This poster over on Drool caught my eye.
Studio Stool
What a practical and simple invention. Studio Stool by Manual.
How To Live
“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
– Von Goethe
Link Pack
– Design legend Michael Bierut is speaking at CreativeMornings/NYC on October 6th. Join us in person or via livestream.
– “Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.” – Leo Tolstoy
– Made me smile: The Plot of All Objects in the Universe
– A grass-roots movement aims to recast urban living in Paris and other cities around the world through a hyperlocal prism of neighborliness. Parisians Are Pledging Allegiance to the ‘Republic of Super Neighbors.’
– This summer I spent a night in this INCREDIBLE old tower in Northern Italy. It’s beautifully renovated and offers 360 views on the rooftop for sunset and sunrise enjoyment. One of my favorite Airbnns I ever stayed in. Highly recommend.
– This is fascinatingly absurd.
– “I’ve learned that my body can go places that my mind might not have imagined. There is something about placing a goal or ritual in your body. That’s what time (and repetition) does. And that’s where the magic lies.” Endlessly inspired by my friend Patricia Garcia-Gomez
– I am a huge fan of Various Keytags. My favorite go to gift Loved that they are now offering engraved QR codes.
– Do parallel universes exist? We might live in a multiverse.
– The scam era is upon us. Thanks AI. Convenience and scams. Thanks Seth.
– Beautiful post by Joanna Goddard about things that surprised her about her divorce.
– Tempted to use Framebridge and wondering what the quality is like.
– Rocumentaries: Curated links to the very best documentaries on streaming services. (via Chris)
– See what areas of NYC are still flooded with this NYC Stormwater Flood Map.
– Umberto Eco’s notion of the “antilibrary” is such a wonderful way of thinking about the value of unread books.
– Did you know Tattly collaborated with Richard Scarry and created a line with some of his iconic characters.
Link Pack
Carl Sagan describing books.
– Need more bass in your car? These decked out cars made me laugh.
-If you ever find yourself in Fort Greene Brooklyn, make sure to eat at Miss Ada and have the Whipped Ricotta. It’s the most heavenly dish I ever had. And if visiting NYC is not in the cards, you can make it yourself. Here’s the recipe. You’re welcome.
– Crazy Ideas. Love this!
– The next Buddha will be a community, – Thich Nhat Hanh
– The First Safe Chat-GPT for Kids, built by my dear friend Youmna Cham Cham. Try it with your kids.
– Visualization of prepositions
– “Gratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given, gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.” Full Article
– VW ID Buzz coming in 2024. Wheee! (via)
– Matt Gray runs a ‘personal board meeting‘ every month.
– Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard tells us about how trees communicate underground through a complex web of fungi, and how they coordinate a powerful network that heals and sustains each other and in the end, us. (via)
– It has been my secret dream to be on How I Built This. It happened this week! Still can’t believe it.
– Pride is just around the corner. Get ready.
Genuine Connection is Ease
“The truth is — genuine connection is ease. It is peace. When you find it you will know. You will feel seen, you will feel like you are being mirrored back to yourself, like you are discovering the shadow of your own heart in another human being.
Slowly, through loving the right people, you will come to realize that the human beings who are meant for you in this world will not exhaust you, or hollow you out, or leave you feeling like you are hard to love. Slowly, you will come to realize that you do not have to romanticize the things in this life that hurt. You do not have to run towards the fire. Love does not have to feel like a fight, does not have to feel like battle, does not have to wound.
Slowly, you will learn how to lay down your arms. How to walk away from those who will only ever love you in halves. Slowly, you will learn that you cannot love someone into loving you, or being ready, if they are not. You cannot love someone into their potential. You cannot close their hands around your heart if they are not willing to hold it themselves. You have to let them go. You have to focus on the people in your life who bring you back home to yourself. You have to focus on standing up for that kind of connection, on honoring that calm, because it exists. It exists.
And I hope you learn to trust that, because when you come across it, when you ultimately experience it, it feels as if you are standing at a door you finally have the keys for. You enter it with ease. There is no fumbling through your jacket pocket trying to find the right way in. There is no desperately reaching into your bag trying to uncover the point of access. You are no longer banging your fists against the door, asking to be invited in. You walk through. Soundlessly. Softly. Relief washes over you. You take off your shoes. You hang your coat in the closet. You put on a pot of coffee. You’re home. You’re home.”
My Favorite Design-y Wool Scarves
I am so excited colder temperatures are back and with that my See Design Wool Scarves! Love this small, woman owned business.
I am also big fan of their toiletry pouches. Favorite go to gift for my lady friends.
Link Pack
In ‘Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing’, 1997, Francis Alÿs pushed a block of ice through the streets of Mexico City until it completely melted. After nice hours the block was reduced to no more than an ice cube suitable for a whisky on the rocks, so small that he could casually kick it along the street.
– To have without holding. by Marge Piercy
– I purchased the Nimbot D11 label maker and I am in love. It’s pretty and functional. Everything is currently being labeled in my house.
– TikTok and the fall of social media giants. Facebook is trying to copy TikTok, but this strategy may well signal the end of these legacy platforms, by Cal Newport
– Want: Pants that are basically a warm blanket.
– I have absolutely No Shelf Control when it comes to buying books.
– Stone Skipping Is a Lost Art. Kurt Steiner Wants the World to Find It.
– Wisdom Engines: Technologies for Evolution and Happiness
– These pants made me laugh: ALL OF THE POCKETS!
– I love that organizations like The Free Little Library exists.
– Brené Brown’s vulnerable and tender reflections from her summer sabbatical. (via)
– Non-Coercive Marketing: A Primer (via)
– TinyKiwi is a simple, fast editing tool to polish screenshots, create blog post covers and size-appropriate social media assets. (via)
– Is there a CreativeMornings in your city? Go attend an event and be in community. It makes a difference. If there isn’t one, start a chapter?
– Have a party or dinner party coming up? Get a Jumbo Party Pack from Tattly and let the fun begin.
Renzo Flat File Cabinet
Hey there, beauty.
Fun Modern Doormats
I need a new doormat. Here’s a few I found so far on there internets. Do you have one you love? Share in the comments?
Short and sweet: Hi!
I was thinking of what we could put on this mat and then my daughter said “we should just order it with CUSTOM TEXT” and now I think that’s brilliant.
This one made me laugh. 
You’ve Gotta Have Nerve
“It’s not enough to be nice in life. You’ve got to have nerve.”
– Georgia O’Keeffe
Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes is an app that instantly connects a blind person with a sighted volunteer who can tell them what’s in front of them via screen sharing. I LOVE THIS!
(via Chris)
Link Pack
ABBA announced a new album. First album in 40 years! Watch the video to hear them talk about how they are putting on the show. This is WILD! More here.
– A guide for better conversations. (PDF)
– How to Remember What You Read
– Check out these toasters. WOW!(Also, who doesn’t want to go visit a Toaster Museum?)
– I am way way past this stage with my kids, obviously, but wow would I have bought this radish chewable toy! Hilarious!
– SurfaceSnaps is such a simple product. I didn’t realize how much I would appreciate the cable tidi-ness they bring.
– Bread lamps are funny.
– Why Kids Need Spirituality, By Lisa Miller
– Plastic Dip!? I want to dip all of the things!
– Yeah, I want to be a person who owns a boot brush.
– Team Tattly is hiring a Graphic Designer. Application deadline is Monday!
– The Founder Library. What a wonderful resource!
– This office chair is a bit silly looking to me but I am sure my kids would be into it.
– My grandma used to crochet me slippers like these. Thanks for the memory lane moment, Bombas socks.
– How Mushroom Time Lapses Are Filmed
– “Human beings are immensely complicated creatures, living simultaneously in a half dozen different worlds. Each individual is unique and, in a number of respects, unlike all the other members of the species. None of our motives is unmixed, none of our actions can be traced back to a single source and, in any group we care to study, behavior patterns that are observably similar may be the result of many constellations of dissimilar causes.” Aldous Huxley on Making Sense of Ourselves and Each Other
– I just learned a new term: Business bigamy in this article: My Colleague Is Secretly Holding Two Jobs. Should I Expose Her?
– In love with this old-school fountain pen.
– This purse is also a backpack. Love.
Soften
“The habitual tendency when things get tough is that we protect ourselves, we get hard, we get rigid. But…that’s the time to soften and see how we might play or dance with the situation.”
– Jeff Bridges
Dancer Boy
Whispers: I love that he won two trophies, not just one.
Link Pack
“Get your tongues ready, get your suits out and pressed, and those buttons lowered. The era, the decade, of gathering, is upon us.” Well worth a listen!
– Favorite Wikipedia lists. Some good ones in there. (via)
– Why Having Friends of Different Ages Matters — And How It Can Impact an Ageist Society
– This inverted cactus is incredible!
– The Story behind Dr.Bronner Soap.
– This bird feeder made me laugh.
– Loving these block art prints. Also this one.
– What a treasure trove: A list of 100+ handpicked personal websites
– I am so happy Poler brought the Napsack back. Best gift I ever gave my kids. (In case you are not familiar: It’s a wearable sleeping bag!)
– Get out of your geographic music bubble
– The Best Live Animal Feeds From Around the World
– Stop Trying to Raise Successful Kids: “Psychologists call this the helper’s high. Economists refer to it as the warm glow of giving. Neuroscientists find that generosity activates reward centers in our brains. And evolutionary biologists observe that we’re wired to help others. A tribe of people who “were always ready to aid one another,” Darwin wrote, “would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection.”
– This made me laugh.
– Yes, it’s incredibly expensive BUT it’s design-y and stylish. Wouldn’t mind to have one of these handcrafted wooden cornholes in my backyard.
– Whoa! This Tweet of mine about how divorce needs a rebrand got mentioned by Prof. Galloway on this Pivot Podcast episode.
– A big thank you to Continuing and Professional Education at Parsons for sponsoring my blog this week.
Link Pack
(What FUN! Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra Simón Bolívar and the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble.)
– This made me laugh: A dog in Russia grabbed the reporter’s microphone and ran away during a live broadcast
– A short documentary on Nikki de Saint Phalle, an artist I admired deeply when growing up in Switzerland.
– I can’t stop giggling at this.
– First Day of the Week in Different Countries (I learned this the hard way when in my first job as a graphic designer in the USA I was assigned to design a calendar and I started the weeks on Monday. Right before the client presentation my US boss noticed the mistake. Oy! I have lived in the USA for 21 years now and can not get used to calendar views starting on Sundays.)
– A love letter to black children and any black person whose inner child needs to hear this.
– Good listen: Imagination as the Path of the Spirit by John O Donohue. He asks: “What are the 7 thoughts you keep coming back to and that shape your life?”
– Tasha Blank uploaded a new mix to Soundcloud. (Her dance virtual parties have carried me through the pandemic.)
– Rochelle Billow of kitchn tried the annoyingly brilliant TikTok trick for peeling hard-boiled eggs and WOW!
– Bookmarked this in my SoundCloud: Listening to nature gives you a real Rocky Mountain High.
– I asked on Twitter for non-alcoholic drink recommendations. So many tips! Check the thread.
– My friend Wesley Verhoeve birthed a photo book. I am so proud of him.
– What To Do If You — Or Someone You Love — Is Going Through Pregnancy Loss. This is an important and way too little talked about topic. Been there myself. It’s a lonely, dark place. It shouldn’t be.
– Go get your kids and introduce them to Marcel the Shell. You’re welcome!
– Today is a good day to discover some poets you might have not heard of yet..
– I love this Colorful Backgammon Set. I used to play this game for HOURS on end when I was a kid.
– Yes to potato faces.
– Can fungus help us better understand what it means to be human?
– Distributed Work’s Five Levels of Autonomy
– I am manifesting Spring, by wearing some Flowers.
♥ / Corona Pirates
A big thank you to Corona Pirates for sponsoring my blog this week.
We believe that kids should have tools dedicated to helping them process their emotions about living in the time of Corona. So we wrote the book on it…OK, we wrote the book for it.
Full of funny illustrations – and thought-provoking questions – Corona Pirates: Guided Journal allows children to write down their thoughts about everything that has made “Corona normal” quite odd. Designed for ages 5 – 11, the book was beta-tested by therapists, teachers, social workers, parents, and mental health advocates, prior to publishing.
For those younger pirates – or those who prefer to communicate visually – Corona Pirates: Coloring, & Activity Book is available.
More information can be found at Corona-Pirates.com.
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my blog and RSS feed, learn more here.)
Link Pack
The Moon in Real Time, by Seán Doran (via Chris)
– Come work with me! We are looking to hire a Content Marketing Manager and become the voice of CreativeMornings.
– I love Marimekko’s bold patterns. Always have. Always will.
– Big fan of the aesthetic and the products of Public Goods.
– Beautiful, Brooklyn handmade black salt bowl.
– NIKE unveils the NIKE GO FlyEase, an easy-on, easy off no-lace sneaker
– Wakamai Fondue – The tool that answers the question “what can my font do?”
– Three American Mothers on the Brink, by Jessica Bennett
– Studio Ghibli: Everything you need to know about the legendary Japanese animation house.
– “Read 20 pages to start the day.”
– The concept of a passive house explained.
– What would you keep in the 175 pocket jacket?
– “Get plants. Overwater them until they die. Replace plants. This is better than overwhelming your children with this kind of attention that has to go somewhere.” Your Guide to Parenting Teenagers in a Pandemic
– Tattly make for a perfect Valentine’s Day gift.
– The world’s top agencies, studios, and firms use Float to plan their projects and schedule their team’s time. (I appreciate them sponsoring my blog this week!)
Alive = Creative
“If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.”
– Elizabeth Gilbert
From the wonderful book Big Magic. It’s like rocket fuel for any creatively minded human.
Sensitive to Pleasure
“We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain.”
— Alan Watts
Positive News
Positive News is the magazine for good journalism about the good things that are happening. Each issue features informative, inspiring articles about social and environmental progress, with high-impact photography and beautiful visual design.
We could all use some good news.
Link Pack
This is fascinating.
– There’s a serious shortage of poll workers for this year’s US presidential election. You can volunteer to be one! Learn more here.
– This headline would have made no sense a year ago. Now, with two kids remote schooling, it made me click not he link: Let Your Kids Bike in Place While They Zoom
– How to change your default Mail app in iOS 14
– These carved tree leaves are stunning.
– The cakes on this website put the biggest smile on my face. (via)
– This Chrome/Firefox extension adds helpful features to your Twitter web experience: stay on the chronological timeline forever, move Retweets to a separate timeline, remove sidebar content (Trends, Who to Follow), and a lot more. My Twitter experiences just got way better. (Thanks Kai)
– This documentary over on Netflix is pretty amazing: My Octopus Teacher is the story of a filmmaker who forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest.
– Shahed Khan built a tool that allows you to quickly share your calendar availability inside of Gmail.
– This arch table made me look.
– This Mouse Rubber Boat made me chuckle.
– Wally aims to help its customers shop for everything in reusable packaging. You pay a deposit on the containers and return them with your next order. I want them to succeed.
– Halloween Zip Line for Social Distancing . Or what about a Candy Shute?
– I love how Kottke shares in this post how he was able to flip the narrative in his head about how he sees and approaches winter season. I keep reminding myself all the time that it is in *my* power how I feel, at all times.
– Uhm… yes, I would love to own this vacuum jug by Eva Solo.
– Mushrooms are having a moment.
– This is an oddly soothing time-lapse: Broccoli sprouts growing in a jar
– A cat scratcher rainbow? Uhm, yeah, that’s funny.
– I like this simple phone sling by OAD
– How to make elephant toothpaste with your kids. But before, show them this to get them anxcited.
– Hopeful read: How New Yorkers Found Resolve After 6 Months of Pandemic Hardship
– Tattly teamed up with I am a voter to increase voter turn out in this year’s presidential election. I just became a citizen this fall and am wearing the I AM A VOTER Tattly with a lot of pride.