The Guardian Building skyscraper went up in 1929, and it still stands in downtown Detroit in all its Art Deco glory. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, the building is so packed with stunning architectural details that its been nicknamed the Cathedral of Finance. Preservation Detroit shared this snapshot of one of the building’s many stunning ceilings on Facebook.
Source: Preservation Detroit
Are shipping containers the building material of the future? Design firm LOT-EK sees a lot of them in Minneapolis’ future, at least: the firm has proposed a mixed-use development in the North Loop made of sixty green 40 foot long containers. The renderings offer a first glimpse of what could be a very green addition to the neighborhood.
Source: The Line
Milwaukee-based filmmakers Faythe Levine and Sam Macon travel the country to capture the history of hand-painted signs in their documentary SIGN PAINTERS. The 150-year-old unacknowledged art form is now enjoying a renaissance, and Levin and Macon interview the influential artists keeping the craft alive. The SIGN PAINTERS documentary is now available to stream online.
Source: Sign Painters
The artisans working in this Minneapolis studio can trace their craft all the way back to Italy through a long line of master glassblowers. Founded in 2011, the studio fashions handcrafted lights and lamps that quickly become the centerpiece of any room they illuminate.
Source: Drift
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park commissioned a new piece from Kansas City native son and renowned artist Robert Morris. Morris’ new installation, Glass Labyrinth, is an interactive maze of glass walls that invites visitors to get lost in art—at least for a little while.
Source: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The American Institute of Architects just named ten big winners in their Small Project Awards Program. The international competition showered love on the Midwest: two of the ten winning projects are located in Wisconsin, including the Redaction House in Delafield, designed by Johnsen Schmaling.
Source: Business Insider
If you’ve been looking for a pink tufted velvet headboard with gold-accented wooden frame, then it’s your lucky day. Retro Wanderlust is hosting a weekend sale with oodles of vintage furniture and home goods, including eccentric statement pieces like this one that will set your space apart.
Source: Retro Wanderlust
Over the last decade, Detroit’s east riverfront has undergone a radical transformation from industrial zone to urban green space, all connected by the RiverWalk. The lastest piece, Mt. Elliott Park, opens to the public Friday and pays tribute to Detroit’s nautical past with a kid-friendly full-size replica of a Great Lakes schooner shipwreck that spouts water. The park also features interactive music elements such as drums and pipe organ-like installations that visitors can play. A perfect place to spend the summer!
Source: Detroit Free Press
Tiny Diner, the latest from Twin Cities restaurant guru Kim Bartmann, is just as the name describes. Surrounded by a large garden, with solar panels aplenty and beehives on the roof, the sustainability-minded restaurant may be small, but the menu boasts big flavors. They’re putting the final touches on the space as we speak, and it will open for business in the Powderhorn neighborhood on June 11th. (Kudos to Sign Minds for the stylish sign!)
Source: Tiny Diner
It’s opening day for the Wassily Kandinsky retrospective at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The painter’s signature bright colors and hypnotic abstract designs are on full display with over 100 works from his four-decade career.
Source: Milwaukee Art Museum
We’d recognize those blue stripes and red stars anywhere. Circa Ceramics gives us a behind-the-scenes look on Facebook at the hand glazing process for their Chicago flag mugs.
Source: CIrca Ceramics
Omforme transforms vintage furniture into vibrant new pieces at their workshop and store in Minneapolis. They shared this picture on Facebook of a new project in the works—hot pink dyed cow hide for a one-of-a-kind office chair.
Source: Omforme
Marvin Windows is pitting architects across the country against each other in their 2014 Architects Challenge Showdown. Slick modern homes and stylish cabins throughout the Midwest made the first round cut, including this Minnetonka modern wonder. Vote online for the most impressive abode!
Source: Marvin Windows
Detroit went heavy on the geometric mural craze of the 1970s. Some of the works are still scattered around the city, though others have been lost under layers of paint. The One More Spoke blog tracked down the groovy murals left standing.
Source: One More Spoke
Made Here, the Minneapolis project to transform vacant storefronts into makeshift galleries, will soon unveil 40 new storefront showcases. When the expansion is complete, over 50 artists will be featured in the pop-up spaces along Hennepin Avenue and throughout the Warehouse District.
Source: The Journal
Would you stay in a rooftop “urban cabin” overlooking Detroit? Visitors will soon have the chance when Midtown’s first hostel opens next spring in the restored El Moore apartment building. As for what an “urban cabin” actually looks like, so far this is our only glimpse.
Source: Curbed
Firecracker Press in St. Louis is expanding into nearly 8,000 square feet of new space in Old North’s Crown Square. The space will allow them to bring in more equipment and launch the non-profit Central Print, which will educate the public about the history of print and letterpress.
Source: Printeresting
James Beard Award-winning Chicago restaurant The Purple Pig got a sweet prize when their friends at La Petite Sweet Bakery served up these edible versions of the award medal for their celebration. The Purple Pig specializes in “cheese, swine, and wine” but they know when to call in the dessert team.
Source: The Purple Pig
Duluth, Minnesota is home to Loll Designs and their array of hypermodern, eco-friendly furniture, including these champions of summer: the perfect Adirondack chairs. Bring them up to the cabin or set them out in the backyard; either way you’ll chair-ish them.
Source: Loll Designs
Time to work on your game. The Walker Art Center’s Artist-Designed Mini Golf is open for the summer with new obstacles and old favorites, including a tilting maze game, a gopher hole vortex, and foosball with garden gnomes.
Source: Walker Art Center
St. Louis’ historic restoration super heroes were honored at the city’s newly renovated Sun Theater last week. The Landmarks Association of St. Louis handed out their annual awards to a record number of preservation projects. The city’s architectural legacy is in good hands!
Acclaimed artist Matthew Barney was at Detroit’s Scarab Club over the weekend, and he left a permanent memento of his visit. The Scarab Club is an artists’ center and gallery space, and they’ve hosted some huge names in the past. Now they can add Bjork’s husband.
We keep posting photos from the Faribault Woolen Mill Co., but that’s only because they’re awesome. It turns out they provided the voting committee for Super Bowl LII with these one-of-a-kind Minnesota-made scarves. It will be February when the Bowl comes, after all, and what shows a Minnesota welcome better than warm wool?
Source: Faribault Woolen Mill Co.
Chicago wood shop Furniture Revival seems to have a lot on its plate – even a beautiful piece of round glass! Here’s a nice look into the studio of a busy restoration expert. We bet it smells wonderful.
Source: Furniture Revival
Renowned Minneapolis letterpress and card shop Lunalux will be hosting a sidewalk sale this weekend, and they’re really pulling out all the stops for this one. Old stock can be yours for a steal, and they always have some funky finds you won’t see anywhere else.
Source: Lunalux Sidewalk Sale