The Lonesome Puppy

[Images from Amazon.com and Chronicle Books]

Contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara released his first children's book yesterday, The Lonesome Puppy. It's about a gigantic puppy that is so large that no one notices him except for a little girl who becomes his friend. I'm excited about the artwork, and Chronicle Books always has fantastic design and packaging, but I can't help but think--wow, this sounds a whole lot like Clifford the Big Red Dog. Maybe...that's the point? Perhaps the intention was to take a popular children's book storyline and spin it with Yoshitomo Nara's unique art. Or, maybe dogs are just popular and cute? All of the above?
I can't exactly pass judgment because I honestly haven't picked up the book yet, but this storyline doesn't initially thrill me. Hopefully Nara's work will, because he has such a great style and I think Chronicle Books has done a great job publishing his artwork on postcards and books. Purchase Yoshitomo Nara's very first children's book, The Lonesome Puppy, here.

The Getty Center

[All photos by Mo (except for the first one, that was taken by the boy), close up of Irises by Vincent van Gogh]

One of the pleasant surprises of our little weekend getaway to Solvang/Santa Barbara/L.A. was The Getty Center. It's a little silly that I have never been to this museum before, because now I think it's my favorite museum space in the entire world! It was such a beautiful day, and as you can see from the pictures, the garden was absolutely gorgeous.

We took a couple of museum tours that helped shape our visit. I didn't really feel like hearing any Art History lectures while the sun was shining and the birds were chirping and the outdoor sculpture garden was calling my name. But, boy was I wrong! I actually really enjoyed them.

We took a tour about the architecture (the building was designed by Richard Meier) and it was a really interesting tour about Meier's design. One of the things that I found really fascinating was that the entire building is based on a grid, and that all the squares that make up this grid are divisible by 3. The squares on the building were 30 inches x 30 inches, so you could measure yourself by standing next to it. Unfortunately, Meier's design really points out how short I am. I won't hold it against him.

If you are in L.A., go visit The Getty Center! It was really beautiful and lots of fun.

Happy Easter!

[All photos by Mo]

I had a long weekend with the boy in Solvang, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles. We had a blast! While in Solvang, I stopped by this ADORABLE little vintage shop called Picket Fences that sold antique furniture, knick knacks, jewelery, housewares, stationery, really the whole shebang when it comes to super cute things that you find in an attic. Well, no attic of mine, but an attic belonging to someone really hip and romantic. Unfortunately I couldn't find a website for them, but if you are ever in Solvang, the name is Picket Fences and it's at 1588 Mission Drive.

Hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Easter!

Design*Sponge's DIY Winner!

[Image from Design*Sponge]

Woohoo! The 1st place winner of Design*Sponge's DIY contest is this adorable suitcase doggy bed from Kirsten of Hershey is my Baby. Meomi (my cat) currently sleeps on a soft blue bed we bought at Petsmart, but I have a hunch she'd want to be different from all the other cool cats and have this bed instead.
Want to make one for your precious pooch (or cat)? Check out the instructions here.

Jack Cards

[All images from Jack Cards; Happy Birthday by Masha D'yans; Elephant by Binth; You Saucy, Saucy Little Tart by Bella Muse]

I despise junk mail. I open up my mailbox and usually sift through the contents and then recycle 75% of what I just received. Sometimes if I receive postcards from photography agencies I'll keep those in case I hit a wall trying to find "the perfect photo" and need some more sources...but I rarely give them a second look and usually stuff the really pretty postcards in my drawer until one day my desk begs me to clean it. And then they go in the recycling bin.

So yesterday, I received a postcard from a company I had never heard of, Jack Cards. As I was sifting through the papers and stuffing things in the recycling bin, I was about to toss the postcard from Jack Cards when something immediately jumped out at me.

They had handwritten my name and address. It wasn't typed up on a generic mailing label like all the other mail I receive, it was actually written with blue ink. My name was also spelled correctly. No one spells my name correctly. Important bills come to our apartment with my name spelled incorrectly, I receive greeting cards with my name spelled incorrectly, the guy at Starbucks spells my name incorrectly. But Jack Cards had written my name down with all the correct letters. In the right order. With the correct spacing. Amazing.

So I kept the postcard and looked up the website. And I'm so glad I did! As a great alternative to Hallmark, Jack Cards offers lots of options from independent artists and designers for all your greeting card needs. They also keep track of important dates and send you pre-stamped cards in the mail so you don't have to frantically make a trip to the store the day before your best friend's birthday. Check out the entire line at Jack Cards here.

Did I mention they hand wrote my address and spelled my name correctly?

Martin and Muñoz

[All photographs by Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz; The Cliff, 2006; Meanwhile Further South, 2007; Experiment with Red, 2007.]

The mini zoo animals by e.soule reminded me of photography duo Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz, who have absolutely incredible scenes comprised of miniature figures in snow globes. The photos are at first charming and whimsical (check out their other series, Travelers,) but if you look closer they're really disturbing and not as cute as they first appear (ie: the people jumping off the cliff!) But the photos still draw me in, completely amazed and wondering--how did they make that!?
Check out the New York Times article about this amazing couple here.

Whimsy Press

[All images from Whimsy Press]

Seeing the ultra-cute kid wrapping paper from Denise Lynn Studios reminded me of a studio I used to follow regularly but haven't checked up on in a long time--Whimsy Press! This team is amazing and produces some pretty awesome and quirky designs. And, what do you know, Whimsy Press has expanded their line of awesome wrapping paper to include notebooks, note cards, invitations, placemats, ribbons, bookplates, and even onesies! I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't find elephant-themed wrapping paper, but I think I'll live with the paper invaders.

I'm happy that they are doing so well. Check out all of their items here for a little bit of whimsy.