Bailey Saliwanchik

Once again Brooklyn gets points in my book.  This time for locally based artist Bailey Saliwanchik.  Her graphic portraits have so much detail, are moody, poetic, and most importantly beautiful.  Maybe even the best part - you can get her prints for $20 online at Charming Wall.
Here are a few of my favorites from her website:

Blondie

Bez

Priestess Kokeshi

Sexy Hottness from Alite Designs

G-E-N-I-U-S.  I already love my sleeping bag, but now am for sure I need an upgrade now that Alite Designs has launched the Sexy Hottness sleeping bag design. 

Designed to zip as many sleeping bags together as you want and with built in "pee" zipper and slippers so you never have to get out of the bag.  Love this.  Now I want to go camping...

Marek Haiduk

Of all the arts & crafts I've dabbled in over the years, my favorite to do is still collages.  It's not always treated as "real" art and I'm happy to say it's gaining momentum in the new age of graphic illustration + street art + digital art.  One of my favorite collage artists is Marek Haiduk.  Currently living in Vienna, this German artist is getting lots of press, literally, lately as he's popping up in all sorts of publications such as The Financial Times, Impulse, and even being spotted in Mad Atoms/Fox Atomic.
Here are a few I like.....

"Lovesick"

"Comic Con"

"Alchemy"

Third Drawer Down

Looking for home accessories, especially in the kitchen, that are unique is hard work.  Looking for things in general that are unique, creative, witty, and fun is exceptionally hard!  That is until I was tipped off to this AMAZING website....Third Drawer Down. 

As soon as your web browser opens to the above page you know it's going to be fun to dig through all the products.  Um...sense of humor from a retailer? THANK YOU! 
So far my favorite items I've discovered here are......

Crayon Rocks What!  amazing. Please note they also have Crayon Rings

Get the Hint Flag Notes  Honestly, you all know you want these for the office!  How fabulous would that be?  Would also be an interesting choice for family notes and calendars...hmmmm.

Pillow Fight Tea Towel  The naughtiness of pillow fights + proper teatime = fabulous!

And to think that's all I found in a two minute scroll! 

Third Drawer Down and the Museum of Art Souvenirs Store is based in Fitzroy, Australia, hidden by a graffiti covered garage door.  Obviously.  But don't worry - they ship all over the world and "even to the moon" per their website.  Shop, giggle, and enjoy!

My Little Factory

Barcelona is so RAD.  Now, the fantastic city, is also offering a designer's dream come true - a place to make your creations w/out trashing your flat and advice for all the stages of deveopment from idea to sell-in...whhhaaat?  Genius. 
This brilliant idea comes from Mermelada Estudio an industrial design studio based in the city.  I hope other design studios or brands in other cities realize the potential fabulousness as well as cash that can be created.
Until then, Estuido Kara will be available for making any of your fabulous creations :)

Brooklyn Charm

All the great things that are happening in, coming out of, and popping up in Brooklyn have been making me a little mad that I'm living abroad.  Another great example is Brooklyn Charm a boutique in Williamsburg where you can buy jewelry, have jewelry made, pick up items to make your own, and the real kicker, find deadstock jewelry pieces from the 1800's onwards. 

They just opened in March, so be sure to get on over there if you can!

mobstr

Anyone who follows street art knows the name Banksy.  From his successes, a whole new generation of guerilla street artist has imerged.  One such artist is mobstr.  He does a mix of stenciling and public space take-overs. So far my favorite of his collection is a series called Urban Explorers.  So clever and I like that it combines exploring and miniature fairy-size people.  An excellent new way to think about the common spaces we ignore.

"Urban Explorers Trio"

Two turn tables and a business card

In my opionion everyone needs a business card over the age of 18.  Maybe even younger if you've got that kind of moxie.  You just never know when an opportunity will strike and being able to pass off a business card makes you look immediately professional, on top of things, and just damn impressive. 
Of course the design and detail that goes into your card is important depending upon what you do.  For example, a designer should take this opportunity to show off some skillz.
If you're a DJ, I'm pretty sure I just found the best card you could ever have.  Major LIKE.

Yup, you turn the record to see more and more of his information in the view finder.  AWESOME.

This card was designed by two Indian designers, Nasheet Shadani and Deepak Nagar, and is currently up for multiple design awards.  Check out more details here.

Ballerina Skirts

I have a penchant for dressing like I'm six.  Perhaps it's the influence of my day job.  Whatever the reason, my current fashion LIKE are Ballerina Skirts. 

This one is from Whitney Eve, known to most of you as Whitney Port from MTV's The Hills and then The City, who has since launched her own clothing line.  Love the bright colors and the fact that it can easily be punk rock or sweet as pie depending up how you wear it. 

See, Betsy knows.....

Miike Snow

A band that formed in 2007, Miike Snow is comprised of American songwriter, Andrew Wyatt, and the Swedish producing team Bloodshy & Avant (Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg).  They're steamrolling the various music charts and it's clear why once you hear one of their super catchy, fun, and thoughtful songs.  "Silvia", "Black & Blue", and "Animal" are the biggest hits thus far off their debut album Miike Snow.


Here you can listen to all their songs and the millions of remixs on The Hype Machine.  Enjoy!

The Hype Machine

There are very few people I know that do not like finding out about new, cool music.  In fact there are so many blogs, websites, magazines, etc sharing (hording) music it can be overwhelming to even attempt to stay on top of it all.  And this is why I like The Hype Machine. 
It follows music blog discussions letting the people who are obssesed with music do all the work and gives those of us who just love music have one place to find it all. 
I really appreciate how organized the website is.  Tidy and simple.  You can see the music listed by Latest ("follows music blog discussions"), Popular ("popular songs on the Hype Machine" for the past 3 days), Twitter (most talked about on twitter), and, my favorite, Spy ("songs that people are falling in love with right now"). 
You can also link to top music blogs to learn more, search by a song, artist or album, and listen to radio shows as well.  It's perfect for listening to at work as each list generates playlists.  An additional key point is that by clicking on the heart, "love button", located next to each song you can add it to you personal playlist so that you can collect your favorites....yet another list on the Hype Machine for you to enjoy.