#ssmith

[narcobarbies]

savannah smith via instagram

[henrywinteris]

dancing with a stranger //  sam smith & normani

[fratboykate]

John's words (via Sam reposting them) are just what I needed to read today.

[henrywinteris]

—  ‘cause i’m ruined

promises // calvin harris & sam smith

[laceratops]

Danny happiness

[toppersabroad-blog]

William Morris House

the power of a place where a text was inspired, written, or produced

 As a designer, I have to talk about the impact visiting one of William Morris’ houses had on me. Even though at the turn of the 20th century, book printing was much faster and easier, Morris wanted to get back to the basics of hand-made work. His goal of printing books using moveable type was certainly not new, but it was different. Even now, with how digital design has become, people are harkening back to more hand-made work. His work is beautiful and seeing the place where such inspiring work was created was phenomenal. As a designer, he was so confident and he knew what he wanted and how to get there. The choice to only use the perfect shade of black in the Canterbury Tales was so bold. But he knew what he wanted and it was incredibly successful. I’ve never given much thought to wallpaper either, and yet his designs were beautiful and compelling.

Seeing the original printing press Morris and Walker used over 100 years ago was also amazing. I think place is very significant. Many locations throughout England and Ireland where something important took place have been turned into museums or sites dedicated to continuing the legacy and letting us remember the past. Being where a brilliant artist lived and worked was amazing. It makes me think about place more and more because places are just places until we give them meaning and then they become something else and can hold memories which can be experienced over and over. The people running the house are clearly fond of his work and learning about a great designer from those who care and from his very house was very cool.

[toppersabroad-blog]

The Book of Kells

the physicality of a text

After watching the Secret of Kells, I was expecting the book to be incredibly beautiful and it was. Trinity college was a sight in itself. The buildings were breathtaking. It is a lovely campus and a nice place to see some history.  The whole exhibit was really interesting and provided a lot of background to the making of the book. I was surprised to learn that there was a lot of truth in the Secret of Kells. The book itself was very beautiful. And it was amazing that it has survived this long without losing a lot of color and only the cover. The history of books has always fascinated me and it is crazy to think that a few hundred years ago, few people could read. The art was so precise in the book and the typography was beautiful. Learning about how long it took for a book to be created is one thing but actually seeing the size of the book and the detail that went into it shows how dedicated to their craft those monks were. It is such a substantial book and it has a presence and has no doubt seen a lot in its time.

[toppersabroad-blog]

a visual representation of a text

221B Baker Street

We visited Baker Street on our free day. I’m a big fan of the modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation and was very excited to see the place where Holmes and Watson lived in the story. Upon arriving, there was a long line to get into the museum that exists at the residence. A man in an old-style police uniform guarded the door, letting guests in occasionally to enjoy the museum. The stoop looked exactly as it does in the show and next door over, is a gift shop run by folks in clothes from the 1800s. Even though we didn’t get to go inside, the gift shop felt very authentic in its recreation of the times of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Right outside the underground entrance at Baker street is a Sherlock Holmes statue, with pipe and deerstalker hat. There is a lot of love for a fictional character and having the opportunity to visit his “home” was great.