Book Wormery

Book cover design by David Pearson

They say books – along with printed materials in general– are going the way of the dinosaur. While I think the medium has certainly changed, and continues to evolve, I refuse to jump on the "books are headed for extinction" bandwagon. Are more people reading books, magazines and newspapers online or on e-readers? Yes. Is the publishing industry taking a hit? Absolutely. Is that a bad thing across the board? I don't think so. Don't get me wrong, I love tangible reading materials, but I think there's something seriously wrong – and unsustainable – about an industry whereby authors make less than 10 percent in royalties, while distributors get the rest. Seems a little unfair, if you ask me. So, I'm happy to hear about some authors who bypass the traditional industry, self-publish, and take home closer to 80 percent of their profits. I know this is a controversial, multi-faceted issue. But, as writer Isia Jasiewicz recently pointed out in Newsweek, traditional auction houses (Christie's, Sotheby's) feared collapse when ebay came on the scene, and as it turned out, there was room for both because they serve different markets. I think a similar argument can be applied to book publishing. Plus, without the option to self-publish, we bloggers would have no soapbox on which to stand! ;)

Some books, however, are just not meant for reading on the interwebs. And those, my dear friends, are the books I'd like to share with you today. There will always be book lovers and book collectors, and artists to create books worthy of loving and collection. There are journals, specialty one-off books, art and design books (yummy), and lusciously creative book covers for re-issues of classic literature. Let's take a look….

Design*Sponge recently introduced me to Coralie Bickford-Smith's new collection of deco-inspired metallic covers for six F. Scott Fitzgerald titles, coming out Nov. 4.

Miss Coralie doesn't mess around. Check out some of her other clothbound collections:

ABC3D, by Marion Bataille, is a work of fine art. I can't think of a more fun way to learn the alphabet!

David Pearson has amassed an incredible body of book cover work. Some fall on the more traditional end of the spectrum, while others are positively avant garde and others still are soft and illustrative:

I'm privvy to some of the architectural works:

You can't help but feel civilized and Fiorentini while thumbing through The Civilized Shopper's Guide to Florence, designed by Louise Fili:

Book covers don't have to be made of uber fancy materials to be beautiful. Book City Jackets partners with illustrators to create unique covers out of craft paper:

You know I love an adorable whale.

Those of you who write in journals aren't stuck with the sometimes boring, stamped out options available at your local Barnes and Noble. Look at the beautiful specimens from m-square press, made of natural materials like grass and wood with hand-bound coptic bindings.

How clever is this journal, sketchbook, message board all-in-one from erinzam's etsy shop?

Roughdraftbooks sells fantastic hand-made books in her etsy shop. Get a load of this amazing caterpillar binding:

Now, because it's our blog, I get to unabashedly plug some of the books Oliver designed and bound by hand. Click over to our website to check out more of Oliver's books!

For this one, he actually watercolor painted the pages before binding them and hand-writing the words.

A Pink Room to End All Pink Rooms

I have a post about pink rooms waiting in the wings, but then there was this story in the NY Times recently, and I couldn't help wanting to share it with you. So, I'll save my pink room roundup for another time - Valentine's Day, or some similarly obvious occasion like that.

The Times does these "On the Cheap" features, whereby a top interior designer is paired with a design-challenged New Yorker, helping them to redesign one room in their house on a strict budget. This one focused on Harrice Miller, a costume jewelry dealer and historian, who also produces concerts of Indian classical music, an interest she gained during a 1999 trip to Gujarat, India. She hosts dinner parties and jam sessions for musicians in her home, but didn't have a proper place for them to stay, as her guest room was being used for storage. She decided it was time to convert the spare room into a little jewel box reminiscent of those she saw in Indian palaces.

Enter Vincente Wolf, a minimalist designer who favors serene, neutral interiors with clean, modern decor. Two examples of his work:

Based on the tone of the article, this was not a client-designer match made in heaven. Ms. Miller essentially requested a "theme" room, which no self-respecting interior designer wants his/her name associated with. However, despite their rocky start, Mr. Wolf did the right thing: he managed to give the client what she wanted without compromising his own integrity and point of view. Not an easy task, folks. Rather than creating a room with literal references to Indian decor, Mr. Wolf evoked the feeling of an Indian cocoon with rich, vibrant colors, textures and textiles, while also incorporating the client's own furniture, accessories and artwork.

Before:

After:

The result, as you can see, is absolutely phenomenal. The client was floored (she wanted to move into the room), and the designer was surprised at how much pleasure he gained from stepping outside his comfort zone of neutrals. Both parties stretched a bit and, as a result, found common ground by opening their minds a bit. You can't for more in a collaboration like this.

All photos by Matthew Williams for the New York Times

Classic Telephones

Vintage phone from On Sources

This morning got off to a monstrously bad start, leaving me exhausted, frustrated and ready to climb back into bed and sleep until 2012 – and it wasn't even 11 o'clock!! I wanted so badly to be able to pick up the phone and scream, "HELP!" Being my own boss has so many wonderful attributes, but sometimes I would love to be able to ask a superior, "WHAT SHOULD I DO?" Alas, I could not, but it's ok, it all worked out. However, my desire to call for help got me thinking about making calls, literally. Remember when we all had phones that plugged permanently into a wall? Remember when dialing took, like, ten minutes, and if you made a mistake, you had to start ALL OVER? Remember when you had to switch from a phone in one room to a phone in another, and you invariably got caught up in the squiggly cord? (Don't tell me I'm the only one.) Remember when the words "phone" and "cancer" never appeared in the same sentence?

So, inspired by my desire to call for help today, let's take a look at some fantastic, high-style phones from yesteryear.

This, pulled from a 1960s version of "Stars: They're Just Like Us," The King on the phone from Vintage Rotary Phones

Check out this outstanding collection of phone ephemera from America's Classic Rotary Phones:

These vintage-inspired calling cards are available from Annacote's Etsy shop:

Some fun Bakelite phones from Retro Telephones:

Classic 200 Series

Clear 746 from 1967

Interior design by Elizabeth Bailey

Interior design by Nate Turner

Interior design by Lindsay Harper via My Home Ideas

Via House and Home

So, these "Donut" phones from the 1970s aren't rotary, but you can't deny their retro chicness!

Interior design by David Jimenez

Actress Ione Skye sports a snazzy Donut phone

Remember when crackheads weren't the only people using pay phones? In high school, the pay phones at the 86th Street 1/9 subway stop outside The Gap was the place to BE. I made all kinds of important calls from those phones. You know, "beeping" friends with urgent messages about meeting me, calling back after getting "beeped." Pretty cool, right?

The King, again. He sure did a lot of chatting on the phone!

Via Vintage Rotary Phones

This is the sa-WEET phone I was lucky enough to have in my room as a teen:

For posterity, let's toss in a nifty phone of today, used for Skype. I use Skype for my business phone, but I have a headset, which allows me to roam around or type or thumb through paperwork as I chat so as to always multi-task. I usually feel pretty silly. This phone would be a nice addition to the home-office setup:

Available from Hulger

A few more great sources for vintage phones:

Sweet Bella.com

Oldphones.com

RedHotPhones.com

Feature in SCOUT Magazine

The editors at SCOUT Magazine, an online publication dedicated to scouting independent talent across the globe, saw our DIY Tufted Burlap Headboard story on Apartment Therapy and offered to feature us in their August issue – check out our spread on pages 24-26! It's a great feature and we're honored to be part of the magazine!

Thanks, Delina!

(click images to enlarge)

Update: In my excitement, I managed to publish this post with no title the first time around. My head's screwed on again. Enjoy the impossibly clever title.