Cabin Fever

A house within a home, by design and research collaborative, KatzChiao. It's called 'A Cabin in a Loft', a one-room bed and breakfast in Brooklyn, NYC.

Image from KatzChiao

Work Space

From the patchwork of frames to the patterned rug and the wooden desk to the dog basket, I really like this studio space belonging to New York designers Shipley and Halmos. Founders & Followers sell at and fashion but also do little tours of the designers' workspaces.

Image from founders & followers vis Miss Moss (great site!)

Back Drop

As much as I like the outfit, there is something so animated about the New York skyline!

Image of courtandhudson via chictopia

Big Apple

My dear friend Ben (who I'll be travelling to Israel with) is often inspired by music to create his illustrations. This one of Paloma Faith portrays her song New York, and he sent it to her last year sometime. Now she's keen for him to design her merchandise! So great and well deserved, I can't wait to see it!

Chocolate Boys

The Mast Brothers have fantastic beards. I don't think you'd ever find a Brit with such well developed facial hair! Anyhow, their chocolate looks so delicious, ever more so by the handcrafted designs of the packaging. They want to keep the creation of the brand within their local community. Have a look at the video here! I've found a place that sells it in London - visiting!

Image from thingsilike via pinterest

Vegetable Fiend

How cool are these? They're by illustrator Claudia Pearson, originally from London but lives in New York. I think the style is fab, and the colours, and the idea of visual recipes. Also that a chance meeting with someone can whisk you across the pond and life continues there!

Found via happiness is

Rooftop Farm

Here are some images from the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in New York. There seem to be lots of these farm popping up all over such as the one at PS1 in NYC and Urban Orchard in London. I'd love to get involved in something like this.
Images from The Selby via Milk

Cobble Stones

Blog wandering and came across downtown from behind, a project where creatives are snapped cycling away into the distance. Like I find with the Sartorlialist, it's quite often the surroundings more than the people that make the picture. I love how West Village, NYC could quite easily be a cobbled mews in London town... and of course I'd really like to live there!

Image from DFB

Nypar...?!

 

Spotted on Blogs of Note, Paris vs New York compares allsorts from the lifestyles of both cities in these colourful illustrations - I'd love to buy one for my wall!

New York New York

In April of 2007, I went to NYC with my family and absolutely loved the place. It was exactly what I expected and more, and ever since I have harboured a secret desire to live there once in my life. Today my friend Carmelia and I hatched a plan to just do it... pop it into our 5 year plan! There are some really interesting architecture firms in the city which I would love to work for one day such as Work AC which create some really cool conceptual stuff. This snap by Brother Dowle shows one of my favourite sights in the city - ecclectic colours and the fire escapes unashamedly hanging down the facade.

One week to go til all my degree work is done!

DSC_0127, originally uploaded by alexdowle.

Little Distractions

I am very prone to blog wandering when I'm bored of my work, which is no bad thing doing a design degree. I've been given some great inspiration when I've stumbled apon certain designers. Although architecture and fashion are often linked for this forms and structure and I am indeed designing a textiles museum, the New York magazine Look Book, is just good distraction! I love looking at street style - I really liked this from Fashion Bits and Bobs today. I also like to here where people get there clothes from!

Work is coming along slowly but surely. Yesterday we had our first offer from Freecycle taken away, the two beds in my room. So I'm just sleeping on a mattress on the floor, poor love! I do have a new (double) bed on way to me soon though...

Laaandaaan

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, that I love London so! I came across this wonderful paper cut (top) by Familie Summerbelle via gypsy*diaries. Not unreasonable for a print either, this will nicely pop on my birthday wishlist! Also I love the style of Blancha Gomez (below)! They both also come in Paris and New York.
Images from their websites

More Veg

Having a flick through some old magazines I came across an article in Icon about this urban farm called PS1. It was an installation in New York by architects Work AC.
In cardboard tubes, 50 varieties of vegetables are grown, irrigated by collected rainwater and heated via solar panels. The spaces between some of the tubes allow for people to pop up and collect the vegetables!

I think it's a different way of approaching the subject of urban farms and at the same time producing something aesthetically pleasing.

New York Living

I have always loved reading the magazines you get at the weekend in the Telegraph and even now that I'm at uni, my mum collects them up for me so I can have a major reading fest when I get home. The interviews, fashion, interiors and architecture, the photography... I just have to read them from cover to cover.
When Rita Konig wrote a column in the Telegraph Magazine years ago, I read it every week without fail. And then one day it finished, cause she was moving to New York.Then a couple of years later this article was in the Sunday Telegraph mag about her flat in New York... and it is beeeaaautiful! I adore the way it's decorated, the colours and patterns and her car is great too! One day when I have a flat of my own, I'll definitely be taking some tips and inspiration from hers.Researching her name there are lots of places on the internet where her articles are: here and here.So having gone through my box of magazine cuttings and seeing this again, it makes me more than ever want to live in New York, just for a while!

The High Line

The High Line is a park on Manhattan's West Side, a park with a difference. It is situated on old railway tracks 30 feet off the ground and has been turned into an urban oasis!

images via the high line

For my current project we are masterplanning a derelict site in Dover and so I'm looking at difference precedents of urban design. I think this idea is so different and such a good example of 'Make do and mend', taking what we already have and making the most of it!

Little Robots

How cute are these...
Tweenbots are designed by the artist Kacie Kinzer whose little creations roll about the streets of New York relying on passers-by to point them in the right direction which is written on their little flag!