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Learn HTML Online, Just as Nature Intended

Admit it: Your seven-year-old nephew could out-HTML tag you any day and you think that a Cascading Style Sheet is something with a thread count. That’s where the Mediabistro mothership comes in. They’ve asked us to tell you about the upcoming online course in HTML. Over four fun-filled weeks, web design design guru Laura Galbraith will guide you through a variety of web page production techniques, from column-based layouts and search engine optimization to semantic markup and advanced CSS styles. The online learning fun begins August 20, and within a few weeks, you’ll have brought a pre-designed webpage to life through the magic of HTML. Preview the course syllabus and register here.

Inspire Fashionistas at LuckyMag.com

LuckyMag.comLucky prides itself for bringing the shop-ability factor to fashion; every single item in the magazine and on its website is available to purchase from the moment it’s featured. And in addition to a focus on “what to buy” and “where to buy it,” Luckymag.com is all about “how to wear it,” but with the type of laid-back, sister-to-sister advice you’d get from your best girlfriend.

Executive digital editor Verena von Pfetten says she regards the Lucky girl “as smart or smarter” than the mag’s in-house team. “She knows what she likes; she knows her style. We’re certainly not talking down to her. We’re just taking the resources that we have, which is a huge market team and a team of editors and the fact that this is what we do all day every day, and trying to make our readers’ life easier.”

With that in mind, freelancers are more than welcome to pitch creative ideas. For writers’ guidelines and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: LuckyMag.com.
Sherry Yuan

ag_logo_medium.gifThe full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

So What’s the Deal with 3-D Printing?

Put on your rapidly prototyped dress (the one pictured here was created for Dita Von Teese by the architect-designer duo of Francis Bitonti and Michael Schmidt) and get the inside scoop on the technology that Wired editor-turned-robotics entrepreneur Chris Anderson has described as having the world-changing potential of the first desktop publishing tools at the Inside 3D Printing Conference, which will explore the impact of 3D printing on food, fashion, art, architecture, design, engineering, weapons, and more. The two-day confab gets underway next Wednesday, July 10, in Chicago. Score a DIY discount of 15% off the Gold Passport by entering UnBeige at registration.

Recently on UnBeige:
Stratasys to Buy MakerBot in $403 Million Deal
What Would Warhol Do…with 3D Printing?
President Touts 3-D Printing, Manufacturing Hubs in State of the Union Address

Wanted: Designer with a Shopping Habit

It’s been two years since Amazon quietly entered the “flash sale” market (you know the drill: hefty discounts on brand-name merch for a limited time) with MyHabit. The site’s fuss-free interface, integration with existing Amazon accounts, and lightning-fast—and always free—shipping have made it an e-retail force to be reckoned with, and even cult brands such as Rick Owens, Marni, and Lexon can be found among the daily deals. Now MyHabit is in the market for a “talented, customer-focused web designer with proven ecommerce experience and a passion for fashion and retail” to join its New York-based team. Bring your love for creating original designs and collaborating with top usability experts, and be ready to discuss how creative design can improve the click-and-buy shopping experience.

Learn more about this web designer, MyHabit job or view all of the current Mediabistro design, art, and photo jobs.

Screen Test: Decorative Dividers That Dazzle

Architectural Digest recently took over the New York Design Center for “AD Loves,” a celebration of favorite finds from the 16-story, 500,000-square-foot to-the-trade design mecca. We sent writer Nancy Lazarus to scout the showrooms for some standout pieces.


Philip Nimmo’s Mattonella Fire Screen, available through Profiles at the New York Design Center.

Decorative screens provide high visual appeal and a measure of privacy in an era when the verb ‘screen’ is more commonly associated with preventing unwanted phone calls, emails, online, and TV ads. Whether one, two, or three panels, screens serve those living in tight spaces and others with open lofts to partition—and fireplaces aren’t required. At a recent event showcasing Architectural Digest’s favorite finds from the New York Design Center, we spotted a few notable screens perched in the showrooms.

Mattonella Fire Screen (Profiles showroom)
Philip Nimmo designed this single-panel fire screen that stands three feet high. Made of wrought iron with an array of optional finishes, it features a pomegranate-shaped design with tempered glass globs that resemble large seeds.


Philip Nimmo’s Goccia Fire Screen, available through Profiles at the New York Design Center.

Goccia Fire Screen (Profiles)
This double-panel fire screen is another Nimmo creation. The abstract design is highlighted with glass rondels in the shapes and colors of citrus fruits.
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Wanted: Designer with Bright Ideas

Do you dream of Zeppelin chandeliers and artichoke lamps? Harbor strong opinions about lightbulbs? Find yourself frequently explaining to friends how it is impossible to go wrong with a swooping Arco floor lamp? Then you’ll fit right in at YLighting, the online purveyor of modern lighting, furniture, and accessories. The Walnut Creek, California-based company is looking to hire a web designer to play a leading role in shaping its visual identity as it combines its YLighting and YLiving brands. Bring your strong digital portfolio, solid understanding of web design best practices as they relate to e-commerce, and plenty of bright ideas.

Learn more about this senior web designer, Ylighting job or view all of the current Mediabistro design, art, and photo jobs.

A Baker’s Dozen: 13 Ways to Live More Like Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart recently sat down with Bravo’s Andy Cohen for an on-stage chat at New York’s 92nd Street Y. We sent Nancy Lazarus to glean lifestyle lessons from the indefatigable 71-year-old, whose latest book, Living the Good Long Life (Clarkson Potter), is “a practical guide to caring for yourself and others.”

Martha Stewart has been called a lifestyle mogul, domestic guru, and design maven. Whether making a stylish court appearance to testify in the contentious Macy’s-versus-JCPenney case or dishing about her recent foray into online dating, she creates intrigue wherever she goes.

She didn’t disappoint her devotees attending New York’s 92Y event last week. Andy Cohen, Bravo’s development and talent EVP, interviewed Stewart on assorted topics and fielded several audience queries. Below are selected “mottos” that Martha lives and works by. Since she’s so organized, we’ve outlined them as a numbered list (print, laminate, and save!). While the principles are straightforward, adopting them for one’s everyday life might be another matter entirely.

1. “Use your homes as your laboratories.” She brought back hanging nasturtiums from the Himalayas to reproduce in her greenhouse. Her favorite residence is Skylands, a 1925 Mission-style granite house in Maine.

2. For decorating, “edit and put together a home that reflects your own style.” Conversely, she warned not to “over-reach and copy others’ designs, or you may miss the point.”

3. When entertaining, “plan ahead and stay in your comfort zone.” Make place cards and menu cards with unique typefaces for guests to take home. Ask about food intolerances and serve familiar recipes. Her favorite is borscht made with beets from her garden.

4. Be conscious of the environment. For example, she uses white birch logs when making a fire, since they burn cleanly.

5. Embrace social media, which means updating Facebook pages, Instagram photos, Pinterest pins, and tweets. Not that anyone’s counting, but she has 2.8 million Twitter followers to Cohen’s 1.1 million.

6. Have multiple electronic devices, and be adept at using them. How does she define multiple? She has two Blackberries, one iPhone, two iPads, and a Sony tablet.
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Olé! Wanda Barcelona’s ‘Fantastico’ Celebrates ICFF, Language of the Fan

The W New York Hotel Union Square helped ICFF celebrate its 25th anniversary with an exotic installation imported from Spain. We equipped writer Nancy Lazarus with castanets and sent her out into the sultry night.


(Photos courtesy W Hotel Union Square)

Wanda Barcelona is heading back to Spain with many new fans. The design firm, which specializes in “paper dreams, ephemeral architecture, and creative spaces,” created “Fantastico” (above) for display at the W New York Union Square during ICFF. The enormous yet graceful wooden fan with intricate paper cutouts celebrated the history of furniture design, the Spanish “language of the hand fan,” and the recently completed renovation of the W hotel property.

During a Monday evening event at the hotel, the trio from Wanda Barcelona (below) was on hand to shed light on their fantasy construction, created with the support of Interiors from Spain. Inti Velez, the firm’s architect, said the fan structure was inspired by the way “high-society Spanish girls used to communicate with their lovers during Spanish colonial times.” For example, fanning very quickly meant they were engaged. Velez noted that it reminds him of today’s rapid text-message exchanges.

The name “Fantastico” not only conveys hand fans and fantasy, but also translates well into English, Spanish, and other Romance languages, noted Dani Mancini, the firm’s designer. He said they used white along with gold accents to “capture the feeling of elegance and to fit well into the new décor of the W Hotel’s lobby.”
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Metropolitan Museum Unveils Imran Qureshi’s Roof Garden Installation

There’s more to the Met this spring than PUNK. Writer Nancy Lazarus headed up to the roof.


(Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

And how many rains must fall before the stains are washed clean? This question, posed by Pakistani poet Salima Hashmi, is at the heart of Imran Quereshi‘s latest work, created for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s roof garden. “This is an open space, and there will be lots of rain, so we’ll see what happens,” noted the artist.

During a rooftop museum press conference on Monday morning, the brisk weather cooperated, with partly sunny skies. But the theme of global violence and regeneration still casts a dark cloud over Qureshi’s artwork, on view through November 3.

Born in Hyderabad and now based in Lahore, Qureshi said he worked with the color red more as a political statement than to depict blood, but that changed in 2010, after a suicide bombing in his neighborhood. “When I saw TV images after the bombing, the area had transformed into a bloody landscape within seconds. I was thinking, how could a landscape full of life change so quickly? For me, this altered the meaning and symbolism of the color red.”

The artist specializes not only in expansive installations but also in miniature paintings in the style of the Mughal court. He said he’s fascinated by the New York City skyline, and for him the rooftop perspective reminds him of landscapes and miniature paintings.

Assistant curator Ian Alteveer said it took Qureshi about ten days, including breaks, to create his roof garden work. The artist used high-grade acrylic, rich in pigment and waterproof, so it did withstand the monsoon-like rains of the past weekend.
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Showcase Your Knack for Design and Architecture at Dwell

For the last 13 years, Dwell has provided design and architecture insights that are as practical as they are modern. “We remain true to our founding editor’s fruitbowl manifesto,” editor-in-chief Amanda Dameron attested. “It has everything to do with authentic design, as opposed to artificial environment.”

Dameron also said that her team is looking for content that covers fresh topics that readers weren’t expecting, and one of the best ways to distinguish your submission is to get behind a camera. “We put a lot of resources behind how we tell our stories visually. So when we’re reviewing initial ideas, having good pics always helps.”

Get contact info and more in How To Pitch: Dwell.

ag_logo_medium.gifThe full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

– Nick Braun

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