Tangential Fridays | issue 001
design shops, books, and another really great newsletter
It’s Friday, which means I pick the best of this week’s tangential meanderings and pass them onto you.
Our journey begins at Mouthwash Studio, a strategy and design shop based in LA. I’m legit shocked I didn’t know of them before and have gone deep on all their work. They’ve done a SLEW of cool projects with smaller creative companies making cool shit. Some favorites:
Woset - who ‘makes creative tools for endless imagination’ primarily for children but I’d roll out a set of these building blocks, wine in hand, any night. Their website is sure to bring joy to your heart. / Incidentally, the blocks were designed by Waka Waka, yet another v skilled maker whose site was designed by Mouthwash, which probably deserves a whole-ish post but in the meantime, look at this chair. PS: The toys are made from scrap wood from their furniture production. (face melting emoji)
Left: Double Cylinder Rocker by Waka Waka. Right: Not me playing with blocks designed by Waka Waka. The Museum of Peace and Quiet - ‘a contemporary fashion label committed to a clear state-of-mind, enabling you to focus on what matters by designing simplistic objects and apparel for every day use’. The genius here lies in their name, and furthermore, the museum page on the site, which at first I thought was incomplete, and then I realized was the most perfect concept ever.
Ombia Studio - a ‘handbuilt sculptural ceramics and design studio’ with one of the more beautiful and engaging home pages I’ve seen in a bit… a perfect intro to her deeply creative objects (see gorge table and lamp).
Ombia Studios Columnar Side Table and Lamp 01 The—Brand Identity: A site I often visit but hadn’t bothered to check on who designed it. A tangent-maker in its own right, but my segue to their book, Interviews Volumes one and two, where they chat with designers and more, which I really really want, but will wait to buy till I’ve read one I already have of the same vein.
Left: The Interviews Volume One; Right: Not my hands opening Studio Culture Now, which I'm committing to reading this weekend. And finally, I low-key stalked (aka: researched) my way to Mouthwash co-founder’s newsletter: Common Discourse, which I now excitedly follow, and you should too.
Common Discourse #094. Image by Masha Dmitrowa.
This is where I will end my tangent, because Common Discourse has a WEALTH of links to click, all weekend long, like this design manifesto by Sister Corita Kent or this oldie-but-goodie by the De Stijl group. to go with your Saturday morning coffee. Afterward, follow their mouth-watering find and peruse the Judd Library sans the drive to Marfa. And may I suggest a final weekend treat: get yourself over to your favorite local bookstore, where IRL links abound.
Have a lovely one,
xx- Christie
Lost Vocabularies is a weekly-ish newsletter dedicated to the pursuit of creativity. It’s pretty much free, but your support is, of course, always appreciated.