Today is brought to you by...

Today's color of the day is Mustard Yellow...
On your hot dog, but healthier and longer lasting on your living room chair.
Found it on Emmas Designblog

Color me

Just a few letters that wins me over every time:
N O N - T O X I C
This is a true winner. Great colors, great bottle and label design. Love the logo. But mostly...love the product. Coloring your nails is a great treat and now safe too!
Sweetly called SCOTCH
Also, for parents out there, they make special for little girls. As much as I disagree with treating them to a mani-pedi at such young ages these days, i could allow a special treat with this brand, by the same people: www.hopscotchkids.com

A pin to keep you company

One of my favorite sites I like to frequently visit for some creative finds is Etsy. I went on there looking for some felt pins. I bought a few in Tokyo and Hong Kong recently. I wear one everyday and move them around from top to top. These pins are miniature pieces of art. They are all made in felt and textile and put together in such a fun colorful way. Adding a pin goes a long way. It can really give new life to your shirts, tanks, sweaters, dresses, blazers, etc.
Shake tip: Go to etsy.com and take a look at these artists like Lululyna and applenoggin investing in a pin is cheap and shakes up your wardrobe. Its going to be the next big accessory phenomenon!

Super Woman

This morning I woke up to a great interview with Kelly Wearstler. You can spend hours looking through the details of her work. Enjoy like i have for the last couple of hours:
http://www.kwid.com
Boy do i have a design crush on kwid.com!
Her color combos are insatiable and her style very addictive. Even her fashion sense is outstanding. I'm a true believer in none-matching patterns and colors lead to a canvas of delight.
Way to go Kelly! I honor you. Its brave in California, and to recreate this phenomenon of hers in Montreal would scare most clients. Wish I had her power of conviction to get my clients to lean in that direction too...maybe someday (wink wink).

Designing for myself

One of the hardest things for a designer is to find the right elements for ones own home. I have been on the search for a long time for the perfect light fixture to hang in the dining room. I can design my clients spaces within 2 weeks. But for my own place, picky as ever. Its as if the angels haven't manufactured what i see in my head yet. 9 months later, I found the lucky one this week. To boot I have to consider the man I live with as well. He had one rule for me for this place, design it so he can live in it too. And so we put this home together so he can walk around without a flowery background or crystals twinkling from the light chandeliers, nor a pink hue shining off his face. This oversize hanging light fits the puzzle. It's huge and makes a powerful statement and it even jives with the sconces i wanted to get rid of initially.
Shake advice: be patient, take your time. Just because you have guests coming for a dinner, you don't have to hurry to get something 1/2 as nice just so they can see their food. We have people coming for a dinner party in 10 days...the light won't arrive until end of October. They will have to simply eat in the dark ;)

Candylicious Inspiration

I designed a blog for my dear friend Samantha. She launched her jewelry collection called Adesso last year. And we are 2 seasons into doing some great graphic work for her website and marketing material. Her Adesso collection is down to earth with a splash of glitz and a dash of bling, just the way I like it. Her jewlery inspire the designs i create for her. Download her Lookbook here to see what to expect this Fall 2010 and Spring 2011.
This is what inspired me for her Blog...she wanted something very different than the design i did for her site but still embodying her spirit. The other photo was the beginning of the design process. There you go, beginning and end, and none of the boring stuff in between.

Welcome to Shake's first Blog

I have 18 blogs i look through every morning. I go through them quickly because i know that throughout the day i will revisit them during my breaks. Some post a few times a day. So it takes time to keep up with them. I was very skeptical of so much blogging and tweeting proliferation on the internet, made me feel personal contact was becoming obsolete. It occurred to me after a 3 week hiatus it is so difficult to keep up with what is going on out there in the design world via my little desk in my little office.
On the sidebar of my browser i have all my fave sites, but what i don't have is a collection of my favorite photos organized in an easy-to-find way. I've decided to start my own blog where i can re-post images that tickle me pink that I come across. It will be well displayed, and easy access for me to gander at in the future. I will also be sharing some buzz, some ideas and my work and personal projects. We'll see how this goes..shaking some new life in shakedesign.

All of this beginning with the inspiring food and colors I came across during my trip to Japan + Hong Kong. Mushi mushi