I can’t seem to stop watching this stop-motion video so I thought I should finally post it! Canadian designers Lisa Blonder Ohlenkamp and Sean Ohlenkamp created this amazing piece of film magic. I can’t imagine how many hours it must have taken to arrange single books and take photo after photo. Well, you can kind of see how much time it took from the hands of the clock spinning around! On a side note, when I visited Sean’s website I discovered he is also the genius behind the Toronto Zoo Polar Bear Colouring Book that I posted about a while ago. What a talent. I am convinced that this is what bookshelves do when they are alone. A truly joyful, colour-happy film.

I seem to have a thing for punchy pastels this week. Perhaps because of all the spring colours floating around? The shots above by photographer Elle Moss are the definition of strong but ethereal hues. Elle has a fantastic colour sensibility and style that makes all of her photos feel dreamy. There is also this amazing vintage feeling to her work. It’s as if you suddenly discovered a colourful photo album from decades ago.

(See more work on Elle’s Flickr and buy prints in the Elle Moss Etsy shop.

I came across these images, by different photographers, during two separate Flickr searches and started to think about how much they had in common. The effortless, random swirls of ranunculus and fabric rolls (In particular, the pink and orange flowers elements) are fascinating in their vibrancy and layers. More than anything, I have always loved the eye candy of gorgeous ranunculus and the patterns created by fabric rolls lined up on the shelf.

(images via jessica nichols & robert wallace)

It’s hard not to love these images styled by London-based stylist Rebecca Newport and photographed by Ania Wawrzkowicz. I love the idea of painted spoons and the matte finish showcases their craftmanship and intricate lines. The colour palette is also particularly dreamy. There is nothing insipid or faint about these pastels. In fact, if there is such a thing as strong pastels, these are it! Now if only they sold silverware like this somewhere…

(images via rebecca newport)

There is something magical about sea glass and the journey required to turn sharp chunks of clear glass into smooth, matte works of art. American artist Jennifer Booher combs the beaches of Maine for beautiful cool-toned glass and arranges her collection into gorgeous spectrums of colour. I love how these photographs highlight the beauty and endless hues of sea glass. I am more than inspired to go on a beach walk as soon as possible!

(images via jennifer booher)

I’ve always thought make-up was a fascinating photography topic. Sure, flawless application on a supermodel is eye-catching but I love when make-up is used like art supplies – lipsticks are squished into piles of glossy colour, eyeshadow pots are ground into vibrant powders and blush becomes flakes of luminous pink. I recently came across the work of photographer Geoffrey Sokol and while he has a wonderful portfolio covering a wide range of colourful subjects, it was his make-up shots that caught my eye. I just love the styling, dramatic texture and gorgeous colour palettes. I would love to see a make-up company embrace this type of styling rather than the stagnant product shots that dominate the industry. Geoffrey proves cosmetics really can become art!

(images via geoffrey soko)

From a layered cake to the bold lines of architecture to Parisian fashion, there are few patterns as classic and attractive as stripes. While I love when stripes are used blatantly (on a shirt for example), I find that I especially like when stripe patterns emerge unexpectedly like in stacks of books, twists of pasta, rows of planted fields or corrugated steel on the side of a building. Whatever the form, you can’t really go wrong with timeless stripes. Hope they colour you happy this Friday!

(images via red pepper quilts, katie weller, julien, zoë power, ingrid, megan walker, clatie k, little brown pen, rafael.82ml, andrea kennard, frscspd, kristian ekfors, jean-michekl, marco braun, christine gerhardt, us images, ale ramirez)

Love these photos by German photographer Matthias Heiderich. Matthias has hundreds of wonderful shots but his ‘Colour Berlin‘ series is just so fascinating. I love the warm, retro colour palette and patterns of geometry that run across all the photographs. Such a beautiful way to look at the colourful details that make Berlin special.

(via honestly wtf)

These aerial photographs by Alex MacLean are extraordinary. Flower fields, abandoned military planes, motorcycle racing on black ice, algae growing on floating logs, beach dwellers and even the Disney World parking lot are just a few subjects Alex investigates using his commercial pilot license and camera. The photos expose not only how humans and nature interact but the incredible patterns and colour palettes created from those interactions.

(to see more of Alex’s amazing work, go to his portfolio here.)

It’s the first official week of spring and signs that the season is here to stay have cropped up all over Vancouver. The trees are ready to burst with blossoms and the ground is covered in a lush carpet of crocuses and snowdrops. From the clean modern lines of a daffodil stem to the fabric-like ruffles of a peony, there are few things in life as beautiful and endlessly inspiring as the architecture of flowers and trees. Equally amazing is the limitless colour palette that nature can draw from including the dazzling purple of crocuses, the ethereal silver of pussy willows and, in Vancouver’s case, the rich blanket of cherry blossom pinks that wash over our city. I’m fairly certain that a good portion of my obsession with colour is derived from a childhood surrounded by inspiring and colourful flowers, plants and trees. The vibrancy and depth of nature’s palette is often impossible to replicate and I’m kind of thankful that is the case.

In celebration of spring and all of the eye candy it provides, I thought it would be a good topic for this week’s colour me happy. Hope you get outside this weekend and see more signs that spring has really sprung! (p.s. yet another side benefit of all those cherry trees is the way blossoms pile up against street curbs. There is something magical about having a gutter full of pink!)

(images via johan klovsjö, yvette inufio, my whimsy, chrissie28iwish, drew, tinywhitedaisies, mo westein, cielbleu, betty hankins, dotintime, decor8, pianogram, woodleywonderworks)

Nacho Alegre created these fantastic designs by photographing glasses of coloured water. I love how the patterns take on unique details and texture because of the different facets at the bottom of each glass. Such a clever idea!

(via this is colossal)

Photography and styling studio Doswell & Mclean created these gorgeous images for a Bloom Magazine article on using natural dyes. I am in love with the first photograph’s stunning purple hues, romantic white mushroom texture and mixture of matte and gloss finishes.

If there is one festival or event I am dying to attend it is Holi, the Hindu festival of colour. This past weekend Holi was celebrated in India as well as Nepal, Sri Lanka and several other countries with large Indic populations. There is plenty of fascinating history and rituals tied to the annual festival that you can read about here. I bet you can guess the part of Holi I am obsessed with – the day devoted to throwing coloured powder and coloured water in celebration! There are many theories tied to this practice but most revolve around bringing people together – cutting across classes, castes and beliefs while officially ushering in spring, the season of love. I am dazzled by images of markets full of colourful pigment piles that turn into brilliant clouds of colour. Most of all, I love the unbridled joy and love of colour demonstrated by those celebrating Holi and how their faces become individual works of art. I really need to book my ticket to Holi next year!

(images via majid saeedi, angela coles, shrimaitreya, majid saeedi, my modern met, my modern met, majid saeedi, star telegram, kalsnchats, majid saeedi, poras chaudhary, les ghosh trotteurs, majid saeedi, rafiq maqbool, majid saeedi, my modern met, rafiq maqbool, my modern met)

Coloured smoke bombs exploding in nature seems to have become somewhat of a photography trend lately. While there are plenty of images and techniques out there, I don’t think many compete with the stunning work of artist Filippo Minelli. Filippo’s ongoing Silence/Shapes series features brilliantly coloured smoke against peaceful almost generic nature backdrops. The final result is spellbinding scenes with striking juxtaposition of colour that I could stare at for hours. Hoping there are prints of these gorgeous photographs available soon or I might have to continue researching smoke bomb building!

(thanks for the link Catriana!)

There are few holidays that celebrate one colour more than Saint Patrick’s Day. Every year on March 17th, the world seems to glow green as shamrocks, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers mark the celebration. Ireland, known as the Emerald Isle, is a nation of rolling hills and lush landscapes that only further highlight the dominance of green in Irish life. Interestingly, blue was the traditional colour of Ireland and Saint Patrick. Even today, Saint Patrick’s blue (a sky blue) and Presidential Blue (a dark shade) are the official colours of the Government of Ireland. The original Ireland flag as well as the current Coat of Arms and the Standard of the President of Ireland feature a gold Irish harp on a Saint Patrick’s blue background. There are plenty of theories of how green took over but most agree that Saint Patrick used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans which forever linked wearing the green symbol to the holiday. Hundreds of years later, Saint Patrick’s Day is a celebration bathed in shades of bright green and unbridled merriment.

For over 40 years, Chicago has been famous for dying the Chicago River a vivid shade of Emerald Isle green for their St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrations. Intriguingly, the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union (who began the tradition) don’t use green dye. In a feat of colour theory and/or magic, orange dye is mixed with the river water to create that famous green hue. I have heard that recipe for the non-toxic orange dye is a closely guarded secret within the Plumbers Union which certainly explains why only Chicago has really succeeded in creating a green that brilliant. Wishing you a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day celebration full of colour!

(images via bass_nroll, alexander noe, kathy, nechaiphoto, bluemarla, paul swortz, sébastien b, richard milnes)

These photos are a year or so old but I find myself returning to stare at them almost weekly so I thought I would make my obsession official by posting them here! Most perfume ads are pretty boring – either still shots of the perfume bottle or some variation of a beautiful model or celebrity living a fabulous, good-smelling life. For the launch of the Marc Jacobs Lola perfume, photographer Joshua Scott wanted to break that mould and simply capture the essence of the perfume. As Joshua has said, “we designed a series of images to represent intangible qualities the perfumes possesses… to photograph the product without actually photographing the product but rather the ideas and emotions that combine to create the product.” Using glitter, feathers, bouncy balls and confetti in the colours of the perfume bottle, Joshua certainly captures the playful, joyful and exuberant spirit of Lola. I love this refreshing and artful take on a perfume ad and hope it is the start to more innovation in the genre. How magnificent is the colour palette!? The first photo featured of dazzling, vividly-hued glitter exploding into the air is definitely one of my favourite photos ever.

(images via joshua scott)