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Christmas Cards Worth Framing: Barbican Estate Christmas Cards by Stefi Orazi & Wallpaper Magazine's Bespoke Christmas Cards




Stefi Orazi's New Christmas Cards

The sharp angular lines found amidst the Modernist architecture of London’s Barbican may not convey the most obvious inspiration for seasonal tidings. But appreciators of all things abstract can now send their Christmas greetings in one of Stefi Orazi’s Special Edition Barbican Estate Christmas cards.




Click here to see more Of Stefi's cards

Earlier this year Wallpaper Magazine was elated with Orazi’s first foray into card design, which again drew inspiration from her Barbican setting. With such a strong affiliation for her local architecture, the London-based graphic designer has swung into the festive spirit, transforming her beloved muse into a geometric winter wonderland.

Fans of Orazi will have to be quick off the mark though, as she is only producing the range in 100 Special Edition packs, each containing eight contemporary illustrated cards and envelopes. However, the designer’s Barbican passion shows no sign of abating as she has recreated her illustrations on a larger scale in collaboration with fashion company Chris Tibor.

visit the artists' site and purchase cards here
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W* Bespoke Christmas Cards

To celebrate the festive season in our usual style-conscious manner we have enlisted the creative talents of some of our most cherished designers from the year gone by. The four chosen designers, who range from intricate illustrators to graphic artists, have crafted their own homage to Christmas in the form of a bespoke card designed exclusively for Wallpaper* that are to be produced as 250 limited edition sets.
Card 1: Körner Union
In 1999, art students Sami Benhadj, Tarik Hayward and Guy Meldem formed Körner Union. Through the sharing of ideas and tools they aimed to promote and enhance the development of their individual production as well as create collective works. Through taking on various artistic experiments, Körner Union have flourished within different mediums of design, from photography to illustration, and have now applied their never bashful humor to the festive season.

Card 2: Ahonen & Lamberg
After a stint studying graphic design in both Helsinki and Paris, Anna Ahonen & Katariina Lamberg decided to pool their creative talents and set up shop. Since opening the Ahonen & Lamberg design studio in the autumn of 2006, the Finnish design duo have been trying their hand at art direction, graphic design, and illustration ever since.

Card 3: Parra
Parra is something of an underground star in his hometown of Amsterdam, where his club posters and flyers are treasured by a generation of design fanatics. Almost entirely self-taught, Parra employs a minimal color palette, beautifully hand drawn typography and esoteric characters, all of which hark back to the screen posters of the 1960s and 1970s. Only taking on a few commercial design jobs each year, the designer prefers to devote his attentions on the posters through which he has found success.

Card 4: Supermundane
London-based designer Supermundane isn’t unfamiliar with collaboration, having previously worked with the likes of Orange, New York Times and actress-turned-songstress Juliet Lewis. In fact, it was his work with SleazeNation and Good For Nothing magazines that first took his pared down, hand-produced aesthetic to a wider audience. Although Supermundane has become known as an illustrator, typographer and art director, it is his graphic art, which depicts a Utopian world of organic shapes and beasts displaying hope, melancholy and beauty that has inspired the design for his W* Bespoke Christmas Card.


SOURCE: Wallpaper magazine

Walter Martin & Paloma Munoz: Wonderfully Wicked Winter Wonderland


Cerealart is proud to present an exhibition of photographs by Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz,
November 16, 2007 - January 25, 2008.

Like fairy tales or dreams Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz construct trancelike, metaphorical panoramic photographs and snow globes. The collaborative team, which have been working together since 1993, draw from art historical references ranging from Goya and Persian miniatures to literary references from William Blake to Zadie Smith.

Raising The Next Hadid, Rashid or DaVinci? 6 Educational Designer Toys for Kids

There are many things my generation played with as children that were both educational and formative. Memory games, blocks, colorforms.

Well, now there are amazingly beautiful renditions of these same classic toys and games but they are imbued with mid-century modern or contemporary design, making them not only fun but also collectible for both children and adults.

Here are six good gifts for the prepubescent designer/artist/architect in your life.

1. Alexander Girard Alphabet Blocks:



These functionally playful alphabet blocks bring an unobtrusively quiet distinctiveness to any well-appointed living room while affording hours of educational and aesthetic pleasure for young design sophisticates. Created by House Industries in a collaboration with the estate of reknowned mid-century designer Alexander Girard, the 28 wood blocks feature alphabets based on the forthcoming Alexander Girard font collection and a cleverly-adapted House Industries factory logo puzzle.
On sale now for $75.00
Click here for the deal. Offer expires January 1, 2008.

2. Binth Matching Game:



The first BINTH game is here! Original designs filled with imagination, fantasy and humor. Discover our modern take on this classic matching game. A beautiful sliding box holds 48 sturdy tiles (24 pairs) The tiles and box are made from recycled materials. Tiles are screen printed using our hand mixed water-based inks. The colors used are lemon yellow, licorice black and lavender. All tiles are 3" squares laminated for protection and have rounded corners. Recommended for ages 3 and older.
Sliding Box with 48 tiles ( 24 Pairs)
12" x 3.5" x 2"
Made in the USA from recycled materials.
$44.00
Buy it here.

3. Maharam Matching Tile Memory Game


Maharam, a pioneer in commercial fabric designs since 1902, offers stunning patterned materials to the trade. For those of us who long for Maharam designs but don't plan to reupholster the apartment, Maharam patterns are now available through the Maharam Memory Game. Like the classic memory game, players turn over two cards at a time and try to match the patterns. Consisting of 72 cards on heavy stock, richly colored and printed in Germany, the game features 36 different patterns, everything from "I Morosi Alla Finestra" by Gio Ponti (1930) to "Optik" by Verner Panton (1969).
$36.00 (and free shipping now)
Buy it here.

4. Classic Colorforms from MOMA


Colorforms was developed in New York in 1951 by two art students experimenting with a new flexible vinyl material. It was one of the first toys to be advertised on television, has been nominated as a "Top Toy of the 20th Century" and been considered for the permanent collection at MoMA. This replica of the original set contains 350 brightly colored pieces in a spiral-bound book as well as a instruction design booklet. For ages 3+.
12-1/2'w X 14"l
$37.50
Buy it here.

5. Eames House of Cards


The Eames Office actually produced five different sets of the House of Cards: the small house of cards is the original, made in 1952. It actually had two decks, the Picture deck and the Pattern deck. It is the picture deck that we manufacture today in conjunction with MOMA. From that, a medium House of Cards was made that is a set of selections from the Pattern and Picture deck. That, too, is still available. ..The images are of what Eameses called "good stuff", chosen to celebrate "familiar and nostalgic objects from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms." The six slots on each card enable the player to interlock the cards so as to build structures of myriad shapes and sizes. There was also a Giant House of Cards (1953), a Computer House of Cards (1970) and a Newton House of Cards for the 1974 Nobel Laureates..

Buy any of the 5 different sets here.


6. Oli Blocks
Building blocks have certainly come a long way since I was a kid. Oli blocks makes some of the most fun shaped, colored (transulcent and solid) building blocks for kids of any age.




Oliblocks were created by Daniel R. Oakley, Architect & Toy maker.
The idea for Oliblock came from Daniel Oakley's desire to create a toy that would encourage children to think about building things in a new way. He envisioned a toy that would introduce a way to challenge, teach and stimulate a child's mind, yet be fun and appealing at the same time. The result was the development of Oliblock, an architecturally inspired set of 4 shapes, "building blocks" unusual in their interaction with each other and organic in shape.

Oliblock fit together with an interlocking connection on one end and a magnetic connection on the other. Organically shaped pieces and vibrant colors differentiate Oliblock from its more linear, classic building blocks predecessors. The unique design and architectural sensibilities of Oliblock flow directly from Daniel Oakley's architectural and design background. The serendipitous blend of Oakley's vision of a new breed of building blocks and his distinguished background in architecture resulted in the founding of Oliblock. Oakley's professional association with renowned architect Zaha Hadid has influenced and shaped his design and architectural sensibilities and philosophy.
Buy Oli blocks here.

Want to see more? Go to my list of 60+ modern items for kids here.

Other toy companies that make beautifully designed toys for children and worth checking out are:
Naef
Danese Milano
Zolo Toys
Playsam
Vilac

Some stores that carry wonderful selection of designer toys for children:
Spunky Sprout
Nova 68
Growmodern
Unica Home
Baby Geared

Also, look at my side bar for my listings for shopping for the hip baby. Lots of stores there too!

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