promises, promises

i know, i know. i'm a terrible blogger. i promised i would write updates throughout my three-week stint in europe, and all i managed was one measly post. for shame! i thought i'd make it up to you, though, with some highlights from the trip in photo form... enjoy:

london - borough market

london - design show in shoreditch

paris

paris - ooh la la

geneva - village of nyon

geneva

madrid - general strike that struck

madrid

san sebastian - with katharine and iñaki

san sebastian - "wind comb" sculptures

san sebastian

istanbul - blue mosque

istanbul - blue mosque

istanbul - turkish (delight) tea

munich

munich - chinese tower in english garden

swedes take on london

i saw the swedish electro-pop outfit little dragon at koko in london tonight. the lead singer, yukimi nagano, is quite the entertainer... so fun to watch! koko is very webster hall-meets-BAM's harvey theater. give "runabout" a listen if you please.

music for movement

i'm not across the pond yet as promised in my last post, but i wanted to share another mixtape before i go. the songs are perfect for an autumn day in brooklyn (or wherever you might be)... uplifting and smile-inducing. most are new, but there are a few oldies tossed in for good measure. preferential order encouraged.

mixtape #5

1. "heart to tell" - the love language
2. "boyfriend" - best coast
3. "fixed" - stars
4. "ruby" - apples in stereo
5. "ghost train" - summer camp
6. "windstorm" - school of seven bells
7. "sprawl II (mountains beyond mountains)" - arcade fire
8. "i walked" - sufjan stevens
9. "leave everywhere" - toro y moi
10. "les cactus" - jacques dutronc
11. "slow" - twin shadow
12. "lewis takes off his shirt" - owen pallett
13. "go do" - jonsi

bon voyage(ish)

i posted ages ago about having a bit of a travel bug.

well, in t-minus 48 hours i'll be checking several cities off my lengthy list. i'm heading across the atlantic for work for three weeks, making stops in london, paris, geneva, istanbul and munich. i'm also going to san sebastian, spain to visit my dear biddy, katharine (!).

i've been planning this trip for months now, so it's a little difficult to wrap my head around the fact that it's quickly approaching. in preparation for my adventures, i've been doing a little reading. i thought this trip was a good excuse to get my paws on the pocket-size wallpaper* city guides that i've been ogling for months. since i'm going to be bouncing around every few days, i thought their sight-seeing/eating/shopping suggestions were perfect and condensed. kind of makes me want to travel just so i can collect the books...

as usual, i hope to be more regular with my updates. next time i write will be from ye old london town.

hand-lettered in 5 minutes or less

ahhh this is so beautiful! watch as fraktur hand-letters for legacy of letters in less than five minutes... be sure to pull your chin up off the floor when it's over.

(via swissmiss)

Legacy of Letters from Luca Barcellona on Vimeo.

silkscreen totes & prints for sale!

i haven't exactly been the best about keeping up with my etsy shop ("you have an etsy shop?!"), but i've recently added some new silkscreen prints and cotton totes that i'm pretty proud of. i was able to crank them out with the help of the parsons printshop, so check out my shop here and tell all your friends!

summertime in the city

ahh where to begin?! i think this past week has been especially summer-like. lots of great music, delicious food and good company. last weekend, i went to a cookout at dear daniel's (old roommate) new place. while he put on quite the spread (as usual), i left with more than just a belly full of swiss cheese-stuffed hamburgers and grilled veggies... he passed along some great new music from a uk band called stornoway ("zorbing" is a personal favorite).


we ended up seeing them play last wednesday at union hall in park slope and fell in love... hard. they're brilliant storytellers whose songs bring an enormous smile to my face every time i hear their album. the show was electric, and i get the feeling brooklyn gave them just the reassurance they needed while testing the waters stateside. when they opened with "i saw you blink," their faces lit up as the crowd joined in singing all the words. it was adorable. i'm sure they will be equally as enchanted/ing when they return to nyc in november :)

i also caught bear in heaven at the south street seaport last friday as part of the river to river free concert series. such a stellar show! seriously hypnotic (strobe light aside). their energy was contagious, and the whole experience totally exceeded my expectations (which were already high to begin with). "you do you" and "lovesick teenagers" are my jams, but the entire album is amazing. i think they're touring this summer, so everyone should try to get in on that action. you certainly won't be disappointed.

summer's only half-way over, so there's a lot more good music to come i'm sure. the jelly pool parties started up this weekend, so those will become a summer fixture throughout july and august no doubt. man, summertime in the city is pretty great.