Archives: July 2013

  • ezra_zmaic

    This is the most recent Made By Hand film and it almost brought me to tears. This film follows Ezra Caldwell, a bike builder in Harlem. Although it explores his passions, this film takes a look into a life of a man battling cancer with ferocious optimism. Ezra began taking daily pictures of himself and his life once he was diagnosed and now sells them in weekly, hand-printed batches. Seriously puts things into perspective.


  • It takes craftsmanship and skill to execute beautiful paper products. This is a video on how Crane & Co. bevels and guilds their stationary… it’s all done by hand. Pretty incredible. So the next time you get upset about cost, think about the time and love that’s going into your product.

  • fastco_infographic_zmaicFast Company has a really interesting infographic on how money affects laws and elections. This idea isn’t new, we all know money is power, but seeing some cold hard numbers represented by various sized dots really had an impact on me. Pretty disturbing how even school lunch programs are affected by the money being thrown at congress. (5 images total)

  • Jul
    2013

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    Mosquito Patch

    kite_patch_zmaic

    Did you know that mosquitos actually track you by detecting CO2 from your breath.. crazy, huh? Kite is an innovative product that is currently being tested and seeking funding to release mosquito repellant patches that you wear and can last up to 48 hours. Think about all the people around the globe who die from diseases carried by mosquitos who could really use this… not to mention my sweet-blooded self who gets eaten alive every summer. Another example of technology for good.

  • zmaic_beauty_is_embarrassing

    I feel like I saw the trailer for this two years ago and have been waiting forever to get to see this, and FINALLY Netflix has it available! I’ve already watched it 5 times in the past two months, and thought I’d share it with you in case you haven’t checked it out yet. Wayne White is an artist and creator who does a bit of everything and is responsible for my obsession with Pee Wee’s Playhouse and the famed “Tonight, Tonight” Smashing Pumpkins video. Most of the things that I grew up with, that I really found visually inspiring, were created by this handsome man. This documentary make me feel sane for getting my hands into everything creative and that there’s nothing wrong with being a Jack-of-all-trades.

     

    zmaic_wayne_white_studiozmaic_wayne_white_1zmaic_wayne_white_2zmaic_wayne_white_3

    Wayne now paints these incredibly lettered scenic paintings that make me giggle every time I see them. Check out his site and his books.

     

  • Scratch commissions designers to created limited edition nail decals that are high-art, low cost. Flat Vernacular is the guest this month!

  • Jul
    2013

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    Sailing Ship Kite

    Check out this amazing kite from Haptic Lab! Not only is it cool, it’s also Fair Trade. Check out their other amazing goods, including my favorite quilt.

     

  • Google launched Project Loon in June 2013 in New Zealand to test the ability to use balloons to transmit internet to the large chunk of the world that doesn’t have access. As they say on their site “Many of us think of the Internet as a global community. But two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have Internet access. Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters.”

    Technology is doing so many incredible things; having the ability to help women entrepreneurs in third-world countries, giving education and medical access to the developing world and ensuring that people affected by major disasters can access the internet. Blows my mind.

     

     


  • I found this incredible anti-drug video today on Fast Company’s site. Pretty amazing to watch how the design firm, The Colony, executed it in the behind-the-scenes video. Talented people creating great work.

  • My life has taken me on a lot of adventures and somehow brought me into the world of web design and start-ups. I have slowly begun the process of learning to develop, or “code”, sites in the past year because there aren’t very many people who do it well. I thought that this video is an inspiring look into some great minds who have pioneered the infancy of the internet. Check out code.org and also check out a great online coding site that I’m currently working with called, Skillcrush and start developing your first project today!