Weekend Snippets

Loving:
Jessica Hische is Lettercult's 2009 Person of the Year. I'm a little obsessed with her lately, so I'll be talking more about this later.

Watching:
Steve Jobs: How to Live Before You Die and Tom Shannon: The Painter and the Pendulum. Both inspiring.
And of course, the Super Bowl. Lisa made some delicious beef sandwiches, the commercials were disappointing, then we watched Whip It and played a little Just Dance on the Wii.

Organizing:

I've made and collected a lot of button pins. Now I know where they are. And I have plans for them.

Plotting:

I have hundreds of matchbooks. There are a few ideas rolling around in my head of what to do with them, but I'm curious: what would you do with a blank matchbook?

Tavish the Gnome

Still on my list of people/products to review:

Quilling. It's basically using curled strips of paper to make a design. I must try that.

A different spin on quilling are minifolk made of curled paper.



His name is Tavish the Gnome. Adorable, right? Rebecca, the woman who made this little gnome won a video competition on Etsy. You can see it here.

The Spotted Sparrow Valentines

If you're looking for Valentines, there are some cute ones over at The Spotted Sparrow. This collage artist pairs vintage imagery with 80s song lyrics.



I think they're amusing.



Plus they're ecofriendly, in case you're into that whole Earth-saving thing.



via Paper Crave.

Typewriter Valentines by Anderson Ink (hey, that's me!) are available here.

Commencement Speeches

Below is the Harvard Commencement Speech by JK Rowling. She talks about fear of failure, humanity, and responsibility. It's a bit off-topic for this blog, but since I look for things that inspire me, I thought it appropriate to share.

I like commencement speeches because their only purpose is to inspire. They're not trying to convince you to spend money, or vying for your vote, or persuading you to do any one thing in particular. They each seem to have a simple message: Good job, now go do more. Working on a college degree is long, hard work. The dedication should be commended and recognized. But it is also only a starting off point. You are now armed with information and education. You understand where life comes from: history, mathematics, language, biology. Whatever you study, you come out with a piece of paper that says that you understand how something works. Now your job is to do something with that knowledge. Do more: find a way to share you knowledge, to build upon it, give back, go forward. I think I could use a commencement speech in each phase of my life, reminding me to reflect on what I've done, take a breath, then go and do more.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Bookbook

Dear Valentine,



I don't want you to make a big fuss on Valentine's Day. Really, no box of chocolates or ridiculously large bouquet of flowers necessary. But if you're dying to give me some token of your affection, I would gladly accept this case/cover for my MacBook. It's called a Bookbook and I think it's lovely.



Did I mention that my computer is a 15-inch?

XOXO

found via swiss miss

Candy Package Design

I like when Print & Pattern takes readers into stores to see how retailers are using colors and patterns.



I especially liked the packaging for candy and sweets at Marks and Spencer in the UK. Yum.

Typeface

Oh my. Watching this trailer broke my heart a little bit.



Then realizing that I missed a screening in Salt Lake City back in November broke it a little bit more.

This movie, Typeface shows the beauty, simplicity, and craftsmanship of handcut wood type. Even in my bubble of limited contact with designers and craftsmen, I feel passionate about this subject. I love what we can create with the latest technology. I love the Internet and web design. But I hope (and believe) that there is a place in the modern world for old fashioned, tactile craftsmanship to survive.

I hope it does.