Garden Gnomes?

I’m not sure if there’s a story behind these figurines. They were lawn ornaments of sorts throughtout the grounds of our hotel. Our best guess was that they are to hide mechanical equipment. They look crouching figures crying if you ask me. Anyone know the story behind them? Are they Latin American garden gnomes?

Not So White Christmas

It was quite a change of pace to spend Christmas soaking in the poolside sun, but Christmas Eve we did end up at Iglisia del Carmen, a beautiful gothic church in walking distance from our hotel. It was fascinating people watching and interesting way to hear familiar songs in Spanish - other than that I didn't understand a word. 

Pimp My Ride

One of my favorite sights around the city quickly became the diabolos rojos, the red devils - converted school buses that act as the public bus system. Each ride may only cost you $0.25, but according to some locals it may cost your life, with crazy drivers who are even known to drive drunk. Still, to me it seems part of the adventure (I couldn’t convince the parents to ride with me, so it will have to be a treat for myself next visit). Each bus is privately owned, and it’s “pimped out” according to each owner with some more ornate than others. One [taxi] driver we had described it as a popularity contest for the best decorations, with the inside practically a discoteque. Definitely more fun than my daily ride on the MTA. Click here for more, full-sized images. 

Click here to read Wendy's take on the diabolos rojos on her recent trip to Panama right here.

Drive By Shooting

Within our first two days in Panama my dad and I unanimously decided that Panama was the least pedestrian friendly either of us had visited. Not only is the city spread out as not to allow self exploration, but safety was a constant concern (stressed by guidebooks and locals alike). With the heat and sun beating down on us, taxis were not a bad option (see bus post forthcoming), but still it killed me not to be able to wander and explore the streets of the city (walking is what I do best). So I was forced to document this trip in a whole new way I like to call “drive by shooting” (the non-violent kind). Scrapping the whole idea of “getting close” to your subject, I was prisoner to our driver of the day, motion and the massive delay my camera (held together by clear packing tape). But I went with it, embraced the artistic imperfections of blurred visions and odd angles. Click here to see the full-sized photos.

I'm Back!

I'm back from Panama! A great trip and I'm excited to post about it. I'm using today to prep posts before I head off to West Virginia for the New Year. Stay tuned...

Theatre Art

One of my favorite ways of discovering new designers is through other artistic arenas. Working at CENTERSTAGE, a regional theater in Baltimore, I first came in contact with the work of illustrator Gary Basemen who did the art for the season that year (you may also know his work from the game Cranium, which is possibly the best board game ever). But this time around I found the artwork before the theater. I was surfing around Antoine + Manuel's site in my quest to find cool French designers, and came across these great posters for La Comedie de Cleremont theater in Paris. Looks like the guys also did the design for the theater's website too, which is just a fun home page to enter. Ah, the French, such style!

Roadrip, USA

Thinking about last week's post about branding, the state of the economy, my grandfather's scrapbook, reading Nomadic Matt's article on the Great American Roadtrip and the lowest gas prices in 4 years, it got me thinking about US automakers and the dream of the open road. I'd love to see a new advertising campaign [by American automakers] focused around the idea of the great American road trip. 

What says Americana more than seeing the landscapes of our own beautiful country, with stories by real people in their own cars and the personal encounters we experience along the way? It is something very American (my Cypriot friends joked with me that until they studied in the US, they never really knew the concept of a "road trip" as it takes no more than two hours to get anywhere on their island country). The "roadtrip" is the vehicle (literally) to tell the story of why you need a car, but not just any car, an American-made car. (Ok, now I'm feeling a bit like Don Draper pitching the deeper bond of nostalgia like in the Kodak "carousel" slide projector pitch in season one of Mad Men). It's a return to the past, yet a way of looking to the future, a way to create memories, and to experience everything our country has to offer. Have pride, buy American. Go where the roads takes you. . . 

(Mind you, this pitch is coming from a girl who lives car-free, but I'm practically selling myself on the idea!)
{rear view mirrors from Troy M. Litten's American roadtrip [wanderlust] collection. Postcards for sale here, and click on image directly above to send your own wanderlust postcard from Chronicle Books}

FEED

Happy Holidays to all! I'm off wandering the streets of Panama - in a not so white Christmas - in my new pair of Toms. As we practice the act of receiving today, I thought a "giving" post was only appropriate. In addition to shoes (btw, they are almost to their goal of 30,000 shoes for their next drop in Ethiopia), TOMS has found other ways to give back to those in need. The purchase of a FEED bag has a two fold goal: raise awareness of hunger around the world and proceeds also go to feed and educate a child during an entire school year. Kudos to Toms!

Moon Panama

How timely! Just as I was preparing for my trip Panama, and with this very book [by Moon handbooks], Nomadic Matt posted a great interview with its author, William Friar. Read it here! I'm actually hopping on my plane as this post goes live, but never fear, I have several posts planned while I'm away.

P.S. Speaking of travel, the Maryland Daily Record had a fantastic piece over the weekend called 2009: the Year of the Travel Deal. Now that's music to my ear! Better deals, better exchange rate against the Euro, cheapest gas in 4 years - there are good things that come out of a recession!

UK Stamps

Speaking of stamps, great new British Design Classics stamps from the Brits due out January 13th! {via anewdesigns}

Stamps of the World

Joy always has the best finds. Field Guide: stamps of the world poster by Gavin Potenza (available here). {via Oh Joy!}

Point of View

I've always been a fan of advertising campaigns that do more than just try to sell you something, but also make you think. Xander at Primitive Culture recently posted about this great "your point of view" campaign created for HSBC [bank] that deconstructs how we look at the world around us. Taglines that accompany the images read "An open mind is the best way to look at the world,"or "Everyone looks at the world from a different point of view."

Xander took the idea behind the campaign to use his own images to discuss the terms"exotic" and "mundane." The more I think about it, I'm beginning to feel that the mundane is the exotic. Join the discussion of how we all look at the world differently here!

{images via HSBC}

State Mottos

Great map by Emily Wick. Check out her shop here. {via morewaystowastetime}

Cookies

One thing the holiday season means at my office is free food sent over from product reps. So I was excited to hear about an organization that was benefiting from the fact that we were being sent cookies. When ordering cookies from The Cookie Sale proceeds go to support Cross International's Haiti and Jamaica Hunger Relief Program. I must admit it felt good to eat a cookie and know someone else was better off because of it too.

Railways Map

Speaking of Readymade, I'm digging this Railways Map Calendar by Lart C. Berliner I saw in the Dec/Jan issue. For sale right here.

WPA

During the Great Depression the Works Progress Administration (WPA) used the economic downturn to employ artists to create posters with a message promoting the social programs created under FDR's administration. As an homage to this populist poster art created between 1933 and 1943, Readymade invited 5 illustrators to reimagine the posters for today. You can find all the posters right here, and the original WPA designs here.

{posters above by Nick Dewar and Christoph Niemann; click here to download the full posters in pdf form}

Thai Temples

One of the most breath-taking things about Thailand were its exquisite temples, but after a week straight of looking at temples they all started to look a bit of the same to me. But how cool is Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple, a Buddhist built temple made entirely out of beer bottles! Definitely gives a whole new life to the potential recycling.

P.S. If you're in SE Asia and itching to get to Thailand, check out AirAsia - they're giving out 100,000 free tickets to Thailand in hopes of boosting tourism in "the land of smiles" after the recent turmoil.

{Thanks, Michelle!. . . images via Treehugger (click to see more)}

Dingbats

Before I decided to design my own stamp I had a good time browsing through DaFont.com. I came across cityscape and dingmaps which I thought were fun fonts.

Holiday Stamp

As part of my holiday card design I created my own version of a stamp cancellation. I faxed over the design to Wm. Baumgarten AMS Stamp Company downtown and a day later I had my own rubber stamp. Fun and a nice change of pace from everything coming straight out of the printer!

Par Avion

As the world seems to be leaning towards an e[lectrontic]-Christmas, I'm loving anything that reminds me of good ole fashioned snail mail. In fact, the holiday postcard I designed this year was airmail themed (who knew I'd be seeing it pop up everywhere now). I'm about half-way through writing them, so I better get back to work if they're going to get out in time. . .Top- par avion pieces by Kate Spade {via Oh Joy!}, middle: MOMA luggage tag {via d*s}, bottom: US Mail bags at 3Potato4 {via swissmiss}

Jet Set

Flight 001 and Lomography have teamed up for a cool contest. Get the whole scoop here. 

Local Library

Episode 2 of Design By The Book is out now. Check out the 5 Brooklyn designers venture inside the New York Public Library for inspiration! I love that going to the library is cool again. {d*s}

Panama Canal

Just this morning on the bus I was reading about the Panama Canal in one of my guide books, so it was perfect timing when my aunt emailed me saying that my cousin (on Semester at Sea) would be passing through the canal today. True I'll get to see the system of locks in person later this month, but seriously, how cool is it that she gets to pass through it on the same boat that has carried her around the world? Thanks to the live webcam I got to see it all happen (update: I was able to record it in screen captures). Gotta love technology!A true feat in engineering, the Panama Canal was created as a waterway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through a series of locks. It is 47.9 miles and took the MV Explorer about 10 hours to pass through.Bon voyage, Nicole! . . . back on US soil on Sunday!

Slumdog Millionaire

Over the weekend I went to see Slumdog Millionaire with a handful of friends (the theater was packed = good sign). First of all, you must realize it's now on my list of all-time favorite movies. Second of all, go see it on the big screen! You can catch the preview online right here, but it's one of those movies that is kind of fun going into and not really knowing what you're getting yourself into (kind of like a trip to India!). Basically the premise is a "slumdog" (kid from the street) is on the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and no one can figure out how he's getting all the answers right. As the story unfolds, many questions are answered set against an incredibly diverse, sometimes difficult, and colorful view of India and culture, which is set to a seriously amazing soundtrack (available on iTunes - I bought it the minute I got home, and it's my latest obsession). Just GO SEE IT!!! . . . Now that India is back on my mind, I pulled out a few of my own photos - from 2002 - that reminded me of scenes from the movie. 

Passports with a Purpose

A number of travel bloggers have teamed up for a wonderful fundraiser to benefit Heifer International, an organization striving to put an end to hunger around the world. For every $10 raffle ticket you "purchase", the money not only goes to a great organization, but also puts you in the running for tons of fantastic prizes (very cool donations from various travel bloggers) - it's a win-win situation! Click here for more information on how you can participate and help put an end to world hunger. {Thanks, Heather and Debbie, and the many others who are part of this project!}

Tom's Shoes

I first heard about Tom's Shoes over on Intelligent Travel, and since then I've seen them popping up more and more. Now that we're headed to Panama for the holidays, I figured now would be the perfect time for my own pair. Not only are they super comfortable, come in tons of colors and patterns, but they're totally easy to pack too. So for Christmas I ordered a pair for my mom and myself (don't worry, Christmas presents are usually not a secret in my family). The best part is that for each pair you order Tom's donates a pair to a child in need. This holiday season they are trying to give 30,000 kids in Ethiopia. At the time of this post they were half way to their goal. Click here for more info, and here for an interview with TOMS creator, Blake Mycoskie.

NEST + Proud Mary

Awhile ago, Suz left a nice comment in reaction to one of my posts telling me about a wonderful organization called Nest, which I'm just now getting to posting about it. Like, Kiva, Nest offers micro-loans to developing countries, but Nest also strives to connect designers to artisans, while helping to provide them with fair wages. The other week Grace posted these wonderful bags by Proud Mary, one of the first of these cross-cultural collaborations. Proud Mary was born out of a shared passion by Harper and Molly for social responsibility and good design. Thanks to Nest they were able to work with artisans in Guatemala to produce their first line of three fabrics. Check out more from Proud Mary right here, and get the whole scoop on Nest here.

{top image via d*s, bottom via proud mary}

Phelps Phans

Saturday is a big day. Not only is it Sock Monkey Saturday at AVAM, but Michael Phelps will also be signing his new book, No Limits: the will to succeed, at the Inner Harbor Barnes & Noble starting at 12:30pm. Yay, Baltimore!

{image}

Jumping for Joy!

If you remember this post "jumping pictures" quickly became our new favorite past-time while in Thailand. Over the weekend the New York Times had a short piece on Allison Reimus's blog Jumping in Art Museums. In fact, the MoMA stays open late one Monday a month to encourage jumping. Ahh...the simple pleasures in life! {Thanks Felice and Beka for sending over these super cute picks jumping in front of Andrew Logan's "Cosmic Egg" at the American Visionary Art Museum!}

Stitching Postcards

I've been a big fan of these stitching postcards ever since I saw them in RSVP, a delightful stationery shop in Berlin. I was super excited to see that you can buy them online now too (needle and thread included!). {Thanks, Alison!}

Panamania!

It all kind of started a joke, and then on a whim my family actually did it - we're going to PANAMA for the holidays! We officially booked our tickets last week and my guide books just arrived in the mail yesterday, so the whole thing is starting to feel real. Tell me, readers, do you have any tips and suggestions to pass along?

p.s. Click here to learn how to care for a Panama hat.

Print's Student Cover Competition

Every year PRINT magazine invites students to design a cover for one of their issues. The three finalists are up now, and voting is open until December 12th. Personally I'm a fan of this cover by Amani Lusignan. Click here to learn more.

Happy Holidays from Baltimore

34th Street lighting, Monument lighting and the Mayor's Christmas Parade in Hampden!