Swimming along

Caught & waiting in the fridge for later

You may remember my excitement at finding these sardine shaped chocolates, well this afternoon I popped into Chocolate to die for to look for a little treat and there they were, right near the door :) The packaged sardines I mentioned were there but I picked up two of the stray ones.

I had to take a photo of this wine bottle I spotted last night. The paper of the label is an oh so slightly off-white with a lovely texture, the illustration is very sweet and I love the overall design, but what really grabbed me is the crazy hypnotic eye of the bird… what the? It’s fantastic and baffling.

Chocolate sardines… chocolate in the shape of a sardine, with realistic sardine-looking foil wrappers, in a tin that opens with a little key like a real tin of sardines. I would buy these and never open it because this packaging is just too perfect.

I enjoy reading recipes so much – & I love looking through well designed cook books… neither of which unfortunately help my cooking skills. This one is John’s but I don’t think he appreciates the cover as much as it deserves ;)

You can see Maggie Beer in the ABC cooking show The Cook & The Chef.

With Slaughterhouse-Five a close second.

Wine label by Ivana Martinovic (via TheGrafikMuseum)

I’m loving the embroidery, I’d like to feel how the finished labels feel though… they’d be great in a matt natural feeling paper with the embroidery image embossed and maybe a Spot UV Varnish on the image.

Packaging & Identity Design by Campbell Hay design studio (via The Dieline)

The packaging is so well designed, displaying the Lola’s Kitchen cupcakes beautifully without trying to compete with the colourful & decorative cakes. I particularly love the surprise of the blue insert holding the cakes in place, and the sprinkled logo is fantastic.

I would buy this book just for the cover design and typography, it works so well. Design and bespoke typefaces by London Designers Scott Williams and Henrik Kubel of A2/SW/HK.

I quite like the minimal one-page website of A2/SW/HK, it reminds me of an article I was reading the other week discussing one page design folio websites, what works & what doesn’t. For this design firm, I think this format definitely works.

I’m seeing a lot of talk about the soon to be released Whale Salt & Pepper Shakers from Jonathan Adler :) I love them! I’ve been looking for the perfect set for years and these fit the bill very nicely… and the best part is that buying these would practically demand I also get the Whale Butter Dish I have drooled over for so long :)

(Sorry, I can’t remember where I first read about the new shakers, or where I found the images… I do know that almost every design site I read has mentioned them)

Lawnscapes Mowing Patterns to Make Your Yard a Work of Art, By David Parfitt

Including patterns for 20 lawn designs, tips on creating your own design and packaged with an astroturf cover… I live in an apartment and I’m still tempted to buy this one just for the fun of it.