Shiso Jalapeno Cocktail with Concord Grape and Sumac By: Grace Bonney

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of meeting artist and photographer Julia Sherman of Salad for President when she interviewed my Julia for her blog. Salad for President is a fascinating project that involves a wide range of artists coming to the MoMA PS1 Salad Garden (which Julia S. maintains) and creating a salad. It’s a mixture of food and art in a way that highlights fresh local ingredients and artistic presentations. I’ve been following the blog’s projects all fall and was excited to hear that Julia had been working on a new project: a cocktail syrup made from the Shiso-Jalapeno grown at the MoMA PS1 Salad Garden.

Along with Morris Kitchen, Julia created this unique cocktail syrup and has been perfecting it in cocktail-form with some help from her friend and bartender, Arley Marks. Arley and Julia came up with a drink that combines concord grapes and tangy sumac. The tart flavor of the grapes pairs perfectly with the sumac (which has a lemony taste) and the syrup adds a kick to the drink that Julia loves. I’m so excited to share this here today and am excited to see what else Julia will create next! xo, grace

*Julia is hosting a giveaway on Instagram to win a bottle of cocktail syrup! Check out her Instagram @SaladForPresident feed for more details.The winner will be announced by 5 pm tomorrow.

Click through for the full recipe after the jump!

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via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1xhnCRG From Grace Bonney

BEKVAM Spice rack and roll holder By: mQjQm

Materials: BEKVAM Spice rack, leather stripes and a stick

Hey fellow hacker! I hope you like my BEKVAM hack. Just attach the leather stripes to the underside of the BEKVAM and slot in the stick as a toilet roll holder or kitchen towel holder.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1os2bLZ From mQjQm

The Design*Sponge Quarterly Box is Live! By: Grace Bonney

I am so so (so!) excited to announce that the Design*Sponge curated box at Quarterly is live today! After thinking long and hard about what the theme should be, I went with something that is near and dear to ALL of our hearts: PATTERN ! I’m often asked to define my aesthetic or the site’s and I always end that description with the phrase, “…with a healthy dose of pattern.” I am an equal-opportunity pattern fan and for this box, you’ll be receiving a wide range of home goods from independent designers that span from stripes and stars to floral patterns. I’m not allowed to spill all the beans about whose work will be included, but I can share that Rifle Paper Co. and AHeirloom goods will be in the first box!

Here are the details: Starting today, you have ONE WEEK to sign up for the Design*Sponge Pattern Box. The box costs $100 but contains goods that are well over $100 in value. The theme is pattern, so each piece will have a bold pattern that is guaranteed to add some fun to any room. All of the products will be home goods, so you’ll find something for the tabletop, kitchen, bathroom and much more. The best news is: the box will arrive in time for the holidays! So if you’d like to buy a box as a gift for someone (or just yourself), you can order one (or two!) and have it sent straight to their home.

SUBSCRIBE HERE for the Design*Sponge-curated Pattern Box at Quarterly . this is a limited edition box, only available for one week in order to ship in time for the holidays. So please sign up by Friday 11/14 if you’d like to receive your box. Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below and I’ll answer them asap! xo, grace

(Note: You are not automatically signed up for our next boxes)

*One lucky subscriber will receive a patterned Rifle Paper Co. Recipe Box if they subscribe by Monday, November 10th at midnight PST. So sign up soon if you’d like the chance to win one of Anna’s beautiful recipe boxes!

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1tPUxMn From Grace Bonney

Weapons of Mass Creation By: Grace Bonney

This past August I spoke at the best art & design conference I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending: Weapons of Mass Creation. Held in Cleveland, OH, this year’s WMC marked its 6th anniversary and the conference showed no signs of slowing down or resting on its laurels – it was incredible. Most people in the creative community are familiar with the “big” conferences that happen every year. They cost a lot of money, involve a lot of big sponsors and focus on personal branding, sponsorships and image. I felt so disillusioned with them all that I stopped going and, until this year, had all but sworn conferences off. But several of my friends who have attended WMC for years encouraged me to give this conference a try, so after missing out on last year’s conference because of a scheduling conflict, I was thrilled to be invited to speak at the 2014 event. It was one of the most inspiring weekends of my professional life.

What’s so different about WMC? For me, it came down to this: inclusion. The design community is a diverse place, but that diversity is rarely visualized and shown in the way it should be. I struggle with this myself and am working harder to show the full depth and breadth of our community and not fall into the trap of mainly talking about people that look like me. WMC made that inclusiveness their focus this year, with panels that discussed gender, race and sexuality in design and panels that were designed to show all of us how to make everyone feel welcome, comfortable and celebrated in our community. Some conversations were raw, some emotional and every single one of them was eye-opening. Frankly, they were the sorts of discussions we all need to be hearing, listening to and participating in. There was so much substance, open dialogue and real creativity happening at WMC that I could barely take it all in. All I knew was that I was lucky to be there and to be a part of a group of people who made me look harder and more closely at my own behavior and how I can be a better supporter and champion of EVERYONE in our community, not just the people that are the easiest to find.

I wanted to share some of this year’s videos because I hope they’ll inspire you to attend next year. The tickets are affordable, WMC provides a ride board where you can find a way to car-share with someone to get there and the cost of lodging and eating in Cleveland is reasonable, too. All of that is to say that if you save up or take off time from work to attend one event next year, I hope you’ll make it to WMC. I promise it will be a weekend that makes you feel like you’re a part of a very special, very welcoming and incredibly creative family. I don’t know how else to explain it other than to say that WMC felt like the college experience I always wished I’d had. You’ll be challenged to think differently, open your mind and meet people you may have never met otherwise. Oh, and did I mention you’ll get to see comedians and bands play between and after talks and panels? It’s pretty amazing. Click here to keep an eye out for next year’s conference. xo, grace

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1xcxZ8n From Grace Bonney

Solid Stand for Super Speakers By: Wim

Speaker stands with Ikea Adils in Black.

This was an autumn project. Simplicity of manufacturing was not the aim, spending some time to honour the new B&W 601 speakers was.

Design principles…

- It’s ok to use IKEA legs, but it should not be too visible in the end product.

- Support for the speakers in the same size as the speaker

- Support on the floor slightly taller for stability

- Two layers of wood for each support so that all screws etc. can be hidden

Materials used:

- 4 x IKEA Adils black

- 8 pieces of wood

- screws, bolts, washers

- primer

- black gloss

- tons of green tea

Steps in the process:

- Cut the wood to size and pair the pieces

A. Floor parts:

- Mark the place for the disks that hold the legs

- drill the holes for the bolts in one piece and then drill the holes for the legs in the other piece

- countersink the disks and fix them to the wood

- countersink space for the screws in the opposing part

- glue the pieces

B. Speaker parts:

- drill the holes for the bolts in one piece and then drill the holes for the legs in the other piece

- glue the pieces

C. Painting

- Sand the pieces; put a coat of primer and sand again

- Put two coats of gloss whilst sanding in between

- Put a coat of varnish

D. Assembling and finishing

- Screw the legs in the bottoms

- Fix the bolts in the top

- Drill holes to run the wires

- Put grommets in the drilled holes to protect the wires

- Put spikes or felt under the floor parts

E. Find the ideal place to put the speaker stands

F. Enjoy the music with a cup of tea

Pictures explain a bit more

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1ydfmQV From Wim