Friday Finds 4.01.11

Sam: Kyle Blue Rug

We were all excited to see what our Creative Director Kyle Blue would do when Crate & Barrel asked him to design a rug collection, and a year later the result is finally here! Kyle meticulously selected his favorite hues and opted for a loose hand-woven design of 100% cotton that would look good in any space. Here are a few process shots of Kyle at work on this fantastic new design.

first the color selects:

making a few adjustments:

getting it just right:

Aaron: Charles LeDray Mens Suits

I came across this video of artist Charles LeDray's recent exhibit at the Whitney and was stunned. All the objects in the three scenes—each evoking a shabby men's store—were made by LeDray, and once you finally get a sense of the scale of the project it's pretty incredible. Not to be missed.
 
Miyoko: Snow Blind by Matthias Heiderich

We're experiencing a bit of a heat wave here in San Francisco (mid-70s in March!?) but I can't help but be pulled in to the stunning winter imagery of photographer Matthias Heiderich. In a series titled Snow Blind, the collection offers a different view of December through March's dull grayness with pops of color against white, snow-covered backgrounds. (Via Man Make Home)

Jaime: Murakami Versailles

This new book, Murakami Versailles, published by EDITIONS XAVIER BARRAL and distributed by D.A.P., documents Japanese artist Takashi Murakami's major project from 2010: to transform the ornate chambers of the Château de Versailles into a fantastical playground for his manga-inspired sculptures. "I am the Cheshire cat that welcomes Alice in Wonderland with its diabolic smile, and chatters away as she wanders around the Château," Murakami writes. Would have loved to see it in person, but second-best is this book.

Jordan: Google Helvetica

Do it today, and have a little April Fool's Day chuckle with those jokers over at Google. See also: I'm  Comic Sans, Asshole, and pretty much every other tweet this afternoon poking fun at the font that just don't get no respect.

Dakota: Maru the Cat

Another cat Friday Find—Maru is internet cat famous for a good reason. He is a playful kitten who loves hopping into, diving through, sitting on boxes. This is a good video, watch it.

Diana: High Design in Toronto

Toronto has an amazing reputation of being design central, so we jumped at the chance to go on an exclusive tour of designer Alexis Leino's apartment. Check it out!
 

Amy: A Film on Bill Cunningham

Bill Cunningham New York - Trailer (Zeitgeist Films) from ts on Vimeo.

This looks awesome.  A film about Bill Cunningham, NYTs Style section photographer.  He's 80+ years and still sleeping on a little bed in his little studio and photographing the style of New York.  Watch the trailer and get as excited as I am to see it.