A Creative Person You Should Know About: Jena Ardell

To say I've been anxiously awaiting summer would be a mild understatement but when I stumbled across the retro photos of Jena Ardell, I spent about 20 blissful minutes on her site.  She photographs lots of beach scenes but my favorites are the lovely little beach bungalows that you can almost imagine yourself in. 

Want To See Where The Flaming Lips Live?

This is where Wayne Coyne, Flaming Lips singer, lives.  How awesome is this house?  (hat tip: Black Eiffel)  It's actually a lot less odd then I thought it would be.  The first song I ever heard them put out was Vaseline.... remember that one?

The Weekend In A Few Words. A Box Of Scissors And Alessi.

I thought I had been everywhere in Madison since I've been here almost 3 years and winters here will have you scouring every cranny of this city looking for something new but I did it, I found something new.  The Love and Hate Art Show at Club Inferno had everything I needed to get my art fix.  An artist that was a Zach Galifianakis look-a-like who paints a disturbing family portrait over and over, Betty Page Posters, and a big box of scissors that people seemed instinctively to want to stick their hands in (and as it got later, I saw people sticking their heads in as well)

Also, on Saturday there was a little Alessi bird on my counter that I have been drooling over for years that the New Jersey-ite gave me (the man remembers things that I forgot I even wanted).  I think I'm going to use it for coffee creamer.  Alessi, by the way, has some of the most amazing kitchen items you could ever want.

A Single Man: Gorgeous Architecture, Great Clothes, And Guys I Could Stare At For Embarrasingly Long Amounts Of Time..

I decided to cut out of work early yesterday and take myself to the movies.  I'd been wanting to see A Single Man for a while but yesterday just seemed like a good day to steal some time for myself.  Plus I've been wanting to eat popcorn every day lately.
The house that the main character lives in is absolutely stunning.  I wanted to memorize it and copy it exactly.  It's pure 60's LA goodness.
The wardrobe (being directed by Tom Ford) is excellent.  The best part is that a lot of the looks are totally copy-able.  Guys, you should get some thinner ties they look great.
Lastly, I'm not really the kind of girl that normally lusts over actors but good GOD some of the guys were sensational looking in that film.  Totally worth it although it was kind of awkward seeing as I was the youngest person in the theater by around 40 years or so.  As an added bonus - Julianne Moore's make-up close up is so amazing that I'm tempted to try out the look.

Stop Motion T-Shirt War.

Rhett and Link are a comedic team from North Carolina (one of my Craiglist stalking cities) and they make all kinds of videos.  I hadn't seen them until this T-Shirt War video and I think it's a pretty funny idea.  You can also buy the shirts so it's also one of the more successful product placement ventures I've seen in a while.
I am really interested to see how product placement in our programming continues to evolve but anyone thinking of doing it - watch videos like these for inspiration.  Don't just turn the soda can logo out and smile.

The Coolest Window Blinds Ever: Thanks UK!

 

Aren't these the greatest blinds?  They are made by SurfaceView which has tons of really cool image blinds but I sort of have that "I could make this" feeling with them.  Remember that stencil book I got?  Could I use it to make something like this?

Travel Much? A New Site For Small Products!

As I get ready for another round of travel (San Diego and SXSW) I've got my eye out for cool travel gear.  This site has travel sizes of really nice beauty products that all make it through security check points.   Guys, they have men's stuff as well.
This also works great for those of us who like to try a product before we buy a whole tub o' whatever.

Stress Balls Don't Work... Introducing The Venting Machine.

I am not a user of "de-stressing" items at work... because they totally don't work for me.  I don't want to squeeze a soft ball, I would much rather throw said ball at things (yeah, that's why I don't have them).  Here's a vending machine that crashes a dish for a few quarters. 

Designers Making Really Amazing Postcards.

I love, love, love getting / sending mail and when I saw these I thought of about a million people I'd love to send them to.  Hey, if my bills came with these I may be less inclined to throw them out upon opening...  The top ones are from Grass Studio, the bottom one is from Lovi Oy.

Is It Geeky That I Want This? Antler Charger Holder.

 Via Urban Flea
This, from Japanese design shop Nendo, is such a brilliant idea.  I've got so many charg-y plug-ins that they drag all over the floor.  I suppose I could find some kind of organizer but..... I just want these.

Need An Online To Do List? Teux Deux

I tried this out Teux Deux this morning and as a maker-of-lists this is really simple and cool.