SPOTLIGHT ON: LIGHTBOYS

Lightboys is a company that makes large scale, quality LED backlit photographs. The company was created by Designer and Craftsman, Jirko Bannas, and Creative Director and photo-book publisher, Oliver Seltmann. They are based out of Hamburg, Germany and the photographs from their online gallery are from Internationally known photographers.
I looked into Lightboys for a project once, I think their product Polaboy is so freaking cool and versatile. You can choose from their online photo gallery full of beautiful professional photos that have an eerie vintage vibe going on or you can send in your own Polaroid. I was plesantly surprised with their prices for custom piece (to get pricing information contact Lightboys via email). I think this would be a great way to add some ambient lighting to a large space, it would be a creative way to share a family photo or a wedding picture. I could see one above my fireplace!

Polaboy

Another product by Lightboys is the Lightwall. By using the highest quality of LED light panels and photography enlargement, Lightboys are able to create this flat and evenly lit photo panel. I would love to use this product in a bar or retail space!

Lightwalls

The Roof Top Lights is similar to the Lightwall in technonlogy. This photo panel and lighting system is light weight and ultra-thin so it mounts to a ceiling easily.

Roof Top Lights

MORE GOOD ART FOR UNDER $100

Recently I posted about the importance of art in an interior. I had so much fun pulling together a mini collection of art for under $100.00, I thought I would do it again. It just goes to show how much great art is out there for any budget or style. The pieces below are all limited edition prints or original photographs. We live in a time where it's easy to get connected to quality artists online who are eager to sell their work at fair prices.

1. Lead The Way by Heather Landis- $85.00 for a 13"x15" stretched canvas
This quality archival print is museum wrapped around a 1-1/2" wood frame, it's a great size to stand alone or be mixed into a gallery wall.


2. C'mon Get Happy by Irene Suchocki- $30.00 for an 8"x8" original print
I love this photograph of Burano, Italy; the houses look like tiny little toys. Canadian photographer Irene Suchocki prints her original photographs on premium archival paper and signs each one. See more of her work at her Etsy shop, Eye Poetry Photography.


3. Reindeer by Lisa Congdon- $60.00 for a 11"x14" limited-edition print
Lisa's Reindeer painting is down to the last 50 prints out of the 500 released. Each print is signed, numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Get it while you can!


4. Well-being 1 by Valerie Roybal- $60.00 for a 11"x14 limited-edition print
This signed and numbered limited edition print is of a mixed media collage. Artist Valerie Roybal works with ripped pages of books, postcards, written letters, sketches, textiles and more. Valerie describes the work as "Order, association and reverence emerge from the collecting, sorting, arranging, shaping and placement of each piece into a whole."


5. Higher by Yvette Inuflo- $30.00 for an 8"x8" original print
Yvette Inuflo Photography is a shop I found on Etsy. Her candy colored photographs are sweet and reasonably priced at $15.00 and $30.00.

GOOD ART FOR UNDER $100

Art is one of the most important components in a finished space. It can be used to tie together a color palette, to send a clear message of taste and personality or to add an unsuspected twist to the design. Art can be used to tell a story about the owner; it can be sentimental, humorous, dramatic, political, bazaar or just pretty to look at. Art is also another layer of texture, and pattern in a room. If you're someone that's afraid to commit to color and patterns then you can keep a room neutral and add a spark of personality through artwork. I try to buy original art as often as I can, but I don't think it's a crime to buy mass-produced art. Depending on your taste, buying originals can be a very expensive habit and much like tattoos- once you get one it's hard to stop! Personally, I would sacrifice a vacation or shoe shopping spree for a new piece of art, every painting, print or photograph I own has a sentimental value and a story attached to it that I will never forget. 

Lucky for our wallets, today's art scene has become more excepting of limited edition prints. Cool contemporary art can be found in print format at galleries, personal websites and art sites like Etsy, 20x200 or Society6. So no matter your budget, you can be an art collector. Get the most out of your collection by mixing originals with limited edition prints, tag sale art and DIY projects. Think about it in terms of fashion, most people can't walk into Neman Marcus and afford to walk out with a head to toe outfit but if you find a great pair of designer shoes, you can mix them with an outlet purse, a trendy top from H&M, some vintage jewelry and your favorite jeans. There is no shame in buying a piece of art from a store like Target or Ikea, as long as you don't fill your walls with them. Below are some cool limited edition prints by contemporary artists that you can find online for under $100.00!

1. Intersections 24 by Alessandro Puccinelli- $100.00 for an 8"x8"
Lux Archive works with museum quality prints of contemporary photography. Each photograph comes in a variety of sizes and is signed by the artist.


2. Myriad by Yellena James- $60.00 for an 11"x17" archival pigment print
This print by Yellena James is from 20x200, there are 500 signed and numbered high quality prints that come with a certificate of authenticity.


3. Elia by Tali- $20.00
This little gem is listed as a Tiny Canvas Print in the Etsy Shop tushtush. The illustrator Tali resides in Tel Aviv, Israel and she has beautiful original oils as well as hand-streched canvas prints for sale. Although it is a print of an oil painting, it has a hand-made touch because the artist prints the canvas and mounts it on a wood frame with staples. These super small prints would be perfect to blend into a gallery wall or an odd corner of your home.


4. Salt Water Cure by Tina Crespo- $85.00 for a 13"x16" stretched canvas
Society6 offers fine art in a variety of formats; prints, framed prints, stretched canvas, iphone and ipod cases, t-shirts and stationary.


5. Convergence by Liz Brizzi- $70.00 for a 28"x34" Giclee print

Here are some examples of rooms that come to life because of the art selection.

contemporary art gives a traditional space more depth and character

found objects as a gallery wall can be done cheap but looks rich and full of personality

art used to tie together a color pallet

simple texture and materials used as art to create contrast

professional or personal photography, layered to tell a story

neutral room with art as a burst of color

large artwork to add a strong message and personality

CARDBOARD CITY

I first found Ana Serrano a couple years ago in Juxtapoz Handmade. This crazy cardboard sculpture below is called Cartonlandia. It floated around the blog scene for a while and I'm still in love with it- if I could I would display this on my dining room table!

via Reuben Miller

Ana Serrano's newest installation took place at Rice Gallery, a bad-ass installation gallery at Rice University in Huston, Texas. Salon of Beauty is this vibrant cardboard and paper installation inspired by the urban neighborhoods and culture of Los Angeles. Serrano is first generation Mexican-American and she designed this environment based on memories and details of growing up in LA. I am so impressed with the tiny touches and the sweet humor of building a city (including cinderblocks, burglar bars, and electric panels) out of colorful cardboard.

photos by Nash Baker via Ana Serrano

INSTAGRAM YOUR HOME

Instagram is camera app for taking pictures, editing and sharing with your friends. It's super popular with over 15 million users and it was just sold to Facebook for a whopping $1 billion! I love this app, I use it all the time to add filters and focal points to my amateur iphone picts, you can follow me @kaytedesigns. Today on Fab.com there is a sale for Instagram collage pillows by Stitchtagram, two for $145.00. What a great personalized gift! Forget about a photo album- you could capture your favorite vacation, wedding memories, adventures with your best friend, I could even see using these when decorating a teenage girls room!

photos via fab.com

While we are on the subject, check out some other Instagram products that have popped up over time. The albums and poster below are from a company called Printstagram. Theses printing products are a great value; the tinybook is $10, the minibook is $12, the poster is $25. They also sale individual prints and stickers. 

photos via printsagram

Canvaspop is a great site for printing any photos on canvas and their canvas ranges from 8"x10" to 24"x72", rolled or framed. Recently, they launched an Instagram section where you can sign in with Instagram and upload your favorite photos. The standard size 12"x12" is on sale right now for $39.95. 

photos via cavaspop

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

I found this amazing artist on a friend of mine's Pinterest Board. The photographer Martin Klimas creates abstract stills by pouring paint above a speaker and playing music like Miles Davis and Steve Reich. The color palette and music create a beautiful effect when photographed with a crazy high shutter speed of 1/7,000 of a second. You can read more about the collection, Painting With Sound, in The New York Times. He has some other really interesting collections in his portfolio featuring shattering ceramic, birds in flight and floating silk scarves- all with a beautiful effect of motion trapped in still photography.

Paul Hindemith's "Ludus Tonalis"

Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians"

Steve Reich's "Drumming" 

Miles Davis' "Pharaoh's Dance"

Kraftwerk's "Transistor"

Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew"

artist Martin Klimas

I SPY SOMETHING ORANGE

I just finished a custom painting for one of my clients and I thought I would share. This is the second piece I've done in this style, the first one you can see here. I used 4"x4" Cradled Artist Panels in three different profile heights, acrylic paint and a model wood backing. My client wanted orange to be the prominent color and she wanted the painting to tie the room together. I incorporated some inspiration I found in the space; the rug pattern, an inlay on her table, pillow and wood floor colors. Both clients had orange and red as an accent color in their homes, I think I'm going to make another one (for myself) with more cool colors like blue, black and silver. I really liked adding the personal details to this one, next time I would like to take it even farther by adding some photos and quotes. Hope you like it!

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

If you haven't discovered Fab.com, today is your lucky day! There are loads of daily deal sites for home goods and fashion; RuLaLa, The Foundry, One King Lane, Jack Threads and so on. In my opinion, Fab.com kicks the competition's toosh! One of the sales going on now is for high quality prints from photographers Brent and Sara of Denver based studio, Patterns from Above. They photograph landscapes from a plane to create really interesting abstract images. I love maps and globes, so this style of aerial photography really gets me! Check out Brent and Sara's work, 18" x 18" prints are for sale now for $70.00 on Fab.com.

Here is some similar aerial photography from artist Matthew Moore. You can find this artist on another badass website 20x200. This site is a really cool online store that features limited and affordable prints from a handful of artists. It's a great middle ground between buying mass produced art (lame) and original art (expensive). The site is broken down by Price, Category, Color or Artist and each artist has a brief bio and link to their personal site so you can get into the idea of collecting art. 

matthew moore

While we are on the subject- I've been dying for the chance to use one of these really unique rugs I first found in Dwell Magazine. Landcarpet is an Australian wool rug collection designed by Florian Pucher. The thick and three-dimentional texture is so well made and the color palettes would suite a lot of different rooms and finishes. 

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