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.