The iconic Moo “business” cards which can easily feature your whole Flickr/photo library have taken it to the next level… now you can get Moo Luxe Business Cards! What makes them so luxe? Besides the awesome new packaging with the magnetic box? Mohawk Superfine paper with Moo Quadplex technology to make a card of triple thickness and weight (vs most ordinary cards) with a rich seam of color within the layers of paper… Take a look at the unboxing of the set they sent over (which i quickly made a variation of my old shorter cards…) on the next page!

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Tags: cards - gifts - packaging - paper - shopping - unboxing

Whispers, the new flocked wallpaper design collection from Marcel Wanders for Graham & Brown. The Whispers Flock wallpaper collection is comprised of four patterns: Key muses, Forest muses, Braile Chester and Rose beds. So fun ~ check out the four patterns larger on the next page!

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Tags: gifts - home - paper - shopping - wallpaper

Just discovered a series of Perrier Jouet wallpaper graphics on their facebook page ~ beautifully intricate paper frescoes by Jo Lynn Alcorn. See them all (click them to view full sized) as well as close ups of details on the next page!

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Tags: art - champagne - paper

Our London-based editor Justine catches up with the latest action from the London Design Festival!

I’m a huge fan of the work of Noma Bar, who does wonders with negative space and always achieves so much with clean lined minimalism. So I was very excited to hear about his project ‘Cut-it-Out’ at Outline Editions as part of this year’s London Design Festival, especially when I heard we would have the chance to take part and make our own cut outs with his incredible dog (and cat and rat) shaped cutting machine!

The image making machine is a a 2 m high die cutter that weighs over 750 kg and applies 4 tonnes of pressure when the joysticks (located in the dog’s mouth) and depressed. Visitors during workshops can create their own Noma Bar patterns by selecting an A3 sheet of paper (in any of 36 colors) and their favorite of 8 designs. The paper is then careful set between the die and board and swivels the dog’s head into cutting position. Then, a quick and steady push of the joysticks applies the pressure and cuts the image. Great fun and a beautiful way to create a stunning piece of art. More pics of Noma’s screenprints and cut outs, the stunning machine, and our own die cut experience on the next page!

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Tags: art - designers - gallery - illustration - interaction - london - paper

Adorable little package came ~ in that perfectly cute “brown paper packages tied up with string” way ~ from Pocket Dept! They are quite simply, as their tagline states, “A notebook for every pocket” ~ from back pocket to shirt pocket to messenger bag pocket, they have you covered. “Pocket Dept is a line of handy notebooks inspired by vintage stationery and designed to suit every pocket. Each Pocket Dept book is made from the finest writing papers and perfect bound for strength and durability. Designed and manufactured with recycled materials by Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY - from our workshop to your pocket.” And they are quite lovely! Take a peek at their simple functional goodness on the next page.

p.s. I love that they have blank pages.

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Tags: gifts - notebook - packaging - paper - shopping

Just in from our friends at Ghostly International appealing directly to our geometric love of tessellations… “We are proud to unveil our second art edition from the Ann Arbor-based paper artist and engineer Matthew Shlian. Conceived over a flurry of emails in the spring of this year, The Tessellation Series is an expression of intuitive design evolving from a fixed starting point. To illustrate the process by which the pattern has emerged, the series is presented as five distinct moments, or formations, in its evolution. In each formation, three-dimensional structures spread, in seemingly random order, toward the edge of the page. Closer inspection reveals the fine pencil drawn lines of the geometric shapes from which they rise, a blueprint for a pattern that is at once unfinished and complete.” Aren’t they mesmerizingly beautiful? Especially in animated gif form above? It’s hard to pick which of the various paper sculpture/prints i love best… they seem best when in a full set evolving from one step to the next! “Each tessellation formation is produced in an edition of ten, and comes signed and numbered for a series total of fifty (e.g. the first edition of Tessellation Formation 3 is numbered 31/50).” See details on the next page ~ they are stunning!

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Tags: art - gifts - paper - shopping

They are good with the design details, aren’t they? As usual, couldn’t resist sharing the moleskine like notebook from Mercedes-Benz waiting in my room at the Shangri-La… the details, the texture in particular, the quote and graphics… it has this oceany/fingerprint like pattern/texture to it… it just pulls you in to touch it.

OH - and if i got quiet for more than the weekend (or you don’t hear from me by Monday or Tuesday) ~ come find me! First thing in the morning, i’m hopping on Mike Horn’s Pangaea massive sail boat ~ joining his world wide expedition for around 36 hours (or less?) ~ as we hop up to San Francisco from LA… but for now… more notebook details on the next page, and adventure pics to come!

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Tags: Mercedes-Benz - notebook - paper

Thanks, Veuve Clicquot, our Milano Design Week sponsor! We adore their new origami inspired ice bucket, Clicq’up.

Air Vases by Torafu Architects got an update this year at Canon’s Neoreal Wonder exhibition in Milan ~ these delicately cut paper vases that “seem to wrap air” ~ were made from print outs of their favorite pictures on Canon cameras, printed on Canon printers, then cut into beautiful Air Vases! The display in the corner with them floating like jellyfish, and sitting on a mirrored base that created an infinite world of floating Air Vases was beautiful!

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Tags: milan - paper - salone

We’ve always been big fans of how much our friends at Veuve support design! And we love origami! This year at the Salone del Mobile, during Veuve Clicquot’s Milan Yellow Week, the company will debut their latest design collaboration, Clicq’Up, an origami inspired design object by Belgian designer Mathias van de Walle.

Clicq’Up is the first foldable Champagne bucket and is based on a concept of origami on ice, marrying form and function to create a contemporary, reusable design object that can be folded for easy transportation, set up, and storage. Ultimately, van de Walle’s design creates a playful home for the iconic sleek Yellow Label bottle. See how it unfolds on the next page!

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Tags: champagne - drinks - milan - origami - paper - salone - veuve clicquot

On things that look like one thing but are really other things, these notebooks i found at Merci while in Paris are just that. From Japanese stationery line, D-Bros ~ these notebooks have images of tools on them… particularly tools that can hang! And then there is a hole so you can hang the notebooks as if hanging the tool… with hammers, scissors, paint brushes, shovels, and even ladles… they look great hanging in your office! While black and white on the covers, they are colorful within, with dotted pages in blue, yellow, pink. Check out the details of the hammer and scissor ones on the next page!

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Tags: gifts - notebook - paper - shopping - tools

Another fun discovery from Justine! How adorable are these paper birds?! These paper sculptures are part of a gorgeous window display at Liberty. The display was comissioned by The Crafts Council and designed and created by paper artist Andy Singleton to celebrate the opening of the Liberty Stationery Room on March 10th. See the full display and more on the next page…

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Tags: art - birds - london - paper - sculpture - windows

Ok i struggled for about 5 seconds on this one. I know, its been a heavily sponsored, brand happy holiday season. Between actual awesome sponsors supporting what we do here ~ and the many many giveaways and gift guides in progress… and Samsung is in fact one of (not to play favorites) our very awesome sponsors once again this season. But all of that aside, this was just awesome, and were it for any other random brand, i’d be posting it. So here it is!

Appropriately i found out about this little internet toy on Twitter ~ Samsung’s Boosted is bringing us all some Tweet Wrap ~ wrapping paper you can customize with your tweets (or any search you want) ~ and they will actually SEND you your wrapping paper ~ Free! (You can also order more, pay for speedy delivery, etc). Beyond the concept, the site and UI is fun, playful, colorful, and all around holiday happiness… besides, 8 bit video game styling and fun optical illusion filled textures can’t go wrong… so since there were only 65 of the 3000 free rolls when i just tried it, had to share. And screenshots of the nice UI on the next page.

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Tags: free - paper - samsung

Moleskine officially gets into the gadget case game with its Moleskine Kindle Cover~ It’s about time. For every gadget that involves reading that comes out, there’s always a moleskine styled case right behind it (think ipad, iphone, kindle, etc.) Interesting choice that they started with the Kindle… fun that they added a notebook in there to doodle alongside of the screen… They are touting it as a Digital-Analog Hybrid ~ and explain on their blog that they were even inspired by the “hackers” - “The very idea of this new cover came from the Moleskine “notebook hackers”, who create their own custom-made accessories weaving together paper pages and digital tools. Throughout the web, hundreds of communities and discussions can be found where such Moleskine “hackers” publish their inventions. Dedicated blogs, Flickr pages, and even YouTube videos highlight the power and vitality of the Moleskine digital-analog connection.” What do you get when you buy it? “Each cover includes a package of two reporter-style notebooks with black flexible cover, rounded corners, and blank ivory paper for jotting notes and insights.”

It seems like a good first step ~ obvious questions? Where’s the iPad version? And is it for lefties? Exciting none the less, i can’t wait to see what else will come from this direction of the iconic (analog) notebook maker! See lots of detail pictures on the next page!

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Tags: accessories - gifts - kindle - notebook - paper - shopping - technology

Shin Tanaka is indisputably one of the paper toy design masters of our generation… and his Baggies are adorable! And just in times for mother’s day for those kids out there looking for a fun way to customize a cute little something to spruce up your gift, how about making one of these your 3D gift card dancing upon the gift box? See some examples on the next page… and print one of his 3 patterns or the blank to customize yourself here!

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Tags: art - kids - paper - print - toys

I forgot how lovely it is to just wander in Milan ~ spent a few hours today walking all over, and inevitably stumbled across a few things too inspiring and fun not to share. Like these Hermés window displays i ran into on Via Spiga! Inspired by fables and fairytales this series of beautifully intricate overdressed animals coming out of gilded frames ~ love the way the colored paper is juxtaposed with the black and white storybook illustrations! See more on the next page!

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Tags: art - luxury - milan - paper - shopping

Worth: The Evolution of Financial Intelligence. There are two aspects to this article. Firstly the design - which was actually enticing enough to make me not only grab a copy and flip through it, but to then purchase it at its pricey 20$ price tag to further dive into its Monocle sized uncoated/matte velum glossy covered magazine and take pictures to share its interesting layout/design choices with you. So on the next page you’ll find many examples of some of my favorite visual details of this recently updated magazine.

The second aspect is the business of it ~ as you’ll see in the video and press releases from just a few months ago, this 18 year old magazine title was acquired by Sandow Media (of LUXE and New Beauty) in 2008 ~ and only 2 issues ago completely redesigned. Not only in look and feel, but also focus and revenue model. In a time where we are watching magazines close monthly, print dinosaurs falter, and online advertising still finding its legs (at least conceptually!) ~ Worth magazine has taken on an interesting concept lead by publisher Patrick Williams (from the Economist and Conde Nast’s Portfolio - which while also beautiful and infographic heavy, didn’t last long): “The Worth Leading Wealth Advisor Program” where essentially they have wealth advisors underwriting the profits of the magazine by having them thoroughly vetted, and if accepted they pay for an opportunity to write articles for the magazine and have 100 copies to distribute (to their clients and potential Worth future readers?). This is in addition to their advertisements as a revenue stream… and their bold move not to allow subscriptions (unless you are considered a high net worth reader and happen upon a free subscription), the only way to acquire Worth is to pay their $18.95 cover price. And Patrick even says in the Bloomberg interview that “We want to be known as the 20 buck magazine, which makes us the most expensive magazine in America.” Funny thing is when i first landed on their site, the most surprising usability issue i encountered was not being able to find a subscribe button, usually they are huge, flashing, or begging you to click them on magazine sites. I guess not being allowed to subscribe will make some want it even more…?

Business aside. Its a gorgeous magazine, and i am quite intrigued by their layouts and typographic decisions. The paper also feels stunning to hold in your hand, and it’s quite an interesting read… awaiting future issues to see if it holds up. Oh, and i’m smitten by the fact that they have lovely Object of Desire pages. See pics on the next page ~ as well as the Bloomberg video.

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Tags: business - infographics - magazines - paper - print - typography

Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. Yes. I do believe it is the first week of October. Isn't that a bit early for holiday festivities and shopping to be kicking in? If i'm sick of Christmas before halloween, that's just sad? Also a little disappointed nothing in the book got me too excited this year, but the front and back COVERS are another story. So excited that they got awesome paper artist, Yulia Brodskaya to do her thing with santa's beard and hat... see close ups on the next page...

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Tags: art - luxury - paper

I can't even remember the last time a piece of mail made me literally JUMP (and yes, maybe shriek slightly...) - and please do NOT take this as a challenge! But i was however intrigued enough to share this super simple design with you ~ complete with video so you can experience it too. Nissan Cube - well done. You got me. As much as i hate cubist cars, this is just too fun a use of paper and rubberbands not to share... so check out video and pics on the next page!

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Tags: advertising - cars - mail - paper

It's somehow becoming paper art week here at NOTCOT ~ after the many incredible artists showing at Papershapers, i just keep finding MORE! Late night obsessing over the 3D works of young British artist & maker: Lizzie Thomas!

Her 3D micro-paper-sculptures unfold like pocket sized mythical worlds and forests tucked away in little hinged wooden boxes. One can only imagine the beautiful shadows they would cast on a wall if a candle was carefully lit beside them (perhaps this is where the paper aspect may not work as well?). You must check out more of the pieces on the next page, as well as an adorable portrait of the artist herself!

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Tags: art - paper - wood

On random inspiration ~ i was unpacking my bags from freshly getting back to LA ~ and realized being at a conference and sitting in talks was much like being back in school... flowing out of my bags come notebooks, pens, conference packets, scraps of paper, and more covered in scribbles and notes and doodles of an abundance of ideas!

On an even sillier note ~ i realized i'm totally obsessed with the DWR Tools for Living Press Kit that doubles as a super functional notebook that has nice stark white pages and fun super thick cardboard covers! And the Federated Media pen from the CM Summit has been great as well - both visually and functionally (so much, that i even stole dan's). Both have been ending up in my purse repeatedly enough that i thought they warranted a random sunday post! And while i was showing you that... my "speaker's gift" from FM was a nice and subtly branded Moleskine! Which is awesome, except playing with it during the summit, made me realize - i find a blank white piece of paper amazingly inspiring... but RULED PAPER, kind of freaks me out. I think there's something about lined paper that is just too rigid for me - definitely a big fan of the free form. Take a look at closeups of them all on the next page!

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Tags: books - dwr - events - notebook - paper - pens - press kit

I was just floored when I saw WASARA over on Swissmiss' blog. WASARA is a line of the prettiest disposable paper tableware that you've ever seen - I would throw a party just so I could use these. It's not just paper plates either, it's bowls, mugs, sushi plates, serving platters...With the desire to be as sustainable as possible, WASARA is made from reed pulp and bagasse (sugarcane waste).

From WASARA's website: "Underlying the concept of WASARA is the legacy of Japanese aesthetic and value sense. Japan has a tradition of good manufacturing backed by excellent skills and techniques, one of the most refined food cultures in the world, and a spirit of hospitality and courtesy. These are essential for days of spiritual fulfillment. While a WASARA is a paper dish good for one-time use, we would like it to represent those quintessences of our tradition."

WASARA will be available for purchase at the end of August 2008.

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Tags: food - gifts - home - paper - shopping - sub-studio - table

Really. A free classic for download on the Hermes site... i thought it was bizarre when Fendi went all DIY with its white canvas baguette that came with Pantone markers, but to see Hermes release Hermes Branded pdf's of DIY cut+glue models of Kelly bags... i just had to laugh. Then press print. Then post.

How do you feel about it? Is it awesome that these luxury brands are reaching out so strongly to a younger demographic? Embracing the DIY/customization trends... taking inspiration from dunnys and paper craft trends? Or does it cheapen the brands? Honestly, i'm pretty out of it, and not sure what to make of it. But first impression is certainly that these could be cute (cheap) branded place cards for a girly dinner party quite easily... See more screenshots and the pdf on the next page!

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Tags: bag - diy - hermes - paper - toys

NOTCOT Note: Here's another post from Anna of the lovely Sub-Studio! You can also see her artwork in the tags on the side of the page right now!

Little Fury is the design collaborative of Esther Mun and Tina Chang. The two met in New York at Pentagram, and after a few stints at different offices, started Little Fury with the design philosophy:

No design for the sake of design.
No "overdone" products.
No "cutesy doodads".
Simplicity. Functionality. Practicality. Innovation. Individuality.

The result is an impressive portfolio of branding/identity projects and gorgeous product packaging, including the product series Start Here - a set of linkable notebooks and planners. Individual notebooks can be linked together as you need and customized with self-adhesive pockets and colorful tabs. The cover is stain resistant, waterproof, and tear-resistant, and the interior paper is available in blue, grey, white, pink, manila, and green.

Check out more great projects after the jump.

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Tags: branding - packaging - paper - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

Rahee Yoon is sticking it to the old adage that bigger is better. Rather than going for the largest carat, Rahee has created what she calls "the world's thinnest ring" - out of a single sheet of paper. She designed two books around these rings - one with 25 different ring designs, and the other describing the processes to cut the rings out of the book. The result is conceptual, ephemeral jewelry. See more of her rings after the jump!

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - jewelry - paper - shopping - sub-studio