This set of four coasters represents the Cincinnati metropolitan area by showing only the sinuous curves of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. It’s a minimalist sculptural puzzle for your coffee table, available in our just-launched online shop.
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The Cobbler’s Apprentice by Frank Duveneck
The Taft Museum of Art is celebrating its 80-year anniversary by installing framed reproductions of 80 works [almost all of the paintings in its collection] in the streets and outdoor spaces of the Cincinnati metro area, which are up through Sep 2012.
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Signage around Town: Over the Rhine Edition: a graphic designer ogles all the amazing signage and ghost signs in OTR.
Mushroom House in Hyde Park for Sale: only 349k for one of the most interesting homes in Cincinnati.
Three NKY Cities Awarded Best in Preservation: kudos to projects in Bellevue, Covington, and Newport.
Chelsea Resident Hangs Anti-Tourism Posters Pleading Visitors to Improve Their Manners: “Dear Chelsea, Nice problem to have. Wanna trade? Sincerely, Bedford-Stuyvesant.”
Underground New York Public Library: a visual library featuring the reading riders of the NYC subways.
Bikes, Transit and Traditional Urbanism: a fascinating, detailed look at walking, bike use and public transit in different cities, from Copenhagen to Bratislava.
A Parisian Sunday Walk: checking out street art in Paris.
Have I mentioned before how much I like Monmouth St. in Newport, KY? Yes, I have, but mentioning it again doesn’t hurt. Oh, and also: the old Dine Schabell Furniture Store at 931 Monmouth St. has an interesting tile-filled entry.
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Country Christmas Gifts: our Blooming Briquettes in Living the Country Life.
Before & After: Collaborative Studio Design: a beautiful storefront transformation in Newport, KY.
History’s Mysteries: Ghost Sign on East 6th Street: the stories history of a ghost sign in Manhattan, with connections to The Office, Clint Eastwood, and nuns in Cincinnati.
History of the B&H: from Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, photos and history of the 80-year old B&H Dairy in the East Village.
Love Longitude? ‘Maphead’ Locates Geography Buffs: remember Ken Jennings from Jeopardy? He just wrote a book called Maphead.
Small Streets: an advocacy group focused on preserving historic small streets and reintroducing new small streets to communities.
Five Minutes in No York City: bizarre video
Here are my favorite blog posts from 2010. The year started with a trip back home to NYC, where we checked out the just-opened High Line. My favorite part of the park is The River That Flows Both Ways by Spencer Finch, pictured above.
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It seems somehow fitting that self-described nomad Kyle Penunuri designed a mural in Newport, KY that is so deeply rooted in the history of that place. It includes prominent local figures like General James Taylor and Mildred Dean, as well as the flora and fauna found in the area, and some architectural landmarks.
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Drumroll, please! The 2011 Design*Sponge Cincinnati Design Guide is finally out! This is the update of the 2008 Guide that I wrote with Sean from BuyCincy. This time around, I got invaluable help from Alli of One Pearl Button. Astute readers will quickly notice that the new guide is not entirely up-to-date; that’s because I submitted it in mid-2010. So, feel free to add your updates and corrections in the comments on D*S.
This may well be the coolest example of terrazzo that I’ve seen so far, found on Monmouth Ave. in Newport, KY. Deco type? Check. Jaunty stripes? Check!
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Bauhaus, Hendersonville, NC by Marcia Alscher
Attentive readers might remember that I came across the work of Marcia Alscher just over a year ago, when she was in an exhibit with our good friend Cedric Michael Cox. Soon thereafter, I had the good fortune of meeting her, and she is as lovely as she is talented. A retired architect originally from St. Louis, Alscher now lives in Covington, KY, where she paints these precise, diminutive portraits of buildings, most of them humble and small in scale themselves.
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