i like you- A Melbourne Design Blog with HEART

The Power of Fans: Why I love Melissa Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Melissa Shoes do a really great job of creating raving fans. Check out this stop-motion animation that was created using 350 thousand post-it notes in São Paulo, Brazil. This art piece was created by 25 artists who worked for five months to create this animation for the launch of the Melissa 'Power of Love' spring/summer 2012 collection. Keep watching and you will soon realise that the art piece is actually made up of 30,000 love messages spontaneously written by Melissa fans.

Be sure to check out the Melissa Shoes Facebook Australia page that was created in August just for Australian fans. Melissa Shoes Australia has been pretty late to get into social media so it will be interesting to see what there plans are for the coming year (they still don't have a twitter page).

Semi Permanent Conference Melbourne 2011

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:08:00 +0000

I'm really excited as Semi-Permanent Conference is coming to Melbourne again on 23rd and 24th September 2011.

The main reason I'm going? To get inspired by all the awesome speakers and the opportunity to connect with like-minded creatives who are attending the conference. Oh, and the event pack which includes the Semi-Permanent book (that all attendees receive) is always really awesome. I remember one year getting a designer qee toy by Parskid made specially for the conference.

Semi-Permanent is a design conference that started in Sydney and has been going for nine years. The speakers come from different disciplines in the design world including film, street art, photography, fashion, animation, illustration, webdesign and more.

This year the speakers include paper engineer Benja Harney, photographer Platon, digital media expert Scott Dadich, artist Kelly Thompson, creative director Kurppa Hosk and advertising agency Droga5.

There really isn't any other conference that I know of in Australia that is quite like it. It is for all creatives- whether you're working at an agency in the industry, a painter, film maker, fashion designer or graphic designer you will take something away from the event that will inspire.

I've been to the Sydney event several times and excited to attend the Melbourne one for the first time. Are you coming along too? Let me know in the comments below as I'm going on my own and would love to meet fellow creatives.

For more details and to purchase tickets: Semi-Permanent Melbourne

57 Ways to Create an Awesome Blog Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:27:00 +0000

How to create and grow a blog is a popular topic. It can be pretty scary putting yourself out there creating your own blog. So how do you make your content interesting and different from other design blogs? Where do you begin if you're totally new to all this? Where do you go to connect with like-minded people? Here are some ideas.

❤ 1. Create your ideal customer avatar. Grace Dobush from Crafty Superstar has a great worksheet to help you with this here. This will help you really define your audience and make it easier to write blog posts. (I found this via Etsy- Thank You!)

❤ 2. Learn how to write great headlines. Copyblogger is where I go to learn how to be a better writer (definitely a work in progress!).

❤ 3. Be yourself and find your authentic writing self.

❤ 4. Align yourself with online design influencers. Learn from them and become friends with them. Comment on their blogs, tweet with them. Just make sure that whatever you have to say would interest them and is adding to the conversation. Here is a great list of online creatives to check out by swissmiss.

❤ 5. Create a blogging calendar and stick to it. Google 'How to create a blogging calendar' and find a free template that suits you. Aim to blog 3-5 times a week.

❤ 6. Create compelling content. Don't worry so much about being professional. Speak human. Write something worth talking about. It's that simple! Read this post: 'On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas' by Jon Morrow.

❤ 7. Tell a story. Tell a good story. Narrative is so important. This will help connect you with others. Many people are afraid to be themselves. Speak for them and they will follow you.

❤ 8. Find 'your people'. The 'right kind of people'. People either like you or they don't. Learn How to Build Your Twitter Tribe.

❤ 9. Just get out there and start connecting! Don't let fear get in the way.

❤ 10. Do 2-3 Guest Blog spots a week on some bigger blogs. This will help expand your audience.

❤ 11. Repeat your tweets several times a day. Don't go overboard though - every few hours is ok. Use a program like SocialOomph to automate your tweets for times when you're asleep.

❤ 12. Find your special niche and make sure you are seen as the expert in that world. The Raw Food Witch and The Goddess Guidebook do this really well.

❤ 13. Find 1000 True Fans. That's all you need.

❤ 14. Start with the 'Why'. Watch this Ted Conference video by Simon Sinek on How great leaders inspire action. This talk will really help you pinpoint your beliefs.

❤ 15. Start a weekly interview series for your blog. This will help grow your blog quicker. People always like to be interviewed and will spread the news to their friends.

❤ 16. Learn a little bit about Search Engine Optimisation. Blog Post Engineering by Dave Doolin really helped me.

❤ 17. Listen to Blogcast FM which is free and offers some great tips by people already succeeding online. April Bowles Olin from Blacksburgbelle offered a lot of great tips in her interview: Taking a One Month Old Blog from 20 to 800 Page Views in a Day.

❤ 18. The communities and forums of places such as Etsy and NEET Magazine are great ways to meet new people.

❤ 19. Meet people from the online world in your hometown. I like to go to social media events in Melbourne such as Social Melbourne Club talks and design conferences such as Semi-Permanent Conference (which is coming up on 23-24 September 2011) to connect with like-minded people.

❤ 20. Try adding a Facebook comments plug-in to your site and see whether this increases traffic.

❤ 21. Start a Facebook Fan Page and add your newsletter sign-up box. Here's an easy tutorial that shows you how to use FBML to create a custom tab on a Facebook Fan Page.

❤ 22. Create an opt-in box on the top right hand corner of your blog. Offer something for free to encourage people to join your mailing list.

❤ 23. Have social media plug-ins on every blog post to make it easy for people to spread the word.

❤ 24. Teach yourself some blog design tricks by following some of the tutuorials over at Pugly Pixel. Lots of tips to make your blog cute here!

❤ 25. Add a Custom Signature to the bottom of each of your blog posts. A great way to personalise your blog.

❤ 26. Here's a great tutorial on how to remove the blogger navigation bar.

❤ 27. Join the Blog Lovin' community which is an easy way for people to follow their favourite blogs.

❤ 28. Pinterest is a new favourite of mine. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows you to collect and share the things that you love. Are you on there too? Let me know!

❤ 29. Create a Gravatar. A Gravatar is the image you see next to a person's profile name when they comment on someone's blog. Now you can have a photo too instead of a blank image.

❤ 30. Learn how to use Google Reader and subscribe to blogs that you want to follow on a regular basis. It's a great place to go for inspiration and to find out about the latest trends.

❤ 31. Comment on lots of blogs every day. At least 3-5 a day. Try and find 1 new blog a week to comment on. Leave thoughtful, relevant comments on small and big blogs.

❤ 32. Join a visual bookmarking site such as We Heart It so that you can store any images and videos that you like for future blog posts.

❤ 33. Share the content of others often. People in turn will do the same in return.

❤ 34. Do a mega group blog post where you invite 30-50 influential bloggers in your niche to contribute a sentence or two about a topic popular to your readers. Just make sure that you make it easy for the blogger to contribute and pick a juicy topic.

❤ 35. Use software such as Tweetadder to help create a large, targeted list of followers on twitter.

❤ 36. 23 Ways To Improve Your Website Google Page Rank and Alexa Ratings

❤ 37. How to write an 'About Me' page for your blog.

❤ 38. How to add a Favicon to your site. A favicon is an image that gets displayed in the address bar of every browser.

❤ 39. Use a web-based service such as Survey Monkey to find out more about your readers. Place the survey somewhere obvious on the front page of your blog.

❤ 40. Find yourself a mentor/ a creative business coach. Ming-Zhu Hii from The Public Studio has really helped me find direction.

❤ 41. Become friends with Google Analytics and track how people get to your blog, how they navigate through your site, and how long they stay on your site.

❤ 42. Create an inner circle of friends online. These are people you talk to regularly on twitter, you retweet their messages and have skype calls with them.

❤ 43. Add a Hello Bar to your website.

❤ 44. Reward participation. Offer giveaways, freebies, discounts and invitations to special events on your blog. Reply to all comments on your blog.

❤ 45. Join the 'Etsy Success' mailing list. I just joined and have been receiving lots of great tips.

❤ 46. Read marketing blogs such as Problogger, Copyblogger, Seth Godin, Marie Forleo and Viperchill and learn from them.

❤ 47. Teach yourself how to integrate searchable words into your content without sounding forced.

❤ 48. Who is your audience? What keeps them up at night? Work out what their biggest problems are and how can you help them.

❤ 49. Do what you do best. You don't have to be on everything and be seen everywhere. It's better to do one or two things really, really well than be mediocre at everything. Play to your strengths.

❤ 50. Find a cause to rally against. Convert browsers into buyers and customers into regulars. Inspire people to love you.

❤ 51. Remember that online media is a two way conversation. Old media, such as tv is passive where we sit and watch. New media invites and demands people to join the conversation and get involved.

❤ 52. Less is often more. Make sure every blog post tells a story simply and clearly.

❤ 53. Always end a blog post with a call to action.

❤ 54. Create a brand. Choose a name that is memorable and a profile avatar that stands out. My brand 'i like you' was chosen because it's friendly and conversational. My logo of a deer knitting is quirky and also let's people know that my blog is about the design world.

❤ 55. Always lead with the best stuff. In the first few sentences of a blog post, give the reader a solid overview of the entire post. Then expand upon that idea in the next few sentences.

❤ 56. How to make your content go viral.

❤ 57. Set up a 'Listening Dashboard'. Use Google Alerts and Social Mention to help you pay attention to your audience. You can also keep an eye on your competition with these tools.

I still have a lot to learn about how to create a cute blog but I'm getting there. If you enjoyed what you read, please tweet it, pass on the link to friends and comment below. I'd love to know what tips you have to share.

Altered Focus: Burma, Human Rights & Skateboarding

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 08:34:00 +0000

I came across this fantastic short film about how 4 British filmmakers explore human rights and the political landscape in Burma through skateboarding. Altered Focus is only 19 minutes long, is beautifully shot on DVCAM & Super 8mm and is now available to watch free online.

Take a peek and let me know what you think in the comments.

Altered Focus: Burma from Hot Knees Media on Vimeo.

Video found via Brainpickings

100 Cups of Tea

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 07:46:00 +0000

I came across a person on Twitter today whose story stopped me in my tracks. 100 Cups is the story of Greg Dion and his quest to meet 100 strangers for tea. In his own words:

"Can something as simple as a cup of tea change your life?

This, if all goes according to plan, will be the story of one young man on a journey of immeasurable importance. A quest to sit down for 100 separate cups of tea, with 100 complete strangers - all with the hope that, well, he might learn a thing or two…"

He then goes on to talk about how he wants to inspire people to be social again. To not be so afraid of one another. Why is it so many of us feel so alone and that it is so hard to have a genuine connection with someone? I struggle with these questions all the time so his blog really resonanted with me.

Check out his blog. 100 cups. Good stuff!

[photo above via 100 cups].

How to make a cape

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:50:00 +0000

Ooh, guess what friends?! I have enrolled in a sewing class where I will be learning how to make my own reversible cape! I mentioned on twitter several times that I was obsessed with capes and own a few (a blog post about my cape collection is coming very soon). I'm also excited, because it will be the first piece of clothing that I will make. Plus, sparkling wine is provided during the class so I think this is my kind of class. Bubbles and capes- This is like a dream come true for me! Lol.

The class is at a really cute store called 'Dear Gladys' in Northcote. I will take photos of my progress as I go along and hopefully get permission to take photos of the classroom and my classmates. Yay! I start this Wednesday. I'll let you know how it goes.

ps. I have been making a few changes to my blog design the last few days. Just want to apologise because I have the wrong facebook 'like' button on my blog posts. I'm getting this rectified and hopefully will have this sorted in the next day or so. In the meantime- if you DO like me, please do like my facebook fan page as I've decided to resurrect it. It's been a bit quiet of late.
Follow my blog with bloglovin

The Babysteps Crafter

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:04:00 +0000

Sorry I've been a bit quiet of late. The last few weeks have been a big learning curve for me. I started learning how to sew and crochet. Today, I had my second sewing class at Thread Den where we learned how to insert zips and buttonholes. I found it a lot harder than my 1st class where we made a purse. It can be quite frustrating when I'm not sure what I'm doing but I've decided to get over my fears and just do it anyways! The teacher was great and very patient with everyone. So that's been a lot of fun. I think I'll feel really happy when I've completed a garment. My ultimate goal? I would love to make my own winter coat.

Tonight I'm continuing my crochet lessons with my mum. I've been watching the 'learn how to make granny squares' videos over at Meet Me at Mike's which are helping me a lot (Thanks Pip!). I am making a scarf which I'll post on here when I'm finished.

In a way it's kind of funny I'm only just starting to learn how to sew and crochet. After all I did own a crafty clothes store in Melbourne up until last year! I think I never thought I could do it and so I never even tried. Silly really, isn't it? So now I'm trying and I'm enjoying the sense of accomplishment I feel when completing a crafty project. ^_^ So to all you people out there that don't think you're crafty- I say GIVE IT A GO! It's all babysteps, baby! Are you learning a new craft? I would love to hear all about it. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Talk soon!

Get Excited and Make Things!

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Guest Blog Post: Doreen Ooi from Neko Nikon

When I moved to Berlin, I found myself unemployed, almost no friends and not knowing the language at all. This was a pretty big shock for me and I became homesick. I missed my friends. I missed being able to communicate with people properly. I hated being cold ALL the time.

So what was my saviour?

My Nikon D3100. I'm not kidding! I started taking photos of everything: street graffiti, exhibitions, concerts. The streets of Berlin are like a work of art – even the crumbliest apartment can look like an installation.

When I got tired of taking photos of buildings I began making pictures of my cat and that slowly became an obsession that developed into my blog, Neko Nikon. Soon my cat pictures were becoming a bit wearisome (who wants to see 29 photos of the same old ginger cat?) so I started advertising for cat subjects. I approached people at the vet. I auditioned for a film and asked a director if I could shoot his cat if he shot me. I even asked a friend who lived in a squat if I could photograph the cats that lived in his building.

As the weather got better, I learnt how to ride a bike for the first time so I could ride to meet my cat subjects. Now, along with cat photography, I'm obsessed with biking. (Berlin is awesome for biking by the way – it's super flat and there are bike lanes everywhere).

Meeting cat owners has been fascinating. Everyone has a really interesting story about their life in Berlin – the people I've met have either been foreigners (I love listening to what drew them to Berlin) or they were true Berliners who were around the Wall came down.

But what I found the coolest thing about doing this project is photographing the cats and capturing their personality. I honestly think cats tell the best stories.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 09:05:00 +0000

[image via Domestikated]

3D Cube Owl Necklace

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:01:00 +0000

3D Cube Owl Necklace
3D Retro TV Screen test necklace / photo stand
Pixel Love Heart Necklace
All by Sydney designer bRainbow.

Best jewellery I've seen in a long time!

1000 Creatives I found in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:16:00 +0000

So two weeks ago I mentioned on my blog that one of my resolutions this year is to discover 1000 New Creatives Online. By 'creatives' I mean anyone/ anything online whether it's a blog, musician, new website, crafty person on twitter, an artist blog, a handmade shop on etsy etc. It could just be a new idea, new art by an artist I already know. As long as it's someone/ something new to me in 2011. I'm hoping you can all help me along my journey and suggest on the comments below a website, song, blog, video, online store or creative individual I should check out. Every Monday I will list any new creatives I discover and enjoy on my blog and will 'countdown' my list to keep me on track.

992. Ok, so most of you have probably already heard of the handmade greatness of crochet extraordinare Yokoo. But have you seen this amazing short film by Etsy featuring Yokoo?

991. The food styling of Angela Hardison has me inspired to eat healthy.

990. Olo is a tiny, beautiful fragrance line based in Portland. Each scent is hand blended in limited edition batches. Love the idea of the combination of leather and lavender.The branding took my breath away too.

989. You are my fave. Cool name. Cool Blog.

988. 60 bucks well spent. A great table makeover at Frecklewonder.

987. Lovely art by Spanish artist Carmen Segovia. [via Design Makes Me Blush]

986. Before I Die. A public installation by artist Candy Chang in her hometown in New Orleans. [via Design Crush]

985. Scrabble for Typography lovers. I'm in LUST with this! via Flavorwire.

984. Crossword Puzzle Wrapping Paper [via Swissmiss] designed by Fabio Milito and Francesca Guidotti.

983. The Roomance dress by Me and Oli. Their other items are stunning too. Have a look at this 'Bird in the hand' dress.

982. Homako's jewellery is quirky and are great statement pieces.

981. I'm loving the cut of the coats and well, basically everything by Melbourne fashion designer, Preaps and Coutts.

980. Loving this interview The Design Files did with new Melbourne store Dagmar Rousset.

979. Check out the home of Eline Pellinkhof. Lots of personal style. [via Bloesem]

978. I haven't been on designers Kozyndan's website for awhile. I took a peek yesterday and was rewarded with new panorama print's such as 'The Best Sushi in Town' and 'Nakano in Spring'.

977. Australian Designer James Cape is heading to New York with a working visa. He designed this portfolio to showcase his work. [via Australian INfront]

976. The Ride Sydney Experiment. A great example of a cute viral video designed to generate excitement for a new concept bicycle store in Sydney. [via Australian INfront]

975. Inspired by Iceland. All tourism ads should be like this one from Iceland. Wow! via Swissmiss

974. These Printable paper cameras by Aussie girl Mel Stinger aka. Girlie Pains are available in a rainbow assortment of colours. What a great idea! [via Making it lovely]

Memories of The Earth's Cutest Retail Store

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:09:00 +0000

Did you know that several years ago I owned a store before 'i like you'? It was called 'Curious Eidolon'and I called it 'The Earth's Cutest Retail Store'. I stocked all these cute kawaii products, art prints and brands such as Threadless, Kozyndan, Kidrobot, James Jean prints and Ugly Dolls. My favourite thing that we stocked were these limited edition crochet Star Wars characters. I had a lot of fun organising in-store art exhibitions and parties and stocking artists and designers that I loved. The parties were pretty crazy and I would have themes for them such as a kawaii dress up party, the butchered christmas show (we had plush meat toys showcased at our front window display) and a fun Halloween 'horror ball' themed party. Nearly every party included free cupcakes. One time, a customer made 120 cupcakes for a shop party- and customised all the guests names on the cupcakes! It's a little bit embarassing looking back at the pics now because everything is sooo cute- even for me! LOL. Anyways, I thought I'd post these pics I just found in a shoebox in my room. Fun days!

I love this town.

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:59:00 +0000

As Annily Green the designer of this awesome letterpress poster says, "It's true....I love this town. Do you love yours? Then shout it from the wall-tops!".

i like you... Zakka Nouveau

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:25:00 +0000

The rain drop prints and colour palette of these tea towels by Zakka Nouveau are truly lovely. They are all lovingly hand screenprinted with soy-based ink in Los Angeles. There are also some great bento bags in their store.

Carl Sagan/ egyptian revolution mashup

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:06:00 +0000

More Origami Bird Crane Lust

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 06:23:00 +0000

How awesome is this Birdshade made of paper cranes in a variety of colors and patterns. I'm obsessed. Lol! This bird lamp is sold on a Dutch design store called Tas-Ka.

[image 1 and shop info found via 'The Things I Like/ Love/ Love'. All other images via Tas-Ka].

Origami Bird Crane Necklaces

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 07:21:00 +0000

Doreen just moved to Berlin December last year and is probably my only close friend who is into design blogs and handmade crafty things- and totally gets why origami is so cool (she has origami tattoos on her arm!). This is for you Doreen- Miss you! P. x

[image above by Phi via Urple]

1000 New Creatives

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 12:03:00 +0000

One of my resolutions this year is to discover 1000 New Creatives Online. By 'creatives' I mean anyone/ anything online whether it's a blog, musician, new website, crafty person on twitter, an artist blog, a handmade shop on etsy etc. As long as it's someone/ something new to me. I'm hoping you can all help me along my journey and suggest on the comments below a website, song, blog, video, online store or creative individual I should check out. Every Monday morning I will list any new creatives I discover and enjoy on my blog and will 'countdown' my list to keep me on track.

1000. The Unreasonable Institute
A really cool organisation that gives high-impact entrepreneurs wings. The 2011 season has only just begun and finalists are being chosen as we speak so it will be interesting to watch the journeys of the chosen recipients.

999. Say 100
100 voices shaping opinions online, curated by 10 experts in their field.

998. Unhappy Hipsters
It's lonely in the modern world. This is great!

997. Nerd Boyfriend
Nerd Boyfriend posts pics of stylish male actors + musicians and shows you how to replicate their look.

996. Pretty Little Thieves
Etsy store selling cute art. LOVE the name and the 2011 calendar.

995. The Generation An Etsy store from Canada selling fabulous eco-friendly handmade, vegan shoes.

994. Polkadot Magpie What caught my attention in this newish Etsy store are the fun, colourful bunting necklaces.

993. Tallest Man on Earth Beautiful, heartfelt acoustic music by Swedish native, Kristian Matsson aka. the Tallest Man on Earth.

[image 1 at the beginning of the post is via Pretty Little Thieves. image 2 above is via The Polkadot Magpie].

Frankie Magazine Love: Interviews, Big Ideas and Song Dedications

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:00:00 +0000

www.frankiemag.com.au

Inside the Artist's Studio: Dalek

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:28:00 +0000

The cutest music video ever!

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:41:00 +0000

This is the cutest acoustic cover version of 'Home' (Edward Sharpe) by a father and daughter. Enjoy!

Caravan Girl

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:03:00 +0000

So the image above is from Lily Allen's music video clip 'The Fear'. The song has been out for awhile now but today was the first time I watched the video clip. You can watch it here just below. Love all the pastel colours, cupcakes, dancing waiters and balloons. I'm especially loving the caravan at the beginning of the song. How awesome would it be to get a caravan (hopefully with no rust!) and do it up. I've never seen one with pastel colours like this.

Do What You LOVE: Kristin Hove

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:40:00 +0000

I first found out about Kristin Hove via Pip from Meet Me at Mike's who mentioned her cookbook, 'Collected' on her facebook page. I immediately went onto Kristin's website and fell in love with all the beautiful food photos, clever recipe ideas and the stories behind them. Kristin answered some questions for us below.

1. Tell us about 'Collected'. What made you decide to publish your own cookbook and the story behind the name?
Collected is a book with recipes and some handy tips from friends that I've met along the way. The name Collected is about collecting something from people that I've connected with and who have inspired me. My goal for this book was to make something dedicated to these people, and to capture the memories for myself. I didn't really plan to publish it, just to print a few copies for friends and family. It's all very exiting that other people like the concept.

2. What type of recipes can we expect to find in your cookbook?
You will find salads, soups, stews, desserts and nibbles, all from my friends favourite recipes. They are fun and practical and good for busy bees.

3. What's been your favourite thing and biggest lesson/s from creating your own cook book?
My favourite thing was to learn photography and to be able to convert ideas into something real. There has been a lot of lessons learnt while making this book, e.g. that things take longer than you expect, and that simple is often better.

4. What inspires you?
I get inspired from movies, a day in the city, untraditional polaroid and film photography, the Frankie magazine, food blogs like Sweet Paul and Sunday Suppers, hidden bars and restaurant with a concept and a soul, creative music videos and people's ideas and thoughts.

5. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
Maybe a cool artist like Lykke Li or Karen O

6. Have you any plans (personal or business) that you can share with us about your future plans/ goals/ lifetime goals?
In the future I would love to be able to keep creating and to explore new things. My goal is to stay happy and keep doing things that I love!

My blog is on www.kristinhove.com
The book is on sale at www.collected.no
My e-mail is kristin@kristinhove.com

Kristin's cookbook can be found on sale online at collected and through selected bookstores.

Kristin kindly provided the recipe for "Kladdkaka" below which is from the Collected Cookbook.

Hardly Baked “Kladdkaka"
from Johanna
makes 9

Since Johanna left Sweden she has been trying to find the perfect “kladdkaka”, a Swedish chocolate cake. She has been unsuccessful and the solution was to bake it herself, and I’m lucky enough to be able to share the recipe here with you - Kristin

100g butter
4 tbsp cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour

Melt the butter and add cocoa. Stir until smooth. Add the sugar, eggs and flour, stir until the mixture is even. Pour the mixture into 9 baking cups and bake in the middle of the oven on 200oC for about 11 minutes. The middle of the cake should still be creamy. Let the cakes cool, then put them in the freezer. Take them out about 10 minutes before serving. This way the cake is still creamy but stays together.
Serve with kiwi, berries and ice cream. Yummy!

Brooklyn, I love you

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:44:00 +0000

These cameras were found lying on the pavement on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg. Pretty cool, hey.

We saw these girls with their dogs at 2am outside a bar called Lucky dog near our apartment. They were lovely enough to let us take a photo.

Haha. Bedford Ave is the Fitzroy of Brooklyn. Full of indie kids!

Pot plants on a staircase in Fort Greene

Check out this cute window in Red Hook

How To Be Alone

noreply@blogger.com (i like you) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Cute video by filmaker, Andrea Dorfman, and poet/singer/songwriter, Tanya Davis. Tanya wrote the sweet poem and acted in the video while Andrea directed, shot, animated by hand and edited.
tanyadavis
andreadorfman