the talented ashley meaders

Oh my, aren't the scenes in these photos enchanting? This fabric installation was made of braided fabric, hand-sewn garland, fabric strips, and lights by the ever-creative Ashley Meaders for the wedding of the uber-talented photographer, Max Wanger.

Ashley makes a lot of other neat things for events & parties... like plush yodel bubbles for photobooth props at Google's Annual Oktoberfest. I like the way this lady thinks....

memorable type

A few months ago I spotted these adorable recipe boxes made by the lovely folks over at Rifle Paper Co. And memorable they are because I have not forgotten about them since.

Something about the lovely white script against the raw-looking wood just really strikes a chord with me. They come with cute recipe cards too.

I think this would make a lovely wedding gift, assuming your newly-wed friends have an appreciation for great type and carefully crafted wood. Something about recipe boxes seems timeless to me though, the kind of thing you keep forever and then your grandkids keep once your gone. I think these look like they could stand that test of time.

fab pillows under $25

I can't take credit for finding these gems, I saw them on this post from Michelle's blog (Design Evolution). But for spending under $25 you can't beat these crafty designs... I'd like one of each please.

Spring Green and Bright White ruffle pillows by Hettle, $24 and $16.



Love and Doily pillow covers by Nuka, each $14.

Okay... these last two are not under $25, but I love the colors and I am particularly fond of the 'Be Nice or Leave' sentiment and I wanted to show them off anyway. These are made with recycled materials and love by Alexandra Ferguson.

le love and why i love it

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and while I'm not into the consumerism/commercial aspect of it, and I believe love should be celebrated any & every day, but I love seeing all the creative things the design world has put together in honor of the holiday [hence the last few posts I've made]. I also really love the way a single image/thing/project can make you feel, and that is what art and love is all about. Happy Valentine's Day everyone, I hope you take a moment to appreciate something in your life that you love, whether it's a person, a feeling, or a creative endeavor and celebrate that.

Having trouble coming up with something? Find some inspiration here on this relatively new [and ingenious] site, by Thought & Theory, called yiloveit.com where you can read about profess love about anything and everything.

{images from the Le Love blog, which is also definitely worth checking out too}

kate spade valentines

Some more free valentines! This time from Kate Spade and a whole slew of talented artists. Check them out here.

{via Creature Comforts}

freedom

Did you know that this week is Freedom to Marry Week? Yep, just wanted to give a little attention to a good cause and nice logo design.

john derian at target!

Oh my oh my... I am so excited, what a nice surprise to come home to! Upon peering into my new issue of domino last night I saw an ad for Target promoting a new line coming in September by John Derian! This is so great! {pardon the dodgy photo above, I just snapped a photo of it real quick on my phone to display the ad.}

I have admired John Derian for years now. In fact my first 'decor / design / inspirational' blog post I ever made was an ode to John Derian on my myspace blog (ick myspace blogs, i know). I'm not going to bother linking you to myspace, but you can see a small set on my flickr with the objects I posted about. {Btw, that was over two years ago! I can't believe how fast time flies... I quickly launched rachel best blogs with blogger very soon after. Yep, a 2 year birthday for the blog coming up in November!}

Well, this post has turned into a little trip down memory lane. Sorry about trailing off on a side tangent, John Derian sits a little close to my heart. His style is eclectic and I love that. He works in beautiful collage form and incorporates a lot of swoon-worthy pieces that mix old fashioned writing with beautiful organic forms like leaves, animals or insects (did I mention I have always had a thing for dragonflies and butterflies? ask my friends from middle school.. they will confirm).

I have long coveted one of his gorgeous pieces, but they are really out of my casual spending range. But alas! Now target is doing what it does best, making the work of amazingly talented designers affordable for people like you and me. Now I can have my very own Derian piece. This makes me truly happy. And I'm happy that more people in the world will now know of the great work John Derian makes. Thank you Target!

p.s. I can't leave this post without mentioning the lovely objects (aside from his decoupage pieces) he carries in his store. You can see them on his website too.

p.s.s. I should note that I have no idea what the pieces at Target will look like aside from the ad above, I have searched for pics to no avail. The other photos in this post are all from his website.

alberto seveso

Today I am really enjoying this series called Destructive Vintage TyPO experiment from Italian illustrator and graphic designer Alberto Seveso. Here are few more...

{via Oh Joy!}

digitile map

Today I am loving this translation of a world map to tile. Digitile is a company that features collections of digital wall tiles, custom floor tiles, photo tiles as well as bespoke wallpaper and wallpaper murals from internationally renowned designers and photographers, check out their website for other interesting tile art.

{via the style files}

help i need help!

Today I am sick, and in lieu of being so, I'd like to express my appreciation for the package and web design on these Help products.

Go to the website and make sure to check out the 'Bored?' section. It's humorous.

well styled: the black kids

So I was just scrolling through my daily RSS subscriptions (thank you beloved google reader), and I happened upon a blog I enjoy quite a bit, grain edit. And whadya know, a post about our local hometown heroes, the Black Kids, and their new tour poster designed by Michael Fusco and Co. !

Which I agree, is awesome! I'm really loving the direction of the band's style. I mean I have known Kevin and Reggie for years - I believe I first saw them play at my best friend's brother's birthday party back when I was still middle school (gasp! that's at least 11 years ago) - but point in case, I have never thought any of the band members lacked in style, so the choosing of the posters and artwork is not surprising at all, and I think is great. I'm also really digging this photo / graphic:

Not sure who put this last one together, I've just seen it on their myspace page and other random places.

Good job, y'all! Jacksonville represent!

christiaan postma

Wow, take a look at this calendar wallpaper from Christiaan Postma.

{via black*eiffel}

sarah king

Isn't this pear amazing? Customized type by Sarah King.

Her illustrated type was featured in Graphic 12: Customise.

john pour home

i am really loving these typographic rugs from john pour home!

{via design*sponge}

lowrys farm {vain and vapid}

i'm interrupting a late-night work session to bring you these great images. i recently came across another new note-worthy blog called vain and vapid, and on her blog she mentioned this really cool japanese based label called lowrys farm.

the catalog has some really great stylized and designed images... in the layout of a newspaper no less. since i am knee-deep in newspaper page layouts myself, i felt they were appropriate to share.

take a look at the lowrys farm website, it's neat and in japanese (so you may have a hard time understanding what it says). you should also check out vain and vapid if you're looking for a great fashion-inspired read.

blue bell bazaar

I just got an email from Gosia over at Blue Bell Bazaar highlighting some of her new items. Blue Bell Bazaar is an etsy shop that features all kinds of great vintage pieces. The items above are actually not the newest, but some that I found particularly interesting. I especially love that chalk board sign! Too bad it's already reserved for someone or I would have snatched it up.

She also has a great assortment of typographic display signs and letters that I like a lot. You should definitely take some time to look through her shop. She adds new stuff pretty often. And it's a perfect substitute for those that never have the time to rummage through flea markets and antique shops themselves.

heart breakers

i just got our house a lovely little valentine's day present. keep calm inc. released a beautiful new print today called ‘heart breakers’ by jacob arden mcclure. i usually don't buy things on such impulse, but this run is limited to 100, and i didn't want to pass it up. so, yay, now i am anxiously awaiting it's arrival. he has another new print called 'grenade' available too.

wake up & smell the coffee

wake up! and smell the coffee.

new print from the folks at keep calm ltd.

harmonie intérieure

i made a post about wall decals a week or two ago saying i had never really been very impressed with any, and boy i am biting my tongue now. harmonie intérieure features some of the coolest designs for your walls.

i love the idea of having just a small portion of a room or wall wallpapered, and these decal stickers are perfect for people like me whom are renting homes.

and even more, i love the idea of stenciling letters in a great typography or finding vintage letters and making a collection of them, and these decals use text in a beautiful way.

i love how these organic decals have an almost "urban decay" look. and really, i think the photography they used to portray these decals is wonderful.

don't make me cut you.

i made this polyvore set last week or so and meant to blog about subversive stitching. these cross stitching kits are not very expensive and take a stray away from the pastel kittens and horses-in-meadows motifs. my favorite is pictured in the polyvore set {above}. (also if you are curious about any of the other items in the ployvore set, just click on the photo and it will take you to my ployvore and show you the sites the items came from.)