This past fall, Design*Sponge featured our own state capital, courtesy of guest blogger Laurie. This lengthy list of shops, restaurants and museums is a great resource to check out if you’re planning a day-of-design in Madison. Some of our favorites that made the d*s list include Satara, Pop Deluxe, The Century House, Sundance Cinema, MMoCA and Lao Laan-Xang (yum!). See the entire list here.
Baseball season is in full swing, so here’s a little sports trivia for your day. Did you know that one of the most recognizable logos in sports, the Milwaukee Brewers yellow and blue mitt logo, was designed by a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire art history student in 1977? Selected among more than 2,000 entries from both professional and amateur designers, the winning design was created by Tom Meindel who walked away with a $2,000 prize. The logo, which represented the 16 greatest years in club history, combines the lower case letters “m” and “b” (the club’s initials) to form a baseball glove — brilliant! Not only were Brewer fans upset, but designers around were outraged when the classic logo was replaced in 1994 with the not-so-brilliant diamond shaped MB logo.
If you missed the independent film “Handmade Nation” at the Milwaukee Premiere or the Madison Film Fest, you still have a chance to view this documentary that follows the new wave of art, craft and design. Started in 2006 and filmed in over 15 cities, the film explores the marriage between historical techniques, punk and DIY while being influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art. On Thursday, April 23rd, the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend will be showing the film from 5-8 p.m. Enjoy food and beer tasting and stick around after the show for a panel discussion with the film’s director (and Wisconsinite) Faythe Levine. Tickets are only available at the door for just $5, but seating is limited, so get there early. You can also read interviews on Design*Sponge with Faythe about the documentary and her new book, written with fellow-Milwaukeean and artist Cortney Heimerl. View the trailer at handmadenationmovie.com.
Madison design firm, Swink, created this groovy direct mail piece to invite clients to reconsider the way they market themselves. Swink hopes that their campfire will spark some good conversation and if you drop them a line, who knows, maybe they’ll even bring the marshmallows. And although they live over the border, we also have to give props to Midwest letterpress team, Studio on Fire who executed this pop-out piece. It was a 3/2 PMS letterpress job plus laser cutting – also notice the overprint of blue and orange to create the brown – brilliant!
Don’t go to Easter brunch at Grandma’s house empty handed. Take a box of Route 29 chocolates, caramels or cookies to this weekend’s festivities. Spotted at Borders, (with locations in Greendale, Eau Claire, Fox Point, Madison and Milwaukee) these gourmet candies come in packaging that any designer would be proud to give. Using unique package forms, a seasonal color palette and illustrations of bunnies and chicks, this fresh look is sure to make the Easter Bunny envious.
Modern Scandinavian Interiors, The Century House, has amazing taste in furniture and design. Their featured Siesta chair, had been in production for decades and feels as great as it looks. Available in different leathers, fabrics and wood finishes, this fine piece of furniture and many others are located at their retail store on Madison’s west side and online at centuryhouseinc.com.
What Wisconsinite doesn’t love a cold beer and solid brick of cheese? Next time you’re suffering from a creative block, check out the Cheese Cupid, a site dedicated to pairing cheese and drink for your tasting pleasure. Madison agency, Shine Advertising designed this clean and simple-to-use site for the WI Milk Marketing Board. Not a beer drinker, how about Scotch? The Cheese cupid suggests Cheddar (of course!), Blue, Gouda, Gruyere and Parmesan. More of a Red Wine connoisseur? Pair your next glass of Chianti with Asiago, Kasseri, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Provolone or Romano. And who knows… someone else may be impressed with your cheese pairing knowledge and “cupid” may just help you in more ways than one. CheeseCupid.com
The Little Friends of Printmaking, a husband and wife team living and working in Milwaukee, run this well-known silkscreen company and are becoming a lot more than “little” these days. Their work is best known for their clever layering and loose process, which can be seen in this “Visit Milwaukee” print. Visit their online store to see the entire “Baddies” series and this new print called “Core 77/ACD”, made for the NYC design conference. With enough traffic, maybe this team will consider updating the rest of their website… but who needs a website when you have a blog?!
Found in the little town of Stratford, Tammy Roy collects reclaimed metal and creates master-full bowls and home accessories. This recycle-based artist transforms “something old” into “something new”, giving it a 180 with her welding skills. Her work is sold all over the U.S., but this scrap-yard junkie feels most inspired in her central-Wisconsin studio. See her work at 180-design.com to find a retailer near you.
Need more t-shirts? Don’t we all. Madison’s Bare Tree Apparel t-shirts are just what you need to stuff in your dresser drawers this Spring. Their hand-screened designs use eco-friendly, water-based inks on free-living-wage American Apparel fabrics. Feel good about your purchase because a portion of the proceeds will go to “Hoodies for the Homeless,” a program run by shop owner Saul Mandel that purchases hooded sweatshirts for homeless shelters. Buy these limited-quantity shirts and much more at thebaretree.com or etsy.com. Or, if you’re in the Madison area (perhaps for the film fest) stop by the Etsy Trunk Show at Genna’s Lounge tomorrow evening (April 4th) to see Bare Tree Apparel and other local artist’s work.
A blog showcasing Wisconsin's best design resources. Keeping it local, with design in mind.
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