1. not exorbitant or extravagent by city standards, however in a rural setting (like upstate new york) it is in fact, quite fancy.
2. a wonderful blog dedicated to art, design and other things that are indeed upstate fancy.
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Tweet Tweet it’s Friday! I’m just fascinated by the collage work from Kareem Rizk. These bird pieces are just a drop in the bucket of creativity flowing from this Australian artist. A lot of his work has this very fresh retro vibe that I haven’t seen before. Airplanes, senior portraits, and cars from the 70’s, he incorporates them all with color blocks and scrap paper into very modern works of art. So check out his shop and his site offering original collages, as well as affordable prints.
I love trompe l’oiel, you know when things are painted to look 3 dimensional and real. When I was little i used to call them magic paintings, and I still think there is a bit of magic in them. I was doing some searching last night for some prizes for an upcoming upstatefancy contest, when I came across this little change purse zip pouch from Quiet Doing. Everyone has seen the little pouches that look like cassette tapes, or bananas, but these guys have turned something that you would never throw into your purse, into a very useable vessel. The milk crate has officially come along way from being the essential bookcase and extra seating from your college years. They also have a lot of really cool wallets, purses, and ipod cases so be sure to check them out.
Trish Trish bo bish, bannanna fanna fo.. Okay enough of the name games, on the serious side, I LOVE Trish Grantham’s work. She has a great sense of color schemes that are playful, without being overbearing. And of course the characters in her illustrations are adorable. The best thing about these paintings is they are affordable paintings, not just prints. So check her out and send her some love from upstatefancy.
I’m moving into a new apartment soon and have been dreaming about some new furniture. Eames, Miller, Saarinen, oh how I wish I could afford you all! But in the meantime at least my ibook can now live in the lap of luxury. At just a fraction of what a real Eames lounger would cost you, your laptop can be safe and secure in one of the embroidered laptop cases from Byrd and Belle. While your over there be sure to check out her embroidered pillows as well, modernize your living room and still have money to pay your bills.
We have asked some very talented artists, illustrators, designers and crafters to share some things that help inspire them. Each monday stop by an take a sneak peek into the swatch files and bulletin boards of some of your favorite artists. This week’s inspiration board is from Stephanie, the designer, illustrator and wordsmith of She’s So Creative.
Norman Rockwell, Tom Petty, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, The New Yorker Cartoons, Far Side genius Gary Larson, art deco, gorgeous typography, the Sedona red rocks… I’m inspired by a lot of things, but what really gets me going, what really turns me are those, clever little gems of originality, concepts that are so simple, yet so spot on in communicating whatever the intended message is. Like, donuts in the shape of a cigarette or the descender of the letter “A” mimicking the trunk of an elephant. I love wit and cheekiness and thinking about things in a different way. Beautiful patterns are great, fun ideas are cool, but when I see great design beautifully executed combined with conceptually brilliant ideas, that’s the stuff that oozes inspiration for me.
Thanks for letting me share. —Stephanie
Or is that sushi for animal lovers? EIther way I had this huge craving for fish while on the L train last night. So we stopped and got some spicy tuna rolls from my favorite sushi place on Graham Ave. For those of you who love sushi as much as I do, maybe its time to have a little bit of sushi in your life every day! Check out these amazing plush sushi rolls from Cornstarch. California rolls, Hosos rolls, and even wasabi and ginger are there for you to cuddle up with whenever you have that sushi craving but already ordered mexican. If you are looking for that unique valentines day gift for your favorite sushi sharer, make sure to check out the Tekka Maki roll with its heart shaped filling.
Check out the cozy collection from mummysam. These adorable creations are sure to melt away a little winter depression and cool off that cabin fever. They remind me of the childhood in england I never had. These mini quilts are made from wool felt and cotton and perfect for any space big or small. I also think they would make the cutest coasters ever. While you are checking these out make sure to check out her art dolls and lovely paintings.
We at upstate fancy couldn’t be more stoked on tonight’s return of LOST. With that being said, check out these great topography inspired cards from crafterall. These great finds are all hand made and hand-cut, so each one is unique. I love the color choices and simplistic shapes, so simple but they really stand out. While I can’t guarantee these little cards will give you the loacation of the next Dharma station, or keep you safe from “the others,” I do guarantee they will look great in a frame or in the mailbox.
I have had hisss in my inspiration folders for quite a bit. I thought now was as good of a time as any to share her wondrous illustrations with you. All of her pieces are so different from each-other, some are straightforward and some have a twist, but all of them are stylistically beautiful. I’ve always been drawn to artists with a flair for puns and idioms as well, twocans, ant-lers, two ships passing in the night. Its so refreshing to see the english language twisted and made into something so serene. She may have just inspired me to open up my old idea book for some pillows… keep an eye out, and i’ll keep you posted.
Please welcome the newest installment of artist inspirations. We have asked some very talented artists, illustrators, designers and crafters to share some things that help inspire them. So each monday stop by an take a sneak peek into the swatch files and bulletin boards of some of your favorite artists. This week’s inspiration board is from the multi-talented Jessica from Miniature Rhino.
I’d like to call myself a collector. I obsessively search out and hoard books, snapshots, stones, keys, sea glass, ephemera, and even digital images for reference and inspiration. The objects I collect have an age and history, things that tell a story. Photography, art, science, museums and archives, the cabinets of curiosity, natural history, and Victorian traditions are all sources of inspiration. Here are a few images from my archive (clockwise-from right).
I love daguerreotypes and images within images… My collections are stored in a library card catalog, so I can pull the drawers and see the objects in serial… An image by the photographer Harry Callahan of his wife Eleanor. I like photographers who point the camera at their own lives…. Ernst Haeckel’s images of sea life. Amazing and full of wonder…the curiosity cabinet of Ole Worm with ostrich egg, turtle shell, polar bear, armadillo… the tradition of making Samplers. Making them connects me to a history of craft and learning…family heirlooms like my grandparent’s letters…a daguerreotype, the butterfly collector, from the George Eastman House collection. Get lost in their archive … an image of hands from Gary Schneider’s series Genetic Self-Portrait. He included in this series images of his families hands pressed onto photographic paper, heat and sweat creating the image….a field guide to birds, silhouetted, numbered and cataloged….center, family photographs and found images. This one is of my mother and aunts and uncle on Halloween. The details in images kill me (like my mom’s-the little drummer in yellow- high water pants) so I take them out sometimes and look at them over and over again.
I loved sharing this and hope you enjoyed it too! – Jessica
