Design Folder: Your Online Design and Decorating Resource

i saw design: pipho 5x

The Design Folder team just attended and very much enjoyed the opening of Pipho 5x, the 5th anniversary photo exhibit of the photo club, Pinoy Photography Organization. I can’t describe how amazing their landscape and travel photographs are — you have to see for yourself.

The exhibit runs until August 1, 2010 at the Eastwood Mall, Libis and might move to a different venue after (see their website for updates).

All the prints are for sale and would look great in any interior! And since they are printed using archival inks on acid free canvas by Gallery7, you’re sure the works are going to last a long time. Visit www.pinoyphotography.org for details on their annual photo exhibit and for more info on Philippine photography.

(Congratulations to all the featured photographers especially to our friend Ian Santos! Hoping to see more of your works on display! )

conscious living: this month’s produce

Last April, I made a post on the benefits of edible gardening in relation to our household’s summer produce (indian mangoes and cashew). And as I’ve mentioned in that post,  our avocados are supposed to be ready for harvesting this month. Above is a photo of the first batch!

Too bad, because of the recent el nino, only one of the two trees had fruits. But it’s ok. I guess these are enough for the “fans” to get a taste of them. -ardel

sale alert!: brissi, uk

To our readers in London, Brissi’s summer sale is still ongoing with up to 50% discount. Their stores are located in Notting Hill, Chelsea, and Marylebone High St. Visit their website here for the items on sale.

a-list: pepper roxas

Isabel “Pepper” Roxas is a young Filipino illustrator and graphic designer based in Astoria, Queens, New York. She was a Fullbright scholar and a graduate of the Pratt Institute’s graduate design program. She’s a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) and has been drawing for kids since 1998. I stumbled upon her and her website last week through a recent post in Always Saturday about her art prints and her store in La’O Center in Arnaiz Ave., Makati.

I love her art! It’s quite rare that I come across artists who produce what I call “child-friendly” art or artworks that can be displayed in a nursery or kid’s room. I especially love one drawing in her website (top photo) of a girl with a huge flower because it somehow reminds me of my flower drawings when I was a child. I also like her illustrations for Araw sa Palengke (Day in the Market) which bring back childhood memories when I used to go to the market with my mom. (Hmmm, now I know what to give for my godchild Sophia’s birthday!)

It’s such a shame that it was only now that I came to know about her and her work. I had two children’s rooms for Space Starters early this year and I could have featured her art prints there!  Maybe next time…

To know more about Pepper and her art, visit her website here and her blog here. You can also purchase her prints, illustrated cards (above), and other items in her shop here. -ardel

i saw design: cool office spaces

via the cool hunter

via the contemporist

via chictip.com

via this aint no disco

via open-a

If only all offices look like these, it would be more enjoyable to wake up early and go to work everyday.

For more fun and inspiring office spaces, check out This Ain’t No Disco.

Hope you all had a great week and will have an even better weekend!

objects of design: cheap & chic lamps

You would always hear designers say that lighting is everything. And it’s true. Light influences how we perceive a space. In fact, the easiest way to improve a room is to improve the lighting by introducing a mix of lighting fixtures: general, directional, task, and accent lighting.

We have been accustomed to bright, white, overhead (ceiling mounted) general lighting even if it’s sometimes unnecessary. Plus, overhead general lighting is so unflattering to the space and to the people in it by making all the imperfections visible, creating ugly shadows, and highlighting blue undertones (for daylight fluorescent lamps) like blemishes and dirt marks.

To save on electricity and to make your space look and feel better, add a light where it is needed by incorporating table and floor lamps. They are much more efficient for task lighting because the light source is near the work space and would, therefore, require a bulb with a lower wattage (I prefer a 5 to 7-watt warm or cool white cfl). For aesthetic purposes, table and floor lamps are great accent lights that cast light patterns in the room that introduce depth and drama.

For those in a tight budget, here are some contemporary lamps that are super affordable:

1) Aluminum lamp (top photo, foreground), P6,000 from Chan C Bros., SM Megamall

2) Aluminum lamp with rippled shade (top photo, background) P3,000 from Chan C Bros., SM Megamall.

3) Tao Margot table lamp (above), P3,195 from Our Home

4) Tao Polaris table lamp (below) P1,995 from Our Home

art swap

The past couple of months have been very busy that I almost forgot about the art swap!

Initially, I was planning to send two “interior designer” items: a watercolor drawing and a handmade coffee-stained pillowcase. The bad news is that the pillowcase is still sitting on my desk, waiting for the remaining 30% of the needlework to be finished. Because I don’t want my dear Ning to wait any longer, I’m just sending two watercolor renderings instead, which can readily fit in an 8″ x 10″ frame.

Long before I learned Sketchup and became accustomed to making photo montage perspectives in Photoshop, I made my illustrations manually using pen&ink for the line drawings, watercolor for rendering, and colored pencils for highlighting/shading. I learned this multimedia trick from my all-time mentor Lilli (yihee!) way back in college.

Above is a drawing of the Philippine Bahay na Bato for a class in Architecture when I was in 2nd year college, while the one below is an interior rendering for my third Space Starters article back in 2005.

Right now, my package is on its way to Ning who’s in Indonesia. I hope it will reach her very soon.

Lilli, Ana, hope you can mail your art swap packages too! -ardel

i saw design: nintendo nostalgia

I saw these and just had to share them with you. These Nintendo-inspired products bring me back to simpler days when all I had to worry about was how to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser.

mushroom lamps via unplggd

arcade mugs via walyou

tetris chair via walyou

donkey kong & super mario bros. wall decals via blik

We’re in the process of renovating our office right now. I wonder if I can convince my bosses to install Super Mario Brothers decals on our walls? -lilli

objects of design: space-saving furniture

Heaven-sent for those living in small spaces!

july daily reads

Whenever I’m hit by the Procrastinating Bug, I go find something inspiring to bring me back to my working, thinking, designing mode. For this purpose, my flickr contacts have been very helpful.

This July, instead of design blogs, we are featuring six Flickr Photostreams for df’s Daily Reads. These are from my flickr contact list that are packed with photos which will surely encourage you to create, decorate, and make something beautiful for your space.

Here’s a quick preview of our July list:

day in the studio from artpropelled,

tilly & tommy elephants from retro_mama,

one of those moments from penwren,

my helper from fallon akers,

my studio from dottie angel,

and black wall from the happy home

Enjoy! -ardel

*top photo via dottie angel