12.0 poster lust

Today I wanted to share DKNG Studios' The Black Keys gig poster in the (oh so feeble) hope that someone on this earth knows where I can get one!  

The poster is beautifully detailed and dense and let's face it--would look incredible above Nick and my mantle.  Unfortunately it sold out a few months ago and my Ebay and Amazon searches have turned up little result.  Take a look! 

(And maybe a little pity on me...)

Images from DKNG Studios

 

11.0 a day off

Due to inclement weather, an early flight tomorrow morning, and a slow week at work I find myself at home today.  Now what does that mean?  Food porn, of course!

Today we have the Ikea Hembakat är Bäst (Homemade is best) baking book.  This coffee table book published by Ikea in 2010 contains 30 classic Swedish recipes presenting in a graphically beautiful and rather unique fashion.

Images from Hembakat ar Bast

   

10.0 christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!  For our holiday post, Nick and I thought it might be nice to share some of the screenprints we received this year.  

Most of our haul came from Doe Eyed.  Nick has mentioned him before on this blog and his work has begun to take over our screenprint collection.  Which isn't much of a surprise, seeing with how talented he is.

First we have his Gotye gig poster.  A gift to me from Nick.  I've been pining after this one for months.  

Image from Doe-Eyed

Next is the Andrew Bird gig poster Nick posted about a few weeks ago.  A (very thoughtful) gift from me to him.

Image from Doe-Eyed

Our next poster is the beautifully detailed Magnolia Electric Co gig poster--a gift to Nick from my mother.

Image from Doe-Eyed

We also received the Doe-Eyed 2013 calendar, in both red and grey, as a part of our orders.

Image from Doe-Eyed

And last but not least from Doe-Eyed we have the M. Ward gig poster.

Image from Doe-Eyed

Finally we have a poster from DKNG Studios.  This Circa Survive gig poster is now sold out (it appears we got one of the last ones).  It has an incredible level of precision.

Image from omgposters

All of our incredible new posters are now up in frames all around our apartment and they look wonderful!  We hope your Christmases were just as great as ours!

9.0 Bon Iver

Kevin Tong released a new poster today for Bon Iver's European Union Tour.  It's the fifth he has done for the band and it's currently on sale at his site...but probably not for long--his posters tend to go quickly.

Images from www.tragicsunshine.com

Get 'em while they're hot!!

8.0 dinner

Dinner tonight was ditalini a la cabonara.  Unfortunately I couldn't track down any pancetta at our local Safeway but bacon definitely did the trick.  After all, it is bacon...it always does the trick.

Compliments of my iPhone

7.0 tetris

I was introduced to Kevin Tong's work a few month ago and it wasn't long after that this print started tugging at my heart strings.  Admittedly, at first glance I didn't think much of it.  After all, when you take a cursory look all it seems to be is a female figure with some kind of graphic heart.  Of course it's nicely done in that regard, but maybe just a little on the shallow side.  

But wait!--what are those things falling from the top of the print?  Could they be?

By George, I think they are!

They're Tetris pieces that are falling into place to form her heart.  And if you look closer, her bellybutton is comprised of old Nintendo control pad keys.  To round out this clever analogy  Kevin Tong even introduces a gaming pun into the title of the piece, "My Tetris Heart Longs For Your Push."  

Images from Kevin Tong 

Sadly, this print has been sold out for a while.  But if any of you stumble across it for sale, please let me know!  I absolutely have to have it.

6.0 the weekend

Nick and I had a pretty wonderful weekend of exploring the DC area and actually getting some things done.  Imagine that!  I won't bore you with all the details, but the highlights include:

A cappuccino and a cafe latte at the newly
opened Le Pain Quotidien in our neighborhood.

Nutella lattes at Pound the Hill in Eastern Market.

Perusing the shelves at Capitol Hill Books with Derek and Alyssa.

Tapas and paella at Jaleo.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!  If you're ever in the area we really recommend exploring the Eastern Market area of DC, like we did with Derek and Alyssa today.  It had a great street market that is really worth a visit and you really can't miss the Nutella lattes at Pound the Hill and floor to ceiling stacks of books at Capitol Hill Books.  But warning, leave your claustrophobia at home.  I'm not exaggerating how crammed that bookstore is.

5.0 swiss elves

Coming to you straight from the elves at Santa's Swiss toy shop--and by that I mean naef-- is the Quadrigo.  Naef, in case you aren't familiar, is a Swiss toy company that specializes in impeccable crafted didactic wooden toys.  This toy is made of four identical u-shaped pieces that compose a Swiss cross.  The user is encouraged to interlock and rearrange these pieces to discover the variety of compositions and forms.  

Images from Faun and Forest

For more images and information about the Quadrigo, naef and, their other products check out their site here.

4.0 dinner

I don't cook well, or often, but I have been known to surprise Nick with the occasional bout of domesticity.  It never lasts long and usually results in Nick doing the dishes while I'm passed out on the couch--but at least I tried!

On the menu tonight, chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller's  Grilled Asparagus Salad from his cookbook Ad Hoc.  It features grilled asparagus with prosciutto, fried bread, poached eggs, and aged balsamic vinegar.

Photo courtesy of Nick's iPhone

I have to say, it was pretty good.  And now Nick is doing the dishes and I get to watch TV.  It looks like my blood, sweat and tears from slaving over the stove for a whole twenty minutes were worth the pain and agony.  

My stomach agrees.

3.0 the quick brown fox

...or rather orange, in this instance.

Scouring the internet for screen prints has become a poor but very necessary substitution for no longer having access to a screen printing studio.  (Donations, anyone?)  However, sometimes it does pay off.  I ran across this poster from the Doe Eyed studio a few days ago and it blew me away.  It's a two color Andrew Bird gig poster, fresh from the talented hands of Mr. Eric Nyffeler (owner of Doe-Eyed).  

All images from the Doe Eyed website 

For more information, images--and to find out how to buy it for me--I highly recommend visiting the actual page for this poster.  And while you're over there be sure to take a good look at the rest of his site.  Eric Nyffeler's prints definitely aren't something to miss out on. 

2.0 christmas wrap

Let's face it, I probably hate silly patterned gift wraps a hell of a lot more than the next person. (Case in point, it took Nick and I a solid thirty minutes to pick out two of the most unoffensive gift wrap rolls this past weekend.) So when I stumbled across this beautifully designed Christmas wrapping paper scheme this morning, I had to share.

[Photographs by Kimi Kolba]

                                                

This packaging was designed by SHIMTOKK, a blog created by Sally Shim [SHIM + SONS] and Joke Vande Gaer [TOKKETOK], for Martha Stewart's The Crafts Dept. 2011 Gift Wrap Challenge.  For more information take a look at their post, which includes a link to download the "pull" tags. 

After all, I never can pass up a well done full-justify.  And neither should you.

1.0 beginning

Beginning is hard.

After spending two hours debating name after name and discovering just how many urls were taken, "the firm" is still in its...well...experimental stages.

That said, we have no idea what this is going to turn in to and whether we'll even be posting on it in a week.  But hell, it's worth a shot.  What we're looking for is an way to discover, write about, and share things that we are passionate about (other than architecture).

Well, maybe some architecture. We're only human.