Given my now full-fledged obsession with modern embroidery and typography, I pretty much yelped when I saw these gorgeous embroidered business cards by designer Nina Gregier. She decided to create the textured cards in reference to her latest project – fuchsia embroidered type. One glance at that project and I fell in love with Nina’s woven letters. They are so full of imagination, geometry and bold colour. Wow. The colours look amazing next to the black paper. Don’t you wish more business cards were tactile and hand detailed? Even the back of the threads on the flipside of the card is beautiful. I will visit Nina’s website regularly to see what handmade brilliance she dreams up next!

(cards spotted on lovely stationery)

I love these paper sculptures by Barcelona artist Jordi Ferreiro. Amazing how a gradient is formed by sheets of carefully arranged paper. Love that orange, blue and green combination bursting with texture…

‘Recycled Shadow’ is a Spanish street art installation created by architectural collective Meva. Inspired by the disturbing fact that 938,000 free daily papers are distributed daily in Madrid and most end up garbage cans, the artists folded hundreds of newspaper pages into windmills that were then hung on nylon mesh above a Alicante, Spain street as well as the courtyard of the Ministry of Environment in Madrid. The recycled windmills bring attention to a civic issue while also providing whimsical shade to people on the street. I love the look of that picturesque Spanish street and the shape of shadows created. As Meva commented about their installation, “the windmills are organized to provide shadow with a simple changing pattern, each of them rotates and balances on its own to the rhythm of the gentle summer breeze.” Beautiful street art with a message. Is there anything better?

(spotted on designboom)

I first became smitten with the work of designer Sarah Illenberger when I discovered she was behind the fantastic cover of one of my favourite books, Papercraft (the second photo above). In addition to clever photography work like the raining watermelon I posted about previously, Sarah creates brilliant handmade paper pieces for publication covers, advertising pieces and set design. I was thrilled to read on the weekend that in September, Gestalten is publishing an entire book devoted to Sarah’s spectacular work. The cover, shown at the top of this post, is just plain fabulous. It’s amazing how a few twists of gold paper becomes a modern croissant. How great are those slices of speckled sausage? I can’t wait to read Sarah’s book and marvel at her handmade wonders and zest for making everyday objects joyful.

(read about on design boom; photographs via gestalten)

Mixing CMYK colours with customizable details, designer Igor Perkusic created this unique hairdresser business card design. Cut along the dotted lines on the back of the card and you can create the hairstyle of your dreams. While most business cards end up in a drawer, I’m thinking these fun little characters will get prime real estate on your desk and maybe remind you to book your next haircut!

(spotted on card observer)

Paper-Cut-Project is an Atlanta studio overflowing with paper craft talent. These wigs are just some of the 20 paper pieces they created for Kate Spade’s Lillian Bassman collection window displays. Both the wigs and collection are inspired by the famous 1961 Bassman photograph, “A Touch of Dew” featuring windswept model Lisa Fonssagrives behind the wheel of a convertible. Such chic, modern and strong paper design with a true sense of motion, I wouldn’t mind having one to display as art. Those ponytails. Oy. The wigs are on display in Kate Spade store windows in New York so if you see them, please send a photo my way!

(spotted on strictlypaper; photograms via paper-cut-project and 1stdibs)

It’s quite extraordinary what people think to do with post-its. From artful window coverings to giant patterned walls, the sticky squares seem to have endless oppourtunity. Perhaps it is because we spend our work days staring at the task-filled squares? I love ‘post-it structures’ by yo shimada of tato architects because of the uniquely creative folding. Oy, the dimension and texture created! On show at the gallery artzone in kyoto city, the installation of 30,000 post-its creates a architectural wall of florescent paper. Perhaps this idea could be re-created in a more durable paper as a purchasable screen or room divider? Next time you are bored at work, raid the supply closet and start building your own happy wall of neon. Send pictures please!

(thanks for the inspiration shoplet!)

(photographs via design boom)

In this vibrant series, brilliant artist and photographer Carl Kleiner explores the endlessly alluring golden ratio. Upon first glance, it is easy to think these are computer generated images but “Golden Ratio & Friends” is actually a set of still-life photographs crafted in paper. Fantastic colour palettes, bold patterns, the beauty of the golden ratio – Carl never ceases to amaze me with his talent! (see the whole series here)

(spotted in it’s nice that magazine, issue #6)

I’ve seen this set of 100 Pantone Postcards online but somehow resisted buying them. Most of the images shown in online stores were surprisingly dull. Well, now that I have seen these fantastic photographs by big bang studio, I am in love! Mailing colour swatch postcards around the world sounds like a perfect new hobby don’t you think? It sure would brighten up a stack of mail. Keeping a box of these giant colour swatches on your desk to make random palettes out of sounds quite perfect too. Come to think of it, maybe I “need” two boxes…

(you can buy a set here or here)

Tree of Life by Gary, Aaron & Khairul is a brilliant print I spotted on the Anthology blog yesterday. From afar, the piece looks like a textured tree ring but upon viewing up close, the rings turn out to be hundreds of graphic animals walking in procession around the tree ring curves. The designers created the print “to highlight the responsibility we have in letting animal species thrive in their natural environment.” Tree of Life is a pretty perfect print – meaningful, clever and striking with an socially conscious soul.

(to buy a print of the poster, go here)

I am a longtime fan of Spanish artist and designer Ana Montiel. She has a dreamy eye for colour and exquisite use of pattern. When visiting Art Hound yesterday, I was reminded of Ana’s many talents and upon taking a closer look at her portfolio, fell in love with the Faux Crystals drawing series. A beautiful vision of the intricate details and texture in crystals as well as their many vibrant hues. I wouldn’t mind one (or seven) of these prints for my walls!

Look up “gorgeous” in the dictionary and I imagine you will find these Stars by Seb Lester prints (right next to a photo of George Clooney of course.) Sparkling gold ink screen printed by hand on royal or midnight blue paper, the dreamy Van Gogh quote is beautiful from a distance. But, upon closer look, the word stunning doesn’t seem to do justice to Seb’s typography made up of ‘hundreds of thousands of tiny stars’. Limited editions of 100 prints, both colours are sold out which kind of shows that you should never drag your feet when buying art! I will dull the pain by dreaming of a second edition…

(photographs via keep calm gallery)