Make It

Colson Whitehead in Vogue

Bad ass photo. His Twitter stream regularly cracks me up. (Photo credit)

On Being Good Enough

Amanda Hocking has been all over my publishing blogs lately. She's a 20-something phenom raking in mucho bucks for her self-published vampire novels. Success stories like hers and JA Konrath's (whose blog is a must read if you have any interest at all in the future of publishing) make self-publishing seem very tempting...very tempting, indeed.

I haven't read any of her work (I don't have an e-reader, though Matt just bought and hacked a Nook Color), but the general consensus seems to be that she's not the best writer. The other general consensus is that, her audience doesn't particularly care. I liked Novelr's take on the whole matter.

People are buying Amanda Hocking ebooks because they’re cheap, they’re easy, and they’re good enough to read. And that’s the metric that matters, really, because that’s how disruption works: it almost always begins with ‘good enough.‘

What Brand Can't You Live Without?

SwissMiss recently asked this question on her blog, and I don't know if I have an answer. Since I've started working in online marketing, I've started to think a little more critically about brand loyalty, and I realized that I don't really have any. The one brand I'm most loyal to is probably Apple, which she specifically called out in her post as not being eligible. So what other brand?

I'm kind of obsessed with my local grocery store, a small Michigan chain called Plum Market. I go once a week and I actually love the experience of shopping there. The staff is incredibly friendly, everything is beautifully merchandised and they have a salad/deli/bakery section that rocks my world.

But food is a necessity. What else? And the thing is, I don't think there's any brand that I can't live without (maybe Craigslist, does that count?). I don't even buy very many things anyway. I don't know if that makes me the worst person in the world to work in marketing, or the best.

What about you? Are you loyal to any brands?

A Whimsical Wing Chair

I had been considering making a slicover for my wing chairs in some leftover cream colored fabric that I have, but after seeing this photo on Lena Corwin's blog, I wonder if I should try something more whimsical.

Loving This Weird Bird at Wayne Pate

I really have to resist posting everything from RIFLE blog. I just adore Anna's style SO much, but I was especially struck by this recent inspiration palette for her apartment re-do, especially this Wayne Pate print (okay, and this Room and Board chair).

Street Fashion Photography - Past and Present

 

Via The Sartorialist, this trailer for a movie about the life and work of the New York Times' Bill Cunningham, the photographer behind the recurring "On The Street" feature. He sleeps in his studio? Really?

In other Sartorialist-related news, here's an NY Mag feature on him and his girlfriend/fellow fashion blogger Garance Dore.

A Silhouette Project I Can't Wait To Try

This DIY botanical silhouette via Design Sponge looks easy enough and I've already got tons of colored paper lying around just begging for a project like this. I didn't get into the whole "person's face" silhouette trend, but I really really love this more abstract style (and that frame is so good).

The Special Effects Behind the Winklevoss Twins

 

I wasn't the biggest fan of The Social Network but my favorite part of the movie by far was the Winklevoss twins, which were actually played by two actors and only one face. Confusing? This video at NY Mag explains the complex behind the scenes work that went into it.

 

Velvet Velvet Velvet

Love all these fabulous velvet swatches at MFAMB. Ever since purchasing our two wing chairs, which are upholstered in either velvet or faux-velvet, I've become a big fan. I also love that the editor of an actual real life magazine (Newell Turner of House Beautiful), drops in from time to time to offer design advice to one of the most foul mouthed blogs out there. Awesome.