12.23.2011
merry christmas!
Travel safely and enjoy your time with family and friends!
With love,
Your friends at Akula Kreative
12.21.2011
gingerbread arts & crafts
The ante has officially been upped in gingerbread house making. Exhibit A: Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.
Every time I see or read about Fallingwater, I'm reminded of how much I love it. At first glance, you may think "Ok, yeah, it's a cool house," but if you dig a little deeper there is meaning behind every element. Whether it's a piece of wood or stone with which it has been built, the way it's perfectly nestled into its spot, or the shape it takes with each move outward and upward, every detail is both beautiful and deliberate. (Ok, ok, so I wrote a paper about this in college, and yes, I'm still talking about it. I just love Arts & Crafts. And Frank Lloyd Wright.)
On that note, doesn't the gingerbread house above bring new meaning to the term organic architecture? Haa.
12.19.2011
our top 10 christmas list for those who love animals & design
- Build Your Own Toy Dog / fab.com / $18.95
- Plumen Light Bulb Set of 4 / fab.com / $98.00
- Nuri the French Bulldog Wool Pillow / etsy.com / $45.00
- Paintchip Table Runner / etsy.com / $22.00
- The Clementine Eco Orb Kit / Pigment (San Diego) / $40.00
- The Fish Hotel / Crate and Barrel / $29.95
- Circus Finger Puppets / Restoration Hardware / $12.49
- German Goggles (aka, dog motorcycle goggles) / Restoration Hardware / $16.49
- Santa's Reindeer Pit Bull Christmas Cards / etsy.com / $12.00
- Neville House Miniature / Crate and Barrel / $59.95
We wish you a holly, jolly holiday filled with family, friends, food, and furballs.
12.18.2011
imali | egg hats
Perfect for serving up soft boiled eggs on a chilly winter morning.
This pair of hand-knit egg hats by imali (a shop in Latvia) is on sale today. Click HERE for details!
12.08.2011
mini feeling sculptures | Artmind
This ceramic art object is part of my ‘99 feelings’-project.
It derives from a project I did many years ago reflecting my self-portrait.
I called it ‘how the outside can tell how you feel inside’.
I started out with 9 feelings and then I suddenly thought of making 99 of them...
Now, I am not a super sensitive person, but these "feelings" are just so CLEVER.
I think any designer's goal is to provide as much information as possible in as simple and concise a way as possible, and these little guys really pack a punch. It must be why I love them.
Anyway, a few of my favorites are below. (As I was making the labels for the sculptures, I was thinking about how fonts can be just as descriptive...just not nearly as cute.)
If you want to check out the entire series, click HERE. If you want to purchase a replica, click HERE.
P.S. Isn't it also amazing that Pinocchio's nose has become a universal symbol of deceit? See 3rd row, 8th column. A simple image can be so powerful!
11.29.2011
tiny confessions | christopher rozzi
We love animals with a dry sense of humor.
11.24.2011
11.23.2011
we are thankful for...
...our family, friends, clients, and animals. We live in a wonderful city and LOVE what we do for a living.
Today I learned something new. Nani prefers her sunny spot at the top of the stairs to the COUCH! Aaaand the opportunity to beg for lunchtime food! She also hates the rain and pounces on you when you make eye contact with her while sitting on the floor. The only logical conclusion I can draw from this is that her other mysterious half must be cat. Our dog...is officially a Bullcat. (It sounds cooler than a Pitcat.)
Speaking of dogs, this holiday season we are donating 25% of all dog card sales to The Dog Lover's Ministry (which may in turn be donated to SNAP San Diego). FInd the dog cards HERE.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!
11.21.2011
photography | cityshrinker
Check out our new favorite photographs by Ben Thomas. The technique he uses, called "tilt shift photography" makes his landscapes look like detailed models. The photos above are from his Paris series, but his work also covers New York City, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tokyo, London, Berlin, and Melbourne.
Ah-mazing.
Ben Thomas is featured on fab.com today, so if you want to steal one of your own, click HERE.
P. S. We updated the look of our blog in order to provide you with BIGGER images. Hope you like it.
11.18.2011
cheers to a healthy holiday
Remember the mascot we made for Healthiest Regards? (We call him Oscar the Orange but technically he isn't named yet.) Well, he's back with some healthy recipes for the holidays. Check out what Paula (and Oscar) have cooking in the kitchen this Thanksgiving by clicking HERE!
WAIT! There's more!
Jen-Fit is mastering her own slew of heart-healthy-holiday-meals...like Better for You Gravy. Mmm. She's also using a new Wordpress plugin that allows her loyal subscribers to print recipes, make shopping lists, and save favorites to a recipe box. So handy!
10.28.2011
the mini scarf collection
The animals are ready for winter with their new MINI WOOL SCARVES! We have black Nani wearing holiday red, Mr. Finch wearing a lovely shade of magenta, and blue Nani wrapped up in bright mustard yellow.
All three are now available on Etsy through Pretty Peas Paperie.
You are officially invited to SPREAD SOME HOLIDAY CHEER!
*Remember :: all dog card proceeds go towards helping our canine friends find homes in San Diego.
10.24.2011
SNAP event

SNAP San Diego is holding a fundraising event THIS FRIDAY (October 28th) from 5 to 9pm at the La Jolla Brewhouse! Come eat and drink to help support the animals! (Apparently there will be a photo opp with the original Ghostbusters car, too.)
SNAP is an organization in San Diego that spays and neuters dogs and cats to prevent overpopulation. They also do a fantastic job finding homes for them!
10.21.2011
old school meets new.

Well, we are INSANELY busy this week/month/season, but this was a must. Check out one of FAB.COM's features today: Hulgar Handsets for Computer and Mobile.
Hilarious.
I want one.
9.16.2011
video | LG Optimus One
9.14.2011
not a bully breed
Check out RebeccaFarrowPhoto's Treasury List on Etsy called "Not a Bully Breed"!
We love it.
(Her photos have beautiful color, too!)
9.13.2011
What Your Office or School Doodles Mean
according to the British Institute of Graphologists:
FACES: The expression on a doodled face is often a good indication of the mood or character of the person who has drawn it. A nicely drawn, good-looking face suggests you see the good in others. If you sketch weird or ugly faces, you are probably mistrustful. Comic faces demonstrate a desire to be the centre of attention. Child-like doodles of faces suggest neediness. Profiles indicate you’re an introvert.
FLOWERS: Soft, rounded petals around a circular flower centre suggest an amiable, family-centric person. If the centre of your flower is a circle, but your petals are pointy, you are probably hiding a warm heart behind a prickly defensiveness. If you doodle a bunch of perky-looking flowers you are likely to be sociable. Drooping flower heads, on the other hand, indicate you’re burdened by worry. Flowers with round petals suggest an amicable person while hearts mean you're in love
HEARTS: Obviously a romantic doodle. Drawing a heart indicates you’re in love with love. Busy, highly-detailed doodles are often drawn by people with an obsessive nature, who simply will not let go of their ambitions or loved ones. This type of drawing is often a favorite with extreme introverts.
HOUSE: This common doodle indicates a need for security. A neat drawing of a house suggests a secure home life, a more messy-looking sketch (especially one without windows) indicates unhappiness with your home life.
A house pictured on its own on top of a hill suggests you’re feeling isolated and lonely.
SPIDER'S WEB: This can symbolize a feeling of being trapped — or the desire to entice someone into a particular relationship or situation.
NAMES OR INITIALS: Doodling your name or initials is common for those who enjoy being the centre of attention. Teenagers often doodle just their first name or the initial of their Christian name, indicating a desire to break away from the family and do their own thing. Doodling someone else’s name, on the other hand, shows they are in your thoughts — perhaps romantically or because they are a presenting a problem you need to deal with.
Not just scribbles: Initials suggest a desire to be center of attention while boxes show efficiency
STARS: Stars are often drawn by ambitious people. Lots of little stars indicate optimism. If you’ve drawn one big, bold, embellished star, you’ve got a definite goal in your sights.
Neat, uniform stars suggest good mental focus, while freehand, asymmetric stars show an energetic personality.
SQUARES OR BOXES: Drawing a square indicates you want control of a situation — that you are thinking through a problem. If your squares progress to a cube or box, you’re likely to be a very efficient, analytical person who can deal with difficult situations with little fuss.
ZIGZAGS: Just as patterns made up of soft, flowing, curvy lines suggest a romantic, female approach to things, patterns made up of lots of straight lines, indicate more aggressive masculine characteristics.
Zigzags are a particularly common doodle and show energetic thinking and a desire to get on with things.
STICK FIGURE: Commonly doodled by highly successful people, the simple stick figure reveals someone who is in control of their emotions and incredibly focused on their goals in life.
8.31.2011
8.26.2011
happy national dog day
SNAP San Diego is putting on two adoption events this Saturday, August 27th!
FIESTA DEL SOL
Cesar Chavez Park
1449 E. Chavez Parkway, San Diego, CA
Shift 1: 10:30am-3:00pm
Shift 2: 3:00-7:30pm
5 volunteers needed (per shift) to hang out with a dog from the shelter and talk with people in hopes of finding it a permanent home.
LEMON FEST
3rd Avenue, between E Street and Roosevelt Street, Chula Vista, CA
Shift 1: 10:30am-3:00pm
Shift 2: 3:00-7:30pm
5 volunteers needed (per shift) to hang out with a dog from the shelter and talk with people in hopes of finding it a permanent home.
To volunteer, please email doglovers[at]therocksandiego[dot]org.
To adopt, attend the events!
7.08.2011
art by gwenyth leech
The following excerpts are from an article by Molly Petrilla in the UPenn Gazette:
Artist Gwyneth Leech started drawing on used paper cups as a distraction when she got "antsy," but "then it began to really take over." A few hundred cups later, she spent six weeks doing the same thing while sitting in a window in New York's Fashion District in an exhibit called "Hypergraphia"...which means "the overwhelming urge to write or draw." [What an amazing word, by the way.]
"Partly, I wanted to see what 375 cups looks like," she says, "but I also thought it was a nice-but-provocative way to bring people's attention to our waste production; it made me think a lot about upcycling and recycling."
• • •
This got us thinking...hmm...perhaps the best solution to this would be a reusable to-go mug and a set of dry erase markers. So we searched online for such a product, and found a "blackboard mug."
Not bad, but chalk seems kind of messy. But WAIT...look at all of these other mug options!
The beaker mug:
The slushie mug:
The pouch (or tea bag) mug:
The coffee color-matching mug (a DESIGNER favorite):
So amazing, right?! To see "The Greatest List of the Hottest Coffee Mugs Around," go here. Now you have no excuse NOT to have an eco-friendly cup o' joe that's perfectly suited to YOU.
And, if you have better focus than we do, and are wondering what happened to the talk about Gwyneth's art, you may read the entire article here.

