[uhp-steyt fan-see] - adjective

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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Sep
30 housewares
UP-CYCLING done right

A graphic designers up-cycling dreams have come true. I used to work in a photolab and we had these huge printers that took extra large ink cartridges. Im talking HUGE like 7 feet wide at least. I used to love printing giant posters and banners and the occasional sticker on it, but the fact that we didn’t recycle the cartridges always made me a little annoyed. But have no fear, boxlightbox is here. They have found the perfect use for used large format ink cartridges, LAMPS! I think these would be an awesome gift for the designer or even print production manager in your life.

epson_lamp

Sep
28 holidays
I’M DREAMING of a white christmas

Yes I’m already thinking about the holidays. Christmas is my all time favorite holiday. I love wrapping. I love shopping for other people. I love decorating the tree, last year was actually the first year i have had a tree in quite sometime and I have to say it was so nice to come home to the smell of pine. This year however we will remember to take it out before we go away for a week so it doesn’t become all brittle and poke us in the arms on it’s descent down the 2 flights of carpeted stairs to its place on the curb for recycling. Long story short, I have been designing some ornaments for the holidays and I have the first ones in my hands. They will be up in the shop very shortly, but I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek at them before I get around to taking better photos of them. Bundle up!

acrylic_snowflakes

Sep
25 art
SKETCH LIKE A PRO or at least try

SInce the dawn of the internet, I have always loved those sites where you can sketch or doodle or be artistic in any-wich-way. Well there is a new site out there that blows them all out of the water. Odosketch by odopod. This flash based drawing site has the most realistic drawing mediums i have ever seen. It actually feels like you are drawing with pastels or watercolors. I also love that the background isn’t a plain white box, it’s a beautiful paper texture which makes everything pop a little more. I played around with it a bit this morning, and have to say I will definitely be back, a lot. So I hope you enjoy this little robot I sketched this morning, and then go sketch your own picture and enjoy the amazing work in the gallery.

odosketch

Sep
24 Uncategorized
GOODBYE detergent

Hate dishpan hands? Hate harmful abrasives? Well say hello to these wonderful kitchen scrubbing cloths from designer Hiroki Hayashi. Part of the Goodbye detergent collection, these scrubbing utensils are made from recycled corncobs, and peachpits. The natural abrasives in these materials don’t require any additional detergent, however you can feel free to use  a bit of soap if you want. Available currently at the Cooper-Hewitt design shop. You can also find out about the entire line at the LEC International site.

goodbye_detergent

Sep
22 books
THE WILD THINGS by dave eggers

I know some of you are as excited about the theatrical adaptation of Where the wild things are as I am. Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s, Away We Go) wrote the screenplay for the film, which is directed by Spike Jonze. Dave also wrote a stand alone novel entitled The Wild Things. Scheduled to release in October along with the film, you can pre-order a copy of the book from the McSweeney site. You can also read an excerpt of the book that was published in the New Yorker Magazine right here. This is sure to be my top read this fall.

where_the_wild_things_are_books

Sep
21 art
JOSH BRILL’s modern field guide

Who said nature illustrations had to be realistic? These limited edition prints from Josh Brill have a modern spin on the classic Audubon Society field guide illustrations. Its amazing that a few lines and color fields really do turn into perfect specimens of some classic birds. His unique modern edge to his drawing style is simplistic with out being cartoonish. But you better act fast, these are in limited editions of 50, and at $20 a pop they are going fast.

bird_fieldguide_modern

Sep
18 wedding
EVEN MORE handmade wedding rings

I’ve recently been hit by the wedding bug. I’m not one of those girls who dreamed of walking down the aisle, the dress they would be wearing, the flowers, the music, etc etc. But recently I’ve been dreaming of the perfect low budget indie wedding. A while back I posted about some of my favorite handcrafted engagement rings. I was browsing around etsy the other day and found this very unique wedding bands from fabuluster. While putting a little engraving inside your wedding bands is cute and all, why not go for something a little more personal and timeless. Each ring is handcrafted and contains the fingerprints of you and your love. While I’m sure there are about 1000 other couples out there with a shakespeare sonnet engraved in their bands, no one else will have the same fingerprints for all eternity.

fingerprint_weddingrings

Sep
17 art
TERRIBLE YELLOW EYES at gallery nucleus

If you live anywhere near Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA you’d be a fool not to go to this show. Terrible Yellow Eyes, opens this saturday, September 19th 2009 at 7pm. It features work from 30 artists paying homage to the work of Maurice Sendak on the book Where the Wild Things Are. We all know and love that book from our childhood and I know I’m very excited about the movie adaptation coming out next month. But in the meantime check out these amazing artists and their take of the infamous characters Maurcie created so many years ago. If you are stuck on the east coast, or anywhere else for that matter, you can view more amazing art that was curated by Cory Godbey at their blog TerribleYellowEyes.

terrible_yellow_eyes_exhibit

Clockwise from Top Left: Craig Watkins,  Bobby Pontillas, Jayme McGowan,  Ana Galvañ,  Robin Joseph,  Nicole Gustafsson.

Sep
16 Accessories
KEEP YOUR STOCKS close to your heart

I’ve always admired the unusual jewelry from Pink Crow Studio. It’s one of those shops I always find myself drooling over, my own personal tiffany’s window, so to speak. All of their creations are one of a kind and inspired by found objects. This particular piece contains a vintage french stock certificate which is how the pendant got its very unusual shape. I really enjoy seeing what new curiosities they have in stock. Who wouldn’t want to have one of these original art pieces in their jewelry box.

pinkcrowstudio_necklace

Sep
15 art
EVEN MORE AFFORDABLE art

You may remember the post a few months ago about some really incredible affordable art from Trish Grantham. Well she has some amazing new work up in her shop that I think is worth bringing home. I’m all for collecting prints and postcards and the such, but there is nothing like having an original hanging in your home. Imagine a few of these little plaque paintings interspersed with some other small pieces. Make your mini home art gallery a little bit bigger with a piece from Trish.

Trish_grantham_2

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