Dine. Travel. Design.

Left: Chairs seen at an Antique store in Hingham, MA
Right: Cherner Armchair from DesignWithinReach

I got to see an old high school friend this weekend and we were taking a nice stroll to Starbucks. On our way there we passed this cute little antique store (chairs on left). They are quite interesting and the fabric is so vibrant! It so happened in one of my recent magazine subscriptions that there was an advertisement for the DWR Cherner Chair (chair right). Now, this got me to do a little simple research and found: aha! Custom Cherner Chairs. Now, who will be the one fooled to buy very contemporary furniture from an antique store? I wonder if the store owner knows the whole story…

A couple weeks ago I made a new friend and found out about Green Drinks. Last week I attended my first gathering. Get together with friends and strangers alike at a pre-determined location (that changes each meeting, so make sure you’re on the local email list!) Talk about things-green (or not green) and meet some interesting people over food and beverages Simple and fun.

Check out the very simple, yet necessary information at the Green Drinks site. They have groups worldwide!

Good to know basic information, especially as I’m starting to think of my own career path at 1 year out of school and on the job. Go me!

Hierarchy and lifecycle of design titles in Part 1.

Responsibilities and expectations along with some portfolio guidelines in Part 2.

Last week I attended the Design*Sponge Biz Ladies event in Boston hosted at West Elm (D*S Boston Event). Great info from local women in the design business about marketing yourself and being an independent designer. Also, some tips about making an online presence (Secrets of self-promotion at Wired.com) Thanks Design*Sponge!

Unfortunately schedule is over for the summer. Can’t wait until next time!

But until then, check out online resources from Design*Sponge Biz Ladies

Wasara: a line of disposable paper tableware made from reed pulp and bagasse (sugarcane waste), inspired by Japanese aesthetics.

So refined! So simple! So elegant! Plain beautiful.

via DesignVerb

Another one of those products we all wish we thought of first!

A great little container that has an outer flexible shell for ice-cube making and an inner container to store those ice-cubes or anything else you may want to keep cold (ice cream, dip, wine..)

Remove the inner container and partially fill the outer shell with water. Place inner container back into the outer shell to displace the water and fill the Orb. Freeze and voila! Ice-cubes are ready to be popped out of the shell and into the container or take the whole thing with you as a mini-chiller.

Demo and Purchase IceOrb here from FusionBrands.

via CoolHunting

Read the whole article at BusinessWeek.

Lots of good arguments for and against the stock photo sites like GettyImages and Design/Photography firms. Basically these are 2 different target markets. Cheap photos from websites target those who would not generally pay for professional work and allows amateurs to gain exposure on the web. Design firms need to continue to focus on clients that will pay for their professional services.

An interesting debate…What do you think?

via Dexigner

These are my 3 favorites:

See all 70 here
via designverb