guest posts

Etsy inspiration from California: Jenn Wallace guest post

Please welcome The fabulous Jenn Wallace from Indie Fixx with California etsy inspirations!
Guest post Jenn Wallace- Cali inspiration from etsy
Guest post Jenn Wallace- Cali inspiration from etsy_2
When Samantha asked me if I wanted to write a post while she was away for the week in California, I immediately knew that I wanted to share a Cali collection! Here’s some California inspiration from Etsy.

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Wow!! Thanks Jenn. I’m California dreaming as we speak!!!

Poster round-up: guest post by Kate Miss

We’re so lucky to have Kate Miss guest posting here on Maquette today! Just wait till you see her incredible poster round-up.
Kate Miss guest post: Kate's smokey poster
As you get older, putting posters up on your wall walks a thin line of college dorm decor and chic and hip. I recently became obsessed with finding really cool posters for my apartment after seeing a French poster for Hitchcock’s “The Birds” at an antique fair (which my bank account did not comply with), and then even more after running across a Smokey The Bear poster during a random google search for something unrelated (a kind reader of my blog found it for me on ebay, bless her heart – photo above). I thought I’d share with you some finds I’ve come across of what I deem not too college dorm, but still a bit playful. I also think many of these would be fantastic in a baby or kids room.
Kate Miss guest post: Smokey_all

Not only did the National Association of State Foresters release the amazing state trees poster that hangs on my wall, but it was one of a collection of 15 amazing posters. Steve Nix has them all, and I drool. These are four of my favorites. He says you can contact the NASF or your own state forestry department to find them, but if that draws up visions of you on the phone trying to track someone down there who knows what on earth you’re talking about, keep your eye on ebay!

Kate Miss guest post: movies

I haven’t been able to find that amazing French Hitchcock poster I saw, but these are some other vintage movie posters I love. I have that Wizard of Oz poster reserved in my mind for my future daughter (yeah, I’m weird). If you want originals have some dough to drop, Cinema Masterpieces has the most complete and rare collection I’ve come across. But again, ebay is a great resource.

Kate Miss guest post: unconventional_posters

Then there’s that etcetera category. All those lovely things you find and think, “It’s so lovely I want to hang it on my wall”. I love these vintage Pantone papers, which you can find at 20×26 and from Etsy seller Jamaica. A piece of vintage wallpaper could be great – especially if you find a large-scale pattern that you crop to barely show a repeat. I found this gem at Second Hand Rose. Polaroid’s are bigger than ever, and they can be if you just scan it (yourself or by a professional) and have it printed poster-sized. I think the key is to keep the white part in the scan. (polaroid by me). And lastly, why not scan a page of a favorite book and blow it up? I think a cropped portion to show off the type would look great, and you could keep the scan as is – or manipulate it if you’re crafty like that.

Thank you Sam for inviting me to guest blog! I hope you all come visit me at For Me, For You.

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Kate, my husband will kill me if I buy new posters to frame but I think you are leaving me little choice with this incredible round-up. I love all the posters and the ideas you have about polaroids and books. You are a gem! Readers go check out Kate’s blog, it’s fabulous.

In a Tizzy for Lizzie Fortunado

Lisa Butterworth of onehotchildinthecity is back!! First she gave us lady calligraphers, and now the amazing mixed media jewels of Lizzie Fortunado. I swoon, Lisa!
venus of the rags
sunshine and daydreams
long live summer

I’ve long been a fan of Lizzie Fortunado Jewels and the new collection is no exception. I love the fabric and chain combo and the muted pastels with splashes of bright colors have me dreaming of spring: bike rides, ice cream cones, open-toed shoes, statement jewelry, short dresses, and warm days!
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I’m def getting one of these necklaces. They’re so stunning. Thanks for guest posting Lisa.

The Write Stuff: Lisa Butterworth guest post

I’m thrilled to have Lisa Butterworth of one hot child in the city guest blogging today about her favorite lady calligraphers. take it away Lisa…

jenna hein

I love beautiful handwriting. It’s a skill I’ve always envied and have spent fruitless hours trying to acquire. Luckily there are so many ladies that do it better than I ever will. Seeing these photos on Thoughtful Day inspired me to do a roundup of some awesome gals that are scripting up a storm.

1. The first image is Jenna Hein, since it’s her lovely work on display at Erica’s baby shower. Her calligraphy has such a fresh, whimsical feel.
betsy dunlap

2. I’m also a fan of Betsy Dunlap’s calligraphy. It feels a bit more edgy and has a hint of the old-school to it.

tara jones
3. I was introduced to the sophisticated script of Tara Jones when it appeared in the header of one of my daily reads, unruly things blog.
crystal kluge
4. And I love the quirk of Crystal Kluge’s calligraphy (Such alliteration! She was made for this!)

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Thanks so much for posting Lisa while I’m off galivanting around the California desert! These ladies do have the write stuff.

Male artist series day 5: Matt Dorfman + Nerd Boyfriend blog

Matt Dorfman
Hello dear readers. I hope you’ve enjoyed the male artist series this week. Before I introduce you to genius Matt Dorfman I want to show you one of my new favorite blogs that seems appropriate for this week, nerd boyfriend blog. It features all things your nerd bf or husband (mine) might be into from digital watches to famous nerdy but cool men like Frank Lloyd Wright & David Bowie. I have amazing posts lined up for next week when I’ll be in California. Look for guest bloggers Lisa, Kelly, Kate, Jenn, and ghost posts from me.  Also check out my husband’s 75th podcast, I’m his guest. Now for Matt Dorfman!

Matt is a designer and illustrator and minor publisher living in New York. He presently works in the creative dept. of Universal/Motown/Republic Records during the day and laments the slow death rattle of the music industry by freelancing for various publishers and publications by night. His clients include Penguin, New York Magazine, WIRED, Mother Jones, the ACLU of Philadelphia, Viking, Razorbill, Plume, Business Week and The New York Times among others. Matt’s work has been recognized by the AIGA, American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators and the Type Director’s Club. He has a wife, but no kids. He has a wheel, but no truck.

And now for the interview part where we get to step inside Matt’s clever brain:

When you were a kid what were your artistic inspirations?
Sharks, trains, zombies, zippers and judges. I’m not kidding about the judges. I was initially drawn to their long robes and air of authority. As a kid I extreme difficulty drawing folds in clothes so I got frustrated very quickly and, with much regret, abandoned my pursuit of most judicial-based art. I still draw sharks and zippers, though.

What are your main inspirations now?
My two main sources of inspiration are items that don’t necessarily mix together; those items being baseheaded human behavior and mutability. In terms of content, nothing gives me ideas quicker than cracking the newspaper open in the morning and reading about all of the filthy, horrific things that humans are doing to other humans on a regular basis. I’m interested in the motives behind human behavior and how those motives are best represented visually. Regrettably, the news provides more concepts and suggestions than I’ll ever need.

I’m drawn to the idea of mutability in more of a day-to-day, life coach sort of way. I’m consistently impressed by artists and designers that are able to transform their style at will so that each piece that they make is a departure from the previous one. To me, it demonstrates a broadly excavated sense of experience, research and appreciation. At present, I think I have the appreciation part down, but am still coming up short with the experience and research parts. I keep trying to change my style up from assignment to assignment and I keep failing!

What has been your favorite project to date?

I do a good bit of self-initiated work in addition to the design and illustration that I get paid for. My favorite self-initiated project would be the invite that my wife Jill & I concocted for our wedding last year. It was a long, narrow poster folded up and sent in a standard sized 5×7 envelope. The invite was as long as it was because we dated for 8 years between multiple states and various distances before we got hitched and we decided that a long courtship deserved a long invite. We used it to tell the extremely abridged version of how the twists and turns of our 5-year long-distance relationship turned into a proposal. It was extremely satisfying to have a real-life experience translate so directly into a piece of design that people responded to almost immediately.

My favorite freelance project that I’ve contributed to thus far is for a book cover I worked on for Penguin called Somebody Else’s Daughter. I was called in late to work on it after a few other attempts at finalizing a cover hadn’t panned out. Since the cover was already late, an approval was required very quickly so when the publisher didn’t bite at my first few rounds of comps, I figured all was done and dusted. Remarkably, I was contacted about a month later and was put back to work on it. The project was in a perpetual state of being rushed, yet on and on it soldiered. All told, I submitted between 50-60 comps over 3 months, made some of the most questionable design choices and photo selections I’ve ever committed and the cover that was ultimately selected was done by a different designer. In terms of ego and doubt, it was one of the more bruising assignments I’ve had thus far, but I learned more from that than I have from many of the subsequent projects that have gone smoothly.

What would your dream project be?
To re-design Jerzy Kosinski’s entire back catalog WITH pictures, commentary and whatever interviews could be compiled. Either that or found and manage a miraculously profitable gallery cum workshop for artists and designers. Since our present economy isn’t necessarily demanding that either of those things be born right now, I’ll hold fast to dreams for the time being.


Besides paper what other surface would you most like to see your work printed on?

Tabletops, furniture and shelving! It’s difficult for me to think how my work would apply in settings beyond a domestic environment, but I’m working on fixing that.

Favorite artist of all time?
Ed Ruscha, William Eggleston and Raymond Pettibon all walk into a bar…

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Thanks so much for stopping by today Matt. Readers if you did not catch the rest of the series check out Christopher David Ryan, Dan Funderburgh, Tom Forget, Dan Zvereff, and of course Matt here (here’s another Matt post, and another).

Have a wonderful weekend and tune in next week for guest posts much better than what I come up with daily.