Breathtaking work from Argentinian illustrator, Estela Cuadro. Such divine texture, really really makes me want to break out the ‘ol paintbrushes.

My friend Meghan just opened her own B&B: Honor & Folly! Features all the love & trappings from Detroit’s finest designers and artisans. It’s a really authentic way to experience this hard city. I can’t wait to stay the next time I’m Detroit! Book rooms here. Oh, and they also have cooking classes too!
 
 

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+ Hear: Aimee Mullins‘ story on the Moth Podcast. Aimee is a double amputee who also happens to be an athlete, model, actress and comedian. She even got to be in Matthew Barney’s Cremaster, with custom designed faun legs (above, eat your heart out, Gaga). Easily my most favorite Moth podcast in ages. There’s also an awesome Ted talk here where she talks all about her pairs of legs.

+ Ways to help minimize your Photoshop layers from my favorite tutorial site, Method & Craft.

+ I finally caved and I’m on Pinterest now! So far I really like it, but I wish it would get married to Gimme Bar (“it’s basically an internet ShamWow”) and have ten hundred babies together.

+ Why Louis CK thinks the next Steve Jobs will be a chick over at Fast Company.

+ Fontshop’s and Myfont’s best typefaces of 2011. Oh, so very much to love here.

+ All of the Illustrator shortcuts! See similar for inDesign as well. Most of the shortcuts I use I discovered by accident or by watching someone else work inside the program. Regardless, forcing these infographics into my brain would certainly be a good exercise in streamlining workflow.

Happy 2012 all! I did a lot of blog & content planning while I was away from my computer over the holidays and now I have all these fun blog ideas. Just in time for my trip to Alt…which is in just two weeks! So, so soon! Time to get crackin.

I’m generally not a huge fan of online magazines because I find myself getting distracted from the actual content by the swoopy page effects and multitude of viewing options. So when one DOES happen to grab my eye, I definitely sit up and notice. There’s so much personality in every page of Peculiar Bliss, just ka-pow right in the face with awesome, I actually clicked through until the end. Excellently curated by Vaughn Fender it’s a must for any art or illustration fiend. These snaps are some faves from issue #8, themed “Explosive”.

There’s so much Mid-Century inspired illustration everywhere these days (not that I mind, I will never tire of that era) but it’s also why Julianna’s work stands out. Nods to Picasso, Art Deco, and 1920′s are evident in her Pinup Girls series. Aren’t these just gorgeous? What a dream to hang in a bathroom or walk-in closet. Via the Fox is Black.
 
 

It’s rare to come across an illustrator/designer with such a huge range in style. And though Nathan emailed me about his work, just this morning I was flipping through one of our older issues of Its Nice That and there he was again. No chance of forgetting about this talented wunderkind now!