Asparagus Interiors Inc.

This  year’s Renegade Craft Fair – Chicago – proved to show crafting has been taken to a new level.
Check out my favorites from the show and possible last minute holiday ideas.

• PLYtextiles - Modern design + salvaged materials.  Yard wrapped trees and felted pillows.
• Lilian Asterfield - Custom sewn scarves made of silk ties.
• Outside Oslo – Scandinavian Inspired Fabric
• Maker & Maker – Ceramics (note: Bison piggy bank)
• iamhome – Wood Art, Chalk Board Sculls, Tree Magnets
• Yellow Grey – Organic Designed Jewelery – unstructured / lovely
• Row Boat Press – flipp’n love this coffee poster – all their prints are just simple and fun
• Mok Duk, by Anne Benjamin – Illustrator / Poster & Printmaker

Twitter: @RenegadeCraft

Ever wondered what’s in your designer’s tool kit?  As designers we often forget our foundation skills as we wrangle with new technologies. A quick napkin sketch or color rendering can do wonders to clarify color, direction, space planning an scale.

Consider asking your designer to make a quick sketch… designers – be not afraid to take the extra time.  More clarity makes for good design decisions.

This past weekend we visited Holland MI for the Tulip Time Festival and a MI getaway.

Holland is full of bright colors this spring – tulips, art, beach and people.

We visited Veldheer’s tulip farm, Second Chance Design, Grand Haven Beach and downtown Holland.  Tulip Time runs though May 14th.

• Veldheer’s Tulip Farm
• Second Chance Design – Mid Century furniture and housewares – Great find!

Community based art, Whale Project, Highlands Elementary School, Naperville, IL

This past week, I helped out artists Victoria and Debra, construct the Whale sculpture for the Highlands school.  Victoria and Debra are crafting the new Whale in two parts as well as including sea creatures completed by the 5th grade art classes.  I was happy to clip wire and wrap mesh to construct the body and tail of the whale.

I learned a thing or two about how the concrete will adhere and how the Whale is a win for the local community and the school!

Wishing you a joyous holiday season!
It’s been a busy year working on new projects, refining existing interiors and
learning about new artistic interests. We continue to recommend green solutions
and continue to support local initiatives.

A happy and healthy 2011 to you!
Elizabeth Marusin
www.asparagusinteriors.com

2010_AsparagusHolidayCard

This year’s Renegade Craft Fair – Chicago, proved to be an excellent mix of craft and art as in years past but with a lot more people.  It seems the word is getting out.  An awesome show that offers something for every artist alike.

Some of my show favorites:

OneCanoeTwo – Custom letterpress, cards, coasters, calendars.  Artistic – funky – stylized creatures.  Crane paper with high quality printing, graphic design and detail. Check out the coasters, recipe cards and fabric calendars.  I typically get a Lotta Jansdotter calendar but this year going with the nautical theme from OneCanoeTwo.

Neogranny – flipp’n love-it!  Neo’s take on retro designs, brings back the June Cleaver in all of us but with a modern twist.  I picked up a cat-eye glasses necklace, but love the swimmer and the Jack and Jill cut-outs.  The combination of brightly painted wood mixed with metal, totally fun.

Tugboat Printshop – Really cool woodblock prints.  Very detailed and cool compositions. We picked up Star Ship, looking to put it in a funky frame.  Looking for vintage frames check out Foundre.

Jordain Elise – Picked up on the taxidermy buzz this year? Check out the “wonderful wonders” of Jordain Elise.  Felt “horrible adorables” give them a second look, you’ll fall for them.

Other Artists Worth Checking Out:

• The Harbinger Co. – Funky silver glasses rings, sustainable wood craft jewelry in geometric designs.
• The Candy Thief – Detailed felt work – check out their headbands.
• Up in the air somewhere – Picked up an industrial inspired ceramic piece, check out the painted bowls.
• Souldier – Vintage guitar and camera straps.

I’ve been looking for a sofa for some time now.  I really want a solid construction sofa with style at a decent price.
***Betty Draper meets Anthropologie is what I’m looking for.

I need to go out and sit in a few styles, but I keep going back to this West Elm offering.  The Essex sofa, has that sofisticated sofa look that’s not blasted oversized and blocky.  I love the linen print and turned feet.  Less cushions to deal with is more streamlined and practical for our home.

Am I digging this sofa or is it the styling? I’ll need to get over to the store and try it out.

Asparagus Interiors was featured in this week’s Sunday Chicago Tribune, covering “easy and inexpensive ways to remodel a home on a tight budget.”

I worked with the Grier family of Naperville, to remodel their kitchen and living room. They are passionate about growing plants and we decided to reuse some of their existing cabinetry. We added glass shelves above for lighting the plants and making the space appear more open. Incorporating Ice Stone countertop surface, made of recycled glass, concrete and crushed mother of pear shell. A beautiful addition and use of recycled material.

Reusing existing cabinetry and repainting are easy ways to freshen up a space and save money.

Check out the article here: “Cheap Yet Chic Updates”.

NeoCon Exhibit’s the SHOKI collection from George Nakashima.  As posted on the NeoCon website, “this collection was created from a recently discovered series of drawings by George Nakashima for clients in the early 1940’s, at the very dawn of his career.”

I love Nakashima’s work and look to it as modern masterpiece in the essence of maintaining the natural form.

Thanks Art Van Furniture for the Tweet.

Morton Arboretum’s Steel Roots Exhibit opens this weekend this weekend starting April 9th.

Last week we took in a sneak peak at, “Steelroots: Tobin at The Morton Arboretum.” The metal sculptures are peaceful, above ground and alive with energy.  The kids got a hands on appreciation for what tree roots are like.