Lines We Love: PIAWALLÉN

Swedish designer Pia Wallén's bold, minimal designs have already become iconic classics. She is inspired by her native folk craft tradition and puts a contemporary spin on it through an interesting mix of materials and rendering them in a quiet, elegant minimalism. Her color palette, use of felt, and the Swiss flag-like graphics in all of their European, clean aesthetic conjure images of coziness at home enjoying a fika during a quiet winter snowfall.

Art Obsession: A Tribute to Rex Ray

I was very sad to learn that San Francisco-based contemporary artist Rex Ray (aka Michael Patterson) passed away today following a battle with cancer. You can read about his life and passing here and here.

He was a prolific graphic designer and collage artist who also designed hundreds of concert posters and provided graphic design for artists such as The Rolling Stones, Björk, U2, Radiohead, David Bowie, and Patti Smith. I'm a huge fan of his collages on wood with resin and enjoy having a couple of reproduction prints of them around us here at Ourhaus. I regret that we will not see more work from this celebrated contemporary.

If you're inspired to keep his work living on, you can learn "How to Make a Rex Ray" in this aptly named video starring Rex himself.

Rex Ray also collaborated with a number of companies to create products for the home. You can surround yourself with his work in many ways. This collaboration with Blik wall decals is really great, as it gives you the freedom to interpret and position the shapes as you wish:

For another way to bring Rex's work into the home, check out his collaboration with Nomad Rugs—I think his aesthetic translated beautifully to woven wool:

Rest in peace, good sir. We're happy to have known you in your work.