STUDIO ESINAM PRINTS

 as you know, i am currently obsessing over anything that was born/made/thought of in the country called sweden. and i do love a good print. add to that a graphic architectural detail and you have made hena a very happy person. studio esinam is a graphic studio based in goteborg and they create fabulous stories through their unique graphics and characters which define the sense of space they portray in their work. i feel their prints are not literal but the interpretation of the artist who saw certain aspects of the city or space in a very unique way. i wonder what i would create if i were to define a certain landscape into something abstract. maybe that can be on my "to do" summer list along with "draw saad's portrait". i digress. their drawings are a study of facades and details of buildings and spaces we might have seen but in these prints you get a sense of paired down simplicity. and what beautiful, crisp styling.

  their work is divided into three sections: stories, prints and space. in the own words below.

prints

in our first print series elevations, we seek to capture the unique feeling of various cities around the world. cities that most of us have some kind of relation to, but probably haven’t seen in the format of the architectural drawing. by studying the façades, directing attention to details that mostly pass unnoticed, we hope to touch upon qualities to the architecture that contribute to the specific feeling the city imposes on you. when working with this series we try to let the craftsmanship of the drawing itself be the creative drive,allowing for new perspectives to arise along the way. Not so much working with intellectual concepts of what we think about the city, but rather just freely exploring one aspect of it, in this case its façade.the prints can be purchased in our web shop or through retailers around the world.

stories

in this section we explore interesting spaces and buildings around us through short stories. the first story will be posted in june 2014. Every new story will focus on a different aspect of space and architecture. 

the studio was founded by art director and architect duo Josefine Lilljegren and Sebastian Gokah

in the spring of 2013. see more here!

i hope you all are enjoying this gorgeous (cool) summer weather. 

have a great weekend!

xo

HM

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

so, after months of procrastinating i am finally pulling the gun and starting my very own blog. this year has flown by and i just realized it is may and my new year resolution to finally start a design/lifestyle blog is still on the "to do list" for the new year. right there with "lose 15 pounds" and "start yoga". so here I go, diving into this sea of awe-inspiring world of the blog-sphere. there. done. this was not too hard and i suddenly feel totally unstoppable!!

a little about me:

i am a design graduate and working in this exciting and inspiring Chicago Interior design industry. I have a secret love affair with vintage markets and flea bazaars. I like to cook mostly vegetarian or pescatarian food and obsess over natural remedies for every ailment known to mankind. my favorite number is 8 (don't ask why). i grew up in lahore, pakistan and have lived in london, uk until I made my home here in chicago with my partner in crime, saad. i have a very special bond with the city of new orleans and secretly have a suitcase packed and ready to visit whenever possible, which happens every year in december. hiking, biking, early morning runs, lazy winter evenings reading, photography, street festivals, off the beaten path travels, vintage markets, drum circles, chicago bulls, ethiopian/korean/himalayan/vietnamese and somali food are some of the joys of my life.


i have learned a great many things from saad and one of those is making lists. well, okay- so i am not as good at it as he is. even though my lists are not as detailed, they do keep me in check. so for my very first post, here is a list of some of the things i will be sharing with you.

1. all things related to design, architecture, artists and their art, craftsmanship,  home, design, home, design, home, and design. (no, this is not a typo)

2. all recipes vegetarian/pescatarian and healthy that i might cook or find or see or hear off. along with  natural "fixes" for everyday bubus.
3. all things Chicago, the never ending supply of energy and inspiration it supplies-even on a very very very cold day. (no i am not high and yes i do find love in the heaps of snow we get each year), the street and music festivals, jazz bands, divey music bars, exhibits, new shops, old shops and the ever evolving chicago food scene.
4. sharing the love of small moments. the quiet moments where you look away for a second and upon looking back you realize how lucky you are to be present at that very spot, at that very specific moment. this happened to me yesterday and it is pure bliss.
5. the joy of road trips and getting lost in america's hidden cities and towns.

6. "trying" to be a more conscious earth dweller. maybe it is because i am married to a guy who is in the business of renewable energy and supplies me with ample scares of where we, as a planet are heading, or maybe i am a person who has eyes and ears and a brain that has told me about how this planet needs us now more than any time before. so lets make this our number 1 (or two) priority so we can leave some oxygen and those leafy things called trees and that lovely thing called marine life for our future generations. no, i am not trying to be sarcastic. let's make our carbon foot print smaller. please.

7. trekking and hiking and panting all the way up to high high mountain peaks and the joys it brings (even though i am known to be unpleasant during those climbs, yes i might have cussed a couple of times in our last trip up the great machu pichu and 4 days is along time to hear me complain. kudus to saad. (I hadn't showered for 4 days and was missing the joys of modern day plumbing just a tiny bit. you get the picture) but i speak the truth when i say this. it is a joy like no other.

all this and hopefully so much more- basically, the rantings of an average lifeaholic. i hope to be posting tons of pictures of pretty spaces, pretty people and pretty things-with that a whole lot of unsolicited advice. hey, its my blog, so what can you do!

 

  

these pictures are a few from my chiberia 2014 collection.

 so here is to a journey of inspiration, fascination and some amazing discoveries made along the way.

 have a fabulous week! 

 xo
 hm