Book vs. Kindle

I don't yet have an iPad (waiting impatiently for a lighter second generation) but I do have a Kindle. And while I may have embraced the change from one technology to another (from my blackberry to iPhone) with open arms, leaving paper for the electronic page is a different story. I love how portable the Kindle is. I love that I can just slip it into my bag at the last minute while hopping a train to Manhattan or rushing to the airport. However, after reading a couple of books on it - that I highly recommend - (Just Kids by Patti Smith, Man on Wire by Philippe Petit and I Shock Myself by Beatrice Wood) I craved to hold a real book in my hands, to have the whole visual feast of the novel available to me at one time instead of one click after another, and most importantly, to indulge in searching a bookstore to pick out a new book. Just as doodling on my iPhone is a fun thing to do from time to time (though I still prefer to put my main creative thoughts down on thick creamy paper), the Kindle is a great accessory. But nothing beats a real book.

Design on a Dime

The Housing Works annual Design on a Dime is such a fabulous event for such a great cause. Besides knowing that your presence is helping Housing Works, it is also a wonderful venue for catching up with lots of friends in the design industry who are all too busy otherwise. I went with my good friend Analisse Taft of ALT for Living and we met up with John Robshaw - who does amazing printed bedding from India, as well as Kim Sebert, a friend of John's who he refers to as the "tabletop queen."

Alexander McQueen

I have always been a huge Alexander McQueen fan and, of course, like many others was very saddened by his untimely death. He always took amazing and unique conceptual thinking and magically turned it into something beautiful, surprising and wearable. A true master of form and function!

I came across these flip flips (below) of his. I have flirted with doing a rug with a huge working zipper for years - and fell in love with these immediately! True to form, not only are the flip flops a great design but the zipper works perfectly so you can make them uniquely personal.