Designers & Books

Architects, fashion designers, graphic designers, interior designers, product designers... and their lists of the most significant, inspiring, meaningful books, formative to artistic and personal development. Books that make your brain storm, bring new design ideas and even change your entire world-view. Designers & Books,  a brilliant online catalogue was created by Steve Kroeter. 

51 designers, 703 books, and I'm sure the database will grow continuously. The best reads of Daniel Libeskind... and Witold Rybczynski recommends "Books Every Architect Should Read"... just have a look and make your own list! Being a bookworm myself, I found an endless source to feed my reading addiction. After only a brief search I made this obligatory hunger-reading list:

'Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye' by Rudolf Arnheim
'The Design of Everyday Things' by Donald Norman

'Fashioning Fiction in Photography since 1990' by Susan Kismaric and Eva Respini

'Annie Leibovitz: Photographs 1970–1990'
'Elements of Design' by Gail Greet Hannah

Have you read any of them? What are your favourites, books that changed somethig for you?
www.designersandbooks.com

Styling inspiration: organic stripes

Striped-colorful and optimistic. Warm. Close to nature. Aren't these colour palettes beautiful? Enjoy!

images via: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,

Imaginary Kingdom of Tim Walker

Picking apples in my Grandmothers orchard, climbing the trees and turning into a fairy. Lead soldier wars and dreams of flying... Going home for dinner straight from your fresly-build castle or another exciting overseas cruise... As we grow up, our childchood becomes imaginary kingdom. Imaginary - for most of us, but for some - more real than reality.

Tim Walker, the Peter Pan of  British photography, creates images that can be seen only with our inner child's eyes. He evokes long-forgotten memories, invites us to the other side of the mirror. Surreal or magic realism? It's not only the whimsical beauty that makes his narrative photo-stories unforgetable: they are created with true love, based on collective unconscious archetypes and cultural symbols, easily-read, mysteriously touching. Alive.

Tim Walker works mostly on fashion projects, his photograps were published in numerous magazines (Vogue,Vanity Fair etc.) all over the world and exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery, The Design Museum and The Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

www.timwalkerphotography.com

Creative chaos theory

In the beginning there was chaos. Let's not be so serious... let's make some mess...

“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” Alan Alda

“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.” Stephen Nachmanovitch

“Conditions for creativity are to be puzzled; to concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be born everyday; to feel a sense of self.” Erich Fromm

 

images: 1,9: Styled by Emma Thomas, 2,5,10: William Waldron photography, 3,4: Roman and Williams interiors, 7,8: Joanna Henderson photography, 6: Bukowskis auction via iiiinspired

Styling inspiration: warm wood

Why do I like wooden furniture so much? And fall so easily for the beauty of old wooden floors? Is it the great sensation of touching the worn-out surface, feeling the warmth and genuity that vintage pieces emanate? Wood can be both humble and magnificent, but it always stays truthful to itself. It's always full of life!

Solid wood furniture items are not so easy to find and usually very expensive. But we can always choose something with real wooden veneer...

Mesmerizing blue light... and Billy bookcases from Ikea. Beautiful, atmospheric library created by interior stylist Lotta Agaton. I like the colour composition here: warm browns and cool inky blues.

Found at a great blog of stylist Charlotte Bladh

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A family hut in the mountains - inspiration from Sköna Hem. Cosy, isn't it?

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Wood in the most raw and humble incarnation: wonderful photo series showing the work of carpenter Andrea Brugi taken by Ditte Isager. Eco-beauty seen at Pure Green.