… don’t last for very long but they’re really bright and pretty to look at when working.

And that’s a Nico Muhly CD we’re listening to. We don’t know much about instrumental music, but we think this stuff sounds really good.

It would be the perfect Spring morning, if I didn’t have to use the radio to drown out the sound of drilling! Every half a block it seems, they’re building something new in our neighborhood. Soon our little home will be cast in the shadow of big skyscrapers. Our old Brooklyn neighborhood seems to be changing really fast.

A few interesting links: a recent interview with Maira Kalman, where she explains her secret to drawing is perseverance (aha!); Bibliodyssey, which Shawn’s been drooling over, and I’m like three weeks late on these: Inspiration, the second issue of Design for Mankind’s e-zine, and for all you t-shirt lovers out there, Rumplo.

We know quite a few of you have your postcard tacked to your bulletin board or fridge and are meaning to get around to it. This is a friendly reminder from the people who sent you the postcard that since the weather’s getting nicer, it might be fun to make a date with a friend, grab your postcard, and head into the lovely spring sunshine to complete the task. (And e-mail photos to us.)

Above, a couple of pics from our buddy Amy of Greenjeans who spent an afternoon in the park with her friend Mia doing what “the postcard says.” I know, we said no more previews of submissions we’re receiving till we put up the official site, but this one really put me in the mood for spring (green grass and sneakers!) so I just had to share!

There’s no right or wrong way to complete each task, and you can interpret the instructions however you like. The point is to have fun and to see something really ordinary in a very different way. And please don’t be shy, we’d love for you to share your results with us!

Feeling a little less chatty lately, so for the time-being, I’ll try to keep ya’ll entertained with more pictures than words. I hope you don’t mind!

yoohooo, is there anyone out there named “shawn” who does screenprinting and would like a barely used squeegee? if so, we’d be more than happy to mail it to you, in exchange for a screenprint you’ve already made.

or, is there anyone out there who wouldn’t mind owning a barely used squeegee with the name “shawn” written on it, who would like to trade for a screenprint?

p.s. the squeegee is 14 inches. i have no idea what durometer(?) measurement it is, but i’ll tell ya if you let me know how to figure it out!

{update, march 23rd: we have a taker! the trade is in process and we are looking forward to showing off our new print when we receive it. we’ll be posting a pic of it here!}

I just want to say that the Hoff is back.

An excerpt from David Vestal’s finity / 24:

“A recent issue of Science News told of attempts to restore parts of western prairies that used to be called “the Great American Dessert” to their condition as first seen by Europeans. It can’t be done: the buffalo aren’t there to graze, and alien trees and grasses have irremovably invaded. We also can’t remove another insignificant but carefully-not-mentioned invading species - ourselves: humans who came uninvited from other continents. The ghost dance religion tried to solve this problem in 1890, but the magic shirts weren’t bulletproof.”

His presence is close to invisible online (it took almost 10 minutes to find a gallery with his photographs), but David Vestal has left a deep imprint in photography circles as a venerable photographer (his work is at the MoMA, the Met, and Whitney, to name and few), critic and teacher (at the New School, SVA, and Pratt).

About once a month, our mailbox is graced with an envelope containing his thoughts, critiques and quietly-moving black and white pictures. 

finity, 10 issues for $30: David Vestal, PO Box 309, Bethlehem, CT 06751-0309

Uno the beagle won best in the show and Shawn’s gotten me interested in reading What I Learned today (some fascinating stuff there!). I need a new book to read. Any suggestions?

Hot off the press (well, the screen), the latest issue of Australian design magazine Blanket is well worth the time it takes (a few minutes) to upload the entire issue onto your computer. I’m thrilled to get to share a bit of the limelight (an interview and journal-making tutorial, and my first foray into cut paper illustration) alongside a brilliant lineup of illustrators, photographers and designers. To see why I’m gushing about this magazine, have a look for yourself here.

Hello all! It’s mid-winter, and we thought your mailboxes might be getting a bit lonely, with no more holiday cards dropping in. So, we’d like to do something to bring the fun back into picking up your mail. Wanna join us?

Here’s what happens:

In a week or two, those of you who signed up and made it within our 400 person limit (see update below) will find a postcard from us in your mailbox, with a fun little task to do. When you’re done (and this is all we ask of you), take a photo of your completed activity and e-mail it back to us so we can post it online (anonymously if you wish).

What do we hope you’ll get from this? A cool postcard, a laugh when you see the task we thought up for you, and the act of doing a not-so-ordinary task that gets your mind thinking in a different way. And we will (hopefully) get to see what you’ve come up with. Sound good? Then let’s get started!

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UPDATE, February 5:

Sign-ups for this round of “the postcard says” are closed. We have reached our 400 person/postcard limit. Thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of you who wrote in to be a part of this!

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400 of you will be receiving your postcard around the end of next week (int’l addresses may take a bit longer). Follow what “the postcard says”, and we look forward to seeing what you do!

If you signed up but don’t receive a postcard, it means we ran out of postcards and couldn’t send one to you (or, you signed up but didn’t provide all the correct info, or we did send you a postcard but it’s one of the few that don’t make it to its destination). Boohoo! But, you can still take part ~ in a few weeks, we will announce some of the postcard tasks online, and it’d be super cool if you could send in your responses. Details later.
 
More, the good stuff ~ your responses to the postcards, to follow shortly, so stay tuned! For now, we’re rolling up our sleeves and getting ready to write 400 postcards.