The perfect cake in time for strawberry season.

Source: The Sweets Life

The Jefferson Bank and Trust Company building represents two things: the work of one of St. Louis’ most important modernist commercial designers, and the site of one of the city’s most significant civil rights demonstrations. Earlier this year the Cultural Resources Office kicked off the citywide St. Louis Modern architectural survey with a picture of the building. Learn more about the landmark and what it means on the Preservation Research Office’s website.

Source: Preservation Research Office

Chicago-based sustainable fashion designer, Melissa Baswell Williams, goes a little boho and a lot Guns N’ Roses in this summer style post. Check out where she got the threads for this summery look, and just how far back her obsession for Guns N’ Roses goes.

Source: Bubby and Bean

Who’s to say Picasso isn’t for pit bulls, or Monet isn’t for miniature pinschers? Not the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. They’ve got an event to get dogs barking. Spend Saturday afternoon unleashing your dog’s inner creativity through a paw-print mural or crazy pictures in the photobooth. Then head to the pet psychic to see what Fido really thinks of it all.

Source: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The fruits and vegetables are tumbling off the shelf! Or at least that’s the way it looks in Jonathan Queen’s photorealistic mural painted on the side of Kroger HQ on Central Parkway in downtown Cincinnati. Head over to VisuaLingual’s blog to see photos of Queen’s delicious-looking produce, but you might want to wait until after lunch– these pictures are bound to make your stomach grumble.

Source: VisuaLingual

Like modern architecture? Crazy about design? Then this is the mixer for you. For the fifth year, Docomomo US MN invites you to grab a drink and join fellow Mid-Century Modern enthusiasts for a night of camaraderie on Thursday, June 20 at local store, findfurnish. Did we mention findfurnish is raffling off a prize?

Check out the Facebook page for details and to RSVP.

Source: Docomomo US MN

Impress your friends with your architectural know-how of downtown Detroit by following Curbed Detroit’s walking tour of the city’s best feats . Not only will you be able to admire the skyline, but now you’ll be able to point out the architectural genius behind 12 of the buildings towering there.

Source: Curbed Detroit

Two shows exhibited at the 13th International Architecture Biennale in Venice (2012) are back in Chicago through September:

• The large urban models at City Works re-envision typical Chicago urban environments to examine alternate ways architecture can engage a city.
• Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good showcases 84 ways architects, designers, planners, artists and citizens intervened in cities and urban neighborhoods to create positive change.

Get the details at Architecture Chicago Plus blog.

Source: Architecture Chicago Plus

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is in the midst of their summer exhibit series and their lineup is filled with poignant artwork by artists including Kerry James Marshall, Lari Pittman and Mika Taanila. Head over to St. Louis’ Alive magazine to read more about each exhibit.

Source: Alive magazine

Detroit manufacturer Shinola prides itself on creating handsome watches, bicycles and other leather products using American-sourced materials. When they went looking for a manufacturer to create the fixtures to showcase their products, it’s no wonder that they went with fellow Detroit business, Great Lakes Woodworking.

Take a look inside the factory by visiting Shinola’s website. Who knew a woodworking factory could be so classy?

Source: Shinola

Few things beat a summer salad for dinner. James Beard award-winning personality and host, Andrew Zimmern presents a recipe his version of a Thai-style spicy grilled beef salad. Sound tasty? Head over to Zimmern’s website and try it making it for dinner tonight!

Source: Andrewzimmern.com

Starting in July, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago hosts Los Angeles-based artist, Amanda Ross-Ho’s first outdoor public art project, “The Character and Shape of Illuminated Things.”

Playing upon the ubiquity and speed of digital photography, Ross-Ho will transform Chicago’s plaza into an enormous photo studio, with objects on display for the purpose of being photographed by the public, while the sun provides a shifting source of light, affecting both perception of how the objects look in real life and how they appear in photographs. Ross-Ho hopes to collect and share images taken by viewers to consider the circulation and recycling of public information and how it affects the production of aesthetic objects. For more information, visit the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s website.

Giving socially conscious artists and entrepreneurs a space to work and share knowledge, Detroit’s Ponyride space houses a letterpress business, a clothing manufacturer, a coffee shop and many more creative, independent businesses. The Detroit News Business recently profiled Ponyride in an article, which you can read in its entirety here.

Source: Ponyride 

Wear your St. Louis Mid-Century Modern pride with these t-shirts from Modern STL and designed by All Along Press. For more information on how to order your own shirt, visit Modern STL’s website.

Photo source: Modern STL
 

Cadillac Square is slated to open today in downtown Detroit. The outdoor market will be home to food vendors and on certain dates, a retail pop up square. Open every Monday through Thursday from 10a.m. to 2p.m., Cadillac Square will be a community gathering paradise for Detroit foodies. For more information, visit Curbed Detroit.

Source: Curbed Detroit. 

You’ve heard of mobile food trucks, but have you heard of The Sketchbook Project? This special project curates thousands of sketchbooks and takes them on the road via a mobile trailer.

In 2014, it will go on a massive city tour, hitting the Midwest in Minneapolis, Chicago and Madison.

You can head to Colossal’s blog to learn more details and learn more about the project.

Source: Colossal 

What is more Midwestern than sitting by a campfire and learning how to carve wooden spoons? If you’ve never tried to do this before, the good folks at the Sanborn Canoe company in Minnesota lists out exactly how to create your very own carved spoon. Read the full article here.

Source: Sanborn Canoe Co. 

The floral design and horticulture decor shop, Pot and Box recently opened a pop-up shop in Detroit, courtesy of D:Hive’s business incubator program, Pilot. Head over to Curbed Detroit to see a complete photo tour of their new space. Their pop-up shop runs through July, until they move to their permanent storefront at an old Michigan Avenue service station.

Source: Curbed Detroit 

Isn’t it time to ditch your neon icebox in favor of something cooler? (Pun intended.) Introducing the Stump Cooler from Wisconsin Products Inc. This cooler is made from polyurethane and is meant to blend into the outdoor surroundings. Best of all, you can also use it as a seat when you need a load off your feet. Find the Stump Cooler on the Wisconsin Products Inc. website.

Source: Wisconsin Products Inc.

On Thursday, July 18, join Michigan State University for “Frank Lloyd Wright at Twilight,” featuring a rare tour of the architect’s Goetsch-Winckler House in Okemos, Michigan. Designed for MSU art professors, the Goetsch-Winckler House is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the second of Wright’s Usonian house designs. Proceeds from the tour go to benefit Michigan State University Museum, the science and culture museum at MSU. For tickets and more information, visit Michigan Modern’s website.

Source: Michigan Modern 

The Chicago Architecture Foundation was featured in an article in Arup Connect about their initiatives to bring students and architects together and foster architectural education at a young age. Read more about their program here.

Source Chicago Architecture Foundation

Join The Sheldon Art Galleries as they present “Places of the Spirit: Sheldon Art Galleries 2013 Architectural Tour” on Sunday, June 9.

View four distinguished buildings designed for spiritual reflection, education and enrichment by Louis Spiering, Harris Armstrong, William Adair Bernoudy and Gyo Obata. Organized in celebration of the Sheldon’s 100th Anniversary.

For more information and how to get tickets, click here.

Source: The Sheldon Art Galleries. Photo by Andrew Raimist

The Walker Art Center knows how to do a birthday right. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the Walker Art Center and MNartists.org teamed with local artists, designers and architects to create an elaborately designed outdoor mini golf course. See more photos and learn how to get in on the fun at the Walker Art Center’s website.

Source: Walker Art Center

St. Louis’ rehabbed Mid-Century Modern saucer building recently was awarded a Missouri Preservation Award from Missouri’s Alliance for Historic Preservation. Read on to learn more about this outstanding achievement!

Source: STL Style. Photo credit: Toby Weiss

There’s nothing better than supporting great art and great causes. Here’s an opportunity to support both. The Minneapolis College of Art and Design opens doors for students in the creative field and launches careers by offering a range of classes and programs in artistic studies.

Here’s your chance to support the MCAD scholarship fund. Go to their auction website, bid on your favorite artwork and purchase tickets to attend their auction event on June 7. For more information, visit MCAD’s website.

Source: MCAD, “Squaring the Circle, Series 7, 2008” by James Kielkopf