• have you ever read twyla tharp’s the creative process? an old boyfriend recommended it to me, and before i could get really into the book, we broke up. so you know — then the book was tainted for me. look at the book, think of the jerk. but i think i might need it. in this book she breaks down all the aspects of living a creative life, the struggles, joys, and lessons along the way. i feel very cluttered right now, so maybe tainted or not, it’s time again for twyla.

• isn’t this the prettiest lamp you ever did see? i love it, and i think i need it. it’s called the vanderbilt table lamp in blue crackle + maple by caravan pacific. Shannon Guirl turned to wood turning and ceramics to cure a creative itch and found a new passion in designing mid-century modern lighting With the aid of a successful Kickstarter campaign and a skilled team of craftspeople in Portland. good on Caravan Pacific. pretty, pretty lamps.

• i’ve taken a liking to bourbon whiskey. don’t get concerned — not in large quantities. but you can make a mean cocktail with this stuff, did you know? i like this bulleit brand but it might have a great deal to do with the bottle. i like these bottles and i like them almost as much when they’re empty. pretty water decanters, no? (note: scrub ’em real hard unless of course you enjoy a whiskey aftertaste with your water).

• this is super nice and very thoughtful of blogger Victoria Hudgins of a subtle revelry — she’s compiled 25 romantic fonts that are free to download. how swell is that? thank you victoria! head on over to a subtle revelry for all the individual font links.

• i haven’t seen soap on a rope since sometime in the late seventies, but much like their hotels, if someone was going to make it cool again, ace would be the place. lovingly handcrafted in small batches at Studio J in Portland — on a hand-knotted macramé cord inspired by a rain chain. ace hotels has a super fun line of homewares, accessories and all kinds of gadgets we may not need but really want anyway. i love this pearl + soap chain. i’m having sense memories of old spice or stetson man. or something…lather up and happy weekend!

i’ve been coveting one of these long arm, mid-century modern looking black lamps for some time now. there’s so many variations on these — i think one of serge mouill iconic fixtures would make me happiest of all, but i’d be happy let any one of these bright lights shine their goodness upon me.

clockwise, l to r: jason koharik lamp via lawson-fleming; the serge mouille rotating two-arm wall sconce; the Type 600 counterpoised standard lamp designed and constructed by Rosmarie and Rico Baltensweiler; the serge mouille three-arm floor lamp.

clockwise, l to r: factory satellite from schoolhouse electric; lonngren widell photography; heidi lerkenfeldt photography; wo & wé collection’s Industrial swing wall-mount double arm lamp.

clockwise, l to r: atelier 159 gras lamp; organic modernism aptly-named trilight; serge mouille three-arm wall lamp; and the praying mantis floor lamp from organic modernism.

clockwise, l to r: reid floor lamp from anthropologie; Grasshopper Lamp Black Black-Greta Grossman from atelier 159; and one forty three’s industrial wall lamp.

• top image via helt enkelt.

so, two swell and talented heads have put themselves together and created a really fun new collection. the lovely folks from portland’s schoolhouse electric and san francisco’s own Christine Schmidt of Yellow Owl Workshop have made a fun range of victory inspired goods for the home.

Although Christine works in the field of paint and brush rather than the field of stick and ball, she has championed classic sports emblems in her art. Inspired by the playful yet sophisticated aesthetic of her studio, Yellow Owl Workshop, Schoolhouse Electric contacted Christine to suggest a collaboration. The Victory Regalia collection is the result of their mutual love of award themes and heritage craft. Their teamwork presents a line available at Schoolhouse Electric of victory-inspired goods, including ceramic trophy vases and an original and exclusive line of reimagined letterman patch and pennant pillows.rah!

sometimes you can decorate a room around just one really extraordinary lighting fixture. a beautiful vintage fixture like this one from cafe no hut can literally light up a room, giving you one particularly swell source of inspiration — and then you just take off from there. that one truly unique and special fixture is all you need to make a room smashing, all on its own. here’s a few i’m inspired by.

beautiful blue glass pendant lamp, via weekday carnival.

darcy miller’s home, photographed by Nikolas Koenig for Architectural Digest magazine.

a trio of black drop pendant lamps via lonny magazine.

extra large white floor lamp via archiproducts.

vogue living magazine; margot chandelier from egg collective; the emily and norah suspension lamps from deightfull unique lamps.

muuto pendant lamps, photographed by petra bindel, above and below.

a simple but effective drop pendant lamp via lonny magazine.

did y’all know that schoolhouse electric is selling more than just lovely lighting fixtures? yep, it’s true. schoolhouse has a whole new line of fabulous furniture, home wares and accessories to light up your beautiful life, too. i need several of these items, including that awesome black tufted sofa!

the new schoolhouse collection includes upholstery, poufs, vintage-inspired chairs, bed frames, linens, clocks, wall maps and kitchen and bath ware and much more. schoolhouse is rocking it!

i covet lighting. much like the chairs i collect, i can never have too many lighting fixtures either. and just recently, MCMF turned me on to these amazing edison light blubs — they’re vintage-inspired and they make lighting things up just that much cooler. here’s some lighting i’m coveting right now.

trampoline has some great vintage light fixtures in stock right now, and i like how they look with just the bare bulbs. anthropologie sells the edison bulbs too. this is how they look unlit, and then all lit up, too. pretty, huh? best made also makes this very rad cloth extension cord. i bought this one in black, and i’m trying to figure out a way to rig just a bare edison bulb to it and hang it. any electrical wizards out there with an idea? love the look of this studio with it’s exposed bulbs. what can i say, i like bare bulbs and i cannot lie.

so my lovely friends and sponsor, mid century modern finds, knew i was looking for a vintage task lamp and came across this one for me. i love it, and have been needing something like this so i can read better from bed (nothing quite comforts me like some sloth-like reading in bed). so now i’m just trying to devise a good way to hang it. anna, daniel and i were bantering about some ideas on twitter last night, but i though i’d put the task to you…any good ideas for hanging this above my bed? i’m all ears! but in the meantime, here’s some industrial looking lighting ideas to perhaps inspire you.

clockwise, l to r: great looking industrial floor lamp via red online; pair of industrial cage light wire covers from every eskimo; george nakashima, via what wilson wants; anthropologie’s far & wide wall sconce; home of David Delfin & Gorka Postigo, via yatzer; designer jeremiah brent via apartment therapy; factory 20 industrial globe pendant lamp; and Ephemera Clip via anthropologie.

a very industrial decor, via johanna vintage; a new spin on the party lampshade, via dada; vintage gooseneck from claire ferranti; Gooseneck Industrial Lamp Art Nouveau Style via countryside peddlar; great kitchen lighting via riazzoli; and the beautiful home office of Marie Olsson Nylander.

rebecca wilson ceramic lighting.

i keep stumbling upon some pretty bright stars out there in the area of home lighting design. designers seem to be getting more and more inventive and inspired with their source materials, as well as re-purposing somebody Else’s discards into some beautiful fixtures. porcelain, paper, glass, wire…you name it, they’re creating lighting that truly glows. here’s a look.

one very beautiful Bubble Chandelier by jean pelle.

i think it’s so rad how lighting designer lindsey adelman shares diy tutorials on how to make your own!

and another amazing diy pendant lamp, via poppytalk from bookou.

a fabulous lamp inspired by a cumulus cloud, from ginko studio.

Nellianna’s parchment paper origami pendant lampshade; and alita hanging lamp by former inhabitants.

one of my favorites – sarah foote’s amazing hydrangea lamp.

de Feuilles Pendant Light from clayton gray home. like a big feather duster, only much prettier, and much more fun!

ooooh, look, jane, look! look dick, look! tell skip schoolhouse electric has brand new lamps and they are swell! tell all your pals schoolhouse electric has outdone themselves. everyone will loves these! a mix of hi-tech and low-tech, schoolhouse has great new fixtures out and they couldn’t be cooler!

this etsy shop is just rad. it’s called umbu, and i love her re-purposed pendant lamps, made from recycled paper scraps – like maps, newspaper and magazine pages and even sewing patterns. so creative, and so very pretty. i love the light these umbu lamps give off, and the shapes and patterns the printed paper creates. take a look at umbu. i think you’ll like.