Book I Bought - Domestic Art

Purchased a couple of weeks ago on an expensive whim, and still ploughing through it. There is so much visual information and sheer fabulous-ness I can't cover more than a few pages at a time before my brain overloads.

I also managed to finally locate a copy of Cark Skoggard and Derry Moore's Rooms. I was short of breath at the beauty of it all.

Domestic Art can be purchased via Amazon

Moleskine Freaks (I love you)

I love it when I unexpectedly stumble upon a ginormous virtual community that I hadn't known existed, and realise they all have a common freakish obsession, just like me! They articulate all the feelings and desires I didn't have the words for.

They understand me.

~

Moleskinerie is the meeting place for fans of the eponymous little notebook that made it big. Moleskine users and their journaling styles are varied, but a common aesthetic and sense of creating a legacy immediately equates to a fascinating subculture onto itself. I'm especially intrigued by the Care and Feeding section where there are hundreds of serious-as-kittens entries on how to nurture and care for your Moleskine.

It May Not Be Flair Exactly....

Have been on an op shop rampage with visitors who are staying for a few days. Found a gem of my own yesterday at a steal for 5 bucks, The NY Times Book of Interior Design and Decoration. Sw-eeet. Like flipping through a coffee table book produced last year rather than in 1976, it's startling how very similar many of the current American designers are reprising interiors of the era.

Have been eyeing these swish Ikat-inspired bowls from Anthroplogie but haven't found anything remotely similar around here. Noticed pretty-boy designer Nate Berkus has some lying about in his home too.
Anthropologie bowl image thanks to Style Court

Flair by Fleur

Besides being a brilliant style blog, Mrs. Blandings is written with a wit and humour that only an interminably interesting lady could possess. She also possesses a fair amount of good luck ~ Finding an original Flair Annual 1953 on a shelf too high for her to reach.

~

With a run of only 12 magazines over 2 years and a fiesty spirit of innovation, graphic artists and magazine folk still look to it for inspiration today. Read more about the visionary Flair creator and editor Fleur Cowles here. A write up on 2008 Paperdoll Convention Archive gives a good idea of the magazines as they were.

All above images thanks to Mrs. Blandings.

The dozen Flair cover images are thanks to Brilliant Asylum.

More Libraries, Please

More images from Candida Hofer's (yikes! I've been spelling her name incorrectly) Libraries. Images found on if:book A Project of The Institute for the Future of the Book, itself an interesting site.

I was surprised by how many Google Images there are out there of her work, so readily available. On one hand great because her work is amazing and I wouldn't have known of her otherwise, on the other I'm wondering if its because her work is widely appropriated. I am officially a fan.

TA for h~fh

Books I bought when I went Home

I have caved and purchased the Tony Duquette tome that every second style blogger has posted. I have conceded that yes, it is a terrific and monumental book everyone should have, and deserves its ra-ra status.
I also bought China Contemporary by Thames&Hudson, Sir Terence Conran's inspirations book, and the littlest Paris Style book by Taschen. I spied Candida Hoffer's magical Libraries book and had palpitations because it's too beautiful - I couldn't let it go. Have determined to find a better online bargain somehow, but any clues as to how to find genius at a discount??

The Elements of Style Illustrated

.... is the next book on my impressive(ly big) list of "To Gets". Watch the video on the Barnes&Noble website as Maria Kalman talks about her inspirations and lots of juicy views of her illustrations.

Libraries by Candida Hoffer

Found this on thecoolhunter.com - it looks stunning and another book I can pass of as "an educational investment". Hee.
Write up on Cool Hunter website:

The newest offering from Thames and Hudson has an unexpected literary edge. The book is a photographic portfolio of the world's most magnificent libraries. Before you start snoring, we're not just talking about your school library, we're talking about true cathedrals of knowledge housed in some of the globe's most stunning period buildings, absolute architectural landmarks in their own rights. Libraries featured include the BritishLibrary in London, the Escorial in Spain, the Whitney Museum and the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, the Bibliotheque
nationale de France in Paris, the villa Medici in Rome and the Hamburg University Library, among others. by Billy T