Unprofound

There is so much great design coming out of St. Louis these days...

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:54:00 -0500

There is so much great design coming out of St. Louis these days and it doesn’t get nearly enough press. Here, I’ve highlighted some of my favorite winning works from the recent AIGA STL Design Show 18. From top down: A birthday invitation by TOKY Branding + Design, Trolly Track Cookie Company paper goods by my favorite stationer, Cheree Berry Paper (who’s website design also won), the poster for STL Design Week 2012 by Kiku Obata & Company, and a book design by Wash. U. student Michelle Nahmad. To view each of these projects in more detail and to see the other incredible winning entries, click here.

Happy Friday!

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:17:36 -0500

Happy Friday!

How I Broke Into Food Writing: Advice From Tasting Table’s Senior Editor

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:21:50 -0500

How I Broke Into Food Writing: Advice From Tasting Table’s Senior Editor:

Food writing is a coveted job among culinary fanatics across the nation. I mean, who hasn’t picked up a copy of Bon Appétit or pulled up the New York Times food blogs and thought, wouldn’t it be

"‘I don’t want to take your bed, Henry,’ I said. ‘Where are you going to..."

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:41:59 -0500

“‘I don’t want to take your bed, Henry,’ I said.
‘Where are you going to sleep?’
‘One of the back rooms has a bed that folds out from the wall,’ said Henry. ‘I can’t think what they’re called. I’ve never slept in it before.’
‘Then why don’t you let me sleep there?’
‘No. I am rather curious to see what it is like. Besides, I think it’s good to change the place where one sleeps from time to time. I believe it gives one more interesting dreams.’”

- The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Click the + for a perfect dash WANNNNTTTT

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:29:27 -0500

Click the + for a perfect dash

WANNNNTTTT

Al: Remind me to not branch out from my regular lunch group.

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:28:55 -0500

Al: Remind me to not branch out from my regular lunch group.

Me: Will do. What horror occurred?

Al: I went to a delicious diner with these annoying girls in fake sororities including but not limited to the quintessential Jewish American princess, the girl who got excited about boys wearing pastels and said "look alive ladies" when we passed a group of med school students, and the girl who is obsessed with staying a size 0 so she eats vegetable shreds. Girl who said look alive was also wearing a Lilly Pulitzer dress with a Lacoste headband pinning back her greasy hair and has a tattoo that says independent in Spanish on her shoulder blade and finds ways to constantly insert "c'est la vie" and stupid stories into every conversation, if it interrupts something then even better.

"I slammed out of the Priest Hole and started walking, heading nowhere in particular. Sometimes you..."

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 01:22:45 -0500

“I slammed out of the Priest Hole and started walking, heading nowhere in particular. Sometimes you just need to go through a door.”

- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

New illustration

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:51:20 -0500

New illustration

"Don’t be defeatist dear, it’s very middle class."

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:26:33 -0500

“Don’t be defeatist dear, it’s very middle class.”

- Downton Abbey

"As it happened, I knew Gartell. He was a bad painter and a vicious gossip, with a vocabulary..."

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:32:47 -0500

“As it happened, I knew Gartell. He was a bad painter and a vicious gossip, with a vocabulary composed almost entirely of obscenities, guttural verbs, and the word ‘postmodernist.’”

- The Secret History by Donna Tartt

"Beauty is rarely soft and consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming."

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:09:30 -0500

“Beauty is rarely soft and consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.”

- The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Iceland has been at the top of my travel list for years. The...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:41:06 -0500

Iceland has been at the top of my travel list for years. The happiest people on earth, the most amazing vistas, the fact that it has ice in its name—duh! Who DOESN’T want to go there? With this preexisting Iceland obsession it makes perfect sense that the moment I clicked on the link to the gorgeous travel guide on This is Glamorous, I opened a new Chrome tab with flight prices.

This adorable tourism video also helped seal the deal on my love of Iceland.

The happiest rainbow pancake video from the happiest (and my...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:16:07 -0500

The happiest rainbow pancake video from the happiest (and my personal favorite) blog you’ll ever see, Oh Joy! Hopefully it’ll improve your day like it did mine. Read more here.

A site and app for guided meditation? Yes please. I’m...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:07:48 -0500

A site and app for guided meditation? Yes please. I’m especially into this calming video of rain falling on a tree; I could stare at this for hours. Is that weird? Whatever, it’s already feeling like a good day. For some chill time click here.

Design and blog links

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0500

I keep finding bunches of incredibly helpful links to good typography, tutorial videos on Adobe programs, tips on design and bio writing, you name it!

So here is my compendium of links to remember because they’re far too valuable to misplace. Just call this blog my version of Evernote:

How to write an effective blog bio
10 unbeatable premium memberships and courses for professional design training
Pretty much any entry from the ALT summit blog
Nicole’s Classes
How to write a year’s worth of blog posts in five weeks
CreativeLIVE classes
Skillcrush classes
How to prep files for print
Design Instruct—helpful tips on everything design related

Katrina Markoff, the brains behind Vosges Haute Chocolate is...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:13:00 -0500

Katrina Markoff, the brains behind Vosges Haute Chocolate is amazing. She went to college, then attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then proceeded to build a gourmet chocolate empire while traveling the globe for inspiration and ingredients. The best part? Her whole operation takes places in Chicago. As if this Refinery29 slideshow about her and her house wasn’t exciting enough, I found out we have our hair cut at the same salon! To learn more about this fabulous lady, click here.

A new and incredible travel resource. The site even links to the...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:22:00 -0500

A new and incredible travel resource. The site even links to the moveable shipping container hotel concept. Looking forward to seeing how the site develops. Couldn’t help but notice Krug advertises on the site as it does on the podcasts of one of my favorite publications, Monocle (which is running a great article today on the merits of a paper notebook).

"Amy takes a deep breath. She’s wearing a funny little pillbox ski cap that looks incongruously..."

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 23:07:27 -0600

“Amy takes a deep breath. She’s wearing a funny little pillbox ski cap that looks incongruously jaunty given her distress.”

- “Are You Happy Now?” By Richard Babcock

Food

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:14:38 -0600

Me: I want a burriot

Me: Also known as a burrito*

Al: Burriot is the French slang

Life for the past five days. Is it time to go back yet?

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:02 -0600

Life for the past five days. Is it time to go back yet?