Heartbeat #3: Strawberry Fields Forever

EDIT: Taken off for use in another project


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* Posts entitled “Heartbeat” are works of fiction; resemblance to real people, events, or places are purely unintentional & coincidental.

Rose

Like breathing and exploring, destroying & creating is something that needs to be done regularly for the sake of sanity.

No supplies to be had currently, so just grabbed scissors, tape, and paper.  Ahh, bliss.  What are some verbs that bring joy to your life?

Applying "The 10 Principles of Design", to Life

crystal DNA, artist unknown
Dieter Rams is one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century.  He is best known for his work during a span of 40 years designing for the Braun company.  The following is how Dieter Rams defined 'good design' in Dwell Magazine (Sept. 2009); humorously, these guidelines could serve well for designing - not only objects, but a more efficient & fulfilling life, as well.  

May his words be of use and inspiration.

Good design must:

1).  be innovative

2).  be useful

3).  be aesthetic

4).  be unobtrusive

5).  be honest

6).  be durable

7).  be thorough to the last detail

8).  help a product be understood

9).  be concerned with the environment

10).  be designed as little as possible

Heartbeat #2: Dreams

EDIT: Taken off for use in another project


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* Posts entitled “Heartbeat” are works of fiction; resemblance to real people, events, or places are purely unintentional & coincidental.

Rings-Anonymous

Rings are fun to make, and to wear.  The more amusing and awkward, the better.  Hands are one of the most visible, communicative, and used parts of the human body - naturally, they've got to be decked out in style.  Nothing demure, I'm talking knuckle-dusters, eyesores, & the humorous.  A hardcore tribute to the hands that sustain us. 

Exhibit 1 (swoon-worthy):

 "Crystal Brass Knuckles (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****)".  Debra Baxter

Quartz crystals, sterling silver 

Exhibit 2 (always prepared):

Emergency ring.  Artist unknown. 

Viagra pill not included, according to the article; which is great, because then it becomes kind of Alice-in-Wonderland-esque.  If anyone knows who makes these, please do let us know!

Exhibit 3 (the real deal):

Succulent Rings.  Barbara Uderzo.

The minimalist design is really appealing.

Exhibit 4 (raising the bar):

Paris (left); Chalet (right).  Villa de Reve Collection.  Philippe Tournaire.

rose, white and yellow 18k gold icons of Paris sit upon a single shank

"I don't want a diamond, babe.  I want a house.  Or a city."  (btw, the collection includes cufflinks, too!)

Bringing this topic back down to earth - the cost of something is not always indicative of avant-garde-ness or uniqueness.  Rather, it is creativity and a simplistic, focused design that sets a piece of work apart from others.  Now could someone please make a ring out of their baby teeth? Morbid. Awesome. Yes.

Stars and Stripes Forever

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What a super weekend of sand and ocean.

Like it or not, our environment - its people, places, and traditions - influences who we are.   Whether we decide to change for better or for worse is up to us, but in order for change to occur, we must first acknowledge the source.
Every culture & country has good and bad points; rather than slamming the environment that shaped us and saying, I am ashamed to be associated with this culture/place, it would be more conductive if we could say I don't like the way X is in our culture/place; how can we improve?.

As with sports, you gotta root for your home-team, through thick and thin.  It's a beautiful thing to meet a person who is proud of the environment(s) that shaped them, who works to improve it, and is happy to share a piece of it with others.

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Jasmine Morning

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Recently, good and bad events are piling on top of one another so fast that my head is spinning and while this has inspired some ideas and conclusions, the thoughts are either too jumbled or personal so instead, a recount of this morning:

----- EDITED (for the sake of staying somewhat on topic): -----

Basically wrote about events a little before & after the spillage of my morning cup of tea all over some notes.  And how my laptop fell and went crack, like broken bone, upon contact with the concrete floor.  SAD TROMBONE.

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What a lucky morning:
* Thankfully, tea is not sticky and does not stain. It smelled like Jasmine the rest of the morning – Zen-tastic.
* Am not much of a tech fanatic (if it works well, it’s fine by me), but after 3 agonizing hours of not knowing whether my laptop was alive or dead, I had never been so happy to hear it whirling to life! Two random pieces had popped out – which hopefully won’t affect computer function - was able to push ‘em back into place. Bottom corner = semi-split, & upper left corner (not the actual screen, whew) is cracked, inside & out. Keeping fingers crossed that this is the extent of the damage.
* The relevancy is that anything, including design, should be about quality, quality, quality.  This laptop might not be the sleekest, but the thing is a BEAST. Yessirrr.

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Ghosts; a DIY