I was recently contacted via email about a nifty project and small business started by Matt Tomasula, a grad student in Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. Matt started CityFabric with the goal of engaging people in conversations about the cities in which they live. Here’s their story:

CityFabric started in August 2010 by printing 75 t-shirts with the Raleigh figureground map on them to sell at a local arts market in downtown. The response was overwhelming so we continued to develop the idea. Over the past 10 months we have been learning about the ins and outs of starting and running a small business while crafting our brand and developing our products into civic-minded tools (and have documented it through our blog HERE). Since starting with the shirts, we have experimented with a variety of mediums that include totes, poster prints, pillows, hand stretched canvases, hand bags and curated exhibitions.

CityFabric recently had an exhibition in New York City with Hyperpublic called New York Scaled.

Their first project is called “Wear You Live”, which using simple figure-ground maps of cities focuses on the idea of engaging more people in discussions about where they live. The project is currently on Kickstarter:

The best part about this small business project has been the interaction with our community. This type of map is so simple that it allows anyone from elementary school students to grandparents the ability to visually tell a story about their place. This Kickstarter project is an attempt to share our civic-minded, story-telling tools with more and more people. It’s our belief that the more people talk about their place, the more people will be involved in their community.

Before their deadline of the August 31st, they’ve gotten enough backers to be funded. They’re now expanding on their original idea and looking to add more cities to their current lineup of 13 which include Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Denver, Durhan, Manhattan, Philadephia, Raleigh, San Francisco, Washington DC and my hometown of Seattle. While I’m personally loving this tote, they also have pillows, stickers, tees, and prints. I look forward to seeing this project develop further. Congrats to CityFabric!

images via City Fabric

Here in Seattle is seems the summer has ended and the rainy season is looming just over the horizon. Although we got a good taste over the last coupld days of what’s in store. While I personally love the rainy season, I’ve found a product that will make it all that more fun. The Rain Level boot from Regina Regis of Italy. Oh yes, it is on my Christmas list…but what color to choose??

After a weekend that left me fairly drained of energy, I found myself staring for far too long at my potted plant…highly amused at the thought of it as a little tiny park that I could look down on. I figured somewhere out there someone must have thought of this as a product…sure enough, Tristan Zimmermann has done just that. His Park Planters choose to explore, however, the darker side of the urban park, the side that comes out when the sun goes down.

Drawing inspiration from the bonsai, the Park Planters were created to elevate the common household plant to the status of full grown tree. The potted plant becomes the backdrop for an urban park scene. This is the first in a series of two different park scenes investigating the dark side of the park, the stuff that happens when the sun goes down and you’re not supposed to play in the park any more. You’ll find a lost salesman, a flasher a gay couple and a mugger, with no two scenes being alike ensuring the autonomy of each piece. Beautifully crafted out of porcelain each set contains a plate, the planter base and two parts of the lid, one blank and one with the scene of your choice.

images via Science & Sons

And then I came across this guy who decided the Park Planters were too expensive and made his own. I have to say, these are pretty fun…

And then made more…