Today is an exciting day and it’s not because of the iPadness nor KFC’s Double Down, it’s my recent discovery of the work of John Dowling and Rob Duncan. Purveyors of design that withstands the test of time, it’s refreshing to see work that is simple and clean. These lads met at Pentagram London and since then have worked at studios including Mytton Williams and Frost Design before partnering up. Based out of London and San Francisco, I’ve been lucky enough to have a chance to work with the SF studio. Have a gander at their brand spankin’ new web site here.

We heart The Curiosity Shoppe. (Yeah, me and about 60% of the female population in SF. And maybe 25% of males) They have a new exhibit up by Treatzone, another gem of San Francisco. I visited during their opening and yes, there was candy corn and Tecate. MmMmmmmm. And lovely ghosts painted on postcards.

I stumbled upon Ryan Boyle’s exhibit on my way to see some works by Charley Harper and was pleasantly surprised. Quirky and playful, his sculptures are actually made primarily of paper. (!) Can’t wait to see more of his work.

Just don’t call it Frisco.

Lovely photography by Noah Kalina.

Does the name Lisa Congdon ring a bell? Well, shame on you. She’s all sorts of awesome. Self taught artist, co-owner of Rare Device in San Francisco and believer of truth telling, her story is definitely worth reading here. Above is one of her works, which is bit of a departure from her other artworks, but lovely nonetheless.

On a completely unrelated note: I can’t help but share this post from Texts From Last Night that involved a pinecone. Enjoy. Or think I’m insane. I can accept that.

(919): I was just driving stoned and I stopped to let a pinecone cross the road because I thought it was a hedgehog.

At first I watched the video, but then found the photography stills to be much more fascinating. I mean, c’mon, its rolling and unraveling, yada yada yada. Only to find out it was advertising for Ray Ban’s Never Hide campaign. Buzzkill. Can’t a girl enjoy a ridiculously large ball of yarn that looks both ways while crossing the street, has kittens stuck in it, gets stopped by the fuzz and rides the Muni without being sold eyewear?

Things I like about this poster: color palette, vampire fangs and hand stamped number. Skinny Ships is the work of SF-based designer, Richard Perez.

Lovely customizable mini paintings on wood rounds. How dandy is that? I agree. Visit Paperbullet on Etsy and support your local independent artists.

Man, can Les Savy Fav put on a show. Inbetween stripping layers of clothing, wearing a trash can as a mask and duct taping themselves to fanatics, seeing them live made a soggy Sunday night in San Francisco, not so miserable. Check out this animated music video. Partying with these sea creatures/snorkles would be fun.

The Noise Pop Festival is back! And it starts kicks off today!! Noise Pop is a week long celebration of indie music, art and film with an emphasis on local bands. This year’s line up includes: Deerhunter, Antony and The Johnsons, Stephen Malkmus as well as art exhibits by Jesse LaDoux and my favorite local poster designers, The Small Stakes. Wooooooooo. I’ll be checking out Brooklyn-based band, Les Savy Fav on Sunday, which I’m quite giddy about.