Wonderwall
A good chunk of my design experience has been for retail; from window & wall graphics to full space renderings. I can trace my interest in this field back to my Tokyo trip with PNCA in 2006. Retail there was unlike anything I had seen back in the States. I spent countless hours wandering the streets of Harajuku, Omotesando and Naka-Meguro, exploring boutiques stocked with exquisite items I had no hope of affording.
Upon my return, I found that the firm responsible for some of my favorite shops is Wonderwall, a retail interior design firm headed by architect Masamichi Katayama. I love the clever details and artistic touches worked into each of their projects. This week an excellent interview with Katayama was posted Art Talks. In it, Katayama explains his approach to some of his favorite projects, very inspiring.
read the Masamichi Katayama interview HERE.
Visit Wonderwall’s website HERE.
Urban Weeds
I love street style blogs. Something about them fuels my innate love of people watching. While outward appearance may not be everything, how a person decides to present themselves to the outside world can say a lot about their identity. After a short lived attempt at street style blogging, I know how tough it can be. Portlanders as a whole are pretty shy about being photographed, so I must tip my hat to Lisa Warninger, the photographer behind Portland’s own street fashion blog Urban Weeds.
Warninger photographs the denizens of this fair, rainy city. Her posts feature a black and white portrait, accompanied by a full-body color shot. Each entry is well considered, with details about the acquisition of each piece the subject is wearing. Warninger does a good job of mixing up the ages and locations of her subjects, keeping things varied and fresh. It’s also quite fun to see how Portland style transitions from the Summer into the colder, wet months. Since the new year she’s been updating the site on an almost daily basis, it’s well worth checking out - Urban Weeds
All photos by Lisa Warninger
Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is my favorite living novelist. I started out with Wild Sheep Chase and then read The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. Now I’m working my way through Kafka On The Shore, which is already my favorite amongst what I’ve read.
Murakami captures the spiritual, surreal aspect of humanity in a way that makes sense. In his novels, the inner world of the character is just as tangible as the outer world. It’s tough to describe exactly why, but his highly descriptive, engaging prose resonates with me. I highly recommend his works.
