Ace Hotel Room 1021 from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

Dana Tanamachi is a graphic designer and “custom chalk letterer” who is brimming with both talent and skill. Watching the creative process in fast forward is addictive. And seeing her here, creating a custom wall for a room in the Ace Hotel in NYC is so feeding my habit. First came across her on designspiration. Another addiction.

A number of years ago we decided we really needed a classic picnic table. I found none that met the standards of durability and craftsmanship that I was after, and I didn’t want to buy something, only to have it fall apart after a year or two, or even three. So we decided we would just build one ourselves. Fine. No big deal. However, given that I like design details and silly things like measurements and angles to be worked out ahead of time (makes the execution so much more enjoyable — this truth can be applied to almost any design project), I felt it necessary to make up a plan to work from. And since I often enjoy the process of design more than the finished product itself, I decided the best approach would be to make an accurate scale model, and then drawings. Can’t find the drawings, but here is the model. The table itself, after 10 or so years, is still remarkably sturdy. So proud.

My husband and I lived deep in the middle of NYC’s Chinatown for a little over 15 years. It was an astonishingly rich visual and cultural experience. And a long one at that. My husband (we’ll call him “C.”) used to say that not a single day would go by when he didn’t see something he had never seen before. He was right. Of course. I found these hats in various shops in our old neighborhood. Not being much of a hat wearer, I’ve long since given them away. But I couldn’t help photographing their structures and patterns. Each unique.

Odd instructional accordion brochure found a long time ago, and then forgotten for even longer.

This is one of the quirkier things I’ve seen lately. An exploded diagram view, when executed well, can’t be beat. This comes via the always fabulous ThingsOrganizedNeatly via Mike Mitchell’s Tumblr of Amazing Things.