Last week we received the final printed elements to assemble our new business cards! The design capitalizes on the ideas of DIY and sustainability. The colorful cards are cut down from makeready press sheets. Makereadies are used by printers to help prepare the press. The sheets are imprinted multiple times creating beautifully random patterns.

The contact information for each card is printed on a strip of label stock that wraps around the card. This allows us to continue to assemble new cards from recycled press sheets. The labels were printed on a 100% recycled stock by Rolling Press a local, eco-friendly, wind powered printer.

To us, “going green” means looking beyond recycled paper and soy inks and actually considering the entire lifecycle of a piece. This business card is the perfect blend of materials and messaging. We love work with unique materials and we are excited when we have the opportunity to repurpose old materials (which is even more eco-friendly than recycling). The end result is a business card that we hope you will hold onto — saving the materials from a trash can or recycling bin. Detail shots of the cards are posted below.

Here at MSLK, we’re trying to educate ourselves on city composting. We’re just beginning an initiative to instate an office compost. To be frank, none of us here have much experience with a compost pile, so this could get interesting. I recently attended a lecture where one of the speakers was Wendy Brawer, an artist turned designer who designed the Green Map system to visually engage people in local environmental “hotspots” and encourage sustainable living. I picked up the Compost Map of Manhattan, which outlines a lot of useful information for city dwellers interested in starting a compost. I found out that composting is seemingly easier than I originally thought…

While I am more comfortable being a spectator throughout much of life’s activities, Sheri dives head-first into whatever interests her. And if she doesn’t know how to do something, she learns.

Case in point: hula-hooping, her new obsession. Over the past few months she has been taking a hooping class with other like-minded adults (yes, it’s no longer just a fad for the pre-millennial set) at a Y in the east village. Her extra-curricular endeavor has now become entertainment for all, as she now entertains friends after dinner, and has even taken to encouraging everyone in the studio to give a whirl from an ever-growing arsenal of customized, multi-colored hoops of varying diameters.

There’s one hoop which stands out from the rest: her LED-infused “PSIhoop” which is a spectacle to behold…

Last weekend, we went to a birthday party for our Russian friend, Andrey, at the Tatiana Restaurant on Brighton Beach’s boardwalk. I’ve been to Coney Island before, but this was my first experience at Little Odessa, and it was quite memorable. If you’re looking for a great summer weekend trip to Brighton Beach: lunch or dinner at Tatiana is highly recommended. Even better, if you have something to celebrate…

Why do you choose to torture the graphic designers of New York with the crazy “O”s in the signage on your N/W trains? Do you think this is funny? Are you laughing in the face of a system many have heralded as a design masterpiece? Did you simply replace the carefully chosen Helvetica Bold “O”s with something more standard (Ariel, per se)? Or did you go a step further and rotate each letter so it sits on its side? We demand (properly typeset) answers!

Frustratingly Yours,

The Designers of New York City

They are out there. I have been hearing a lot about this BMW X6, but had not seen it in person… until recently. I spotted one by my house a couple days ago, and I love it. I love SUVs (sorry environmentalists) and I like sports cars . X6 combines the silhouette of the 6 series coupé and the compact SUV class making it an SAV (Sport Activity Vehicle), which means “a sports car for active lifestyles.” Bold Design! Even better – they’re planning on releasing a hybrid version of this in the future.

Ellen, I think you should get this to replace “Saaby.” Not very gas friendly, but you could fit MSLK in it and still be sporty. Click “Read More” to see more pictures.

To Celebrate the opening of an Ikea in Brooklyn (finally) I thought I would share the Swedish Furniture Name Generator. Kinda fun, kinda stupid, but as an Ikea fan, I couldn’t help but love it a little. Enter your name and find out what you would be called if you sat upon the shelves of IKEA. Above is The Swedish MSLK Chair: The MSJLLK!

As for the new Ikea in Red Hook, I have not been there yet, but Ellen and Jason brought back positive reviews last weekend. How can you not love an Ikea that you can take a Water Taxi to? Oh what I would have given last summer to not have been stuck in Holland Tunnel traffic on my way to Elizabeth, NJ after moving for two days. I am excited that now furnishing an apartment on a budget in Brooklyn will be a little less painful, well until you have to assemble the furniture…

As you already know I love Kiosk. And as you already know, we hate plastic bags. Therefore it should come as no surprise that I’ll be rushing off to check out Jason Rosenberg’s art and commerce inspired “plastic bag happening” at Kiosk June 27 - July 1. It seems that Jason will help you give your plastic bag a new life. I might have 2663 or so plastic bags lying around here, maybe I’ll turn one into a rain hat.

When I moved from St. Louis to NYC I came for three reasons: 1. the art, 2. the people, and 3. the water. Finally, I’m able to say that I am making progress on the water part. For the past two weekends, Marc and I have been taking sailing lessons off of City Island in the Bronx. It never ceases to amaze me that this great city is surrounded by water. Within 30 minutes I can be at the beach or off on a boat in the ocean. One of the nicest things about sailing it how very little you need—just sails and wind (even very little wind will do the trick). It’s incredibly eco-friendly and quite peaceful. I hope you, too, have plans to get outdoors this summer and enjoy mother nature, believe it or not it’s all around you.

Here is another posting about my parent’s amazing trip to Barcelona. After spending a few hours looking through their photos, it was clear to see that there was a trend: the city has a love affair going on with the color red. Is there really any better color to fall for?

My dad noted its prevalence and provided an edit for your viewing pleasure…

I love the look of the flagship LV store on the corner of 5th Avenue and 59th Street, the white checker glass facade is amazing. Its even better this week with their new windows. They are obviously a rip off of the GAP’s holiday windows, but the patterns on the glass break up the lights and take it to the next level.

We’re preparing for our art installation “2663 Urban Tumbleweeds” at the Burning Man Festival this summer. Please help us gather 2663 plastic bags by July 15th!

My parents have just returned from a trip to Barcelona and found this great bag they thought we’d like. Like it? More like love it. The strings of the handles become part of the line drawing.

In many ways, it reminds me of the gift tags we designed a few years back.

I hate businesses that hire people to dump menus, flyers, business cards, etc. on my front stoop. If I had more time I’d follow that person, silently pick up every menu they left behind, go to the restaurant, and dump them on their floor. In my mind this would be a giant pile of flyers and one-by-one I’d convince every restaurant in my neighborhood to stop.

Until then, I have a new rule, I’m just going to boycott your services. I don’t care if you are the most delicious restaurant in LIC, Prete’s Pizza, I’m not buying your wares.

Per Marc’s suggestion, I’m also going to look into making my own version of this “finger crushing sign”, I hear it works!

One of the things I love about summer in NYC, is hanging out at a rooftop garden or bar and enjoying the view. My favorite “local” rooftop is the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden at the Metropolitan Museum. This place offers an amazing summer mix: a spectacular view of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline, great drinks, and, of course – art.

Last Friday night I checked out their current summer exhibit, “Jeff Koons on the Roof”. The three giant, colorful Pop sculptures, mounted in this beautiful and dramatic outdoor space, are worth a trip to the Upper East Side…

We love to hate plastic water bottles. They have become a beacon of unnecessary packaging and consumption. Though water bottles are recyclable, they are more likely than their carbonated counterparts to either be placed in the trash or found littering our streets and neighborhoods. Why? In New York State non-carbonated beverage bottles (water, juice, iced tea) are not redeemable. This means that consumers don’t have to pay a 5¢ tax per bottle, and the empty bottles don’t have the value that soda bottles and cans do. Some figures claim that 8 out of 10 water bottles end up in the trash or as litter.

What can we do? Money has proven to be the best incentive we have to get those bottles back. As many New Yorkers know, even redeemable bottles that wind up in the trash get picked out for their value. Contact your local representative to help get this bill changed. Not only will this drastically increase the capture rate, some estimates claim it will generate $125 million in revenue that can be put toward our recycling and environmental programs. While you’re at it, encourage him/her to raise the deposit to 10¢.

After going there a couple of times, disappointed by the long wait, my friends and I finally got in to ChikaLicious. If you love food and design, here is your chance to enjoy fabulous Japanese fusion desserts while watching meticulous preparation and plating. It is a tiny place – a 20-seat eatery space built around an open kitchen, where the chefs and sommelier work and serve customers directly. Their 3-course Prix Fixe menu is best described as American desserts, French Presentation and Japanese tasting portions (tiny). They also have a good selection of dessert wines and champagne, along with organic coffees and teas.

My parents, just back from a trip to Europe, sent an email with this character attached along with their commentary:

On our stroll down La Rambla (one of the BEST walks in the world), one of the Living Artists is a Plastic Robot. Even his money jar is recylced plastic bottles. You really had to see it in person!!!

Thanks, mom. Click below for more pics…

This is a post about two things. The Telectroscope that you must rush to see before it is gone on June 15th and the new design movement called Steampunk that it is reminiscent of.

Last week at staff meeting, Katie told us about a telescope that allowed you to supposedly see through the earth to London. This purported device was installed in Brooklyn in the south shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. As luck would have it, we just so happened to find ourselves in the neighborhood this weekend and decided to check it out.

Reading the news online can be very annoying. There are so many ads, pop-up windows and banners on the screen that you can hardly focus on the copy. So why not banish the ads and replace them with something more enjoyable? Last week Katie told us about a customizable open source add-on by Firefox: Add-Art replaces advertising with art images. The art is updated every two weeks and features contemporary artists and curators.