Scrabble Typography, The 2nd Edition by Andrew Capener, Spells A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

I first wrote about Andrew Capener's original Scrabble Typography Edition back in April of 2012. Only 200 sets of his original design (shown below) were made and quickly sold out to typophiles and scrabble enthusiasts.


above: The first Scrabble Typography edition had different fonts, tiles, game board and packaging

The 2nd Edition:
Since then, the designer has been busy refining and redesigning the game board, pieces and packaging. This beautiful and improved second edition has been produced in a limited series of 2,000 but again, is selling out quickly.



The signed and numbered limited edition set designed by Andrew Capener combines the beauty of typography with classic Scrabble gameplay PLUS premium features, making this the most fun, beautiful, and functional Scrabble set ever.




The Typography aspect is highlighted by 15 fonts never used before on any Scrabble set. These fonts look truly marvelous juxtaposed against the beautiful maple wood of the Scrabble tiles. These tiles look just as amazing against the walnut Scrabble gameplay surface.



There are numerous deluxe components included with this set beginning with the built-in lazy susan and the non-slip surface on the back of each tile. This enables each player to rotate the set with each turn.



Lift off the beautiful walnut cover to reveal a maple base with cork lining and compartments to store all of the deluxe components.

• Walnut Cover featuring Scrabble Typography Gameplay Surface
  
• Maple Base w/ Cork-lined Interior for Game Component Storage
  
• Built-in Lazy Susan
  
• Fabric Scrabble Tile Pouch with Drawstring
  
• Timer with Solid Walnut End Caps
  
• (100) Solid Maple Tiles + 15 new Typefaces and non-slip backing
  
• (4) Solid Walnut Tile Racks
  
• Stitched Scorekeeper with Pencil
  
• Stitched Rule Book
  
• Signed and Numbered Certificate

This edition features Bauhaus inspired game components including solid walnut tile racks and solid walnut timer end caps. This set also includes a gorgeous fabric tile pouch with drawstring and a stitched “scorekeeper” with pencil to allow you to record some truly beautiful memories.

$199 buy it here

Also available through Fab.com (if you don't have an invite to this terrific site, please use mine by clicking here )

ABOUT ANDREW CAPENER:
Andrew Clifford Capener is a designer and entrepreneur. His work has been featured in GQ, DETAILS, New York Magazine, TIME and in many other major publications throughout the world. He was named to the "Global Hot 100" by the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2013. He lives and works in Southern California where he is passionately honing his design craft.

Two Cool Calendar Kits To Stitch for 2014 From Heather Lins

These two nicely designed and beautifully packaged calendars for 2014 allow for some fun interactivity. The 'Stitch The Stars' and The 'Year In Stitches' kits from textile designer Heather Lins are simple enough for anyone to do and include everything you need. At $25 each, they make a perfect gift for friends, co-workers and Secret Santas.
Bonus: the stars calendar actually glows in the dark.

2014 Stitch the Stars Calendar Kit





Each month is screen printed with the corresponding constellation from the zodiac (eg. January is Capricorn). Connect the dots using the embroidery thread and needle provided. Just poke and stitch; it's super-easy! No embroidery skills required. Plus, with glow-in-the-dark ink and thread, the constellation gently glows after you switch off the light.

One 2014 Stitch the Stars Calendar kit includes:
• 12 5" x 7" calendar cards (Heavy, recycled card stock screen printed with glow-in-the-dark ink)
• 1 embroidery needle
• Glow-in-the-dark embroidery floss (It really works!)
• Instruction sheet
• Packaged in a kraft paper box


$25 buy it here


2014 The Year In Stitches Calendar Kit





Stitch a pretty design each month and create your own calendar. Using the needle, embroidery floss and calendar cards provided, just poke and stitch your way through the year. No embroidery skills are necessary to complete this easy calendar kit.

One 2014 The Year In Stitches Calendar kit includes:
• 12 calendar cards screenprinted on heavy, recycled paper (5" x 7")
• instructions (printed on recycled paper)
• an embroidery needle
• embroidery floss
• packaged in a kraft paper box


$25 buy it here

Amazing Close Up Photos Of Snowflakes Will Give You Goosebumps.

We all know that no two are alike. Nevertheless, seeing a snowflake super duper uber close-up is still breathtaking and these macro photographs by Russian photographer Alexey Kljatov will prove that.




These images of snowflakes and snow crystals were photographed in Moscow by Kljatov, who simply taped a $50 lens (an optics Helios 44M-5) to his Canon Powershot A650, a point and shoot camera, as shown below.



His 'processed' shots of the snowflakes are multiple shots averaged to boost signal/noise ratio and reveal subtle details. You can compare his source shots to his processed shots in the image below.



Alexy photographs the snowflakes and water crystals in two different ways. The first is to capture the snowflakes on the open balcony of his house, mostly on glass surface, lit by an LED flashlight from opposite a side of glass, as shown below:



The second way is to shoot them in natural light, using dark woolen fabrics as the background, as shown in the photos below:




The results are astounding. Just take a look at these 25, photographed on a grey wool background and taken in natural light.


























images courtesy of Alexey Kljatov (aka ChaoticMind75 on flickr)


Alexey describes the process in his own words here

More and higher resolution photos of these macro snowflakes can be found at his Flickr account.




Medium size snowflakes, around 4 mm. 8 serial shots averaged to boost signal-to-noise ratio. Background: dark woolen fabric, natural light (gray clouded sky), external optics Helios 44M-5, january 2013, Moscow