west coast

West Coast, here I come! After a few days working in Ottawa, Canada, I will land in Portland tomorrow night. I am so excited for a week of Oregon sunshine and soaking up the love of my family. Nothing is as sweet as going home, especially when it happens to be such a beautiful part of the world.

Illustration by Brent Couchman

the everywhere project

The Everywhere Project is a design collaboration initiated by designer and illustrator Adrian Walsh. Inspired by the song ‘I’ve Been Everywhere‘, each of the 92 luggage labels represents one of the 92 locations listed in the song.

via Alyson Brown, the designer behind the Winslow, Arizona tag.

Weekend Links #36

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed over the last week:
1. Watching this cute video about bicycling
2. Jotting down the ingredients needed to make a Lillet Buttermilk Shake (pictured above)
3. Booking tickets to see David Sedaris at Carré on 25 September
4. Browsing photographer Brennan Linsley’s images of Icy Greenland
5. Reading a good reminder of why we should approach official accounts of secret operations with caution
6. Finding a map of Amsterdam West on the site They Draw & Travel, a collection of maps drawn from artists around the world (pictured below)

Weekend Links #19

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed this week:
1. Browsing through the book Wild Animals (Wilde Dieren) by Dutch illustrator Rop van Mierlo (image and video below, via anothersomething)
2. Discovering The Makers, a photo project by Jennifer Causey with beautiful stories about people in Brooklyn who make things happen (Morris Kitchen pictured above, via frolic)
3. Browsing the Monkey See list of the all the films based on books coming out in 2011
4. Revisiting an old NYTimes article Why We Read
5. Although well into the year of the rabbit, enjoying this cute animation
6. Scouting out cinema notes at Smart Project Space
7. Walking through a sunny city and playing taste tester to Chef Marcus

the perfect drink infographic

A colorful collection of infographics by Brazilian illustrator Fabio Rex depicting how to make the perfect drink. See more here (via datavisualization.ch)

Carson Ellis illustrations

I was thrilled when I read that the cover of The Mysterious Benedict Society, a wonderfully imaginative book, was illustrated by Carson Ellis. How could I not have known? Carson is best know  to me for her amazing work on the albums and concert posters of The Decemberists. Her illustrations from another book, Dillweed’s Revenge, are showing at Nationale gallery in Portland from 8 September – 3 October. If I were there, I would certainly stop by.

Cosas mínimas (little things)

Fall has arrived in Amsterdam and it’s time to write a few letters delayed by the summer weather. I posted the first one to my grandfather in Oregon yesterday – I hope the ink survived the rainy trip from my jacket pocket to the mailbox.

Plans for this weekend include helping a friend move to a new apartment (my first chance at the Dutch system of moving through the front window with a rope hanging from the rooftop – very exciting!), trying a new recipe with the fresh fish bought at Noordermarkt, Café Brecht tonight for ‘a trip through German music history’ and some Czech beer, reading from Dreaming in Hindi, camera shopping (Sarah recommended the Panasonic LX3. Any thoughts?) and writing a few letters, of course.

I’m loving the postcards and images by Blanca Gómez, a graphic designer and illustrator from Madrid, from her project cosas mínimas, which means ‘little things’ in Spanish (via elephantine).

Charley Harper Christmas

The work of artist Charley Harper, his animal prints and illustrated books, are one of my favorite gifts to give. His depictions of birds (with knees!) especially reflect his minimal realist style, full of color and geometric patterns. My recommendations are the illustrated book Birds and Words, An Illustrated Life, or a 2010 Calendar.