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Today is Photo Show day, Photo Show day, Photo Show day! We're thrilled and excited for tonight, for our photographers, and for you to see all the amazing work that's gone into this. So we're putting in the finishing touches with - psst, follow us on Twitter if you want a peek. But we can't wait to see you tonight!

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How great is this? Nilda is the featured Style Crush over at New Brahmin. Read all about her fantastic beauty secrets, personal style, and what it means to be Latina Chic. *g* (Photo credit, Boldfacers)

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This week, in the lives of all of us at PHI, it's finishing prep for our very first photo show which, if anything, we're all incredibly thrilled for. Michelle had a little adventure on Thursday, getting her work organized with Mark, and as you can see the PHI mobile is nothing short of a fabulous model for a sneak peek of the results. There's so much to do today - last minute prep work, a few meetings, setting up for the event tomorrow, a getaway shopping trip to H&M - I kid. You're going to see all of in the South End, for sure.

We're really excited and looking forward to seeing everybody there. We have such a strong and diverse group of photographers that we're so thrilled to be able to share with you - and we're all very proud to host this show and without doubt, looking forward to the next quarter for our next one. So remember, there's still time to RSVP for tomorrow night here if you're interested in coming. And follow us on Twitter, while you're at it, today's going to be a fun day to chronicle.

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A happy Friday and a happy Father's Day weekend to all the dads. This Friday Favorites' entry is going to start off with such an easy favorite - one for both Nilda and myself. Zoe Joan Sweeney. A huge congratulations to her for graduating today from sixth grade, being a brilliant and amazing girl, and for getting ready to start the next phase of her life. Nilda, in her own words, would like to say:

"My friday favorite is easy this week... Zoe Joan Sweeney. A huge congratulations to the most beautiful girl in the world. So proud of her accomplishments. She has made motherhood fun, exciting and culturally relevant. Everything is a teaching moment, even Rihanna + Chris Brown."

This photo was shot by the amazing Cheryl Richards, whose work can be seen here.

Other favorites?

DAUCUS CAROTA. Graphic design guru Jess Sutton is one of our favorite girls (and favorite go-to-girl!) and her blog is full of wonderful, gorgeous inspirations that you can't help but check in on every day. It's a delightful experience and if there's anything that I love, it's beautiful, beautiful pictures of lovely things!

M.I.A. So we'll call this favorite, a favorite future curiosity. M.I.A. drops her third album Maya on July 13 and if you haven't already seen the controversial music video for her new song "Born Free" or read up on her battle with the New York Times and journalist Lynn Hirschberg (and that not-so-flattering article), you know this album is going to be nothing short of incredibly fascinating. And let's face it - she's never boring.

DANCING IN VHS. This speaks for itself in more ways than one. Still have old VHS tapes? I'm pretty sure there's a Disney collection somewhere in my house, but such a cool pieces from Scianca - a dress made from VHS bands. Check it out.

WORK OF ART. And this is going to be called the Work-In-Progress favorite. But if you haven't, you should turn into BRAVO's Work of Art because, if anything, it's a fascinating experiment in seeing if reality television and art are two worlds that are somehow compatible. So far? I'm being won over. This second episode features the likes of Jon Kessler, who I love, love, love. (Yes, I'll tell you again. LOVE.) I've definitely committed myself to blogging about it every week - so if you're watching it, let me know.

THE MINISTRY OF DESIGN. The Club Hotel in Singapore is a very cool project by the design studio that looks like it got lost in Alice In Wonderland or in A Clockwork Orange. There's a lot of humor, a lot of play, despite the monochrome scheme. The pictures are wonderful.

A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE for these vintage milk bottle caps. I know what you're thinking. You're going that small? Yes, yes I am. Design Sponge, another favorite of ours, has a really neat entry on how to take vintage milk bottle caps and turn them into magnets for your refrigerator. It's easy to think about things in really big pieces and sometimes small pieces, but a lot of the times, those cool details get lost in the bigger picture. So check this out!

DESIGN FOR MANKIND. One of the telling signs of a great blog is when you're able to get such a wonderful mix of inspirations whether it's photography or art and a day-to-day peek into what it is that the blogger does. Design For Mankind is such a favorite of mine - it's clean, the photos are gorgeous, and the content is cool and pulls from really great aspects of design, and is always such a joy to read.

LENS. In honor of our photo show on Tuesday, it's only appropriate to have a great photo blog. There's a lot of the New York Times that is easy to like and a lot of it not to like. But one of the great things that they do have going on for them is Lens, their photography blog where they feature a variety of photographers that are inspired and shoots all different walks of life. It's easy to spend a ton of time exploring!

And speaking of favorites and photos -

Our show. Tuesday, June 22nd. It's from 6:00-9:00pm at 1409 Washington Street, in the South End. Look for great work, great company, and fabulous food and rink. Let us know if you're coming here!

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This enameled Benjamin Saaflux factory shade was salvaged and restored by skinflintdesign and is a piece of history, circa 1930. These shades would have been seen hanging over manual production lines - neat, huh?

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So, okay. You continue to win me over, Work of Art. I mean, if anything, you can't argue that seeing some part of someone's creative process is ultimately one of the most fascinating things ever. It's the positive side of reality television (although, one can launch into an entire tirade about why it isn't, etc, etc) and I think for me, personally, there's just something great about seeing a show like this providing a platform for art and allowing it to have a much more public forum.

And of course, they bring in Jon Kessler and my love of this show continues to grow. Anyway this week's challenge is to make an interesting sculpture out of found objects - or well, junk. The studio erupts in a really form of contained chaos where you're suddenly seeing who's really taking the idea to heart, how they understand it, and who's struggling. I wonder sometimes how time really plays into this - think about, a television show is cut and edited so that we, the audience, are drawn into this crazy web of suspense. There's no time limit to art, but then again, we're only at the second episode and we've barely scratched the surface what's apparently ahead.

It also further convinces me that Nilda and Michelle could do a show like this and make everybody else eat their dust. I know, I know. Bias meet readers. Readers meet my bias. I don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't seen the episode, but Jerry Saltz continues to be my favorite judge, probably since he reminds me a little bit of my mother and because his blog is hysterical. And this week's winners are interesting picks as well as the artist who ends up going home and who, now thinking about it, I can imagine myself seeing his piece at the ICA and just shrugging my shoulders - despite my reaction of OMGREALLYWTF? In that order.

And by the way? I still want China Chow's closet.

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A woman in Malibu builds her dream home out of a recycled 747. I kid you not. Read one of the articles about it here. How you get a 747 out of wanting your house to be eco-friendly and feminine, I don't know, but the house is very green and the woman, Francie Rehwald is being contacted by people who have researched the tail number - from passengers to flight attendants, etc. There's no such thing as too big or small.

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Some more excellent links!

Our favorite, The Urban Hound, is being featured over at another one of our favorites, by the wonderful ladies at New Brahmin. Read here.

Be sure to head over to The Urban Hound's website as well where you check out their great membership package deals, running for a limited time. And of course, there's the blog where every Monday, UH will feature a weekly steal with great coupons.

You can see The Urban Hound at the SOWA Open Markets on July 11th as well. Make sure you stop and say hello! You'll get some great information about the hotel and daycare. You'll also be able to see some training demonstrations and of course, be able to win some great prizes from a raffle they'll be having. Check their blog out!

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I have to admit it takes me a little while to think of catchy titles. I think that issue heads back to Freshman composition class (ugh, you don't even know!) where were told that for the rest of our university career and as English majors, titling things is MANDATORY. Just like that. Caps and all.

So to keep in vain with that tradition and to avoid countless of puns (also learned in that class, puns not avoiding puns), it's time for some design news and odds and ends:

The Guggenheim and YouTube are partnering to find the next and greatest in video art. How cool is that? Beginning Monday, anyone who as access to any sort of video equipment or a simple camera and a computer will be able to vie for a place in a video-art exhibition in October at all the Guggenheim Foundation's museums.

Be sure to definitely take a peek at Sam Songailo's art, which is heavily influenced by design, electronic music, technology, and futuristic aesthetics. Media Centre is Songailo's first major installation. The photos of the installation are tremendous.

And to round this out, a bit of an interesting blurb on bloggers. Ad Blogger Jumps the Fence is about Mathew Van Hoven, who was the head of a mediabistro blog called Agency Spy and how he's now been hired as the Communications director for Skinny, an NY-based agency. It's a cool read.

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A really cool article about Design Miami/Basel's exhibition, "Renaissance: The Last Dance at the Cross." It commemorates the recent demise of three underground dance club in London - Bagleys, the Key, and Cross, in which the pieces was built with materials salvaged from all there. Read it! (PHOTO.)

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I have watched this several times. I'm not going to lie. But if there's anyone that is incredibly in-tune to an atmosphere, it's Sofia Coppola. Here's the trailer for Somewhere. You'll see what I mean.

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If you're in the South End this weekend, and heading to the Open Markets, be sure to take some time to visit Galería Cubana, a contemporary Cuban art gallery.

I went with Nilda a few weeks ago, mostly out of curiosity and mostly because I really love art. There's this additional need in me as well, to know more about the Cuban heritage of my family, primarily on my father and his family - but in any capacity that I can.

The gallery's intention is simple: introduce artwork rarely seen in the United States as well as supporting artists from the island; it's very cool way of strengthening the cultural ties that we have with Cuba. The current show is the work of Orestes Gaulhiac. Gaulhiac was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1960 and is an internationally acclaimed painter and ceramist, who is recognized for his tremendous body of work, technique, and eclectic style. He's mostly influenced by the countryside that he grew up on; the play of colors are kind of magical in that sense, both dark and then bright. It was really wonderful be able to see these pieces. The exhibit wraps up on the 27th, but visit their website for further information about present and upcoming artists that they support as well as coming shows.

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I want to live in their world. Seriously. MOS Architects were chosen this year to design the US pavilion at the Venice Biennale by the High Museum. The result? A rather mysterious one, a suspended cluster of weather balloons filled with helium and that formed a canopy that shades the crowd while representing the outdoor environment that they're being shielded from. It's ridiculously cool. If curious too, go and visit their website here.

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Two things happened to me today:

1. I forgot my keys in my apartment. I didn't drop them. Didn't lose them. I left them on top of the table, right next to where my purse was supposed to be. I know.

2. I had a peanut butter and jelly intervention. Mostly jelly. Which was involves a long story about sixth grade that is just ... gross.

BUT but it was one of those perfect opportunities to show a little of the taste side of PHI. Anarchy in a jar was founded by Laena McCarthy and turns out a seasonal array of flavorful jams, jellies, preserves and chutneys that include Grapefruit Marmalade with Smoked Salt, Hot Fireman's Pear Jam with hints of cinnamon and subtle smokiness from chipotle peppers and the exceptional Strawberry Balsamic Jam. They're all made from local, handpicked ingredients produced from the Brooklyn Grange Farm and jars run from $5-$9. Read more here.

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It's just another Manic Monday! And it's just another week until our photo show! If you haven't already, please RSVP to the event here. We're really excited about seeing everybody there.

This is a Twinkie. I can't promise them at the photo show. But what I can tell you is that photographer Dwight Eschliman tackles the thirty-seven or so ingredients that make a Twinkie by photographing them as part of his project Dwight Eschliman's Thirty-Seven or So Ingredients, which was undoubtedly born out of a love of breaking down objects into the parts that make them and then photographing the component parts. It's kind of a neat way of looking at food and giving the viewer an entirely different way of looking at them, or, well, looking at Twinkie for example. You then have to ask yourself the question:

Would you eat it now?

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This, this is another one of those cool finds that didn't make it onto the FFs because they completely and utterly deserved their own post. Ye Olde Fashion covers a variety of periods and in fashion, like this Vionnet evening dress from 1938 that I want to run away with. It's such a fascinating look at fashion and design evolution - check it out!

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It's so strange that it's June and it's cooled down so considerably. But we hope that it doesn't stop you from having a marvelous weekend, whatever your plans may be! And happy Pride Weekend! But just before you do, check out some of our Friday Favorites:

JEAN SHIN. This week we talked about Jean Shin's cool use of rolodex cards in her installation Carte Blanche. Shin's work is back again with her piece Transplanted Ornament. It's a collaboration with architect Brian Ripel using decorative metal removed from security gates. It's a featured installation, self-supported and of free-form construction, that you can find at the Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch.

WHY THE MET REMAINS COOLER THAN YOU. The Met is displaying a career retrospective of Leon Levinstein, a photographer whose work in black and white photography went completely under the radar. (His contemporaries include the infamous Diane Arbus.) It's called Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players: Leon Levinstein's New York Photographs, 1950-1980 that feature forty-five rarely-before-seen photos by Levinstein. The show runs until October 17, 2010.

IT'S PAPER, REALLY. Honestly, I keep saying that I can't be surprised anymore - but wow, artist Luise Valdes has built an entire apartment and car from pizza boxes, carboard, paper, and paint. There are moments where there are parts of it that look, at a glance, to be entirely too really. There are other moments where I can think of nothing but A-Ha's "Take on Me" video. But take a look at the photos, they're kind of cool.

ARIK LEVY'S LUMINESCENCE. We love anybody who gets creative with their lighting and there's something undoubtedly cool about the play on intensity and reflection. Levy maintains an impressive list of disciplines, but is best known for his furniture design for global companies, installations, and limited editions. Levy's Luminescence between Fire & Ice is being showcased at the Santa Monica Museum of Art until August 21st.

PAPER AIRPLANES. I have such funny memories about paper airplanes, including one that involved a pseudo experiment with Zoe in the backyard with a stopwatch. Check out this art installation by Dawn Ng. She uses hundred of paper airplanes to recreate and orchestrate an intense wave of emotion, having the planes physically burst into a massive space. It's incredible.

GRAFFITI RESEARCH. This is the perfect example of when worlds collide. The Creators Project has an interview with James Powderly, part of Graffiti Research Lab who developed Eyewriter - technology that allows paralyzed artists to "write" graffiti. There's a video at the site as well!

PAUL HAYES. Paul Hayes is an installation artist that we found on flickr that has some really incredible pieces. This installation is called Cultivated Momentum and you should definitely take the time to comb through the photos. It's incredible.

SHEPHERD'S PIE. Montreal-based designers Thien and My Ta Trung's series Pâté Chinois is concept based around the beloved - and oh my god, one of my favorite dishes - Shepherd's Pie. Says My, "We were in the mood for happy furniture, less rigor and more flexibility. A shelving unit that evolves according to our frame of mind, a chair that transforms itself each season, a sofa that can take endless configurations and looks. In short, furniture that grows and change with time!"

SCALENE, RIGHT? To be honest, I have no fond memories of geometry in high school. Creepy teacher. Math in general. You name it. But this locket from Garnett is gorgeous - the scalene locket is a break from the traditional locket, hanging from a silver chain and you can wear it open or put anything inside the glass frame. For once, the scalene triangle doesn't make me shudder with horror.

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So this Friday Favorite deserves its own entry. Last Sunday before we had our nearly-dying-in-a-tornado-hurricane-weather-phenomena adventure, Nilda and I were wandering around the SOWA Open Market, checking out some of the vintage things. Needless to say, Nilda emerged with an incredible find.

Her cuff is a Kenneth Lane, and it's dated around 1973 from a collection he did exclusively for Saks Fifth Avenue. There's even a special signature inside the bracelet for the collection. And yes, it's that Kenneth Lane. The very Kenneth Lane that designed pieces for the likes of Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn - his pieces can be found in the Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian. His Saks collection, however, was such an instant success that they sold its entire initial inventory in a day. Fun facts? Lane started out as a shoe designer for Delman and Christian Dior and his love of jewelry started as something he did in is free time. Beautiful, huh?

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BRAVO's Work of Art premiered last night, much to my cautious delight. You know all BRAVO shows are like crack - great for rainy days, sick days, days where CSI isn't going to do it for you. But then, this is the network that gave us Project Runway and say what you will about fashion and the mainstream, but what BRAVO did for fashion is open the door into an entire market of people that otherwise wouldn't be so familiar with the likes of W, Vogue, the impact of YSL and Valentino. It gave an opportunity to designers to step into the limelight in an entirely different way, as well allow major designers to make themselves more personable and not mythological characters that we only know through glossy pages and the occasional, cool, indie documentary.

So what does Work of Art do? For starters, the New York Times kind of digs it. They have some art world giants like Simon de Pury, who serves as a mentor to the contestants, and Jerry Saltz, who is one of the judges. It helps that Sarah Jessica Parker is the producer, for sure. The cool thing too is that these are artists that represent all kinds of disciplines and mediums and all avenues of experiences. They were individually selected by self-portraits, which then turned into their first challenge, if you will, where they were each partnered up and asked to create a portrait of their partner. My favorite? Abdi's. I like Miles' too, but ... sort of have a crush on Miles' cute, cute face, so my glee outweighed what I liked about his piece. There are some characters, some really interesting people - Trong! Trong, in fact, is another big NYC name.

But we have to remember that this is a television show and that this kind of format still has to work because there's a villain, there's hero, we love the judges or hate the judges - personally I want to live in China Chow's closet, but she's no Heidi in terms of being a charismatic host. Regardless of how we may initially feel about the show and what it has to offer, there could be really great things that may stem from this. The question is, now, how will it translate in the long haul? It's too early to tell, but if there's a second season - I'm taking enlistments to get Michelle on this show. They haven't seen anything yet.

Let's keep watching.