I stumbled across Danish photographer Ditte Isager‘s work last week. She is based in New York now and her work has a quiet beauty to it that resonates particularly well at this hectic time of the year! Enjoy.
Below are shots from Hanne and Poul Kjaerholm’s residence…
Below are from a shoot on Shelter Island…
And architect Daniel Liebeskind at work…
And finally Doug Lloyd, creative director, at his desk.
With a two-year-old son at home and another little one on the way, freelance magazine writer and InStyle contributor Elizabeth Jenkins is on always the move—most recently from the room she used to call her office (which is becoming her son’s new bedroom) to an armoire in the master bedroom that will now serve as her new workspace. Find out what this busy Los Angeles up-and-comer listens to as she crafts stories about interior design, weddings, celebrities, and entertaining for the likes of Redbook, Health, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Food Network Magazine, AisleDash.com, Sunset, and more.
What do you listen to while you work? Unless I’m exhausted and need waking up, I typically put on my “Mellow Mix,” which contains songs by a wide range of artists from Leonard Cohen to Natalie Merchant. All of the tunes have become familiar enough that I can tune them out so they don’t distract me. If the song is too poppy—or peppy, for that matter—I’ll find myself singing along, which isn’t ideal when I’m trying to write.
How do you listen? If my two-year-old is sleeping (which is when I get most of my work done!), I will put in my earphones and listen on my iPod. But if he’s at preschool or at the park with my husband, I’ll go ahead and turn on our teeny-tiny iPod dock that I bought years ago in a Manhattan mall before a trip to the Cayman Islands. (We wanted to be able to listen to music while we sat on our patio drinking island libations and it was the best $75 I ever spent!)
Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I sometimes find the iTunes library slow, so if I am trying to figure out the name of a song or who sings it, I usually Google it first and get a chance to listen to a part of the song that way. I also build playlists on both playlist.com and mixpod.com for AisleDash.com (AOL’s wedding website), so I’ve found that those are both good places to listen to favorite tunes.
Does music influence your work? I find songwriting inspiring. I respect artists—particularly country artists, who often tug at the heartstrings in their ballads or come up with a super-clever rhyming line for their livelier tunes. I think Brad Paisley’s lyrics are the wittiest in all of country music (How funny is “Online”?), but I also love the powerful words on the Dixie Chicks last record (“Long Way Around”) and on folk singer Charlotte Kendrick’s album (“North of New York”).
Where do you find music recommendations? My husband, who loves listening to country radio (L.A.’s 105.1), and tells me when he hears a great new song. I also subscribe to “Entertainment Weekly,” “People,” “The New York Times,” and the “The Los Angeles Times” (in addition to about 15 other magazines), and find those four outlets have the best artist profiles and music reviews. I often compare the reviews in EW and People. (If both critics rave, then I’m likely to either buy the whole CD or download a few select songs. I often go months between iTunes purchases, so instead, I have a music wishlist on Amazon.com and I put all of the recommended albums there—with notes to help jog my memory—and then when I have time, I purchase the album off of Amazon or buy a few songs on iTunes.) Since I ask deejays, bands, and music supervisors to create 10-song playlists for AisleDash.com, and then listen to each song online, I often end up purchasing a bunch of the songs they’ve recommended. So far I think I trust Los Angeles deejay Lee Dyson’s musical tastes the most. Thanks to him, I spent a quick $15 on iTunes! Oh, and I can’t forget my dear friend from college, Jill Hare, who has incredible taste in music and often burns CDs for me for my birthday or Christmas. She introduced me to Charlotte Kendrick most recently.
If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? I don’t think it would be fair to compare my work to an established musician. Since I’m still young and relatively new to the magazine industry (6 years now), I would consider myself more of an up-and-coming artist than an established one. I hope that like most up-and-comers, my writing is continually evolving and improving with each project.
ELIZABETH’S PLAYLIST
31 Today, Aimee Mann
Sweet Pea, Amos Lee
Puddle of Grace, Amy Jo Johnson
Keep Holding On, Avril Lavigne
Displaced, Azure Ray
The Luckiest, Ben Folds
Let Go, Charlotte Kendrick
A Long December, Counting Crows
The Blower’s Daughter, Damien Rice
Babylon, David Gray
Landslide, Dixie Chicks
Such Great Heights, Iron & Wine
Star Mile, Joshua Radin
San Andreas Fault, Natalie Merchant
Sentimental Heart, She & Him
Images: Elizabeth Jenkins
Having just recently moved, my husband and I have been working off the couch in our living room, which comes with a lot of slouching, hunched shoulders and generally bad posture. Which is why for the past few days, my left wrist has been sore enough that no painkiller will touch it; since I spend my whole workday in front of the computer, this is pretty bad news. And after I read a bit about RSI online, I realized I could have easily prevented this, and a lot of other stresses and aches, with a minimum of effort on my part.
I recently found this great article by Livestrong which describes exercises to do at the desk, but I find it so much easier to learn a move when I see it demonstrated. So here are 10 videos showing exercises that you can do at your desk, including everything from ab fitness to yoga breathing.
We understand that not everyone has the luxury of privacy at the desk, so here we’ve included a variety of options, including everything from basic yoga stretches for limberness and relaxation, to full-on crunches and pushups that utilize your desk or wall surface.
Try out these 10, or choose which instructor fits your style best and check out their other videos. Each video will start at the exercise we are highlighting.
For the list of workout videos click here.
By Laura E. Hall
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
1. Retro Wallpaper Skin, £19.95 Protect your notebook against abrasion, damage, and the occasional bad mood with this happy-go-lucky laminate skin. Get it: Laptop Skins
2. Zen Garden by Matt Leyen Laptop Skin, $30.00 Exactly the kind of laptop skin you’d expect from the folks at Cool Hunting. Get it: Cool Hunting Showcase
3. Wood Skin, $35.00 Just like real pieces of wood, no two of these unique laptop skins are identical. Get it: Recover
4. Retro Rainbow Apple Logo Decal, $4.99 Go old-school with this throwback to Apple’s earlier years. Get it: IncredibleDecal at Etsy.com
5. Plywood Chairs Vinyl Decal Set, $15.00 Naturally. Get it: MediumControl at Etsy.com
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text
This year we’re indulging in a double Christmases. Why? Because we’re heading to Sydney to be with family for the real Christmas and I don’t want to take all our presents in a suitcase just to have to pack them and bring them all back to Los Angeles. So, we’re doing Christmas in LA and then Christmas in Sydney. As you can imagine this meant our kids had to write Santa a very detailed letter letting him know exactly where we’d be on the real Christmas day so he’d be able to find us. Hope he does.
And just in case he is reading this blog I wanted to include my wish list:
1. Tiny Chair Necklace These gold necklaces are handmade by Montreal’s Bruxe Design. At $750, the tiny Eames bentwood chair is more expensive than the real thing but I can’t wear that lovely walnut piece around my neck.
2. Any Hiroshi Sugimoto print from the “7 Days/7 Nights” exhibition. And if I can’t have that then his self-titled book please.
3. Themis Mobile by graphic designer and illustrator Clara von Zweigbergk for Artecnica. I was in A+R yesterday looking for last minute Christmas presents and came across this mobile. I love the colors and the simplicity of it. Plus it seems like a bargain at $27.
4. I have coveted the Eames Walnut Stool for longer than I can remember. I thought my 40th might have warranted a splurge but that has come and gone. Maybe Christmas?!
5. A dog. I know it’s not going to happen because our landlord doesn’t allow pets but it doesn’t stop me wishing. I am particularly partial to the Obama’s Portugese Water Dog, Bo (although we’ll probably end up at a shelter).
6. I don’t really want an office chair for Christmas but it is the one thing I actually need! I know my back will thank me for including an Aeron on my list.
This tattoo caught my eye last week. An Eames wire chair proudly displayed on the upper arm of Philadelphia-based designer Beck Gusler. I was taken by the tattoo but also her comment:
“My new ink: an Eames Wire Chair. I’ve been wanting to get this tattoo for a while and it seemed an appropriate time as graduation is nearing and I’m ready to get my start as a young designer. Charles and Ray Eames are 2 of the designers I admire the most for their indepth processes and trial-and-error methodology. Unique note about this chair: It won the first mechanical patent for design.”
And then I found her blog – Peanut Butter Bagels – and these booties she knitted for her Eames chair! I think Ray and Charles would have got a big kick out of those booties.
Around the web this week…
1. Remodelista’s Newsstand The clever women over at Remodelista have put together a newsstand for us that links you to blogs and sites they love. It’s a great way to cut through a lot of the rubbish that’s out there and find some real gems. Where to start: Check out the Design Critics & Observers section.
2. An Afternoon With… Photographer Michael Mundy’s beautiful interiors shoots are laid out here for all to enjoy. Where to start: There are a lot of really interesting home work spaces featured here. I’d start with artist Robert Fontanelli.
3. Design Green Interior Design magazine’s blog devoted to all things eco is elegant and green – not always an easy combo! Where to start: A green christmas tree.
4. This is Indexed Like the Unhappy Hipsters blog this one just makes me laugh. A nice mid-morning break. Where to start: Coercion for Beginners seem timely.
5. Wired Roundups Wired magazine produces well-researched, concise and useful home office product roundups. Well worth checking out if you are considering buying anything new. Where to start: Depends what you are looking for. I went straight to the the printer post.
Loving these untreated cotton canvas bags from LA-based Modist.
1. Foldable Adjustable Laptop Table, $49.40 Versatile and hardworking, this tray tilts in seven different positions to give you a custom fit. Get it: chinabuye.com
2. Michael Young Bed Tray, £89.00 This simple folding tray combines streamlined design with fun pops of color. Get it: panik-design.com
3. OFFI Overlap Bed Tray, $159.00 With enough space for your laptop, morning paper, pen, and coffee mug, the OFFI tray gives you every excuse to work from bed. Get it: Design Public
4. Bed Tray, $29.95 This heatproof, waterproof mahogany wood veneer design is, frankly, a foolproof choice. Get it: CB2
5. Lap Table, $80.00 Hand-painted, lightweight, durable, and, some might say, cute. Does it get any better? Get it: FoksForm at Etsy.com
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text. Michael Young Bed Tray image from http://designmuseum.org.
Not only is this a very cool take on a traditional gingerbread house it actually looks rather tasty! Via Whorange.
