Cultivate Curiosity Plate $22 | Bottom Left Lennon Quote $25 | Bottom Right Cultivate Optimism $25

Inspiration comes in many forms. Mary Burrows’s art is tied to capturing just that in the form of fire on clay tablets and plates. Her Etsy site is full of wonderful quotes from great philosophers, musicians, authors and mathematicians—reminding us of what’s important.

Her use of black type on white ceramics is elegantly simple and makes for a lovely gift during the season of giving.

All photos courtesy of mb art studios

 A little music to kick off the week by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond. The song is titled, I Have Never Loved Someone.

Music link courtesy of blogotheque.net

I left the country to mix up a little work with some travel to reset myself and landed in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. I’m not quite sure whether I’ll get to see the Pantone Hotel but while I was researching, I had no idea that the color matching system had a hotel by the same name. Wow, look at all that color…it just exudes HAPPY!

The exterior of the building has a Mondrian quality to it with the color-blocking, while the interiors are splashed with bright hues, balanced by a canvas of white walls, draperies and furniture.

Can you imagine an entire hallway of orange? It’s like walking inside a box of orange tic-tacs. It really heightens the senses.

All images courtesy of pantonehotel.com

Found at | http://pinterest.com/pin/42614583/

If you’ve never been to pinterest.com and you’re in the middle of your work day…don’t go now! (Disclaimer; you’ve been warned). It’s a space that aggregates people’s ideas using imagery that can be shared via the web. It’s an excellent resource when you’re looking for ideas or a little inspiration—an endless visual library. I did a search for handmade art and voila! Here are a few things that I found.

Found at | http://pinterest.com/pin/239663/

I had no idea that toilet paper rolls could make such great-looking art. Kinda interesting, no?

Found at | http://pinterest.com/pin/42192308/

More art created from scraps and leftovers…this time of wood.

Found at | http://pinterest.com/pin/31409095/

This is a great idea for a beach bungalow or just for a little inspiration to look at on a daily basis.

Top Image Found at | http://pinterest.com/pin/1466882/
Bottom Image Found at | http://pinterest.com/pin/79710401/

See how contrasty a similar image/idea can appear when you swap one canvas for another.

I came across DeWayne Lumpkin’s furniture pieces during a recent visit to the Alameda Flea Market. (Takes place during the first Sunday of the month.) I was eyeing some stools for a client project and was delighted by his many offerings in a line of furniture that had a distinctly bespoke quality. He’s created a whole line that integrates vintage British transit route sign graphics in bold letterforms, in the context of traditional upholstered pieces—something old, and something new.

I kinda like the idea of having furniture that doesn’t take itself too seriously…plus, I love the integration of typography within the context of furniture. To see more of DeWayne’s pieces (click here).

To read more about DeWayne’s rolls of vintage British route sign fabrics, check out this write-up in the NY Times. (click here) If you’re anywhere near Grant’s Pass Oregon, be sure to stop on by his store called Home Economics.

All pictures courtesy of DeWayne Lumpkin

Do you Skype? Surely you have…right? I remember way back when I first heard about Skype and thought that there was no way that people could call one another via their computer. Sounded a little too magical a concept at the time. Check out their offices in Stockholm, designed by PS Arkitektur.

Gone are the days of cubicles…at least for some companies—hallelujah! I’m loving the mixture of fun and puffy-shaped furniture that’s in sync with the concept of cloud computing and reminiscent of their logo. The angular shapes of the flooring and furniture seem to incorporate shapes resulting from the connection of one node to another, which has to do with how networks are designed. While I’m a big fan of open floor plans, I wonder whether the issue of sound becomes a problem, especially when you’re trying to make a call?

All images courtesy of Jason Strong

If you’re a designer, architect, fine artist or person on the planet who goes through a process in creating just about anything, this is the truth that you experience during the journey from start to finish. Sometimes when we’re in the mix of problem-solving, it seems more like a problem and less of the latter, but you’ve been there before.

This clever expression of thought was created by designer, Adam Katz using 1500 plastic army men sprayed with day-glo orange and affixed to a window in NY city. To see more of Adam’s work, (click here).

All images courtesy of Adam Katz

Micro-landscapes inside your table…WOW! These are so interesting to look at, I’m not sure I’d want to put anything on top of them. Designed by home furniture company Ayodhyatra, based out of Thailand, this is their latest offering to their extensive home collection called The Secret Garden.

1) Steel frame Table with black powder coating. The garden embedded in the table consists of mixed dry moss and dry wood bark. (Dimensions 90 x 90 x 72 cm). Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

2) Wooden coffee table. (Dimensions 55 x 90 x 35 cm). Photo courtesy of Ayodhyatra

Do you know what a pyrograph is? I didn’t either. Turns out it has to do with the process of burning a pattern or design onto a surface like wood, paper or leather. Check out this video of Etsuko Ichikawa’s process of applying molten glass onto paper to create original pieces of art. If you’ve never been to the Anthropologist site, be sure to poke around a bit…all of the videos are unique and well crafted.

To see more of Etsuko’s work, voila! (click here)

Image courtesy of the Anthropologist