I’m rather ashamed to say that I’m relatively new to Poolga, seeing as though they’ve been around since 2007. I first stumbled across the site when Eirian Chapman designed a couple of wallpapers for iPhone and iPad. I clicked through, and I was hooked.
The site is a treasure trove of unique art, all ready for free download. The idea is a simple one: iPhones and iPads are the perfect devices to carry around, display and share art.
If you live in Australia, you might have come across the beautifully designed packets of seeds from The Little Veggie Patch around the place. Frank Aloi is the man behind the wonderfully old-fashioned designs, and clicking through his site I discovered he’s a very talented guy, especially when it comes to food packaging.
I used to be a sans serif kind of girl. But recently I’ve started flirting with serifs, beautiful solid typefaces. Maybe I like them because they seem to have style, a sense of fashion – each seems to have such different shoes on those little feet of theirs – some pointed, some flat, some curved and rounded!
This Bodoni poster is enough to start me drooling.Those letterpress blocks look like perfectly carved pieces of chocolate – definitely type good enough to eat.
There’s something so deliciously appealing about things placed in perfect order. I’m sure that’s why Things Organized Neatly has such a cult following – because there are people like me out there who find that kind of neatness truly sexy. Little wonder then that I’m drawn to Scandinavian minimalism, both in graphic and interior design. Finnish interior and prop stylist Susanna Vento has an affinity for neatness, and I adore her for it.
Giggling over these illustrations. Nicole Martinez has a pretty cute way of talking dirty.
Now these are business cards so good I want to eat them up. Those colours! That pattern! The letterpress! Kate Thomas is one talented lady, I’m a big fan of her beautiful patterns – but these are something else entirely. There are only 800 in existence, and so perfectly handcrafted – that beautiful edge painting right there? Done with Crayola markers. Amazing.
As a little kid, my mum and I used to make invitations for my birthday parties together. It wasn’t just the messing around with potato stamps that made me happy, there was something so thrilling about holding those cards in my hands and being able to give them out in the playground to my friends. Hopeful for how the event was going to turn out, excited for such a special occasion.
My love of beautiful invites is still going strong, although it’s been years since I touched a potato stamp. My latest book purchase was another to add to my design library, all about invitations that scorn the traditional expectations of just paper and envelope. Needless to say, when Wallpaper* recently showcased the invites they were sent for the autumn / winter fashion week shows, I couldn’t get enough. These are a few of my favourites, invitations that surprise and delight the receiver.
I love the bright colours of Kenzo’s invitation pack – complete with a yellow-tipped paint stirrer!
One of my favourites came from Maison Martin Margiela. It looks like any old keychain, but turned on that mini torch reveals the show’s details. Ingenious.
Chanel’s afterparty invitation.
A multi-layered invite from Roger Vivier. Each intricate diecut shows off a unique Parisian landmark.
Not content with a pretty piece of paper, Louis Vuitton splurged and gave out luggage tags with the show’s details. What a clever keepsake to remember the event by!
Beautiful calligraphy on Haider Ackermann’s card.
Hermès sent out beautiful cloth-lined floral invitations, complete with a stamped RSVP card.
Thick leather cards, stitched in gold, from Tommy Hilfiger.
Pablo Kerlleñevich was asked to make a series of butterfly wings for a Latin American music video. He tried to illustrate creatures that looked somewhere between a real butterfly and one crafted out of paper. They’re magical.
