want to go to the beach and swim in the sea. Total summer photographs!

Lots of Raindrops

Images from Margaret Kilgallen

Hello. Wow, today the rain is pouring down and it looks as though it isn't going to stop for a few days. It looks more like November than June out of my window. Perfect for cosying up though! So I thought that this is the perfect time to share the work of Margaret Kilgallen. I love the simplicity of the work, especially the raindrops. I much prefer to see them on paper!

Threads On Paper

Images from Ingrid van den Brand

It's Wednesday already?! I love the fact that as I am writing this, sunshine is streaming through my window. Yippee! It puts you in such a good mood doesn't it? I love these works too. Artist Ingrid van den Brand has created these embroidered works on paper and I think they're really cool.

I Left My Heart In..

Images from Paper Pastries

I love these postcards from Paper Pastries, you can customise them with a whole selection of places! I have a habit of totally loving any new city I go to (and wanting to go back there immediately) but I think I would have to say Paris! I love it there and I am always looking at travel deals to go back. But then I also love Berlin, Rome, the library!

Where have you left your heart?!

Do You Need Reminding?

Images from Recovering Lazyholic

It's Monday! Hope you had a great weekend- mine seemed to totally fly by! Here's to a good week ahead for everyone.

Do you have a good memory? What do you need reminding to do? I love this photography series of reminders from the Recovering Lazyholic. My list of things I need to remember would read: take make-up off, take washing out of the machine (or put it in in the first place!), and don't lose keys. Use Pinterest in moderation sometimes may also feature! But I am excellent at getting up ;)

Happy Sunday!

Happy Sunday! Hope you're having a great weekend. I snapped this photo last week- I just LOVE seeing blue skies with fluffy white clouds, it always cheers me up!

Did you catch the interview that I did this week with Piper Toth from One Sydney Road? It's a really inspiring read about her fantastic business. Here are some lovely links for you too- from cats to heart gloves to vintage stamp bunting.

Although it is supposed to be summer here, the weather doesn't seem to think so. I think these heart felt gloves might cheer up the gloom!

This is interesting! Jewellery as second skin.

This cat coat hanger rather made me laugh!

Love this retro metro NYC map. Also loving the rhyme retro-metro.

Fig, gorgonzola and honey tartines? Yes please!

Vintage stamp bunting. What a sweet idea!

It's Always Summer in Photographs

Images from David Ryle

So, it's supposed to be summer here at the moment, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet! I just have to pretend instead by drinking Pimms and wearing maxi dresses inside. So I love the summery feel of these photographs by London based photographer David Ryle. They are totally sun drenched with amazing light.

Hooray for it being Friday too! This week has been a LONG week. Do you have any nice plans for the weekend?

New York City Cinemagraphs

Images from Cinemagraphs

So in a few weeks I am heading to New York and I could not be more excited! I love planning trips, so planning a big trip like this is super exciting for me. Reading tips, guidebooks, looking at maps- it's all part of the build up! Then we get to the place and just go with the flow, but it's fun to plan at least ;) Looking at these cinemagraphs from Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg gets me even more excited- they are absolutely brilliant.

One thing I am also doing is watching films set in New York (Hello, Home Alone 2). I started doing this themed film idea a couple of years ago before our wedding in Italy and it was a really fun way to look forward to it even more!

Do you have any New York film recommendations?

Go Be It! Interview with Piper from One Sydney Road

This week's Go Be It! is an inspiring interview with Piper Toth who owns the online boutique One Sydney Road. I have been a fan of the store and blog for a while, so I am super excited to share this with you. I really love the advice of just take action!

Hi Piper! What made you want to start your business?

The lovely Piper!

Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to start my own business!  I grew up seeing how fulfilling it could be and how it allows you to have freedom...freedom is a huge thing for me!   My major in college was Small Business Entrepreneurship, it just took me time to actually take the leap. After spending too many years in a sad, gray cubicle in Corporate America (finance area), I finally said “if not now, when?” and took the leap!  My shop, one sydney road, opened at the end of 2010!

It started out as an online retail boutique, stocked with up and coming artists and designers from around the world.  But over that first year, I realized I loved answering questions from artists and thinking of creative ways to promote them and get their businesses flourishing.  So I  just recently transitioned the shop to a curated bi-monthly online pop-up shop - and it’s been a dream getting to work with so many amazing artists!!  Coming soon will be classes and workshops for creative and aspiring business owners - really excited for that!!

 

What was your biggest challenge to getting your business off the ground?

My biggest challenge was probably me!  Keeping focused, motivated (after working at a miserable job all day, having to come home every night and work on the business) and staying positive!  There are a lot of ups and downs during the starting process.  You just have to learn to roll with the punches.  The other challenge was simply learning new skills like photography for products, Photoshop for creating images and how to use my shopping cart!

What do you enjoy the most about your business?

Getting to work with artists and helping to promote them!  Although I’ve always loved design (I think I subscribe to every interior design mag there is!), until I opened my shop, I didn’t realize that my true passion is getting to help artists & aspiring business owners go after their dreams.  That’s why I started doing online pop-up shops...to give artists an outlet to promote their products in a fun, creative way!

 

What do you dislike the most?

Working for yourself, from home, can be isolating at times.  And I’ve found that talking to my dogs is a one way street!  They never answer!  When my husband comes home from work, I tend to babble like crazy, excited to talk to a human!  That’s where Skype has saved me!  I do regular chats and also have an in-person biz gals meet-up every month.

 

Do you have any advice that you would give to other people wanting to start a store (online/ offline)?

Take action!  It’s amazing how once you take a small step and actually do something, you’ll take the next step and so on.  As soon as you stop, the momentum dies.  I’ve been there!!  It’s so crazy how just taking a step, any step, helps you break through.  I have lots of people that ask how I worked full time and started my business.  And I’ll be honest and say that it took alot of work and long hours!!  But if you can keep telling yourself that you’re working towards your dream, something bigger for yourself, it helps get you through those tired nights!  And trust me, it’ll be worth it!

How important is your blog to your business?

Very!  Actually I started blogging first, before I even started my business.  And I can’t believe how supportive people were - they kept cheering me on as I was starting the shop.  I truly credit blogging and all the friends and readers I came across for helping me keep the momentum to open my shop!  I miss the days though of being able to read blogs - I used to read 100’s a week and sadly don’t have the time anymore.  There’s such a cool community with blogging!

What is your current favourite product that you stock?

Now that I’m doing online pop-up shops, I don’t carry as much stock.  I do the pop-up shops to introduce people to artists and their websites.  But I do carry one of my favorite artists (he’s a fellow Clevelander and friend!) - Grey Cardigan.  When I was working on starting my shop, his art was one of the first things I knew I HAD to have for the shop!

Thanks so much for having me Hannah!!

Images from One Sydney Road

Matchbook Landscapes

Images from Krista Charles

Fact: art can come in all shapes and sizes! Krista Charles has created these tiny artworks,  drawing in graphite on matchbooks based on Google Street View photographs. I always think there's something pretty cool about these little matchbooks (no idea why- do cool characters in films always have them?!), so I think this is an awesome idea! I love finding art in unexpected places.

Sun Chaser and an Elephant

Images from Pocko

Good morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead- any exciting plans? On the blog this week I have an interview with the lovely Piper from One Sydney Road, so that's pretty exciting!

To kick the week off, I really love the work of American illustrator Andrew Holder. I love the simple but effective style, especially in the top image, Sun Chaser.

Happy Sunday

Image from here

Happy Sunday! I love this image. Spending a lovely afternoon outside just with books sounds a perfect Sunday to me.

Here are some lovely links for your Sunday- lavender lemonade, colouring books and outdoor movies included. Make sure you also check out the interview I did with Marianne from gorgeous shop Nordic Bliss this week- really inspiring!

Love art? I love this 100 for 100 project by artist Martha Rich

Are you living in the UK and want to remember what sunshine is like?! I love this outdoor movie idea (and general sunshine)

This string map of the London underground is super cool

A colouring book full of sneakers! (Or trainers to me!) 

How delicious does this lavender lemonade look?!

Barry Underwood Light Photography

Friday photography already! This week has flown by! I'm looking forward to the weekend- I am going to a wine tasting on Sunday. That sounds so much more sophisticated than my normal weekends ha.

Barry Underwood creates these amazing photographs by creating full scale installations in the landscape. I love how they are slightly spooky, but so fascinating.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Images from here, here, and here