Pythagorean jewelry

Since the last post on jewelry in October, our attention has really turned to delicate metalwork with a focus on geometry. Really admire the craftsmanship of these creations by independent designers.




[Clockwise from top left: Triple Small Wing Oxidized Multiply Ring $70 (multiple styles for stacking) by Deka Ray (Eugenie Huang), Gold Honeycomb Necklace $65 from Small Things Studio's Stone & Honey line, Dodecahedron Pendant $58 from Jalea Jalea's (Tatiana Sánchez) Minerals & Polyhedra Collection]

Also sweet from the Stone & Honey line from Small Things Studio - this pinwheel necklace.

Disclaimer: we're not sure if these are actually examples of the Pythagorean Theorem... it's been a decade since our last math class.

Tsutsumi

We hear the word "sustainable" so much now... here's something that truly is sustainable and conscientious without compromising aesthetics or quality. While browsing Japanese mega-bookstore Kinokuniya in Bryant Park (highly recommended if you're into Japanese-published picture books), we came across a book on tsusumi, which demonstrated that anything from a wine bottle to a lunch box could and should be wrapped with one piece of cloth.

Love the philosophy, and we think many others would too. So why is there very little information on the web about it? We bought the book found at Kinokuniya for our friend Kat's birthday (wrapped tsutsumi style, of course) but a quick search revealed only one US book on this topic: Gift Wrapping: Creative Ideas from Japan, published in 1987.

Introduction to Gift Wrapping: Creative Ideas from Japan by Kunio Ekiguchi:

In Japan, the concept of wrapping, tsutsumi, is not limited to the function of packaging. It plays a central role in a wide variety of spiritual and cultural aspects of Japanese life. Tsutsumi encompasses many areas not included in the Western concept of wrapping. For example, gods or Buddhas are "wrapped" in a household altar containing a hidden image of the god or a portable shrine carried during festivals; gardens are enclosed by a variety of fences; architectural space is defined by translucent shoji doors, opaque fusuma doors, and bamboo blinds; pictures are rolled up in hanging scrolls and picture scrolls; and food is placed in lacquer containers. The wrapping style illustrated by these examples is not a tight, hermetic seal, but a loose, flexible covering or shading. The style embodies the concept of "gentle concealment," a central part of the traditional Japanese sense of beauty.

Petra Börner's Mister Pip

http://www.borner.se/

Shinzi Katoh

$38 @ Penelope's

Conjoined

Painting and pillow by k studio.

Jeana Sohn

These photos are pulled from her website but she has a ton of other stuff floating around in small gallery sites. Check it out. We also enjoy her blog - inspiration for sharing more photos from our own lives and for living in LA (if we ever have to move there).

1, 2, 3, 4

The humid muggy NYC summer embraces us. We have been so busy as of late but have a lot to share as you will see in the posts that follow.

Is everyone sick of this song already? We were, until we saw this video...



[via swissmiss]

Vicente Villarin

Joanne Cordero Reyes of Vicente Villarin is the first fashion designer in awhile that has made us stop in our tracks and think. We love how the designs evoke sculpture and art, and how the forms and shapes hint at being constructed from materials other than textile, all while retaining a practical, back-to-basics sophistication that is totally wearable.




Above: many of our favorites from the Spring 2008 collection, "Distorted Sweetness"


Above: a couple of our favorites from the Fall 2008 collection, "Sculptural Essence of Romanticism"

The label is young, and very formal and couture-ish, though we'd be interested in seeing a causal side to Reyes' vision.

[via Refinery29]

Valero Doval

Whimsical and delicate illustrations and collages by Spanish artist Valero Doval. This Japanese Poster series is our favorite.




[via poppytalk]

Ethno-geometric

think/feel is under renovation/transformation/progression. We are planning upcoming projects, gathering equipment, figuring out the books, planning for the future. Being responsible and contemplative, mostly. We'll be back in under a month to announce summer plans. We have embodied a stern and intense work ethic, which is hard these days with the weather so gorgeous it makes us want to stop everything we're doing, sit on our stoop until dark, drinking cold beer from the bodega.

Here's a little something we wanted to share. We are pretty obsessed with geometric ethnic patterns. This is a modern rendition of a Navajo blanket encountered last week, which we are particularly drawn to because of its colors (and patterns, of course). The motifs on this blanket incorporates, amongst others, stars, diamonds and squash blossoms.

[via yellow owl workshop]