In Between Designs has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address. If that does not occur, visit http://milanshimonolee.com and update your bookmarks.

June 29, 2009

24th Anniversary

Beautiful North Lake Tahoe. Perfect 85 degree weather.



June 22, 2009

Manchester State Park 2009

The camping trip ended up being better than I thought it would be, which is pretty difficult to imagine. Huge firepit, deer, grassy fields, relatively clean toilets, hawks, sloshball, naps, reading on the beach, roaring waves, campfire games, really good chili, bacon, enough laughs to make my face hurt, singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" while swinging hands in a circle, sea sperm (seaweed), discovering a cheap wide angle attachment... Can't wait until next year.



June 14, 2009

$9.99 for the Meaning of Life

An amazing looking film out next week, found via mint blog. Apparently it takes a whole day to film 4-5 seconds of this stop animated film. What dedication! The premise of the story sounds intriguing, but I'd go watch just to see the level of painfully good detail.



"Based on the Short Stories of Etgar Keret, and adapted for the screen by Etgar Keret and Director Tatia Rosenthal, $9.99 is a stop motion animated feature which offers slightly less than $10 worth about the meaning of life. Have you ever wondered “What is the meaning of life? Why do we exist?” The answer to this vexing question is now within your reach! You’ll find it in a small yet amazing booklet, which will explain, in easy to follow, simple terms your reason for being! The booklet, printed on the finest paper, contains illuminating, exquisite colour pictures, and could be yours for a mere $9.99." This is the ad that alters the life of the unemployed 28 year old who still lives at home, Dave Peck. In his struggle to share his find with the world, Dave's surreal path crosses with those of his unusual neighbours: an old man and his disgruntled guardian angel, a magician in debt, a bewitching woman who likes her men extra smooth, a broken hearted man who befriends a group of hard partying two inch tall students, and a little boy who sets his piggy bank free. Their stories are woven together, examining the post-modern meaning of hope."

June 12, 2009

Portfolio Revamp

I did a little doodle today with the Wacom, and decided to put it on my NEWLY REVAMPED PORTFOLIO PAGE. It's still a work in progress, mind you, and even more so in content. I have yet to upload any work since the beginning of 2008 and even when I do, I doubt that it'll ever be something I'm proud of. Alas, the curse of the critical eye. I hope you like it anyway!



Letterforms Story Wedding Invite

Ugh, so grossly cute I might have to steal this idea. For something.

For his own wedding by Matt Dorfman via design*sponge Be sure to check out his impressive work!

June 11, 2009

Umbrella Prints, Flea Markets and Eggs

These hand screenprinted patterns by Umbrella Prints are so darling that I had to share with someone. Textile design & patterning is one of those very underappreciated art forms, in my opinion, and that level of detail should receive recognition whenever possible.



The fan necklace is a collaborative spinoff of the red pattern. Umbrella Prints is an Australian textile house started by Amy Prior and Carly Schwerdt. Read more here.

Etsy is a great place to discover an alive and kicking hand crafted world, as well as vintage items that you could only dream of finding at a flea market. I'm very new to this whole style and decor industry, I admit, but I'm really excited to go to my first flea in a couple of weeks.

I just wondered if there's some tricks or tips of the trade that I should research and lo and behold! The Internet never fails me. Except for last night. [warning: digression] I scolded at J for cooking SEVEN boiled eggs for dinner. Totally absurd, right?!?? He defended himself: "But I don't eat the egg yolks!' and I retorted with a "STILL!"Ugh. My stubborn self wanted to save his arteries and prove a point at the same time so I Googled nutritional facts for eggs with J looking over my shoulder.


More than half the calories found in eggs come from the fat in the yolk; a 100 gram chicken egg contains approximately 10 grams of fat..It contains all of the fat in the egg and slightly less than half of the protein and much of the nutrients... The egg white consists primarily of water (87%) and protein (13%) and contains no cholesterol and little, if any, fat. Wikipedia.


damn. So of course before he ate his SIX eggs (i ate one out of submission), he did an annoyingly cute victory dance. You were right, babe. You were oh so terribly right.

Anyway, back to the internet. The internet has found for me a couple of articles that list best practices for flea market shopping. Some were practical like get there early and bring cash, but there are some unusual but useful ones like dress down so's they don't assume you can pay more. Interesting.. Do you have any tips of your own? I'd love to hear.

June 9, 2009

My Empty Cart No.1: Three Potato Four



Hello!

Today I'm introducing a new series called My Empty Cart inspired by the fact that there is so much to be had! The potential for shopping is boundless (limited only by the obvious "cost" thing) and working in the heart of the San Francisco shopping district and visiting the online shops for style, I have to constantly practice restraint. I've come up with ways to avert my attention like, not bringing my wallet, or sketching what I want in hopes to subside the desire, or allow myself time to rampage through clothing racks but really edit to zero in the end.

What works best for me is to shop online, add things to my cart, give myself a realistic budget, THEN look at the total price, and then start deleting things from the cart one by one until I've narrowed it down to what I really love AND really need. And then I leave the window up all day until I convince myself that I don't need or want any of it afterall.

Most the time, I end up closing the window on accident.

So today, I've stumbled across Three Potato Four and I am sitting on my shopping cart like a chicken on her egg, and this is what I've edited it down to:



Collection of Skeleton Keys (set of 3) $12.00




Penmanship Practice Charts $6.00
How about a curly "M" for Milan and a swirly "J" for Jason stuck on our fridge? Cute huh.




Letterpress Print Type Drawer/Tray - No.11 $25.00
i LOVE that letterpress is reviving itself from a dead art form.


On a related note, enjoy a short video of printing press Grafica Fildalga, shared to me by a dear friend.



Powder Blue Wire Basket
$60.00
I think I could justify the price of this cute basket by the significant reduction of clutter that it would bring to my living room.




Suspended Seagull Sculpture $28.00
Now this... is probably excessive. It's beautiful though... and resin... and white...?




Grand subtotal: $137 + tax & shipping

What do you think -- should I buy?

June 5, 2009

Butter by Nadia

Have a happy weekend everyone! I'm off to a wedding tomorrow, and then apartment hunting with my big sister because she's moving to the area! Convertible dresses by Butter by Nadia that I absolutely love.

June 3, 2009

Peony is the Strangest Word

.. But one of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen. Sitting at my desk in silence last night, I'd hear a sound like a creak in the woodwork or a tiny "apparition" pop but when I'd look over the tight round buds had burst open shamelessly, with all its white ruffly petals spilled out for the world (me) to see. I just had to take photos.

What I like best about peonies is that they look delicate, and even more so as they begin to wilt and pale in color, but they are far from fragile. I like to feel the velvetiness of petals between my fingers, and peonies don't wither away at my touch. They are strong and beautiful, a kind of flower I'd want to be.







June 1, 2009

Kitchen After

Welcome to my kitchen! I'm showing you this room first because it's the only one even closely resembling put-togetherness. I could be doing a much better job of recording the before and after of my decorating process, I know. Here are a few 'after' photos and one 'before' photo:

[before]


[after]

An improvement, no? The kitchen gets the best light in the mornings. This is the place where I'd like to make my lovely guests a savory dish or a nice steaming cup of tea out of the only mug I own. We take turns drinking tea. So far I've cooked many breakfasts in the afternoon. There is a ladder in the kitchen because I refuse to put it in the bedroom. The cabinet hardware that came with the kitchen are cute little forks and spoons. Adore.




I purchased the poster on the fridge from a design and art show by my friend Japtheth and our friend Ben. They are best friends. It says "THIS IS OUR DAY" in neat lettering that reminds me of old technology. I'm using my fridge as an inspiration board of sorts, at least until I build one for my desk area [photos to come].




I've decided on a black and white theme with all shades of green to accent. I hope to have a big turquoise accent on the wall by the fridge, and lots of little glass blue jars to capture that brilliant light that spills in somehow both at dawn as well as dusk. The chairs are a bit uncomfortable and so I'm also looking for nice and wide seat cushions.





Thank you for looking; come visit and I'll make you some good tea!

PS) Stay tuned for a post on the third annual Co/Lab Show that opened last week. In the meantime, read the article here.