(Dear Reader, do I really need to tell you to go and look at the new stuff from J. Crew?) Gorgeous shots, as always. This time they’re in Prague…. God. If only we had the budgets they do for shoots. I read somewhere recently that J. Crew puts out around 13 catalogs a year. Granted, many use pick-up shots from other catalogs but imagine being on the art direction team and shooting in Prague, Morocco and Ireland as they have in the past year. Sigh.

Loved this shot from the Fall Fashion Guide from the current issue of New York Magazine shot by Rodney Smith. Watch the behind-the-scenes video for the shoot here.

Anna was kind enough to email me and tell me about her sweet ring pillows. I really loved the delicate textural effect of these pillows. Anna also mentioned that she can custom make pillows to match your color scheme. Order them on her web site here.

Also check out her range of full-sized super colorful pillows in the most beautiful colors of brights and metallics.

I am totally in awe of the architect whose work is profiled in the New York Times today.

Architect Eric Clough was commissioned by a family to redesign their apartment. The father, Mr. Klinsky suggested the architect hide a poem he had written to his family in the walls of the apartment. This idea sparked a project that involved noted sculptors and writers to design an elaborate scavenger hunt in the apartment for the family of six to do together.

Such an amazing story with such intricate and elaborate details. Door knockers designed to come off doors, fit together to form a crank which opens a hidden compartment in a wall. Keys hidden in cubbies behind artwork which fit together to form magnetized cubes which open a series of panels which reveal the poem the father wrote for his family. Radiator grilles in each of the childrens’ bedrooms laser cut with a coded poem to each child. Amazing stuff. Read the article! Be sure to check out the slideshow as well.

Saw the work of Joanne Reyes on Refinery29 and absolutely fell in love. I haven’t been this excited about a new brand in a long time, it feels like.

The label is named after Reyes’ grandfather. From Refinery29: “As an early 20th-century composer, Villarin’s artistic legacy and love of family has instructed his grand-daughter’s newest design endeavor. ‘He loved to travel and was inspired to create and share his work with others,’ Reyes fondly remarks. ‘I’ve inherited the same approach, and there’s definitely a reflection of him in the brand.’”

Caught this via New York Magazine’s Best Bets… Charming Wall offers prints from a wide variety of artists in an open edition. All print of the site are $20, matting and framing cost extra.

Loved the hard-bound books that Kim offers at Good Stock… going through the custom books is very inspiring. Loved the custom book she made for the man who wrote letters through his life and always signed them, “Always, James” … the bindings look so gorgeous as well.

It seems that soon, she’ll be offering totally elegant accordion photo books. I really loved the way she’s executed these books. Be sure to also check out the gorgeously designed book templates as well. (via Jordan)

I love Kanye West. I saw he posted his new music video for his song, Homecoming featuring Chris Martin on his blog today and really appreciated the black and white cityscape of Chicago. The silhouettes and shadows are a nice touch and weave together Chris’ piano playing and Kanye’s performance beautifully.

Paolo Roversi did a gorgeous shoot for this month’s W Magazine titled Bag Lady … the color and lighting is so gorgeous. Loved.

Spied some fabulous rings by self-taught designer Christa Reniers via Bloesem. I’ve always been a sucker for gold. All of her designs are wonderfully sculptural in sterling silver, yellow gold and white gold. Totally love. She also has a lot of unique settings for her gemstones. Buy from her online shop here.

Attended the Biennial at the Whitney last night and saw a few artists that I absolutely loved. The first of which is James Welling. We actually had his book in the office a few months ago. His Torso series is exhibited in the Biennial but I knew him from the flower series seen above. Gorgeous color, love the graphic composition.

Caught the images for this in this week’s JC Report and immediately loved the stark contrasts. With stores in Hong Kong and China, Lane Crawford is Asia’s leading luxury department store offering major fashion brands like Alexander McQueen, Galliano, Lanvin, Nina Ricci, Miu Miu, and Chloé. Some of the personalities featured the current campaign include Maggie Cheug, Fu Jia, Liu Ye, Du Juan, and Tan Yuan Yuan.