The Nest

I just love Japanese culture, design and food. Most of all, I love the Bento Box. These delicate and beautiful little lunch boxes are typically carried by Japanese businessmen and children and consist of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. When I was in Tokyo, I was enchanted by the pre-made bento boxes that you could pick up in the train station. For “fast food” they were beautifully designed and healthful. So much better than a Happy Meal. This Flickr set shows how creative regular folks can be when creating their own bento. Long live lunch!

Photos by [luckysundae, gamene, gamene]

Purina’s Tidy Cats asked three leading artists – all cat fans – to share their vision of the perfect custom cat tower. This is what they came up with: a classic, a whimsical and an urban design. I saw their special advertising section in Country Living and loved the different designs. However, I’m not so hip on the bad Photoshop job of the cats, though.

I ran into this site from Gardenfork.tv and really loved the cool and calm feel of the site and the various web designs. Of course, the designs by these two women would be cool…they’re Icelandic. Ulla and Melkorka Kjarval, the designers behind Sheepdog Print and Design, are also sisters, photographers and bloggers, sustainability experts, and rural farm chicks. Besides, I’m always a big fan of anyone who uses an animal on their logo…and anyone who is blonde.

My friend Elizabeth in Switzerland is also a graphic designer and creates beautiful, clean designs in her Seaglass Visual Communications studio. I was tickled pink by the announcement for her new design blog, Looking Glass. Like Alice or Mr. Da Vinci, she used a clever, little mirror trick to show off the blog address. This one is a keeper for my inspiration file. Thanks Liz!

At this year’s Burning Man, I happened to visit “Flight” by Robert Bengtson, an artist, photographer and materials designer. This interactive display featured angels praying around a birdcage and a birdhouse in which Burners could sit down on comfortable pillows, and write messages onto white paper feathers while piped-in bird songs played around them. This was one of the most beautiful pieces of art I saw on the Playa. Mr. Bengtson creates consistently beautiful designs, including last year’s Memortrees. Even his business card design is as light and airy as a feather.

Simple. Clean. Fresh. That’s the design, photography and recipes of the Stone Soup blog on simple cooking and eating. Jules Clancy from Australia writes lovely little posts on recipes that use very few ingredients, and she offers free e-cookbooks. Perfect for late summer.

I ran into this wonderful design site for bloggers who like the shabby/chic look and I couldn’t stop looking at all the fun and free buttons, backgrounds, borders and blinkies. How wonderful that blog design can be as tactile as visiting a craft show or antique shop.

Maybe because of our extraordinarily long, wet and cold Spring or because I just got back from Europe, I am once again salivating over the thigh high stockings, garters, arm warmers and leggings offered by Sock Dreams in Portland, Oregon. I came across this site thanks to The Black Apple and love revisiting it to secretly gaze over the lovely patterns of wool, cashmere, lace and ribbons. The pin-up photos show cute legs in all shapes and sizes and various positions…very sexy. Additionally, they offer FREE shipping…even SEXIER!

While ready the latest issue of Mary Jane’s Farm, I saw an article on vet tech, farmer, beekeeper and artist Zan Asha. You might think she lives in the wilds of Vermont, but she does all these things in Brooklyn, of all places. Her art is created under the name Vagabond Creations and she sells several items on Etsy. I was completely charmed by her mama catfish and kittenfish. That mama does not seem to know what to do with her lively little kittenfish.

It may be because of the cold weather, but I’m falling deep under the spell of the warm, southern style and sound of Rising Appalachia. Not only do their voices and music make me want to wander through a moist bayou, but I might just decide to start dressing like them…but only on summer weekends.