artnlight

I think the internet is arguably the most generous of things we've had the good fortune of knowing in our times. There is no limit to the amount of knowledge, explanation, contacts it can give you access to. This phenomenal work here is one such discovery. For all of you there who love to stitch and sew and make your own things with your own two hands here is a woman who is totally inspirational. AbbyJane is a mother of 2 and she has this blog called 'while she naps' where she (ye!!!) explains how she puts together these little pieces of magic.

Just check out the quirky little details!
Her work has sooo much charachter and style...

Yes, she makes other darling animals as well :)

I've picked these images from her flickr where you can see larger images of these & her entire collection. And here's her Etsy store where she sells this darling stuff- yes, you can actually get your paws on these lovelies!

There was an unexpected break in Designyatra that we made full use of- someone mentioned this lovely store where they were amazing tiles to be found- and that is the only encourangement we needed. Quickly details were found, auto (the delightlyful goan ones which have doors) hailed & we landed up. If Velha Goa's facade was anything to go by we wouldn't be disappointed.One finds the distinctively portugese influence in Goan art and architechture. This shop is a testimony to that and houses many other typically goan memorabilia.
These set of tiles above a door will make any entrance look enchanting.
This gorgeous frame uses the peacock feather motif to complement the vanity of mirror gazing :)

Wall mountable tiles in all delightful shapes and sizes

A Mario Miranda inspired tile. Miranda is the states own famed artist/cartoonist with a style thats full of humour which epitomises the goan joie-de-vivre & is much sought after.

These are matt finished tiles featuring miniature goan windows that let you take a piece of the local architecture (I've posted about this here) back into your living room.

The Kyoorius DesignYatra Kit.
Our DesignYatra passports came along with these darling CMYK felt covered pencils & a scribble pad.

Inside the passport - Our visas :)
The personalised stationery inside the kit. Our self love knows no bounds & gets cheap thrills out of seeing our names printed in various ways!

Sept- Dec 07 Little 'Things-to-do' books

Tommorrow is the day hundreds of Mumbaikars will welcome home their favourite elephant headed deity. Ganpathy or Ganesha, benevolent god of beginnings, remover of obstacles, master of the arts and literature, lover of food, stays back in peoples homes, in various sized pandals in street corners to the biggest grounds for ten whole days to witness an extravaganza of devotion, fun & comraderie. In this context I have to tell you this little story...

One day in the early 60s a ten year old boy in Bombay, took his dad's car without his permission to Juhu Beach & brought back loads of sand in its dicky to build a little temple for Ganesha. There was hell to pay when his father discovered sand in the car, but well, he had decided it just had to be done. He got a pasting but all the ladies in the neighbourhood prepared sweets to be offered to the newly arrived lord. And the festival was celebrated in style. This continued year after year & the young boy, my uncle, was dubbed 'Ganapathy Mohan' as against the many other Mohans in the area. A committee was formed called 'Young Boys Ganpathy celebrations' and this is its 40th year of celebrating the Ganesh Chathurthi. Meantime my uncle shifted base to Chennai, his Ganesha obviously followed. My uncle doesn't make a production of it and for the rest of the family its only natural that his home should be full of various versions of the god. It is only after i started blogging that I realised this might be an interesting thing to share.

Easily the most awaited and the most popular speaker at DesignYatra, Stefan Sagmeister (you can read an interview here) has been doing the most different, thought provoking & humourous work & has won practically every important international design award. Famous for his typographic DIY posters he is probably the only designer in the world who takes the liberty of not using the clients logo on the artwork. (and i actually saw this man, spoke to him & took the only autograph i've ever felt the need to take)

He spoke as the packed audience waited, about "The things I have learned in my life so far" saying he has always kept detailed sketchbooks & diaries, he went on to describe how a lot of his ideas and work came from there. Some of the posters he has designed are giant photographs or typographic billboards displayed sequencially that work like a sentimental greeting card left in the park.