karla diaz cano

it's time to say good-bye to posterous, but not to blogging. i'm very excited to say i'm launching my own blog, *tidbits*, where i will keep blogging about design, only now i will be including posts on tiklari, other indie shops, awesome handmade goods, interviews with talented artists + creators of all sorts, and more. please check it out here and suscribe to RSS feeds with the button on your address bar! hope to see you there.

work has kept me busy - tiklari + designing my new blog, *tidbits*. i will launch *tidbits* hopefully within the next two weeks, and then blogging will become a lot more constant for me! i will write about design + inspiring stuff like i do now, and it will have other really cool stuff as well. stay posted!

meanwhile, i want to share with you something i've been working on lately - etsy treasuries. etsy is an awesome site where you can buy and sell handmade stuff. you can find A-NY-THING there. it's amazing! i highly recommend it. in etsy, you can make treasuries, which are basically curated lists of things you like and you'd like to share with others. treasuries are great places to shop!

here are my first two treasuries. take a look at the goods from all these awesome stores.

[ g a m e . o f . l e t t e r s . & . w o r d s ]
letters & words are everywhere! cards, bags, clothes, walls, you name it. a compilation of etsy items with cool phrases, quotes, etc. enjoy!

check this treasury out here

[ w o o l +  w o o l + w o o l ]
wool is not only used to knit itchy sweaters for winter season.
wool is used in so many different ways by etsy creatives - it's in headbands, bags, coasters, laptop cases, even eco-friendly dryer balls.
wool is a winter favorite because its so warm & fuzzy, but you can use these products year round!

by karla diaz
www.tiklari.com

if you are lucky enough to be in paris this month, don’t miss out on the “architecture & the comic book” exhibition at the cite de l’architecture & du patrimoine. this summer we ended up there by chance, and it is one of the most original and unique exhibitions i have seen.

i do not know much about comic books; to be honest, i basically consider myself pretty ignorant in regards to what some people call the 9^th art. but i do love illustration, and do know a thing or two about architecture. not only that, but i love the theme of ‘the city’ and how the city influences us so much – how we live, how we think, in the art and architecture we create, and so on.

this exhibition shows us the relationships between comics and architecture, how one has influenced the other, how cities are represented in comic books and other animated/illustrated media, how futuristic cities, ghost cities, utopias and all sorts of fantastic places have been created by comic artists, how these have inspired architects in their work, and how some architects have had the vision and ability to represent the city in a comic-book sort of way.

displayed are representations of new york, paris and tokyo in by different comic book artists. also, there are comic-like “models, sketches, and town plans” of public buildings and futuristic cities drawn by great architects such as Hugh Ferris’ sketches of mysterious cities drawn in the 1920’s.

take a look at my two favorites  – look at the lines, the details, the design, the colors, the story behind. they are amazing works of art: 

- persepolis, an animated video based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel with the same title, showing the story of a girl during the Iranian Revolution. it was winner of the jury price in cannes in 2007. check it out.

- tokyo sanpo, florent chauvet's compillation of illustrations from tokyo. you have to take a look at his website to really appreciate this man's tallent for illustration.

[ illustration from tokyo sanpo by florent chauvet ]

i was exploring etsy and setting up my shop for papel+tinta today. etsy, in case you don't already know this awesome site, is my favorite site for buying and selling handmade stuff. you can find some really neat things here for very reasonable prices (most of the time). it has some very cool features, such as treasuries, which are "member curated" lists of items. basically, you put together a list of items that have something in common and give it a title (such as : things to warm up, Christmas gifts under $50, pet goodies ). then you can share it with other etsy members and with your friends through networking sites such as facebook and twitter. it also serves as a marketing tool to get your shop out there. so here is my first treasury titled "life in black and white". click away and happy shopping!

do you eat your cereal bowl in front of the tv and wish you could hold the bowl with one hand so you could use the other hand for the remote, or to type something in your laptop, without dipping your thumb in the milk or worse – spilling the milk? do you wish you could heat up your oatmeal and be able to carry it to your desk without burning your hand?

yes, i know. it seems kind of lame to be writing a blog post about a bowl, especially after almost a month off from blogging (i've been moving and without internet for almost a month now!) but let’s face it, cereal is important for many of us. and believe me when i say - this bowl is designed perfectly for it (and for many other things as well).

the loomm bowl was designed by rosti mepal, a company located in the netherlands famous for its margrethe mixing bowl and other kitchen tools and goods. check them out here. the loomm is a little pricey for a bowl, but the set includes a ceramic bowl, a heat insulated plastic holder and a lit, and you can freeze it, put in the microwave, store it in the fridge, and best of all, easily carry it with one hand. it comes in bright, fun colors and it is pretty cool looking. so, what else could you ask for in a bowl?

with so many gourmet cupcake places popping up everywhere, these cute little treats have attracted most of us into the cupcake “craze”. gourmet cupcake shops have been booming and showing up everywhere for more than 6 years, so I wouldn’t really call it a “craze” or “trend”. i truly believe the cupcake is timeless and cupcake lovers are not going anywhere, so this “trend” is more like an industry that is here to stay.

but...beware. there are some bad, bad cupcakes out there. now is the time to tell you: please, please, please do not judge a book by its cover. some of these treats might look wonderful, but they taste like ab-so-lute-ly nothing at all.

a few days ago, craving a red velvet cupcake, i went to aventura mall and found a cupcake stand. they were out of red velvet, but they told us we’d find the same cupcakes in alisa’s painted bistro. so we went. the cupcakes looked kind of cute and tasty, but honestly, the bread was dry, it barely tasted like red velvet (or anything at all), and it was pink rather than red (not that the color would really affect change the flavor, but still, it’s called RED velvet for a reason).

the next day, we went to the cheese course, a wonderful little bistro in midtown selling cheeses, wine, and wonderful sandwiches and salads, and to my surprise, they had red velvet cupcakes! here is a picture of them, so you can see for yourself it did look somewhat tasty, but it tasted like nothing at all!

cupcakes @ the cheese course [ photo by me ]

how i miss sprinkles now... i miss many things about LA, and this weekend made me miss its cupcakes badly. sprinkles is “the original cupcake bakery” located in beverly hills. people literally line up for over 40 minutes for one cupcake. i wish i would have taken a picture of that line. yes, cupcakes are priced at around $4 a piece, but this is seriously good stuff. the toppings, the packaging, and the TASTE. wow. now, THAT is a little piece of heaven. before I left LA i even bought the red velvet mix (they actually sell it!), so I’m looking forward to making them, and hopefully be half as good as the real thing.  because honestly, cupcakes here in miami so far have left a lot to be desired.

sprinkles cupcakes [ photo from soon to be mrs. p blog ]

however, sometimes i am lucky enough to come upon something that inspires something deeper in my soul. now, i know that might sound cheesy, but it happens to all of us. we read something, or we watch a movie, or someone shows us a youtube video and somehow, it touches us in some very special way. it doesn't happen too often, but when it does, most of us feel the need to share it, so we email it, or we post it on our facebook status.

having said that, i want to share this video. if you are one of those people who aspires to change the world, even in a small way, shape or form, watch it. i like to think we all do "little things" that make us feel we are making a difference. even if it is by not throwing away a piece of paper in the trash can, but rather waiting to throw it in the recycling bin, or quitting the purchase of water bottles and using a reusable one instead. maybe it is by helping an old lady cross the street, or by smiling to a stranger on the street. even if these things may seem small and rather insignificant, i truly believe the things will make a difference in our world. after all, change must start somewhere, mustn't it?

"be the change that you want to see in the world" (a famous mahatma gandhi quote)

yesterday i posted that paper+ink was coming to life, but sadly, we realized we had to change the name. it was frustrating for a while, but i'm pretty happy with the the result. we ended up with papel+tinta.

so, why papel+tinta?  first of all, because it's paper+ink in my mother tongue. but most importatly, because all design ideas are born and they evolve with a little ink on a piece of paper. without papel+tinta, designers' sketchbooks would be empty. blank. we would have no place to let our minds run wild. let me mention that personally, i try to use ink (more specifically, a black marker) and avoid pencils in my sketchbook. in design school, i was told to always use a marker. "do not use pencils. avoid erasing anything."  anything, even if you think it's a big mistake, might become your source of inspiration. it might trigger another thought, or another good idea.

 how was the idea to start paper+ink born?  i've always loved planning parties and thinking out the details that will make it unique. i planned and decorated my own wedding, and i designed the invitations and paper goods for it. i thought out every detail and enjoyed every single moment of it. and as i looked for ideas for my wedding through invitations sites, i couldn't find one single place that designed invitations and other paper goods in a nice, coordinated package. stuff was scattered everywhere and you had to coordinate them yourself. also - i couldn't find such a thing as a party/event consultant. if you want to put your party together yourself but don't know what theme to use, or where to buy decorations for it, you have to hire an event planner. and that can get really, really expensive.

what is it about paris that captivates me in such an inexplicable way? is it the enchanting language? the delicious food? its streets lined with cafes and boutiques? the elegant boulevards? its architecture full of history? its people? i think it is all this and the fact that there is always something new to see, visit or try.

on our visit to paris, we decided to try macarrons. we had never tried them, and we ended up buying them in fauchon next to the madeleine.

the contemporary-chic interiors (probably a itsy bitsy tacky), its refined packaging and its close to perfect product presentation were what attracted me to the shop. fauchon sells all kinds of goods – teas, chocolates, pastries, wines, cookies, marron glaces (just to name a few). there is also a sit-down eatery; they sell salads and sandwiches and the sort. we did not try the food so i can’t judge that aspect, but i can say that the pastries, particularly the éclairs, looked amazing, and the coffee and vanilla macarrons were quite good as well (although maybe a little on the sweet side).

the thing is - i wonder what the french think of it. i think i’ve come to believe that, in most cases, only the french can judge if french food is authentically french, the mexicans can judge if mexican food is authentically mexican, and so on and so on. are fauchon products authentically french? are they ridiculously overpriced? is fauchon a tourist trap? i don’t know, but if it is, it certainly trapped me.

i'll make a small pause on the travel entries and write about something that i've come across in the past week. as you may have started to realize by a few of my entries, i'm all about the green stuff. i like to eat organic, recycle, buy natural cleaning products, organic bedsheets and the sort. i like to live healthy and help our planet earth, and with the welcoming of our new puppy and the research and reading that entails, i found that my pup can be green too!

pet owners are increasingly buying organic, natural, grain-free food for their dog - no fillers, no artificial flavors or colorings. they buy (or i might as well say WE buy) non-toxic, safe, green, eco-friendly toys and bowls. there's even environmentally friendly shelters, like the forney road shelter in dallas, tx.

my favorite brand: west paw design. not only are their products awesome, but they are truly committed to the environment by reducing waste and providing organic and 100% safe products.

my favorite product: eco nap, an IntelliLoft^® dog bed/mat made out of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. west paw has used 4 million bottles from landfills to make their beds up to this day and 8 times less energy for production than if they were using new material. IntelliLoft^® been tested free of any harmful substance - plus, it is comfy, fluffy, machine washable, and dogs love it.