Pimp Up Your iPhones!

Mirabelle has been a fan of artist, designer and illustrator Ellen Giggenbach's for a good four years now. Ellen has consistently delivered high-quality, colourful, impactful and cheerful folksy-inspired visuals that have since become her trademark. She has branched out into merchandising, which enables the end consumer to own a piece of Giggenbach artistry that is also practical, from totes to mugs via throw pillows, shower curtains and iPhone cases. And those design-led cases make the likes of Mirabelle wish to convert to iPhone just so they can clad it with the case! Go check out Ellen's Society6 and Etsy shops for more.

Source: All above iPhone cases from Ellen Giggenbach's Society6 shop. Designs: (1) 'Geo Still Life', (2) 'Flower Power' and (3) 'Summer Rain'.

All Mapped Out

Cartography has long established itself as a sub-element of Fine Art in its own right, by going beyond the initial purpose of geographical representation. Some maps, in fact, have been designed with no other purpose than to look pretty on the cover of a magazine or to sit pretty on a wall, with the geometry patterns of a city or country abstracted, colours and infographic-style landmark symbols maxed out and applied in a Naïf Art style to reinterpret a place that pops out to greet you. The result is pretty... stunning!

Source: (1) 'Milan' and (2) 'New Delhi' Art Prints by Jazzberry Blue, via Society6. (3) 'Glasgow Map' by Khuan+Ktron for Intro Magazin and (4) 'Olympic Golf Rio 2016' by Khuan+Ktron for Omega. (5) 'The Future of Thailand' (Commissioned by Winkreative for Monocle) by Chinapat Yeukprasert, via Behance. (6) Thailand Map by Hey for Monocle. (7) 'Oklahoma State Map' Art Print by Bri.buckley, via Society6.

Put Your Heart Into Whatever You Do!

Last time Mirabelle was around goes back a while, almost three months. Anyhoo, it's good to be back, my friends, and thanks for sticking around! As far as blogging is concerned, Mirabelle's heart wasn't in it lately, so decided to stay away until the inner flame returned. Sometimes you need to leave in order to give out your best when back on the scene. Let's make 2014 ace!

Source: (1) 'Pass This On' giclée art print by Danny Ivan, via Society6. (2) Present&Correct homepage. (3) Paper Glue, available to purchase from Labour and Wait. (4) 'Vintage Blossom' notebook, part of a set of two, by Rifle Paper Co. and available to purchase from Liberty. (5) 'Happy' giclée art print by Color & Theory, via Society6.