...from the personal collection of Matte Stephens! He has quite a lovely grouping, including the original 1955/56 Herman Miller Catalog. Check out the rest of his design collection on his Flickr page.
Check out Matte's work at www.matteart.net.
I first heard about Edgar Blazona when he released the incredibly affordable plans for his MD 100 modular dwelling. Since then he has released several other affordable DIY modern spaces and started up a furniture company True Modern that has simple modern affordable bedding and furniture. It looks like he is branching out and getting ready to do some lovely upholstered pieces like the sofa renderings shown here.
While they are not in production yet, based on other offerings from Blazona you can expect the couches to be relatively affordable and well constructed. He is planning three different style and having them available in 5 different colors. If they turn out anything like the renderings I have a feeling I'm going to love them.
Just ran across Krista Peel's work and thought I'd share. I really love her series of interior paintings, featuring modern furniture and abstracted shapes or splatters of color. The pieces in her "Small Paintings" portfolio are also great - especially the "I Went to LA and All I Got Was This Lousy Painting Idea" series, which is a beautiful exploration of color. Be sure to check out the rest of her portfolio - she has a lot of awesome work up.
About Krista:
Krista Peel was born in Saugatuck, MI and raised in Cheyenne, WY. She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, IL in 1996. Since then, she has shown in galleries throughout the U.S., and been featured in newspapers, magazines, blogs and tv, including the Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Reader, New City Magazine, and HGTV.
She has lived in Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, San Francisco, CA, Casper, WY, Bloomington, IN and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA. The only thing she likes more than traveling is painting. And drawing. Also jewelry making. And discussing movies. Ooo, and tiki drinks.
Prints and small original paintings available from her Etsy Shop - $12 to $225.
Other original paintings - contact the artist directly.
Hopefully all of our readers have been following the 100K house build in Philadelphia. The are just finishing up the home 1,150 square foot LEED platinum home which through a lot of determination and hard work they were able to build for under $100,000 in hard construction costs. While they are still finishing up some of the final touches they had photographer Sam Oberter snap some shots of the home for an up coming article. The home is looking amazing, make sure you check out all the photo's after the jump.
The bedroom remodel downstairs is moving along nicely with about 95% of the drywall being hung over the weekend. We hope to be painting in a week or two. While we have most of the details for the room figured out, one that has been lingering is the choice of door knobs. When it comes to looks, we definitely prefer levers, but knobs are much more childproof. So here is the challenge. Show us your favorite non-lever door knobs. You comments and links will be very much appreciated.
As an asides I noticed in my friends mid-century home he has some flush doorknobs that use a sort of recessed vertical lever to release the latchset. Has anyone ever seen something similar to this? So far my online searches have come up completely empty handed. I did find some pocket door latches (pictured above) but I don't know that they would really work with our application.
The great thing about kids furniture is that the price is usually as diminutive as the furniture is. I was trolling around Targets website and noticed that they had some decent looking kids furniture for next to free. The pink "modern chair" is currently on sale for $59 (or in red for $64) and the Jacobsen ant chair inspired "stacking chair" is only $24. Both of them look like a great deal considering the price, hopefully they can hold up to the abuse of a kid.
There are some really great pieces available right now on Tiny Showcase. I'm rather fond of Caroline Hwang and Mike Bertino's work. But what I'd really love to get my hands on is the 10 Beasts! box set.
Each of the ten images in this editioned box set was created by a Beasts! contributor specifacally for the set and pressed by letterpress artist Dan Wood. The print collection is housed in a hand-crafted portfolio box created by If'n Books + Marks with a two-color glow-in-the-dark jacket design by Beasts! designer Jacob Covey. Each of the one hundred box sets contains ten letterpress prints printed on 100% cotton Somerset Velvet paper. Measuring 7" square, the prints are larger than a normal Tiny Showcase print and come blind debossed with the artist's name and the edition number. Each portfolio box is hand numbered to match the debossed numbering on the artwork it contains.
Sigh. That sounds AMAZING. 
About Tiny Showcase:
Tiny Showcase was created by Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea'la Finch in November of 2004. Each week we pick a new piece of tiny artwork and turn the work into a limited-run print production. Each run is printed on archival Hahnemühle German Printmaking Paper. The archival ink is specially treated and sprayed, giving it an archival lifespan of over 60 years. You sort of need to see the end product to get the full effect, but each piece really is a beautiful specimen.
Limited-Edition Prints available from Tiny Showcase - Starting at $8.
P.S. If you aren't familiar with the Beasts! project/books, check them out on Fantagraphics (here and here). I was lucky enough to get them for my birthday this last year!
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For some reason good quality letterpress never gets old to me. 12fifteen is run by German born Johanna Anderes who now resides in Connecticut after spending some time in Switzerland and South Africa. 12fifteen has a great collection of coasters and notecards all of which are quite affordable.
Available on the 12fifteen Etsy page from $12 - $18.
Profess your undying love/obsession with this print from Etsy shop BlueSkyClouds. Printed in mid-century inspired colors, this typographic print goes for a cool $7.
Celebrate your love of Eames (both of them).
Printed on smooth, matte, heavyweight paper measuring 8.5" x 11". Can be trimmed to fit any standard 8" x 10" frame or mat opening.
I love things made out of felt. It's such a simple material that has a great feel to it and can come in a ton of fun colors. I have to admit though that whenever I see cool felt coasters or place mats I always think to myself, man that would be so easy to make myself if I just had a roll of felt. FilzFelt is a felt lovers paradise. Not only do they have all sorts of goodies like felt pillows, coasters, trivets, etc, but more importantly they sell all their felt direct by the yard. All their felt is imported from Germany, and they offer all sorts of tips on how to work with it yourself.
These Traverse Plate Covers are just the thing to enhance and update your abode. For those who want to flaunt it, not hide it. I think these would definitely look cool in the right setting - love the detail! Made of zinc with a satin finish.
I don't know what it is lately but I am absolutely in love with anything that is simple and made of white porcelain, especially unglazed. Portland Oregon based Pigeon Toe Ceramics has a wonderful selection of porcelain and porcelain-like stoneware. The pieces all have a simple Scandinavian aesthetic. Prices are very reasonable with most pieces in the $20 range.
Available at Pigeontoeceramics.com and Etsy
You may remember those sweet neighborhood screen prints from Ork Posters we wrote about a while ago. Looks like they're branching out from the city-theme and trying something a little more scientific. The Heart print features the same bold use of typography but instead of well-known neighborhoods, identifies all the parts of the heart. I hope they take this new anatomy theme and run with it - could be a very cool series!
This one if for the locals only....
Modern Materials Design has been having a blowout warehouse sale for the last couple of weeks. They are forced to move out of their current location so absolutely everything must go. Today is the last day of the sale, and prices are guaranteed to be crazy low. Here are some details.
HURRY IN AS THIS IS OUR LAST DAY BEFORE WE START MOVING OUR WAREHOUSE.
some of our very stylish PILLOWS are $7-8 on markdown
pendant LIGHTS for $19
table LAMPS at $12
VASES as low as $3.95
fun, colorful artwork as low as $15-20 (80% off)
metal trough outdoor PLANTERS
BEDDING all at 50% offPLUS SEVERAL TV STANDS,COFFEE TABLES, END TABLES, KITCHEN DINING TABLES, ....PLUS MUCH MORE.
HOURS: 10-6
LOCATION: 350 WEST 800 NORTH, rear side of building. Hard to find but definately worth the search.
the sale you should not miss!!!
We have dining tables, coffee tables, end tables, pillows, artwork, mirrors, lamps, light fixtures, vases, doormats, outdoor planters......
If you do happen to miss the sale today don't kick yourself too hard. Rumor on the block is that Modern Materials Design will be opening a brick and mortar in a few months. Stay tuned for an early look at what it will have to offer.
Really incredible work from illustrator Sven Palmowski. I must get my hands on one of these prints!
Check out the rest of his portfolio at www.palmowski.eu
More about Sven:
Sven Palmowski (aka a.mar.illo) was born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany. He has worked as a freelance illustrator for more than a decade, which allows him to make a living from his passion for drawing. In 2004, he made a new home in Barcelona, Spain, where he currently resides. He considers this group of work among his free illustrations, and describes them as creatures of his mind, born of their own aesthetics.
Prints by Sven Palmowski available from inPRINT: $25 - $80.
I'm loving all of these Photo Lightboxs by Munstre. Each box is handmade and lit by a 40W energy saving bulb. The boxes are available in a variety of sizes, and feature everything from abstract photo's to lithographs and even x-rays. You can specify if you prefer a white or black enclosure. All the boxes are wall mountable and have a on/off switch on the cord. Typical prices range from $55 - $120 depending on the size.
Here's another DIY project to add to your list! Arash and Kelly are offering FREE plans for making your very own Illuminati lamp shade! Just download the pdf plans and get crackin! All you need is a pencil, a ruler, scissors, a stapler, and your material of choice. Want it a little larger? Just scale it up!
Illuminati Post Light plans by Arash and Kelly - FREE!
If you remember a few weeks ago, I was looking for some good advice on how to get the clean modern flush door look. As far as hinges go, it looked like either a SOSS or a pivot hinge was going to work the best. In the end we went with a SOSS hinge and a custom jam that has the doorstop continue all the way to the edge. Because we have some serious time constraints (read my wife is 8+ months pregnant and wants the room done) we opted to have the door made locally instead of ordering online or attempting to build it ourselves. As far as I could tell ordering it online would have put us out around $750 and had a 4-6 week lead time. We were able to have it made locally for $400 a door with a lead time of just over a week. We did have to settle for a paint grade solid core instead of the solid fir that we wanted. The fir would have increased both the cost and lead time substantially. 
We will have to wait for the drywall to be hung to see if the detail turned out the way we wanted, but first impressions are as follows. #1 I absolutely love the feel of the solid door compared to a normal hollow core. Besides feeling more substantial the doors also do a much better job of blocking sound. Definitely worth the extra money. #2 The SOSS hinges are very nice. Obviously the look of them is great, or rather the fact that you can't see them. The feel of the hinge is also nice, although they do feel a little stiff so far.
I know the pictures are pretty lousy, I'll snap some better ones as soon as the drywall gets hung, which hopefully should be by this weekend.
Have you guys been keeping up with AT's Small Cool Contest? They're down to the semi-finalists and the competition is fierce! Homes 1200 sq. feet and under have been split up into four categories (teeny-tiny, tiny, little, and small), each competing for their share of $10,000 worth of Room&Board gift certificates. It is incredibly inspiring to see what people can do with their spaces! My favorite in the "small" category would have to be Joel and Maria's "Miami Modern". You'll have to check out their DIY wall-sconce from "Y"s and LEDs. It's brilliant. Be sure to check out all the entries and vote for your favorite!
The idea of flat pack furniture can leave a bad taste in some peoples mouths. While I personally don't mind grabbing my allen wrench and following some Swedish illustrations to get my furniture assembled there are some who like to keep it even more simple. Way Basics has taken flat pack furniture about as basic as possible. At the heart of their system is Z Board a super strength cardboard that forms the building block of all their furniture. Assembly is managed simply by peeling the backing of the sticky tape. Doesn't get much easier than that. You can either purchase a preconfigured unit, or buy building blocks to design your own. The cubes are available in a bunch of different colors and prices start at a measly $20. Video of assembly and more pictures after the jump.
Way Basics Cardboard DIY shelving - prices start at $20
