Category: WOW

Renowned for its world-class collection and dedication to preservation, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood offers a nostalgic look at Great Britain’s cultural heritage. Recently, the institution loaned a dozen of its prized dollhouses to the National Building Museum in Washington DC for a special show titled Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse.

The exquisite exhibition features twelve dollhouses, offering a range of “country mansions, the Georgian town house, suburban villas, newly-built council estates, and high-rise apartments.” The miniature homes are curated chronologically to represent a period of 300 years and highlight the changing tastes and defining styles of each period. Complete with mini figurines, tiny furniture, and even original wallpaper—as in the case of the beautiful Tate Baby House (a delightful dwelling from 1760). Expertly crafted, beautifully designed, and demonstrating a high attention to detail, each residence proves that dollhouses are so much more than mere toys.

Small Stories has made itself at home at the National Building Museum—a site dedicated to “telling the stories of architecture, engineering, and design”—where it will reside until January 22, 2017.

National Building Museum: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram 
via [Arch Daily]

All images via Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Using nothing but everyday newspaper, expert paper artist Chie Hitotsuyama crafts realistic, exquisitely detailed sculptures of the animal kingdom.

To create each creature, Hitotsuyama skillfully binds rolled and twisted pieces of wet newspaper to each other. By varying the thickness and contours of the paper, she is able to precisely produce any figure she desires—from an animated little monkey to a resting rhinoceros. She even utilizes the colored print on newspapers to create impressive gradations. The process is completed entirely by hand, and requires a tremendous amount of paper prowess.

While the Japanese artist has obviously honed her craft, her passion for her subject matter goes beyond the artistic side of her work. “More than anything else, I’m particular about the realistic feel of the animals,” she told Kokusai Pulp & Paper. “Animals that live in nature are equal to us in the sense that we live together on this planet. Sometimes they sleep. Sometimes they eat. They are living ordinary everyday lives just like us. I would like [to] keep insisting on reality and producing my life-sized work as much as possible in order to convey their lives.”

Scroll down to watch Paper Trails, a short documentary of Hitotsuyama’s work, presenting an up-close and personal study of her striking sculptures.

Chie Hitotsuyama: Website | Facebook
via [Colossal]

All images via Chie; Hitotsuyama.

A shopping bag is the perfect opportunity for a brand to advertise—it’s like a walking billboard. Memorable designs stick with us—like Bloomingdale’s iconic Little Brown Bag—that could influence buying decisions later in time. Designers Junho Lee and Hyun Chul Choi have achieved this level of memorability with their recent promotional concept for LEGO.

The playful bag is nearly as fun as the product itself, and it features the plastic hands of LEGO minifigures as the handles of the bag. While carrying it, you look as though your own hands have been transformed into the characters’ iconic yellow “claws.”

This ingenious bag design even looks like a LEGO block. Clad in red, the square-shaped sack features an allover-graphic pattern of raised circles, like you could stick an accompanying piece directly onto it. The bright yellow u-shaped minifig forms are attached to the top of the sack, and they conceal fabric handles inside—this is what you grip onto as the plastic pieces cover your wrist, making you, momentarily, part human and part LEGO figurine.

Junho Lee: Website
Hyun Chul Choi: Website
via [designboom]

Over the past several years, Seth Casteel has found his niche as a photographer who captures adorably energetic images of dogs swimming underwater. Building on his cute animal portrait empire, he’s just released Pounce, an equally-as-endearing book that showcases rescue cats and kittens jumping and playing with the greatest of ease.

The more than 70 previously-unpublished photographs are a hilarious and heartfelt reveal of just how silly felines can be. As they barrel through the air, Casteel captures them in an up-close point of view—the incredible leaps gain serious height and make them look like tiny superheros. Some cats, too, are naturally more dramatic and offer goofy expressions that are sure to make you crack a smile with personalities that are bigger than they are.

Pounce is now available for sale through Amazon.

Pounce: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | IndieBound
Seth Casteel: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Seth Casteel.

Creative duo Mathurin Hardel and Cyril Le Bihan comprise Hardel + Lebihan Architects—a Paris-based architectural team that dabbles in the design of offices, hotels, educational facilities, and unique and modern homes, like Maison DDD. 

The 250-square-meter private flat is located in Paris’ 20th arrondissement. Though its aesthetic is classically minimalist, it features a unique and imaginative twist: a cantilever table that seamlessly emerges from the boards of hardwood floors. At first, this design may sound impossible, but the apartment’s layout is perfectly suited for such an inventive accent.

While the open-plan kitchen and living room are adjacent to one another, the former is slightly lower than the latter. Situated in a cozy nook, the kitchen is accessible via a tiny flight of stairs. Once inside the alcove, the floor of the living room is at perfect tabletop height—so Hardel + Lebihan simply extended it! The result is a one-of-a-kind, site-specific dinner table that is as avant-garde as it is practical.

Hardel+LiBihan Architects: Website 
via [Contemporist]

All images via Camille Gharbi.

You might be familiar with the boudoir photo, a type of female portrait that’s typically captured in the privacy of her bedroom. There’s a men’s version of this sexy photoshoot, however, and it’s appropriately called “dudeoir.” Often, it’s a cheeky gift for loved ones and is never meant to see the light of the internet. Oklahoma City-based photographer Sarah Hester collaborated with model Zachary Howell to put a fun and “geeky” twist on the genre—and it’s definitely a series the world needs to see.

Howell bears a striking resemblance to Harry Potter, and this likeness was the basis for Hester’s recent photoshoot. Shirtless and holding a wand, Howell channels his inner schoolboy wizard but with a grown-up spin. The portraits are suggestive but not too revealing, capturing the spirit and fun of a dudeior. Although it looks serious—like at any moment “Harry” could cast a spell—Hester said that the shoot was a lot of fun. “I was really uncomfortable because I don’t typically shoot men,” she recalled to BuzzFeed. “Zach made it easy. I had a crew of amazing people helping out for the shoot. We all had an absolute blast! I have never laughed so much while shooting.”

The idea for the dudeior came organically. “I met Zach at a meetup I held at the studio for local photographers,” Hester said. “He’s a photographer and a model. I started calling him ‘Harry’ because I could NOT remember his name. I jokingly asked if he would be willing to shoot a Harry Potter boudoir session and he was into the idea! We set up the shoot for a week later.”

Now that she’s photographed a hunky Harry, Hester isn’t stopping there—she’s got a few more of these nerdy shoots up her sleeve.

Sarah Hester Photography: Website | Instagram | Facebook
via [BuzzFeed]

As the leaves continue to change color and the snow inevitably starts to fall, it’s clear that TV binge-watching season is upon us. And what better way to celebrate this cold-weather season than with a warm blanket? Online shop The Burrow has crocheted a playful alternative to a rectangular covering with their cozy mermaid tail. Handcrafted with optimal-snuggling in mind, the blanket is sleeping-bag style and allows you to crawl inside of it. Once in, you’re now half human, half mermaid (or merman).

This fantasy-inspired decor is large enough to comfortably fit most adults. The “body” of the tail—where your legs go—measures about 60-inches long. So, you’ll have more than enough extra material to pull up to your chin and enjoy the occasional nap on the couch.

The mermaid tail blanket is available in a variety of colors and now for sale on Etsy.

The Burrow: Etsy | Instagram
via [So Super Awesome]

As a child, Felix Hernandez had a huge imagination, locking himself in his room for hours to play with his toys. Now, the Cancun-based photographer and digital artist is putting that playtime to use by creating stunningly realistic photographs using scale models and ingenious camera angles. Hernandez worked to create a series of images for Audi that highlight the luxury brand’s R8 sports car, which typically retails for about $160,000.

Rather than splashing out on a full-scale car and set requirements, Hernandez was able to create the desired effects using a scale model that cost only $40. “I shoot my models in my studio with studio flashes,” explains Hernandez. “It’s similar to shooting a product, but again, if you want to give the sense of realism you have to think in the scale. I take lighting principles and apply them to a smaller scale.”

With an innovative imagination and some advanced planning, Hernandez achieves big results. Taking us all behind the scenes, he shares his thought process about digital manipulation in the finished photographs. “I love photo manipulation and digital art, but what’s really cool is doing as much as you can in-camera. For snow scenes, I use wheat flour. For desert scenes, I use corn flour. For atmosphere, I add smoke. For rain, I spray water. For droplets, I add corn syrup.”

Check out these finalized and work-in-progress shots to gain a glimpse behind the curtain, and fully appreciate the artistry. Want to dabble in scale model photography yourself? Hernandez also teaches workshops in Mexico and abroad.

Finished Photographs

Behind the Scenes

Felix Hernandez: Website | Facebook | Behance
via [PetaPixel]

If the wedding dress and suit still fit, wear it again! Though it might seem unlikely, just ask Jim and Carole-Ann Stanfield—they celebrated their 50th year together in the same clothes they wore on their October 1, 1966 wedding. It was their granddaughter, Hayley, who first encouraged them to go into the attic where the dress and suit were collecting dust.

Hayley had originally wanted to see their wedding photos, but then she spotted her grandmother’s delicate wedding dress. “[She] insisted we put them on but I said no, they’d been in the loft and they were dusty and smelly,” Carole-Ann told The Telegraph. “She begged and pleaded so we did it for her – we were gobsmacked when we discovered they still fit perfectly!”

With svelte figures and a burning love for each other, the Stanfields have much to celebrate. It was 54 years ago that they met at the men’s club where Jim worked. Carole-Ann shared what first attracted them to the other: “Jim loved my big blonde hair, and I loved his humor—he is such a comedian and always makes me laugh.” When asked what their secret to marital success, she lists laughter as a necessity. “We have very different interests and hobbies, but the laughter is what keeps us strong.”

The Stanfields recently celebrated their golden anniversary with a party—complete with friends, fitted wedding garb, memories, and laughter. They embark on their “second” honeymoon to Turkey in the coming months.

The happy couple just married in 1966

50 years later, they’re still a perfect fit!

via [Mashable]

All images via SWNS.