Akiko Kino

JJ Cromer

There’s something folk arty about JJ Cromer’s work, and it would certainly translate well onto textiles. If Joan Miro had spent time in Africa and set up shop in rural New Jersey, his work might look something like Cromer’s. Read more

Maija Louekari

I loved Maija Louekari’s hand drawn illustrations even before discovering that she has worked as a freelance textile designer for Marimekko. Her HO-HOI! fabric topped the Textile design category at the Elle International Design Awards in 2006. Maija’s illustrations are made by hand, her favorite tools being fine felt tip pens, pencils, scissors and coloured paper.

Marimekko

You may already be aware of Marimekko, a leading Finnish textile and clothing design company responsible for interior decoration textiles, bags and other accessories. Chances are some of you have a throw cushion or two with their bold signature poppy print. What I never realized was the range and scale of their product collections: from collaborations with designers from all around the globe to strong and distinctive product design and high end fashion. [check out also the 2Modern interior design website]

Sixth Pommery Exhibition Sons & Lumieres

How much better can it get than little dollops of contemporary art interspersed throughout the breathtaking setting of Champagne Pommery’s Domaine in Reims, France. The most interesting part here is that this is an ongoing tradition at Champagne Pommery, going all the way back to the 19th century ‘when Madame Pommery commissioned sculptor Gustav Navlet to carve four bas reliefs for the estate and later had the famous cabinet maker and glass artist Emile Gallé create a solid oak Pommery barrel that holds up to 19,816 gallons (100,000 bottles). This barrel was displayed at the 1904 Worlds’ Fair in St. Louis’. The upcoming Sixth Pommery Exhibition, Sons & Lumieres, will be curated by French artist Bertrand Lavier and will include ‘everyday objects often set in difficult spaces’. Read more

Ben O’Brien

Color heaven! Perusing UK illustrator Ben O’Brien’s portfolio feels a lot like wandering the aisles of a giant candy store. I could buy one of everything in sight. Read more

Art Decks

I love it! With the CD now being eclipsed by the MP3, I find myself feeling even more nostalgic for the simple charm of the cassette. Australian artists Andrew Smart and Jared Schmidt create ‘large scale hand-made wooden cassette tapes, routed, sanded, bogged, primed, and painted with a high quality paint finish’. Aha! The perfect way to memorialize my old mix tapes. Read more