letterhead

mike perry is a midwest born self proclaimed "maker" currently living in brooklyn where he works primarily as an illustrator, typographer, and art director. instead of creating a universal font that everyone can use he focuses more on the poetry of the word. expressing meaning through handmade design.

typeface

last night i finally watched helvetica, a film that discusses the way type affects our lives while centering around the proliferation of the title font. there seems to be two factions regarding helvetica—those that believe it is perfection, and those that feel it is some sort of global monster. i have to say that i agree with the few individuals interviewed that think there is a time and place for all types. my heart fluttered at the beginning of the film when massimo vignelli said, as he was rejecting the idea of expressive fonts, “you can say i love you in helvetica, you can say it with helvetica extra light if you want to be really fancy, or you can say it with the extra bold if you are really intense and passionate.” now that is romance. he is clearly not a fan of georgia type. 

weird science

paris is known for its art museums, but there are other, more unconventional museums that are definitely worth checking out, including the gallery of palaeontology and comparative anatomy at the national museum of natural history. large windows boarder the main space sending dusty beams of light on the collection. a large herd of skeletons face the main entry surrounded by glass cases of different species and organs preserved in jars of liquids. the museum houses a public collection of the great expeditions of travelers and naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries. the entire contents seems to remain untouched since the museum was formally founded in 1793. beautiful hand printed calligraphy labels mark the different classifications, yellowed from sun and age, and colorful wax seals preserve the freakish jars of brains, parasites, and 2-headed fetal pigs behind the glass shelves.

(photos by: erin + ben)

coif panache

playful handmade, vintage inspired headpieces by ban.do. each creation comes with a haiku and is thoughtfully named, like "ain't too proud to beg," "she's not scared of anything," or, my favorite "kiss me you fool, we are in paris." 

la collectionneuse

i adore built by wendy. i was heartbroken when they closed their los angeles store at the end of last year. when i was back in january i drove to hollywood and found an impossible metered spot on 3rd street, but when i got to the location a gate was pulled over the entrance, paint still announcing a closing sale on the large glass storefront. i guess i'll just have to resort to online shopping. a few summer dresses were just added to the newest collection - just when i thought it couldn't get any better.

with anticipation

perfect images to match my mood, from french photographer alain astruc. i'm restless waiting for summer travel. packing and unpacking, long hikes on muddy trails, my minnesota lake, new thrills, old friends - these are a few of the things i look forward to.

fresh paint

over the last 2 weeks, ben and i have been enduring the long lines wrapping around the museums, our bodies inching slowly in unison for a glimpse at some of the new exhibits around paris - warhol at the grand palais, kandinsky and calder at the pompidou. this past weekend we went to the musée de l’orangerie, in the tuileries garden, where contemporary painter didier paquignon was showing a selection of his work in the main gallery. we were unfamiliar with the artist and eager to see his work, especially on such a large scale. the exhibit encompassed his creations from over the last 20 years, including urban and industrial landscapes, female nudes, and still lifes. the bright colors and tremendous energy in his pieces was exciting to see.

(photos by: erin + ben)

true colors

the lookbook for erotokritos's spring/summer 2009 collection is something out of a dream, with bright blurred rooftops and the shadows of dignified stairways. the clothes are quintessential parisian elegance with a rush of pigment, in floral prints and color block. if you're in the marais, the store is located on rue vieille du temple, one of the best shopping streets in the 3rd.

ice cream - you scream

my sister, holding our berthillion ice cream cones (coconut + cassis and grapefruit + coconut). she picked a flavor that conveniently matched her new pink scarf. berthillion is located on ile saint louis in paris. if the line is around the block there are multiple stands that sell their ice cream on the island.

(photo by: erin)

paper cuts

on oscar wilde’s deathbed in the hotel d’alsace on the rue des beaux-arts in paris (today called l’hotel), he said “my wallpaper and i are fighting a duel to the death. one or the other of us has to go.” the wallpaper apparently outlived wilde by 100 years and has been recreated at l’hotel, where there is now a plaque to oscar, just above the front door. i imagine oscar, tired and lonely, hibernating under a stack of quilts on his bed, the antique lamp by his bedside, dusty and dim, shining a small beam of light on the wallpaper that eventually killed him.

i imagine this and i think of the wallpaper in the bathroom of our apartment. large printed oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and avocados on a creamy yellow backdrop, made to look like realist paintings with dots of color and condensation collecting on the fruits. the sheets clumsily placed with gaps between them, never quite lining up. i want to tear it down. rip the sheets free from the walls one afternoon. maybe there will be another pattern hiding behind it, or maybe there will be a clean white wall waiting for me. i would do this if i didn’t have to face daniel, the owner of the apartment. he is painfully proud of every detail in the sublet. it took him over an hour to check us in. he explained everything from the washing machine tablets and remote controls to the value of the hideous cobalt afghan in the bedroom and the cracks in the walls caused by the sinking foundation. he did this in quick description, smiling, pausing, and waiting for approval before moving on to his next point of interest. i'm sure the wallpaper was his decision.

every night the sky stays a little bit lighter—dragging on the blue twilight until you don’t even notice the night, just that it’s there. the moon, reflecting off the gray tin rooftops and rickety antennas, lighting up the cracks in the walls so deep and venous that you think they could be what’s holding the building up and not tearing it down.

(photos by: erin)

little people in a big world

keith loutit uses a tilt-shift technique to capture ordinary people in ordinary places. changing the depth of field can create such a bizarre affect. it forces you to see things differently and focus on a part of an image you may have otherwise missed. i am mesmerized by his films. the more i watch, the more i wish parts of my life could be in time lapse.

from the deep

my grandmothers were more golfers and gardeners and less embroidery artists, but that doesn't take away from the nostalgic feel of dishtowel appliques and underwear initials. lately i have been obsessed with my lack of knitting and crocheting skills, maybe it's time to try a new craft. i love julianna swaney's moby dick + 10,000 leagues inspired stitching.

to the brim

through may 30, dutch designer hella jongerius is exhibiting her new collection "natural design magistra" at the galerie kreo in paris, which ben and i went to see this weekend. i have always admired her glass and ceramic vases with their smooth, curved shapes, and the combinations of materials that go in to creating them. her latest designs are just as impressive and have a sculptural and narrative quality - using artificial flowers and animal tables in her designs.

(photos by: erin)