On Christmas Day I wrote a blog post on 2modern’s design blog about Typography, ’cause, if you haven’t already noticed, it’s (typography) design’s new darling…..

Then Voila! there’s December’s British Vogue titled Fantastic Fashion Fantasy with all kinds of my favorite things all wrapped up in one issue. “Through the generations there are visionaries who conjure fabulous creations that go beyond the boundaries of the imagination.” And this is an understatement. It was, in my estimation, British Vogue’s Christmas present to me. All for a mere $10.99.

And if per chance you didn’t catch the issue, call them to get a copy (I know for my British friends, this is last year’s news and more than a few of you didn’t care for Kate Moss on the cover, again, but my love of this issue has to do with the typography as well as pulling some of the decade’s most creative fashions together in a crazy wonderful photo montage among other things). Besides creating these incredibly creative, and imaginative pages ( Unbelieveable Fashion, photographed by Nick Knight, above, Where the Wild Things Are photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, below), you can catch Nick Knight’s video of his shoot, Fantasia, at Showtimestudio.com. From the credits it looks as if Epilogue Imaging did the digital artwork for the magazine issue, which I take means that oh so cool typography.

There’s more in there, much more….it was all just so delish I couldn’t help but give the issue some space on my blog. For someone like me who craves visual creativity, this has been my double chocolate mousse cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust and white chocolate and whipped creme on top (in case you are wondering, I had that too during my holidays….my holidays were great by the way, how were yours?).

I loved the editor’s letter too: “Forget the It-bag, the serviceable coat, the investment buy; this is all about how extraordinary things can be–a celebration of the unusual.” Given the times, Ms. Alexander Shulman (British Vogue’s editor), this seems like a wise course of action.

As a final note, as if all of the above weren’t enough, Karl Lagerfield chimed in with Karl Lagerfield’s Secret Ball (above). I did not have to be at a glam mystery ball to get the best of what this might be about, Lagerfield’s paintings were enough for me!

I think this one’s a keeper. What do you think?

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My crystal ball has lately been energized, feeling the need to make a prediction…..

Groundless it may be (at this point), but here goes:

Video games for xbox, wii and playstation.

IPhone stuff.

Plasma TV’s.

And, handcrafts. In particular fleece throws, scarves, hats, mittens. Fleece. We will all be warm this Christmas.

How do I know these things? Well, the electronic stuff is nearly a given; and with plasma tv’s on sale at the lowest prices of the century, everyone should be getting one. Now is the time. So, that seems like a given to me as well.

Nielsen did some online buzz tracking and their stats mirror pretty much what I’ve just said. Check here for actual numbers.

As for the handcrafts….the New York Times just did an article on how well craft stores seem to be doing for the season with people preferring to make their own stuff or even buying handcrafted items and why not? With the gild totally off the lily for stuff coming out of China…we have been saturated with poorly made representations of the real stuff. It’s a need I think the populace in general has.

Something real. Something from the heart and not the fabrications we have been being fed for so long, no one knows any longer what their real worth is.

For me 2008 was a search for the authentic…and for 2009, it will be a search for Rockwell. My nostalgia for all things American has gotten to me. Perhaps because we are so much in danger of losing it all.

My trip to Barnes and Noble revealed a similar kind of nostalgia…books on local interest (here, St. Louis), the Clydesdales, an actual book called In Search of Rockwell and Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate.

With that in mind, I hope you have a very merry Christmas for all of you who are believers, and to everyone a very happy new year. May 2009 bring with it all the hope we have put into it.

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It was date night for me Friday night. Me and PBS, since Bill Moyers had a great interview with 2 New York Times columnists about what happened with Wall Street’s meltdown and the author, Kevin Phillips, of a book, Bad Money, he is recommending as a must.

The bottom line after all of the I confess heavy thought processing is that who knows? But Phillips has been forecasting this for awhile and goes back as far as both the Clinton and Regan administrations to find fault with even today’s situation. His point being, mainly, that all along the way finance was something Washington found in favor and never popped the bubble to take the bitter pill.

Doesn’t much look like we will today either with a $700 billion bail out, but hey, I guess it’s better than taking the rest of the world off a cliff with us.

Needless to say when Casablanca came on I was thrilled and it found in me a total willingness to cast my fate to the Marrakesh winds for the night, along with Bogie and “Play It Again, Sam” Sam.

So much water over the bridge this season, so much from real to metaphoric I wax nostalgic for simpler days.

Since there are so many references to Morocco these days, I went in search of Casablanca still shots because I saw so much in the movie that I am seeing in production now, not the least of which was an incredible room divider seen in Rick’s Cafe Americain that had the most delicious fretwork. But it was the doors to Rick’s Cafe that really got me. Maryam Montague of MyMarrakesh blog fame has really brought to life the doors of the region: these big heavy wooden rounded doors (image by Maryam).

Sigh.

So, the stills I found from the movie (though fantastic) didn’t bring me much in the way of product relief (except Maryam’s door!) but did bring me a boatload full of good posters and trivia surrounding the movie along with some of the most famous quotes ever…..go visit. You won’t be disappointed. But better yet, get the DVD, now that you can’t afford to go to the movies.

It wasn’t a simple time in the movie, but somehow even with the corruption that existed in Casablanca (the movie’s title city), the protagonists emerge heroes and overcome their cynical and selfish motives to somehow rally around a cause greater than themselves. It’s pure poetry and a tonic for our times.

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Patterns In Design, Art, and Architecture by Petra Schmidt (Editor), Annette Tietenberg (Editor), Ralf Wollheim (Editor).

I do like coffee table books and this may be one, but one I’d recommend.

In starck contrast to a contemporary and minimalist movement came the New Baroque movement. Flourishes, leafy patterns, stripes, polka dots, and pattern all appear on bedheads, wall papers, lamp shades, chairs or entire rooms. This book shows how new looks at old ways can produce fresh alternatives to the minimalist movements.

Using examples of contemporary work by internationally renowned designers such as Tord Boontje, Michael Lin, Olaf Nicolai and Sauerbruch & Hutton, the diversity of colours, shapes and applications are laid out before the reader, illustrating the impact and influence of technical innovations such as laser engraving and digital milling on patterns and our perception of them.

Often humorous, very colorful, and rarely plain the movement may be showing signs of maturity but I think it’s always important to see where we’ve been to also know where we are going. Not to mention that the technology factor they bring out has been a tremendous feature to this movement and is probably just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we will be able to accomplish as a consequenc of new technologies.

The book is available in both hardbook and paperback at amazon.

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I confess I’m a little late to this party…..Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman, authors of A Perfect Mess, launched their book in mid December 2006 but as a testament to a core argument of theirs, I came across it a few days ago by not looking for it and discovered for me at least right now, A Perfect Mess is in fact my perfect answer.

In a previous post on Trendbites, I confessed to being a clutterphile and thus a pile person. By Abrahamson and Freedman’s standard that puts me on the creative edge of things. While I know that, the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily function by that criteria. In fact, in researching the net about the book, it caused quite a stir for the wrong reasons to my mind when in fact it hit a nerve for the neatniks of the world. Take for instance this interview (if you didn’t see it) by Matt Lauer on the Today Show in January 07 ….he had a noticeable reaction to the images of the clutter and is a self professed clutterbuster. But he isn’t the only one; it seemed to bring out a true confessions moment (read the comments section if you visit this link) for those on both sides of the neat vs messy fence.

The essence of the book lay more with management systems than with clean desks per se, but if I may, the messy desk was/is just a great introduction to the theory that having a more messy (read not so tightly controlled) management organization will lead to greater creativity and then they proceed to show nothing but example after example of how this theory is borne out.

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Webkinz. As Alison Zisko reported 2.11.08 for trade journal Home Furnishings News, “For the uninitiated, Webkinz, manufactured by Ganz, are small plush toys that come with a secret code that unlocks a secure Web site, enabling children to take care of a virtual pet online. It offers games, trivia questions and all sorts of ways for children to mind the health and well being of their pet, as well as create and decorate rooms for it on the computer. Webkinz are introduced periodically. Introduced in April 2005, they retail for around $12.95 apiece.”

The article further states ,”“We sold almost half a million dollars in Webkinz last year,” said David Calcaterra, vice president of Thrifty Florist, which operates 16 of the combined flower and gift shops in the metropolitan Detroit region. “People bought other things. In the month of December, it made a difference.”

So far what they are talking about is the selling of the stuffed animals, Webkinz, themselves. What about actual products that license them. Seems like a terrific boost to sales of anything i.e. bedding, tabletop items themselves, furniture, pajamas….lunchboxes, backbacks. It’s a thought, or more like a recommendation. I haven’t checked into licensing the product myself, not yet.

I will say that it is one of those things Moms are recommending to other Moms and is a topic of conversation between Moms….always a surefire way of seeing the beginnings of something very big.

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A Guide to Finding Great Recycled, Sustainable, Renewable Objects You Will Love by Dale Evans. Shopping today in Barnes and Noble is like seeing a microcosm of where the world’s head is at, literally,…

I thought I’d share some of these gems, which you may or may not have already taken notice of; but by the time it hits bookstores like this and with sole tables or merchandisers devoted to their display, well you can pretty much figure these interests have the rest of the world’s attention already, on some level….

A table showing just books related to How to be Green….

A merchandiser with How to Guides for your IPod, Your WII, Your XBox, and your IPhone….(this I liked because the graphics seemed far more intelligent than an Idiot’s Guide to the Same thing subject matter)…plus it’s just smart merchandising, I mean it kind of speaks to those things many received for Christmas this year and now need to figure out how to use, yes?

and, a section on Travel Essays….books to give one a particular perspective on destinations the world over (not just Fodor’s Guide to Italy or the like), but readings that would touch one on a deeper level, it suggests we’ve evolved some from just learning how to get around a country to actually having something more to say about it and this was a fairly large section, one of their 4 foot ones and all shelves from top to bottom. Seems there are many having epiphanies while traveling these days….

and of course the Bargain Books section which held a package I took a particular liking to because not only did one get an exercise ball, but a DVD on how to use it and a pump to blow it up, all at a bargain price;

Ultimately we decided on one green guide book, “Cool Green Stuff,” (and I plan to share the best of the best with you from that book) skipped the How to Guides for now, and settled on “Eat, Pray, and Love” which is a non fiction account of the author’s journey to finding herself through meditation and travel (in Italy, India and Indonesia)….Oprah recommends it, it’s been a New York Times bestseller, and my daughter is off to Beijing in two days to study for a semester, so I figured we’d cover several things in one stroke by buying that book…..and only for now, I took a pass on the exercise ball….

First things first.

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I only wish this book had been available when my daughter was three, five, six, or 10. I mean we made things….sugar cookies, right? Isn’t that what kids can do, easily. I seem to remember trying a few other things but of course, I’d lose her attention. But here is a really good way to fully engage them in the kitchen: using recipes, beyond sugar cookies, that they can take control of and that is what this book is about, letting the kids lead the way, and not get discouraged while they are at it. You still need to be there to supervise, but can you imagine how happy the kids would be if it were them making the bananna fudge bread instead of Mom?

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