Man! I’m on a real photography bender this week! These photos are what I want to look at when I need a laugh. I discovered artist/designer Cari Vander Yacht’s Ugly Face Wednesdays series from my friend Kate Bingaman-Burt several months ago while we were in Portland. And I’ve loved it since. Cari’s project is simply just to make the ugliest – and I mean ugliest– face she can think of. There’s something so refreshing about how honest these are. Not concerned with pretty, cute, perfect is a welcome change of pace. Chad & I have taken to doing this after a long day, it’s always a welcome dose of comic relief. It is Wednesday, what’s the ugliest face YOU can muster? Bonus points if you send me a picture of it!

Love Stephanie’s Gonot’s use foods in her photographs. Or “Foods?”, with question mark as she calls them. Always nice to see a young photographer using their medium to make unique editorial statements about the world. Found her work through Adi Goodrich and via Instagram.

+ Been mulling over Jessica Comingore’s post, In Transition. It’s about the struggle between balancing your own business and maintaining an active blog. And while I could fill my own post on this topic alone, it’s also 6pm on Friday and my mind is clearly mush, you should just go read Jessica’s instead. It’s as if she wrote this directly from my own brain anyway, ha.

+ Clever photography series, Things Granny Never Told You About the Internet.

+ How one design conference made itself less of a bro-fest. (Related, I’ll be there. Ahem.)

+ Been jamming to this week’s Mykind Mix from Design For Mankind. Classic Hip Hop, a few new sounds, very danceable and good for general upbeat-ed-ness (shh, that’s totally a word). I’ve started a similar playlist on my Spotify if you want more like this.

+ Typefight: another fun typographic blog pits two custom letterforms against each other & readers get to vote on the winner. Excellent source for unusual typography.

+ Artwork supplied by Australia’s Andrew Frazier.

Big internet day for me today! Our house is on Design*Sponge! What a fun collaboration this was, Angela Finney-Hoffman (my Post 27 partner in crime) came over to help up hang some of the art and do some organizing and styling. And then our incredibly talented camera-head friends, Brian Guido & Julia Stotz took the pictures. I’m seriously pinching myself, I never thought our things could look so good. Also major high fives to Anne Stark Ditmeyer from Pret a Voyager & Design*Sponge for having us. Thanks, thanks, thanks. friends!!

Here’s some outtakes and some photos D*S didn’t publish, including one stereo & vinyl collection which is a particular favorite of mine.
 

Vintage magazine organizers, endearingly named after countries. Always make me ponder their previous & worldly life before they held our magazines. The little figurine buddy hanging out on the edge of the photo is by Friends with You. Instead of installing curtains or using the standard mini-blinds, we covered these bay windows with semi-transparent fabric. It’s adhered right to the glass with straight liquid starch (Sta-Flo). We rent so this will come off with a sponge & water once it’s time to move. 

Vinyl collection is almost exclusively inherited from our parents & grandparents. Runs a wide gamut from musicals, barbershop & oldies, jazz, disco, to more modern folk and electronica. Plays on a mint-condition 80′s Technics turntable with round speakers, also vintage. The speakers are unfortunately more style than substance and this shows in the quality of sound. I love how unique they are though so maybe we’ll one day get to commission a modern remix on them (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun!).

Make sure you hit up the whole tour on Design*Sponge for the full rundown on the rest of the space!

Doing some organizing today and unearthed these portfolio shots Julia Stotz took of my work a few weeks ago. This is the Purple Book, it’s a sketchbook I made in which I am only allowed to use the color purple. And hot pink.

Also, some Instagram outtakes from said shoot. You’ll get to see the rest of Julia’s magic photos soon, there are things planned! Dun, dun, dunnnnnnn. Cliffhanger! I have you teetering on the edge of your swivel chair (or yoga ball, if you’re into that) with suspense don’t I?
 

+ These photos are just cause I thought you needed some magic in your day. Long exposures of Japanese fireflies in the blue light of dusk. Via Its Colossal.

+ My Design Dispatch is up at Studio Sweet Studio! Lots of great design-y resources!

+ Local (and young!) talent Lillian Davenport has been struggling with an intense bout of cancer for the last year, her doctors have just discovered a new tumor in her brain and healing it comes with a 10k price tag. Read more about Lillian’s story and offer your financial support here.

+ This week also marks World Cancer Day (Feb 4th) and Canadian band Two Crown King has just released a new song in support of their friend Ben’s fight with cancer. Learn more about Ben and his song here. And for just 99¢ please download from iTunes. Thanks to my friend Jacqui Oakley for the tip on this one!

+ Finally, on a lighter note, the thoughtful folks from Alt Summit have put together a fantastic line-up of online classes on blogging. So if you didn’t make it to Alt this year, there’s plenty you can learn right from the comfort of your own couch.

See you next week, friends!