Check out these great photos from AmDC's exhibit in a beautiful old Italian courtyard. Talk about a dramatic setting!
Viewing entries tagged
italy
Via Reference Library
I would really REALLY like to get my hands on one of these Apartamento Magazines....they're about to release their 3rd issue on April 20th...all the way in Milan. Also they're putting together an Everyday Life Objects Shop.....UGH! it all sounds sooo cool!!! WHY do I live in Seattle and not Italy!?
Just look at the photos of the past issues (which are sold out! grrr)....what rich images, thick quality paper, great content and layout?....
Okay, can someone quit hogging it and pass that over to me please...., like NOW.
Dude, seriously.
Ciao Bella!
Today, Dylan and I like to do a storytime...that's a little bit more personal: we'd like to share these great vintage Travel books, specifically about Italy. Italy holds a VERY dear place in both of our hearts....Yesterday was our 5th year annivasary and Rome was where we did a study abroad program together a year after we got together! We lived in a cute 300sqft apartment in the the Trestevere neighborhood and then traveled, explored, and ate our way around Italy, walked through numerous Roman ruins, got inspired by the glamorous Design shows in Milan, and witnessed a great historical event at the Vatican. Ahh...those were the days. These travel books reminds us of all the great things about the country and the culture.
Italy was where we found our common love for all things old & rustic. The dynamic of old & new was simply amazing...thousand year old buildings with spray painted tags, tiny Smart cars driving through narrow allies on cobble-stoned road, adorable old Italian couples and hip trendy young 20 year-olds all hanging out in a piazza after midnight.
In fact, we both took this silly Facebook "Where should you live?" quiz, and we BOTH got ITALY!! I took it first and asked Dylan to take it afterward. I was little concerned as he was taking the quiz, because if Dylan had gotten a different location, that would mean that our relationship was never going to work and we'd have to break up right away. Luckily, that's not going to happen. :D
Hanging out in the middle of a piazza is always fun. This is where people congregate no matter what time of the day it is. Our school studio was right in Campo Di Fiori. It's a food market during day, and a place to party at night. Old Italian men would sip their espresso and eat a cornettos (pastry) and just hang out. It was a perfect place to people watching.
I love the illustration from the travel book and the image of someone drying pasta. This is where we learn to appreciate all things handmade. We were amazed by the culture of handmade artisans across all spectrum. There were specialized shops for just pasta, cheese, bread, meat and even Tiramisu! 
But as designers, it was a total eye-opener to see other artisan shops for upholstery, welding, leather goods, instruments, clothes, shoes, and anything you can think of. You can go into any shop and see all the great old tools displayed and the actual artist making them with their own hands.
We also love coastal towns like these where houses and buildings are integrated right into the landscape. This was taken off the cost of Amalfi. It was like a playground for us as we went between buildings running on century old steps and cobble stoned roads, snapping photos non-stop, up, down, and all-around.
But the most amazing event was the on the day Dylan and I celebrated our first year anniversary in Rome...That was the day when Pope John Paul II died. All this happened only 3 days after we arrived in Rome. Trust me, this is not some sick joke. We ate at a horrible tourist trap restaurant that night, and when we left the restaurant, there were crowds of people mourning at all the churches around. We stopped and went in to see what was going on and heard some other English speaking person saying that they couldn't believe the Pope died! With the Vatican only 10 minutes away from our apartment, we walked there and experienced the historical event of a lifetime. Despite the fact that we were outsiders with little connection to the Pope and the religion, we were still overwhelmed with emotion being in the mist of it all. It was as if almost everyone in Rome and even Italy gathered at St. Peters holding a candle vigil and singing for the death of the Pope. It was beyond anything we'd imagine to expereince or see.
Here are some photos from our trip. You can see more, here.
1. Shadow of clothes drying outside our apartment. 2. Ornate mosaic floor. 3. Rustic white buildings in Matera. 4. Colosseum at night. 5. Ornate iron window. 6. Eerie abandoned town of Nocera, Umbria. 7. Trestevere neighborhood (where we lived in Rome). 8. Ceiling of Capitoline Museum. 9. Natural hot spring at Saturnia, Tuscany 10. Giant broken statue at the Capitoline Museum. 11. A colorful old Fiat 500 and a Vespa. 12. Flea market in Rome.
All this talk about travel makes me want to just take off and go somewhere different! Hope some of you are planning to go somewhere fun!
Ciao!
Today is Dylan and I's 5th year of unmarried anniversary!! I know it's April fool's day, but I'm not here to fool anyone...If that was the case, it would be the lamest joke ever.
To give you a little background story, Dylan and I met at UW when we were both in the industrial design department. It took us 2 long years before we became official. It was similar to Pam & Jim on the Office (we like to compare ourselves to fictional TV characters...) where we were both too shy to do anything besides making dumb jokes and goofing around. It wasn't until 2004 when we went on a class roadtrip to a design conference in San Francisco where we officially became an item....along with the help of a little alcohol. :P
We're not proud to say that we had to resort to that, but sometimes they sure come in handy! :D
But now...we're not quite sure how we're going to tell our kids that...I suppose we can tell them when they're in their 30's.
The following year, we spent our first anniversary in our most unforgettable trip when we went on a study abroad trip to Rome for almost 3 months. (more photos, here) Going through all the photos brought back so many memories. I made a little booklet for Dylan as our fist anniversary gift before actually going to Rome. The book was titled "w/o Words" and they're just series of images that highlights our first year together with silly graphics. (FYI, I'm not a graphic designer, so don't mind my horrible layout)
The front & back cover of the book
We started dating in April, so just a little chart showing our year from month to month.
Yes....This is how and where it happened. Shots of Absolut Mandrin in SF. Oh yeah...what a romantic beginning.
And then Teddy Bear (Dylan) and Taiwanese Doll (Jean) is in love. He can't call me Chinese Doll, because I'm not from China....and yes, there is a difference.
When I dream, I tend to dream of flying with butterflies in lollipop wonderland.
Dylan on the other hand dreamt that the Space Needle was on fire...That's when I fell in love with his humanitarian character. But Space Needle...really? I can care less about that thing let alone dream about it. :P
and THAT was our first breakfast we made together....you know what that means..(double wink...with both eyes) It was supposed to be chocolate pancake, but they didn't quite turn out the way we wanted to. We ate it anyways event though it looked like dog crap.
We took a short trip to Lyon & St. Etienne in France for School. We like that poster of Bush and the message saying "Cloning, no thanks!" That other poster totally CRACK us up! This bizarre wall art was in a romantic French style hotel room we stayed in. Everything about the room was beautiful and perfect, white soft bed with clean bedding, sheer laced curtain in front of a tall window with ornate iron fence and a view of the city...and then there was that print! The dreamy flower garden with an empty chair, a cello leaning against it and a draped white cloth...and then there's the German Shepperd staring at it....HUH?!?
These are photos I took of different knobs and door details in France. I love the colors and character of it all. But the facial expression on that thing on the right totally kills us, too. We thought it was hilarious that it was on a fancy public fountain. That was the face we made when we were looking at the poster with the German Shepperd. :D
And that's us, super-imposed around Rome....and with Pope John Paul II. Awesome!
THE END.