AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARTISTS

Jazz greats Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter just dropped some serious truth if you are a creatively inclined person (or want to be). This is a great read that elevates above simple platitudes and hollow advice. Click here.

RESPECT: FROM DECO TO ATOM

I'm a card carrying member of the mid-century modern craze, to the continual puzzlement of older family members who labored for years simply to be able to rid their homes of such epherma. And with Mad Men gone, I've needed some new methadone for my addiction and was delighted to stumble upon FROM DECO TO ATOM; colorful, beautiful and endlessly satisfying if you're even a minor fan of this niche. Highly recommended.

ETSY ECSTASY: ANDRE WOOLERY

New York artist Andre Woolery has a knack for a visually stunning portrait (check out, in particular, the Erykah Badu and Muhammad Ali in his shop). But perhaps his most pointed (pun intended) and stunning work his recreation of Jay Z ("The Tackover") entirely out of thumb tacks. If you can't afford the original, he also offers some sharp photo prints of the work. And a good cause to boot: 20% of proceeds go to Harlem School of Arts.

ETSY ECSTASY: popeclectic

The Star Wars franchise, while beloved by me as much as anyone, isn't something I generally associated with high concept design. That was until I stumbled across popeclectic on Etsy. 

It never ceases to amaze me the way fan art can recreate something you think you know backwards and forwards, and browsing around popeclectic had my jaw on the desk. Excellent minimalist composition, smooth clean lines, retro-future aesthetic and as Homer Simpson once said "I think this racing stripe is pretty sharp".

Star Wars isn't the only pop culture getting a design makeover here. Mad Men, Big Lebowski and numerous others receive the popeclectic treatment with stellar results. Definitely worth a click or two of your time.

ETSY ECSTASY: iQstudio

All these years in, I'm still delightfully surprised by the amazing objects and creators you can find on Etsy. Yet, at times the sheer girth of the site can be a bit overwhelming if you just want to browse. One little game I sometimes play is to type in atypical search terms, just to see what random results come back. I was doing this the other day while listening to some Fela Kuti, and on a whim entered his name, just for kicks.

I love this experiment, especially when it pays off with finds like iQstudio. The Fela print that turned up is excellent; an unexpected assemblage of textures and clean lines that looks like little else I've seen. I was also particularly fond of the Malcolm X, and the composition in the map art prints of various cities.

If you're not in need of prints, the shop has numerous other product lines including clothing, tote bags and other formats that are dripping with the color-intense pop stylings, and if you're even mildly intrigued by the works you see here, you're bound to find that perfect item to illuminate your personal space.