Holiday Cards

I’m at an age where I know practically nobody aside from my cousins that sends out holiday cards. And I LOVE receiving cards! Every year on the Qbee forum, a Qbee member organizes a very informal card swap where we all exchange addresses and send our cards and then you sit back and watch the greetings roll in.

Sometimes people include stickers, or a sweet note, or maybe they just took special care in picking out the card. The exchange is open to members in all countries, and it is SO COOL to get an envelope from The Netherlands or Norway!

The holiday card swap isn’t the only great thing about the Qbee, but it’s the one I think about the most during the Christmas season. It makes the holidays that much more enjoyable, and I look forward to it every year!

If you want to learn more about The Quilting Bee or why you might want to join, check it out!

I came across this:

I am not angry that this shirt exists. I think it’s cute and if I formula-fed, I would consider purchasing it for my baby. However, since I breastfeed, where the eff is my shirt? Why can’t there be both versions?

Is Old Navy afraid to put the word “breastmilk” on a shirt? I would be okay with “Powered by Mama’s milk” if they were squeamish. (Which… GRAH to that, I see no reason to be squeamish about feeding a baby.)

I just want to see equal representation. This says to me, “At Gap, Inc. we support formula-feeding instead of breastfeeding to the point that we will take the time to design and manufacture a shirt to communicate our stance.” Had both shirts been offered, I likely would not have even noticed this.

Given that Old Navy provides nursing tops to breastfeeding mothers, the production of this “Formula Powered” bodysuit without an accompanying “Breastmilk Powered” design baffles me.

I’ve sent an email to their customer service department outlining these issues, and I’m looking forward to their response.

There are so many wonderful things about this print. Elephants! Octopus! Narwhal! Walrus!
$40 from octophant.us.

Dueling Talking Carls

I’ve had a wallpaper of Carl as my computer background for a while, so when I saw this I immediately had to play it. Daniel and I were in hysterics by the end as it just gets more and more bizarre and funny as it goes on. Sound required!

Taga Bike Stroller

Fascinating! It’s like an inverse tricycle and it can fold up into a stroller. I think Daniel wants one.
$1495 from Tagabikes.com.

Birthday Cake from Hagrid

I made this cake today. Basically, I really just wanted a chocolate cake, but since today is Harry Potter’s birthday I figured I’d dork out and frost it like Hagrid’s cake.

See the movie version of the Hagrid Birthday Cake

Shabby Streamside Studio

A perfect little gingerbread house! It’s only 125 square feet and has no kitchen or heat. I find the entire interior awe-inspiring and adorable, like a real-life fairy tale house. I would have loved this as a teenager. (Hell, who am I kidding? I love it now.)

Read more at the owner’s blog, My Shabby Streamside Studio.

Owl Bookends

I randomly received a catalog for this company in the mail, and I basically either actively disliked or felt neutral about every single thing in the catalog except this, and now I am convinced I need owl bookends.
$39 from Company Kids.

Anything totally awesome you’ve found recently?

She has a lovely, almost poetic stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I may not be in step with her religious values but I think that’s immaterial here; this is one of the best descriptions of all-encompassing love for one’s husband that I have ever read.

Love, by nienie

Enjoy.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should preface this with the note that I am a web developer by trade and only an occasional web designer. The majority of design work I do is only for this site (and my portfolio site, I guess) because even if I take on freelance projects, it’s usually for someone who already has a design and needs it built out. That said, I still think this applies and I’m excited to participate.

What’s your favorite genre of music?

Metal. That said, I listen to everything from alternative indie pop stuff to scary things in other languages, so I am pretty open. I listen to a fair amount of black metal (Borknagar, Opeth), industrial (Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein), folky Nordic metal (Storm, Otyg), goth/doom metal (Type O Negative, Sisters of Mercy), alternative (They Might Be Giants), indie (The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel), and pop (Lily Allen). I tend to have favorite bands rather than favorite generes, because I listen to so many different kinds of stuff.

Do you listen to that genre while designing or does it change?

Not generally. If I have a particular song stuck in my head, I will listen to that, but I think most stuff I listen to is too abrasive for thoughtful work.

Do you tend to listen to any artist in particular while designing?

Sigur Rós! Their stuff is so amazingly perfect for design or development work. It’s symphonic enough to be calming, but has either a beat or is loud enough that you get a rhythm going in your work. Plus, depending on the album, the lyrics are either in Icelandic or a nonsense language that mimics Icelandic, so you don’t get too caught up in what the vocalist is saying and can focus on your work. Phenomenal and totally recommended. (If you’ve seen The Life Aquatic, Starálfur is the song that comes on when Zissou & co. are in the sub and they see the leopard shark. LOVE IT.)

Do you find that different song styles or beats influence the style of your designing? Vice versa?

Hm. I’ll say that if I really get on a roll, I want some pumping music behind me. That’s more for development, I guess, but Rammstein or NIN are great for that. When I’m thinking, or working on fiddly designy things, I prefer something more mellow like The Decemberists or Neutral Milk Hotel so it doesn’t get in my way. I think my designs and my development needs influence my listening rather than the other way around.

What program/site do you use to listen to music?

iTunes. I don’t use Pandora since we’re not allowed to stream music at work, and then I forget to use it once I’m home. I usually prefer to listen to a whole album at once rather than a party shuffle or something, so I like iTunes for that because I can play things by album easily.

And finally, could you live without music? Design?

No, and no! ALL THE BEAUTY WOULD BE GONE FROM THE WORLD. I just rediscovered this article on A List Apart called “In Defense of Eye Candy” and realized it’s more or less what I wrote my thesis on in college. People perceive attractive things to work better and to be more trustworthy, and it’s the function of the designer to facilitate this experience. I’d be so sad without that!

What song best sums up your design style and/or the music you listen to while designing?

Since I mentioned it before, let’s say Starálfur by Sigur Rós. I think it best sums up the music I listen to when I do either design or development. I’d definitely recommend that entire album though; it’s called Ágætis Byrjun. (And since I was thinking about all this, I had to grab my iPod to listen to this album!)

Thanks, Nikki! This was fun and I hope you get some great responses.