29 Mar 2011

In a Happy Mood

One cannot look at those illustrations without at least raising a smile; a smile is not only the most positive form of communication, it is also the most contagious. A smiling face brings another smiling face, and such expression involves less muscles than a frown, a sure win-win situation!


Sources (from top down): (1) 'Elephant' by Bob Daly Illustration, (2) 'The Pink Hat' by Paul Hartley, via Kevin Kidney @ Flickr Walt Disney Magazine, Volume 2, Number 5, August 1957, pp36-37), (3) 'Graphis Annual 1958-59' (International Advertising Art) by Celestino Piatti, via Sandi Vincent @ Flickr, (4) 'Hello Earl' by Orange You Lucky (Helen Dardik), and (5) 'Birthday Girl' by Ellen Giggenbach.

25 Mar 2011

Man's Best Friend...

... is a four-legged companion with human qualities that might be lacking amongst some of our peers: a dog takes you as you are, loves you unconditionally, trusts you, bears no grudges, and all these might become his downfall if handled by the wrong hands; in Mirabelle's case, it's all good though, Tickle, our Jack Russell Terrier mascot, is a hoot and we adore him!


Source: Mirabelle Design Inspiration.

17 Mar 2011

One Cut Above with Lazerian

Lazerian is the brainchild of Manchester-born furniture designer and experimentalist Liam Hopkins who, with fellow designers Richard Sweeney and Jason Chart Davies and under the supervision of pet mascot Gerald, offers a small yet perfectly formed range of innovative hand-finished structural home objects and furniture pieces, predominantly birch plywood-based, with top-end machine-cutting technology as the common denominator, illustrated here by the lampshade range that will be sure to get the full attention of residents and their guests and stimulate those dinner-party conversations. We couldn't resist adding the pièce de résistance at the end of this feature, namely the surprising cardboard-made "Radiolarian Sofa", inspired by structural forms in nature - most noticeably a wasp nest - and by the crystalline bone structure of those microscopic sea organisms that go by the name of... radiolaria.


Source: All above photography from Lazerian. Respectively (1) Borealis Lamp Shade, (2) Fornax Lamp Shade, (3) Indus Lamp Shade, (4) Modulator Light Shade, and (5) Radiolarian Sofa. The company was featured by Designersblock @ Interiors 2011 (NEC Birmingham, U.K.).

16 Mar 2011

Informal & Wild like an English Garden!

No strict rules to abide by, no straight lines, no tidy lanes, no topiary rigidity, no constraint and certainly none of the formality of French landscaping; here the order of the day is to reproduce untamed nature within the confines of a country garden, with riots of shapes, blooms, scents and colours almost free to go and grow as they please, with the clipper delicately guiding and shaping them.


Source: All photography via Travel Vista's'Thatched Houses in England' photography feature (16/02/2011).

4 Mar 2011

Pale and Interesting (and Edible too!)

If these irresistible sugar-spun, lace-piped, glacé-coated, buttercream-frosted architectural confections are not destined to museum display cabinets, this is only due to their ephemeral nature (content), however they complement the most tasteful wedding tables, although according to Mirabelle you shouldn't require a special occasion to justify one of those to yourself: succumbing to temptation is a good enough excuse!


Source: Martha Stewart Weddings:
  1. Quilted Wedding Cakes - Hawaiian Quilt-Inspired Wedding Cake
  2. Bridal Shower Desserts - Knot-inspired Miniature Cakes
  3. Quilted Wedding Cakes - Fondant-Covered Square Cakes
  4. Bridal Shower Desserts - Ice Cream Cups
  5. Quilted Wedding Cakes - Crazy Quilt Wedding Cake
  6. Quilted Wedding Cakes - Wedding Cake with Japanese Sashiko Stitching
  7. Bridal Shower Desserts - Lace Tower Cupcakes
  8. Quilted Wedding Cakes - Wedding Cake with Rings
  9. Bridal Shower Desserts - Luster-Dusted Meringues
  10. Pink and Red Wedding Cakes - Heart Wedding Cake
  11. Bridal Shower Desserts - Rose and Ginger Cupcakes
  12. Bridal Shower Desserts - Marzipan Cherries
  13. White Wedding Cakes - White Rose Wedding Cake
  14. Pink and Red Wedding Cakes - Cake with Camelias
  15. Bridal Shower Desserts - Miniature Sorbet Wedding Cakes
  16. Bridal Shower Desserts - Cherry Blossom Cakes

2 Mar 2011

Modern Technologies in Retro Packages

Self-confessed "tortured artist, rogue scientist and international playboy" Alex Varanese is on a mission: to revisit the late 1970s with four staples of our modern-day technology, MP3 player, laptop computer, mobile phone and hand-held video game system, taken through a digital once-over with a resolute 1970s resonance; the kitsch optical twist and the copy tone lend a futuristic connection to the past by taking it off a tangent, almost like a visionary reinterpretation of vintage without complacency, which makes it a compelling project in a crazy professor sort of way!


Source: All illustrations by Alex Varanese, and part of his 'ALT/1977: We Are Not Time Travelers' 14-piece series project: (1) ALT/1977 Pocket Hi-Fi print ad, (2) ALT/1977 LapTron 64 print ad, (3) ALT:1977 MobileVoxx print ad, and (4) ALT:1977 Microcade 3000 print ad.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...