Rockin' the Suburbs

Ahhhh, the land of subdivisons, cul-de-sacs, barbecues and above-ground pools. David Monsen, a design student at Gothenburg University in Sweden, created these picturesque slices based on Sunnydale, California. Sunnydale is, of course, the fictional suburban setting for the TV show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Limited cable in Sweden these days, eh? His design is to be diplayed at Hem 2006, the annual interiors display in Gothenburg. Congrats David...I'd rock it in my double-wide any day.

Fabric Explosivo

Recently, I stumpled upon the madly ornate work of Japanese textile designer, Yuji Mizuta. His company, Textile+Music, has been creating fabrics since 2001 with a collection that includes a line of bags, pillows, hats and book covers. Unfortunately, it looks like the goods can only be found in Japan. Yuji's work was also shown in a small gallery in Tokyo just large enough to contain a massive roll of his patterned fabric. This stuff blows my mind!

Helpful non-Japanese-speaking navigation advice: to see all of his collections on his site, click on Item & Textile on the left and then click on the links that fall under Collection.

Cold War Design

I noticed there was something different about one of my new favorite bands when I first checked out their site...good design. Hmmmm...who was behind it all? A hip start-up design team? Nope...it's their bassist. The Cold War Kids is a "clappy, clangy and jangly" sounding band from Fullerton, CA, and their bassist Matt Maust, is an accomplished graphic designer. He adds his unique thumbprint to the group’s website, album covers, merch and books. His excellent use of Bodoni Poster Italic combined with a modern, cut-n-paste style, provides a sense of longstanding history to the band's endeavors. Last week, he displayed work at his art show, "I’m celebrating my love for you with a pint of beer and new tattoo: New work by Matt Maust" at Headquarters Studio in NYC.