Niotillfem Blog

If I could trade lives with someone for a day (or two), I'd ask Sandra Beijer for a swap.


She strikes me as cosmopolitan,


as someone who attends fashion shows,


and enjoys picnics with her friends.


She eats great food,


including sausages,



and leaves plenty of room for dessert




She takes breathtaking pictures,


and has an obvious love for nature.


But most importantly, she has beautiful shoes.



Learn more about Sandra Beijer's life in Stockholm from her fabulous blog, Niotillfem!

{ All photos owned by Sanra Beijer at Niotillfem. }

Noteworthy: Paper Source

I love Paper Source. I try to visit the store on Fillmore Street once a week. That's where I buy all the paper that I use as backdrops for my photo shoots. Most of the time, however, I just window shop. I admire all the pretty displays of gift wrap and the oodles of stationery. The Paper Source store is a design wonder! (No, this is not an ad -- I love PS, that is all.)

During a recent visit, I spent my time looking at the non-paper items, like their office supplies and bags and other cute stuff. The Rainbow Trout Stapler caught my eye, and so did the cupcakes of naughty lip gloss. Anyhow, the following are my noteworthy Paper Source gift picks:

1. Rainbow Trout Stapler


2. Naughty Nice Lip Gloss Cupcakes


3. Peace Sign Lunch Bag


4. Aprons


5. Black-Stitched Suitcase

STOP PLAGIARISM NOW!

There's something terrible happening in our beautiful corner of the Internet and I cannot stay silent about it any longer. In the past two months, two of my dear blogger friends have been ripped off. Both of them had their templates stolen. Both of them had their content stolen. One of them had her blog name stolen! (I've even heard about another woman who put a right-click lock on her site to stop the thieves!) This is crazy!

There needs to be a strong code of conduct -- or a copyright lawyer who willing to fight for bloggers who want to protect their content and identities. How can we call ourselves "inspiration bloggers" when we're stealing inspiration from our colleagues? Or even from our friends? I realize that many of us are new to blogging and are still trying to figure out HTML.

Unfortunately, a lot of the templates you get for Blogger tend to look a lot alike. (Witness mine). But there has to be a way to make them look different enough that each person has their signature. There is a line between similarity and copying!

One of my friends -- who is probably one of the largest bloggers on Blogspot at the moment -- was so disheartened last night that she told me she wanted to quit blogging. If the Internet is really the medium of our future then we must make it original -- and more beautiful.

Bloggers, do you really want inspiration? Visit this site: Make Better Websites.

I would like to say this: We should make better blogs. Give credit where credit is due. And don't steal!

--Tina

World's Smallest Post Office

I was reading 7x7's Best of the City article and under Best of Home Design, they featured the World's Smallest Postal Service by Lea Redmond in San Francisco. As I read this bit at Border's Books, I experienced the most severe of cutegasms. It was a little embarrassing. Here's an excerpt direct from Lea Redmond's website, Leaf Cutter Designs:

The World's Smallest Postal Service (WSPS) is a teeny tiny transcription service and roaming post office based in the San Francisco Bay Area and also available online.

Lea Redmond is the Postmaster, setting up her tiny mobile office in cafes and shops where passers-by can write a letter and have it turned into a "world's smallest letter." The letter is transcribed on a miniature desk in the tiniest of script, sealed with a miniscule wax seal with the sender's intial pressed into it, packaged up with a magnifying glass in a glassine envelope, and finished off with a large wax seal (see above). It is a double delight: for both the sender and the recipient, and the WSPS is very happy to provide this important service to the world.

Check out these pictures from WSPS:





A happy Flickr customer:

ambimb

And another:

megret7

Tuesday, another word for ...

... the point being I had planned on posting these guest posts on a Thursday, right? No problem.

Hello. So, it's Jonas from way over at beyond wunderman here, once again, regardless of the fact that it's Tuesday. It's always a bit of a pleasurable nightmare, trying to come up with something bright and appropriate for the english muse, but a couple of weekends ago, as I worked through a commitment I had made weeks ago in a rustic haze, I knew the photographic result was going to end up on this very page. Why? Because for the first time in my life I consented to photograph a wedding. A friend of a friend's. Hmmm. Initially I refused, but then I was told that it would include travel and a night in a disgustingly expensive hotel overlooking a fantastic lake, champagne and food, spirits and room service and literally as much food as I could eat and steal and at that point my mind began to wander over all the possible outcomes of such a scenario. It was ... an interesting weekend.

Until next Thursday ...

Pen and Ink to Blow Your Mind

click all images for larger, more mind boggling viewing

The truly mind boggling pen-and-ink drawings of Melissa B Tubbs can be purchased here

xo, Flux