Author: Christiana

“Cutting and Folding and Gluing things”…

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… that is how Ann Arbor based, paper engineer, Matthew Shlian describes what he does and let me tell you, the end result is absolutely breathtaking! Having graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Printmaking and Sculpture) from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2002 and, following that, a Masters (Print Media and Paper Engineering) from the Cranbrook Academy in 2006, he now allocates his time between teaching at the University of Michigan, collaborating with top companies (Apple, P&G, IMTEK, Levi’s, VW, Facebook & Chrysler, to name but a few) and folding his way to some of the most amazing art around. I have fallen absolutely in love with his paper sculptures and couldn’t help but sharing them with you here. Most of them, especially the “smaller” pieces available via Eight Emperors, are very affordable. Editioned works, available via The Ghostly Store, tend to be slightly more expensive but still definitely not “out of reach”. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t live in my own apartment anymore, or …

Beauty Obsession of the Day…

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I have, thus far, been extremely good about not caving in and buying… well, everything Hourglass came out with in 2014 (especially the Ambient Lighting Powders and Ambient Lighting Blushes, which I have to admit to being ridiculously tempted by). I suspect this has more to do with the fact that the brand is so hard to get one’s hands on in Greece (and with the rather shocking prices) and less with my actual self-restrain but it is the end result that counts, right? Today, however, I saw something I will most definitely be unable to resist. Enter the Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette (an “artist-inspired” , 5- color wonder that comes in 7 glorious shade combinations). I immediately fell for the ‘Obscura’ one, which features some of my all time favorite earthy tones: cream, smokey brown, rose gold (!), coffee & a cool bronze (!!).  These little gems are currently only available to Sephora VIB Rouge Members (if that, since they all seem to be sold out at the time of writing) but should soon become …

With Love from Italy…

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I discovered Miniforms a few weeks back and it has been on my ‘to blog about’ list ever since. So, today I’m gonna briefly feature and introduce it to all of you – if only to get the (constant, nagging) thought out of my head before the Christmas holidays… Miniforms is a design company that was established in Italy, back in the beginning of the 1970’s, as the evolution of an earlier (and smaller) one – which produced tables and accessories. The firm expanded its production internationally in the 1980’s and its pieces can now be found in a number of countries, including Greece (you can check the website for info on stockists). Miniforms works with and showcases young & talented Italian designers and its offerings include a number of essential pieces characterized by minimal, clean lines and made out of wood, steel, glass, aluminum and eco leather. I leave you with a few of my favorite pieces – and urge any of you with a bit of a design knack, to go check out …

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas…

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Today is gonna be one of those ‘an image equals a thousand words’ days. The Christmas spirit was late getting to me this year but… it’s finally here! So, for this post I thought I’d do a little holiday collage. And just because all good things come in threes (or that’s what they say anyway, isn’t it?) there’s gonna be three little digital bundles of good cheer (or plain old inspiration for those who, like me, where ridicilously late getting with it this year)… The first one comes in chic white, silver & gold: The second one in all- time Christmass-y red and white: And the final one, in more vibrant hues – for the die- hard color lovers out there: HO HO HO… Merry Christmas you guys! Have a wonderful, dazzlingly happy holiday!

‘The Silkworm’ by Robert Galbraith ~ A Review

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Having greatly enjoyed Galbraith’s/ Rowling’s 1st installment of the Cormoran Strike series (a well written and fast paced mystery) I had actually pre-ordered this immediately, and so received it on the day it was published. No sooner had it appeared on my Kindle than I had downloaded it and sunk my teeth in. In that sense, I guess you could say my expectations were (just the tiniest tad) high… ‘The Silkworm’ got my favorite duo involved in a case much grittier than the first one (squirmish readers please be warned: this is quite graphic). Novelist Owen Quine has gone missing and his distressed wife calls on Cormoran Strike to investigate. Pretty soon the writer turns up, brutally murdered – and Strike must figure out who (& why) did it. Once again the setting was atmospheric, the characters were quirky & engaging and the plot was pretty decent (if not what I’d call groundbreaking). The pace, which was quite slow at first, picked up throughout the book – with most of the action/ suspense featured in …