The Digital M

Just a quick post to say: I love Leica.
Everything about Leica. Even when it's digital.

And, tomorrow: Pavlova! I've never made pavlova before, but the images are so irresistibly sweet. sexy. perfect. mmm. it better not rain. (update: it rained, sadly, so i will wait for a sunnier sunday).

Paper Cranes & Polaroids

The image on the left is the first of several polaroids to be auctioned off by flickr member rebecca missing. Bidding has just begun here, and will close on April 6th.

This auction is in support of The Paper Crane Project, a huge undertaking (of which I am a part!) begun by Liz Shuman, known as Eshu through blogging, flickr and Etsy. In a few words, she is ambitiously, generously, mailing out 1000 paper cranes to 1000 different people. Photos of the paper cranes in their new homes will be posted in a flickr set.

Hello Spring

I decided today's post should be dedicated to Spring, as today marks its beginning. Wanting to feature a great Spring-like image, I immediately thought of Kanako Sasaki, whose photographs are just so perfectly sweet and awkward and lively. I love them.

Although, I must admit the above photo is not so lush with the greenery and daffodils I had originally intended. It's more real, actually. It's an image of change, contrast, waiting, longing for no more gray sky. oh. maybe that's just me.

Surface 2 Air

Another Design Studio I am inspired by is Surface 2 Air. This is their blurb: SURFACE TO AIR Paris is a creative studio/boutique operating in art, fashion and communication. Our need for freedom and independence, conditions to creativity, made us organize ourselves around high pluri-disciplinary activities and projects in the creative domains which interest us.

I am especially drawn to their work for Tsumori Chisato. Each season, they come up with such brilliantly detailed original colourful design direction.

Their work also introduced me to the amazing photography of Erwan Frotin, and of course the ready to wear collection of Tsumori Chisato. I always love to see such great talents working together.

Alt Pick Deck

Alt Pick is a great resource of and for commercial artists, from photographers and illustrators to stylists and animators. They have just produced The Alternative Pick Deck of Cards, a fun promo full of talent and inspiration. It includes the work of Alicia Buelow, Jared Eastman, Elliott Golden and Alicia Vergel de Dios. I already placed an order. I just love projects that emphasize the idea of community and working together.

Some other online graphic design communities: Nice to Meet You is my current obsession for its killer design blog, Computer Love is also supplemented by a great blog, Designer ID takes a more professional approach, Die Gestalten is brimming with bookmarkables, Design is Kinky is of course a design star, Lounge 72 is an ezine with a nice pdf calendar that often makes it to my wall, All Maple is Canadian, and Coroflot is another which I often consult. These sites are great because not only do they introduce great artists, they are also perfect for networking, finding jobs, meeting other designers... promotion and inspiration, hand in hand!

Wow, that's a lot of links in just one post... but I couldn't leave any out; I use and like them all!

Paper Doll

I am so happy to see an online shop devoted to Canadian fashion: Paper Doll. It has a handful of great beautiful quality work, including new-to-me designer Lily and Jae.

The other thing I love about this site is the monthly Artist Project section, featuring artists, photographers and stylists from an international base. It provides young artists the opportunity to showcase their own work, while giving viewers different interpretations of the clothing on the site. The above photograph is by Ye Rin Mok, whose whites and poses are just perfect.

Flickr Quilt

Whenever I need a quick dose of visual inspiration, Flickr always delivers. Above (and here) are some of my recent favourites. I see colour creeping back into my life. like wishes for Spring.

A few more inspiring photo sites:

Ball-saal, via port2port

PDN's World in Focus: The Ultimate Travel Photography. PDN also has a great Top 30 list from 2006.

The Collection at File Magazine is also fun to browse. JPG Magazine too.

Flickr Quilt

Above is a sampling of my choice old flickr favourites. The full gamut of images and creators is here.

Sometimes I believe the things I like say just as much about me as the things I create. Especially when these things are grouped, when sometimes unexpected things keep popping up. It's also a great way to develop a specific taste and style. Like a mood board, or inspiration palette.

More recently, I've been adding more shots of red to my flickr favs. But, I still lean to lush textures, muted colours, greens, blues, browns, mustards, striking composition, ink, spots, swoops. Somber beauty. Drool.