For Old Times’ Sake, Osxnasozi + Best of The Web By: Sabrina Smelko

Ah, how time flies — has there ever been a truer expression? This week showed me a contrast in life and lifestyle from only as far back as 100 years to where we are today. I spent my week juggling two laptops and an iPhone on one hand, and wielding a shovel, knee-high in dirt, building a fence by hand on the other. It made me realize how much work goes into making the things we use, be it a fence or a blanket. As my iPhone ran out of battery and I spent precious time backing up my laptop, I found myself appreciating the slow, old way of doing and making. The craft is most definitely not lost on me this week as I daydream of this gorgeous eyelet indigo throw blanket from Osxnasozi, both in appreciation of the hand-stitching and hand-dyeing, and simply because I’d like to crawl up into it right about now after this hectic week. So bear with my nostalgia of the old and join me in paying tribute to the past with this week’s roundup! —Sabrina

Below is a summary of this week’s highlights from DS and around the web:

 

• I love glimpsing old, candid photographs, and these street photos of 1960s New York are no exception.
• This illustrated map to Old LA is pretty adorable and leaving me inspired to make my own for my hometown.
• Jill DeHaan’s gorgeous lettering has an old world influence and feeling I can’t shake.
• Wes Anderson recently collaborated with Prada to design Bar Luce, the cafe inside of Fondazione Prada. Methinks I’ll have to venture there some day, but in the meantime, I’m ogling over these photos.
• As we near the end of Mad Men (big sigh!), I’m already feeling nostalgic browsing through The Mad Men Experience, a beautiful overview of the show, its themes and characters. (Be warned, it contains spoilers!)

• Essay: Caitlin shared a beautiful essay on her paint chip collection, I shared a post on Running a Creative Business: What To Do When the Romance Fades
• Home Ec: How to Rewire a Table Lamp
• Food: Morgan Morano’s Espresso Gelato is calling for me!
• Roundup: “What I Love Most About My Home Is…” Photos
• Sneak Peeks: A Valentino Collaborator’s Australian Pad, The Home Where Snow White Grew Up, Two High School Sweethearts’ Sunshiny Studio, A Venice Family Brings Adventure Home, An Apartment Fit For a Foodie and Her Bunny
• City Guide: Berlin, Germany
• Life & Business: Tips & Tricks for Creating a Customer-Catching Storefront Display, How to Stock Your Shop and Keep Customers Coming Back for More, Profile: Gordy’s Pickle Jar, Starting and Running a Business: How to Find What Works
• Before & After: Ananda’s Patio Makeover, A Hudson Valley Home’s Full Facelift

 

 

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1Hlgz1a From Sabrina Smelko

In the Kitchen With: Morgan Morano’s Espresso Gelato By: Kristina Gill

As an undergrad, one of my favorite treats was the Turkish Coffee-flavored ice cream from Swensen’s. It was so good, I was certain that if given the chance I could eat a whole tub of it. I never found another coffee-flavored frozen dessert I liked until I started surveying coffee gelato in Italy. Every so often, not always, I stumble upon a creamy, not overwhelming, not bitter version that pairs well with hazelnut (my favorite) or vanilla (when I can find it). This week’s recipe is for espresso gelato by the founder and owner of Morano Gelato in Hanover, NH, Morgan Morano. Morgan perfected her technique in Italy, and brought it back to the US. In her new book, The Art of Making Gelato, she has developed gelato recipes to make at home in your own ice cream maker. I think it’s about time I bought an ice cream maker! —Kristina

Why Morgan loves this recipe: This classic flavor, found everywhere in Italy, combines two things that Italians love: gelato and espresso. The recipe highlights the importance of using quality espresso; not bitter, or sour, but espresso that is as smooth and creamy as the gelato itself. Flecks of ground espresso help give the flavor more depth, along with adding a bit of texture. Strong in flavor with a sweet finish, it’s exactly how I prefer my espresso. Try it paired with dark chocolate for an irresistibly popular combination.

Espresso bars are a significant part of Italian culture. They are everywhere, and Italians take their espresso very seriously. Almost all are experts at tasting the difference between good and bad espresso, and I have many friends who drink up to eight shots a day! Like making gelato, the romance of making Italian espresso resonated with me during my first trip to Italy. It’s only right that an espresso gelato should be made with the same attention to detail as Italian baristas give their espresso.

I love both my espresso and coffee light and sweet, and that’s exactly how this gelato tastes. At Morano Gelato, we’ve begun to serve the King’s Row Coffee Company’s espresso blend, which is crafted to pair with dairy — making it the perfect roast to use in our Italian Espresso gelato. The result is a balanced, sweet, and strong flavor that produces thoughts of freshly pulled espresso shots with the perfect crema, or foam, on top.

Italian Espresso gelato is a great dessert to serve at the end of a meal. Paired with Chocolate gelato (see page 48), it’s irresistible. Or, you can try adding a small scoop to your morning coffee for an indulgent way to start the day. Italian Espresso gelato also makes a great frappé when blended with milk (see page 51) — the perfect afternoon “pick-me-up.”

Ingredients
Yield: About 1 quart / 950 milliliters

-2 ounces / 56 grams milk powder
-6.35 ounces / 180 grams granulated sugar
-0.15 ounce / 4 grams espresso grounds
-0.7 ounce / 20 grams tapioca starch
-7.6 ounces / 215 grams heavy cream
-21.15 ounces / 600 grams whole milk
-1.25 ounces / 35 grams light corn syrup
-3 ounces / 85 grams brewed and cooled espresso (just over 1 shot)
– 1 egg yolk

Prepare

1. Mix the milk powder, sugar, espresso grounds, and tapioca starch in a bowl.

2. Add the heavy cream and whole milk and whisk well to incorporate all of the dry ingredients into the liquid.

3. Whisk in the corn syrup, espresso, and egg yolk.

Cook

4. Pour the mixture into a 2.5-quart / 1.42-liter saucepan, using a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Place the saucepan on medium-high heat and cook, whisking continuously to prevent any burning or clumping. Whisk slowly in the beginning and increase speed as the mixture gets warmer and begins to steam and thicken. It should thicken without boiling after 8 to 10 minutes on the heat; watch carefully so it doesn’t burn. Once the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, continue cooking 15 seconds longer, whisking vigorously. Then immediately remove from the heat.

Freeze

5. Pour the mixture into a clean glass or stainless-steel bowl and lay plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming on top. Allow the mixture to sit 30 to 45 minutes, until no longer hot. Then place it in the refrigerator to cool completely, about 4 hours. If the mixture needs to be used right away, submerge most of the bowl in an ice bath and let it sit 30 to 40 minutes, refreshing the ice as necessary.

6. Once the mixture has cooled completely and thickened further, pour it into the bowl of the gelato machine and churn the gelato according to the manufacturer’s directions. The gelato will expand and should spin until it’s thick and creamy, but still soft enough to scoop into a storage container, about 30 to 55 minutes.

7. Using a rubber spatula, scoop the gelato into a storage container.

8. Press a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper directly on the surface of the gelato, seal the container with an airtight lid, and put it in the freezer.

9. Freeze at least 4 to 6 hours. When ready, the gelato should be firm enough to scoop but soft and creamy in texture.

Serve

10. Enjoy the fresh gelato as soon as possible. If using after 2 days, allow 7 to 10 minutes for the gelato to soften outside of the freezer before eating.

(c) Race Point Publishing, 2015.

About Morgan: Morgan Morano is a professional chef and gelato expert. In 2010, Morgan established Morano Gelato after living in Italy, on-and-off, for six years. During college and after culinary school, Morgan gained experience working and cooking in New York City and Italy. Morgan appreciated the bold flavors of gelato found in Italy and noticed the lack of authentic gelato shops with Italian flavors in America. Disappointed with products claiming to be “gelato,” she set out to establish the tradition of gelato-making in America and recreate pure Italian gelato. You can find Morano Gelato on Twitter.

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1d3aRUU From Kristina Gill

Hackers Help: How to prevent shelf sag in large Pax wardrobes? By: davidwbowman

Photo: IKEA.com

I’m looking for suggestions for preventing shelf sag in Pax wardrobes.  Some, even not heavily loaded, shelves are sagging and causing the side panels of the wardrobe cabinet to spread pulling out the small plastic pins that hold the shelves in place and eventually allowing the shelf to drop.  What remedies have you used to prevent this from happening?

~ David

The post Hackers Help: How to prevent shelf sag in large Pax wardrobes? appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1KaC5Xl From davidwbowman

Running a Creative Business: What To Do When the Romance Fades By: Sabrina Smelko

A big part of your job when you run a creative business is remaining excited and passionate about what you do while trying to avoid the pitfalls of bitterness, growing stale, or the myriad other unpalatable possibilities. Some career paths allow you to grunt through your job, but when you’re self-employed by your personal taste, style or hand, grunting through it typically leads to a poor final. And a poor final could lose you a client — eek! It can be a lot of pressure at times. In creative industries, your work is your leg to stand on, so staying fresh, inspired and challenged — and waking up wanting to make something better — is extremely important. But waking up like this every day is nearly impossible. You will be grumpy some mornings; you may wish you could call in sick (which you can’t); you might be uninspired and defeated before you even begin a project.

Creative blocks happen to the best of us, but what happens more than blocks is the mundane — the ugly, less dramatic cousin of burnout. The romance can fade at many stages in your career. I know because I’ve been there, and I’m only 24.

When I first graduated from Sheridan’s four-year Illustration program, I entered the workforce immediately (as in, the Monday following my last day of school) and took a job in advertising. It was challenging in a new way, and between freelancing on nights to pay rent, being thrust into a career I wasn’t quite educated for, and having just come out of an intensive four-year program without a breather, I quickly burned out. So I quit. Realizing that I was headed down a road to bitterness, I veered off and took a new path pursuing freelancing full-time as an illustrator and designer and, now blogging. Although I was reinvigorated by this change in being my own boss, I’ve experienced a few moments of boredom and staleness — which isn’t quite the same as burnout, but can be just as dangerous. So today I thought I’d share my tips for when the honeymoon stage fades in your career, no matter what field you’re in. —Sabrina

Don’t work for clients you feel icky about.

There comes a time in almost every person’s career where you have to take a job that you’re not passionate about to make ends meet. You won’t always have the luxury of saying no to work, especially if you’re just starting out, but as a general rule of thumb, it’s best to turn down a job you get a bad feeling from. It allows for room for a new, better job to come along that you can be available for, and will save you the stress and potential bitterness that can arise from the task. In my experience, my gut has been right exactly 100% of the time whether I listened to it or not. If a client is rubbing you the wrong way or leaves you with a bad feeling, trust that. If you’re wrong, you’ll likely do a poor job because you’re on the defense, and if you’re right, then you’re in for a not-so-fun ride. Working for enough clients you don’t mesh with can lead you to resent your career, and that’s never a good thing (but if you’re already in a situation with a client from hell, this may help). There is plenty of work out there, so don’t take too many jobs that don’t line up with your skills, wants, needs or beliefs; you’ll only grow to hate your job.

 

Start a personal project.

There is an overwhelming amount of possibilities that exist for creatives: you can work in many different fields, doing just about anything from lettering for storefronts to making illustrated GIFs for Twitter. And a lot of the time, you might not even know what you’re best at or most passionate about unless you try it first. That’s why I believe in giving yourself permission to play by assigning yourself with personal projects. You can only go so far experimenting with your style, technique or medium with paying jobs, so challenging yourself to do something different with your down-time and staying busy are both important to keeping fresh, inspired and confident. In my own experience, a personal project I once did led to building new skills which led to a boat-load of work that I would have otherwise had little or no access to.

 

Take a break, revisit old inspiration.

Whenever I find the romance fading in my career, I take a break. For me, taking time off to do nothing usually leads me to work harder when I do get back to work. I find I experience a mild feeling of guilt for taking time off, and whether that’s healthy or not, I usually come back to my desk swinging and eager to kick butt. It’s important that when you do take time off, you really check out. Use this time to watch documentaries or movies that inspire you, read a good book, revisit an album you loved growing up, or visit a gallery — whatever toots your horn! Rediscovering old inspiration and unearthing new inspiration is always great motivation to get your heart back into your work. But don’t wait too long: I find inspiration grows stale quickly, so take advantage of the time when you’re jazzed up and maybe start that personal project. Not tomorrow, or later today, but channel it when you’re most inspired.

 

Change your surroundings, shake it up, get uncomfortable.

It doesn’t sound pleasant, but discomfort can be a very powerful tool. It builds character and confidence, opens doors for personal growth, and can lead to finding what you don’t like, which is just as important as discovering what you do like. Getting out of your comfort zone can be as simple as setting your alarm a few hours earlier or working in a coffee shop for the day, or more involved activities such as going to an event you would normally shy away from, or reaching out to get coffee with a leader in the industry whom you look up to. Boredom usually leads to laziness, which isn’t any way to find happiness or success. As John F. Kennedy once said, “Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished with a guarantee of success.” Being happy is one thing, but being content isn’t necessarily a good thing. Some excitement and change of scenery can do wonders.

Overall, it’s unrealistic to love what you do at all times. Burnout, creative blocks and a loss of romance happen to the best of us, but you can help it! I hope my tips prove to be useful at some step in your career; I’m always sharing creative business advice on my own blog, so don’t be a stranger! This community is only made better by dialogue, so please share in the comments below what you do to combat a faded romance in your career.

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1KawYXa From Sabrina Smelko

Roundup: “What I Love Most About My Home Is…” Photos By: Garrett Fleming

Pretty soon, my own home will become a part of our Sneak Peek column right here on Design*Sponge. As I began planning how to shoot and prep my house for its feature, I also started to brainstorm how I will capture my, “What I love most about my home is…” photo. Each homeowner is asked to style a handwritten note capturing their answer to accompany their home tour. Touching, creative and beautiful, they add such personal flare to each feature. To get inspired, I started browsing through some past submissions and was so impressed that I’ve rounded up some of the most crafty, gorgeous and personal homeowner notes in this fun gallery. You guys are truly stellar, so consider this a great big “THANK YOU!” to everyone who has been so kind as to let us into their homes. Enjoy! —Garrett

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1L780FH From Garrett Fleming