Jewelry by Sharon Boonzaiers

I’d like to focus on a local designer today. I first saw Sharon Boonzaiers leather earings at the Design Indaba earlier this year. Then via a chat with her friend Joanna (of Head on Design) I heard about her again and decided to look-up some more of her stuff. Sharon does paintings, illustrations and design work on commission (including developing the Mascot of AJAX Cape Town). However I wanted to focus on her jewelry in leather. I especially like the little leather birds she does! She has a small showroom in Gardens which is worth checking out; especially since she shares it with some other local talents (address is on her site).

Retro iPhone Awesome

A lot of my close friends have an iphone and since I am still a bit stuck in the pre-historic (at least vis-à-vis my techno gadgets) I sometimes find myself with ienvy. Especially now that I've discovered a company called photojojo which make cool iphone covers and I absolutely adore this wooden one (available in walnut and bamboo). It feels modern but chic and quirky at the same time. Checked out the site and they also do international shipping so maybe I can gift myself for early Christmas?

Architect Calatrava

I want to share one of my all time favourite Architects with you. His name is Santiago Calatrava and he comes from Valencia, Spain. He designs mind-blowing buildings and because he has the engineering background he has more freedom to play around with the structures. One of the complaints my dad, the architect, used to have was that the engineers always over compensated the design (ie more concrete and foundations) thus forcing most architects to curtail their visions in view of something that’s 'a sure thing'. Santiago does his own calculations and thus has the luxury of not having to listen. This is the result of that freedom.

Bridge - Dublin

Ciudad de las Artes - Valencia

Inside Milwaukee Art Museum

Opera House in Tenerife

Iconic Olympic Tourch in Barcelona

The work of Street Artist Roa

I love rabbits, all kinds! I also get a kick out of rabbits in artwork and this caught my eye this week. These giant street rabbits are done by ROA a street artist from Belgium! Love having a Belgian in the spotlight (we’re too small to have that many stars L ). He started out doing pieces in abandoned buildings around Gent and can now be found all over Europe.

I’ve included pics of his other pieces too, he seems to mostly do large pictures of wildlife. Within the urban landscape he must love the juxtapose.

Birthday Painting

I made Ant a painting for his Birthday last year. I really wanted to impress so spent ages on preliminary sketches and trying out various techniques. I asked for lots of feedback during the process from Ant so this final piece is inspired as much by him as by me.

The lettering on the side are Kanji symbols and I cross-referenced numerous sites before putting them on (no one wants an accidental ‘chicken soup’ symbol). They are supposed to mean: Goodluck, Happiness and Love. The Koi is actually also the symbol of abundance, so hope that this painting will give Ant an abundance of all three!

here are some preliminary sketchs as well as the final piece (acrylic on canvas).

Modern four posters

This week has started off super hectic. There are urgent orders and prototypes to do as well as some rude clients. *sigh* why are there always such people? I've also missed some sleep so this afternoon I was fantasizing about a soft bed. I especially miss my old four poster bed. It was always so nice to close the curtains and feel like you're in a little cocoon and isolated from the angry world. I even had a secret stash of literature and comfort food in there! Here are some cool, slightly updated four posters which I think are gorgeous!

Bathroom blackboard

This weekend we finally got round to painting our bathroom. We’d decided to paint a section of the wall, a kind of broad band, in black chalkboard paint. Tonight we’ll be applying the final coat and I am already getting excited about what to write on it! I think chalkboard paint is super cool and I plan to get some chalks asap and leave them lying around so whoever passes by and spends some time in our littlest room can contribute.

Here are some examples of how it’s done: I quite like the flowers on the dining room pic and also the chicken in the kitchen.

Chanel does Petanque

Since I can feel summer coming I’ve been getting keen for some outdoorsy stuff. Spent Tuesday on the beach and thought it would be the ideal moment to play Petanque. Petanque or boules as it is sometimes called, is played with metal balls that you aim at a smaller wooden one (the jack). Typical to see old people in Europe play but its kinda hip to do at all ages J

I found these ones by Chanel. Gorgeous!

Money shredding Alarm Clock

After having a lovely break yesterday (Yeay for Womens Day!) I was really struggling to get up this morning. Even with the lights on and the radio playing I prefer to snooze a bit longer. Maybe this alarm would finally motivate me to get up and go. Its not clear who designed this so I think it might still be a concept but it’s sure to get anyone motivated to move fast!

Just be careful since I think the willful destruction of money is actually illegal (definitely an offence in the states… in SA?). If you really want one though I've come across a DIY version at LifeHacker.

Recreate!

Went to the new Vamp store on Friday afternoon since everyone’s been raving about it. I found it to be alright. Much more spacious than their previous location but all in all, exactly as expected and I came away from the trip feeling a little disappointed.

I then decided to pop-in next door at Recreate. I’ve heard about them but this was my first trip. It was amazing! I loved all the quirky pieces; they are clearly trying to do something new and a little bit different and had such a cool collection. I took loads of pics but am having trouble getting them on computer so here’s some from their own site. The owner Katie is also willing to discuss your design needs and manufactures all pieces herself.

Bunny in the sun

Super cute pic submitted by a friend. She took this while out and about in CT this weekend. Bunny looks to be enjoying the sun, as was I this weekend (but more on that later)!

Chickadee Smoke detector

I saw this adorable smoke detector online this weekend. Its designed by  Louise van der Veld. I know smoke detectors aren’t big in SA though. I’ve never seemed to spot one and none of my friends have them at home. I guess this is something you’ll mostly see on American series. If they were mandatory though I would love one like this instead of those boring white discs. Getting it past the boyfriend would be tough though unless they also have a sailboat version!

Local prints!

Jesse Breytenbach is a local artist who is producing her own printed textiles and other goodies. She’s started retailing her prints under Henri Kuikens and does illustration work under her own name.

Here are some of her prints that she has prepared for the upcoming Decorex fair in Joburg. I would love to get some cushions off her but will have to wait it seems as she’s pretty much sent everything off to the fair. Check out her blog. She is also selling some stuff at Milk on Long street.

Tri-colour

Just wanted to mention a cool colour combination that I've liked for the past few years. Red, white and light blue. I think they look great together, fresh and bright.

Great Ball of Wire

Saw these online today and immediately had to think of the big snaggle of cables we have at home. With TV, computer, charger and stereo cables all bundled up and pushed behind a cupboard, how recognizable is that? That’s even forgetting the hassle of still trying to plug-in an iron somewhere in the mess. That’s why these doodads are so cool.

Designed by Danish designer Søren Refsgaard for Bald & Bang they can swallow up to 1.5 meters of cable and come in 9 colours. No idea when we can get them in SA but I’d put in my order straight away!

Jewelry by Nervous System

Bumped into these guys awhile back and was completely blown away. Nervous system is a perfect storm of mathematical analysis, biological growth and pure beauty. They use software to regenerate natural growth patterns and algorithms. Just think of corals, bacterial colonies and interference patterns. The system can be constantly influenced by a myriad of factors giving a vast scope for shape and form.

Nervous system even allows other designers to use their algorithms to produce their own results. How cool is that! I think it is superb how these two creators, both experts in their own area, managed to come-up with something new and exciting that utilizes input from such diverse fields. Also, as a little bit of a self admitted math geek, I’m happy to see that once again Math transcends the mundane and produces something so stunning. Go Math!