Friday Finds 1.14.11

Meigan: Cabbage Rose Blog

I love architecture so I follow quite a few architecture blogs on tumblr. One that I love in particular is Cabbage Rose, a global collection of modernist architecture. This has served as a great inspiration for me in my photography studies.

Aaron: Bird Feeder

This bird feeder from Barcelona-based design firm Curro Claret is about the most charming thing I've seen all week. One only hopes that the tender morsels of your baguettes and crusty country breads go to those delightful little songbirds and not those miserable pigeons. Nasty things they are, and too fat to begin with. 

Sam: Pink Tentacle's Top Japanese Phrases of 2010

This list of 60 popular japanese wordphrases from 2010 at least reassures me that the complete homogenization of human culture has some ways to go. It's an entertaining read.

Miyoko: Skydome Construction

Toronto's SkyDome—officially the Rogers Centre these days—has always been a special icon for me. When driving from my hometown of Buffalo, New York, we knew we were in Toronto when we saw the giant white dome (and on clear days we'd even get a glimpse of the glowing bulb from across Lake Ontario). When I studied architecture at the University of Toronto, the CN Tower situated next to the SkyDome was your south arrow for orientation and a Jays game held inside the dome was a relief from studying. This week Spacing magazine posted a link to this fun video showing the dome under construction, including a few test openings and closing of the behemoth.

Jaime: Droog's Swing With the Plants

I've been seeking out creative kids' rooms for an upcoming Dwell story, and in my online meanderings I stumbled onto this cool fairytale-ish swing, designed by Marcel Wanders for Droog. You fill the hollow seat of the swing with soil and seeds, and the resulting vines supposedly grow up the ropes. I'm a bit puzzled as to how the seeds actually grow (lacking sunlight) but apparently, as evidenced by the series of time-lapse photos on the Droog website, they do.

 Alexis: The Photography of Vivian Meier

This video follows the compelling story of the discovery of photographer Vivian Maier's work by Chicago historian Johnny McGeorge.  Maier was an amateur street photographer living in Chicago and shooting in the 1950's.  Her photography was virtually unknown until 2007, when McGeorge found her work by purchasing boxes of negatives at an auction.  I was blown away by Maier's amazing photographs of street scenes and life in Chicago, her work is right up there with the great photographers of her day.  What a happy find!

Amy: Fingerprints by Kevin Van Aelst

A few days ago I came across this group of funny and clever images of fingerprints made out of everyday objects by artist Kevin Van Aelst.

Kyle: Ana Kras' "Bonbon" Lamp

I really like this series of knitted lamps from the designer Ana Kras. They appear to come in a multitude of shapes, colors, and sizes. The colorful handwoven knitting around the wire frames is the right touch to set this look apart.

Diana: "Haus Helga" by Katharina Immekus

Though the New York Art Book Fair has long since wrapped up, one book I came across is still fresh in my mind: "Haus Helga" by German graphic designer Katharina Immekus, published by Lubok Verlag. It features 100 German guesthouses and hotels, chronicling the different vernacular styles found throughout the country. The simple black-and-white linocuts are truly stunning and I'm kicking myself for not buying a copy when I had the chance.

Jordan: Dazzle Camouflage

Looks like a crazy funhouse cruise. Definitely not a crazy funhouse cruise. Though it seems completely counterintuitive, these WWI naval vessels were painted to stand out and trick the eye of the enemy. Commenters on the Make thread linked to a few other fascinating examples, including McClelland Barclay's razzle-dazzle aircraft art, and the HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen , which disguised itself as an island to escape Japanese flyers. via Design for Mankind

Amanda: The Pen Project by Hennie Haworth

Haworth, a London–based illustrator and designer, has rigged up this super cool medieval-looking pen machine to apply a continuous wall decal of colorful blobs and dribs. I'm impressed.