Design Folder: Your Online Design and Decorating Resource

fashion meets design: from shirt art to wall graphics

Late last year, Lilli introduced me to Threadless, a Chicago-based online shirt store which is known for their fun and witty graphic tees and hoodies. What’s interesting about Threadless is that they never run out of new designs! Thanks to their “open call” strategy wherein everyone is invited to submit a design which will be put to a public vote. Designs with the highest scores get printed, while the artists behind them receive a cash prize and store credit.  During their amazing sale last December ($5 per tee on selected designs), I got Green Guide and myself some tees including the one above entitled “Pillow Fight”.

Yesterday, while browsing through their shirts, I learned that some of their popular designs also have wall decal and art print versions! Threadless produce the designs as art prints and stretched canvases, while the wall decals are available through Blik.

Who knew these shirts will look great in a room?!

Take advantage of their ongoing sale ($10 per tee on all designs!)  which runs until August 30. You can check their tees HERE. Their art prints and canvases are available HERE while the Threadless wall decals by Blik are HERE.

Happy long (for us here in the Philippines) weekend! -ardel

i saw design: blooming windows + balconies

I’m a fan of flower boxes over windowsills and balconies. They instantly freshen up a potentially boring facade. But these “blooming” balconies and windows are not just great on a building’s exterior. They also look equally pretty inside  a room. Check this wall decal from etsy together with wall-mounted flower boxes on a couple of window images:

Just sharing with you something nice and pretty to  jump start your week.

*balconies and windows via blessingway; paris window wall decals via artconductor.

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: headboard wall decals

In a bedroom, the headboard easily turns the bed as the focal point of the space. Designed by Mina Javid, these headboard wall decals from Blik will give you no excuse for not having a posh sleeping space.

Now, you can give your room an instant makeover, no carpentry skills required!

*Photos via Blik

space matters: idea!s creatives office

Five friends (Rhea Alarcon, Bernice de Leon, Dan Matutina, Marielle Nadal and Dang Sering) formed the social enterprise, Idea!s Creatives, in 2006 to pursue the same goal: provide creative communications solutions to mission-driven organizations. They produce multimedia work — websites, publications, animation — that help different advocacy groups get their message across. Learn more about them at http://ideals.ph.

Two years ago, they moved to their current space from a more cramped unit.

With a bigger space, they have room for a meeting area and have wider walls for putting up acrylic writing boards.

They wisely chose a neutral off-white color for their walls. This is the perfect blank canvas for their artwork, knickknacks and furniture which they describe as having “Bioman-inspired multi-coloredness.”

Their collection of toys and books, which are housed in custom-made shelves, also add to the colorful atmosphere.

Since they wanted their space to be playful and relaxed, they also installed colored decals (or wall stickers), which were designed by their creative director, Dan. Some of these decals are humorous icons representing members of the group.

Work and play usually don’t mix but the Idea!s Creatives office proves there’s always an exception to every rule.

*photos courtesy of Dan Matutina and Idea!s Creatives, Inc.

style shopping: heima

Two weeks ago, the designgeng (me, ms. creative director, and ms. cfo) dropped by Cubao X to check the place for new finds. Cubao X, formerly Marikina Shoe Expo, is now a spot alive with a distinct creative indie culture. Apart from the shoe stores that Marikina Shoe Expo has been known for, there’s an addition of new shops, boutiques and art galleries that lend the area with a fresh upbeat spirit.

Among all the shops, one immediately popped because of its colorful storefront–Heima. At home in Icelandic, Heima is a design and lifestyle store by young interior designer Rossy Yabut and her partner Bong Rojales.

The store has a fun and youthful appearance. It sort of reminds me of the designer stores in Ann Siang Hill in Singapore. Although the store is filled with brilliantly colored merchandise, the interiors’ white, light gray, and cool charcoal walls and floors balanced off the palette.

I love their way of giving traditional furniture a quirky twist. Rossy calls their pieces “upcycled” furniture—old furniture made more contemporary by painting them with bold trendy colors plus adding whimsical fabrics for the upholstery. This look is a refreshing change from the modern/minimalist styles.

This wall even has a funky Betsey Johnson vibe.

Aside from their furniture, the store also carries lamps, mirrors, pillows, originally designed wall decals, and other small home accessories. For the fashionistas, they even have cool shoes, umbrellas, and eco bags.

Probably influenced by Bong’s passion for photography and lomography, Heima carries a range of lomo cameras as well.

The second floor is Heima’s Kolektib Shared Space, a venue for small classes and workshops. Unfortunately, there was an ongoing meeting upstairs so we were not able to check it out. Maybe next time, when we come back for their holiday collection

Visit their store at G/F Shop 33, Cubao X, Cubao, Quezon City or their website www.heimastore.com . They accept indent orders for furniture and lamps, especially helpful if you want the piece in a different color or fabric.