During a visit to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Amsterdam-based artist and designer Job Wouters created a hand-painted mural in the museum’s lobby. Watch how he uses his background in graffiti painting, calligraphy and cowboy lettering to create unique word art. Click here to view the video of Wouters making his artwork.

Photo source: Walker Art Center

Head over to Hugh and Nora in Midtown, Detroit next Thursday, May 9 from 5:30pm-8pm for Drinks x Design. Get to know these two businesses specializing in modern design and fashion. Click here to RSVP for this event.  

Source: Drinks x Detroit

See how your fashion influences your design decisions with Fashion + Interiors. This unique fashion show put on by LiLu Interiors combines a runway show with home interior vignettes.

Join LiLu Interiors in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 8 from 5-7pm at International Market Square, Suite 185. Click here for more details.

Photo source: LiLu Interiors

Make sure to put June 13-16 on your calendars for the Michigan Modern symposium. Join nationally renowned speakers and tour some of Michigan’s modern sites: General Motors Technical Center, Lafayette Park, Alden Dow Home and Studio, McGregor Memorial Center and the Ford River Rouge Plant. Visit Michigan Modern for more information. The deadline to register is May 31. Click here to download the symposium brochure.

Photo source: Michigan Modern

We love lustron homes! These prefabricated, porcelain-enameled steel homes were the answer to the post World War II housing crisis. Head over to Nokohaha to see 12 examples of lustron homes around Minneapolis.

Photo source: Nokohaha

Here’s a fun idea: learn how to create a wireless iPhone docking station! Curbly, a Minneapolis-based DIY blog, shows you how to create a docking station that amplifies your iPhone. Head over to Curbly for instructions.

Photo source: Curbly

ten14 textiles is known for being environmentally friendly. The hand-drawn, simple and modern designs are what makes these prints so popular.

ten14 textiles is opening a store in downtown Minneapolis called, Home Fashion Fabrics at 1008 Marquette Avenue. Head over to the store tonight, May 10, as they celebrate with an opening party from 5-9pm.  

Source: ten14 Textiles

If you happen to be walking by 705 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, make sure to stop and enjoy the window display called, “Made Here”. The display is part of the Starling Project, which seeks to connect vacant storefronts with people who are looking to use them for short term opportunities. “Made Here” features works from local designers including Tandem Made, OCD Furniture, Fischer Baker, McCarty Quinn, Kick Stand Press and SOLV Studio.

Photo source: Guerilla by Design

Frank Bures recently wrote a fantastic piece for Minnesota’s forward-thinking print magazine, Thirty Two. He asks, “Does the Midwest Matter?” We certainly think it does! Click here to read the entire story, featured on MinnPost.   

Photo by Louisa Podlich for Thirty Two Magazine

Photo source: MinnPost

Love supporting local artists? Make sure to stop by the St. Paul Art Crawl this weekend. The crawl happens today from 6-10PM, Saturday, April 27 from 12-8PM and Sunday, April 28 from 12-5. Click here for more information.

Head over to MinnPost to see a video preview of the art crawl!

Josephine Geiger – “Dappled Spring”
Image source: St. Paul Art Crawl

Buckminster Fuller was a leading  American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, and futurist. He also developed many inventions, mainly architectural designs, including the geodesic dome.

The Atrium Gallery in St. Louis is hosting a collection of Fuller’s sculpture works and prints showcasing his innovations.

The exhibit is on view now through Saturday, May 11. The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday. Visit the Atrium Gallery’s website for more information on the exhibit.

Photo source: Atrium Gallery

Make sure to stop by the Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin to see the watercolors at the “Watercolor Wisconsin” exhibit. The exhibit, featuring work from the museum’s statewide competition, is open until April 27th. This year’s exhibition features 119 pieces by 86 artists from communities in all corners of Wisconsin. For more information, click here.

“Salem” by Harry Wirth
Photo source: ramart.org

Next time you are nearby the Walker Art Center, stop by and check out their latest exhibit, “Painter, Painter.” The exhibit investigates what it means to be a painter and why one chooses painting as a medium. The exhibit runs now through October 27, 2013. Click here for more information.

Photo source: Walker Art Center

We’re loving these boots from Malvin + Joyce, featured on the William Rouge and Co. blog!

Image source: William Rouge and Co.

If you grew up in Minneapolis, chances are you are still missing Dayton’s Department Stores, which became Marshall Fields in 2001, and ultimately was purchased by Macy’s Department Stores in 2004. If you want to go down nostalgia lane today, visit Retro Love Affair. There is a whole post with photos from Dayton’s bygone era.

Image source: Retro Love Affair

Chicago’s Allstate headquarters building, built in 1949 by Carr and Wright, recently made Preservation Chicago’s 2013 list of seven ‘most endangered buildings’. Head over to Architecture Chicago Plus to read a little more about this building and what makes it special.

Image source: Architecture Chicago Plus

Even though it’s technically spring, we think this sketch by Twin Cities Urban Sketcher, Amber Sausen, seems appropriate considering all the snow we received in Minnesota yesterday. Sausen created a series of beautifully simple sketches capturing bus commuters bundled up for winter. Click here to see more images from Amber Sausen.

Image from Urban Sketchers Twin Cities

Chicago architect, Thomas Beeby, best known for his role in rebelling against the city’s modernist movement, recently received the 2013 Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame. Beeby was part of the Chicago Seven, a group of post-modern architects in Chicago. Click here to read the full article from Architecture Chicago Plus. If you want to learn more about Beeby, you can also watch the film, The Invisible Hand: Architect Thomas Beeby, which documents Beeby’s career.

Image source: wttw.com, HBRA Architects, Howard N. Kaplan

Although this year’s Detroit Design Festival isn’t until September 18-22, the event planners are already getting ready to this year’s event!

The festival recently released a video, which can be viewed at the Detroit Design Festival’s website, showing all the action and fun from last year’s event.

Make sure to save the date and see all of Detroit’s most creative and innovative designers.

Photo source: Detroit Design Festival

If you are in St. Paul, make sure to stop by HAMMS (Help a Minnesota Maker Succeed) on April 20th from 10am-7pm. Come shop at the event, located at Hamms Brewery, located at 713 East Minnehaha Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Up to $5,000 in ticket sales will be awarded to one of the small businesses.

For more information, click here.

Photo source: hammevent.com

Ever wish you could totally unplug from the tech world and go off to a cabin to create cool art?

That is exactly what the collaborators at Cabin-Time want to do. Cabin-Time is a non-profit roaming creative residency to remote places. They are based out of Michigan, but host residencies throughout the Midwest. Visit their website to learn more!

Photo source: Cabin Time

Join lecturer Kenneth Wayne, former deputy director for curatorial affairs at the Noguchi museum, as he speaks about Isamu Noguchi’s exploration of space and dimensionality in his sculpture, design and architectural projects.

The lecture is Saturday, May 4, 2013 from 11 a.m. – Noon in the Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The lecture is $10; $5 for MIA members; free for members of the Decorative Arts Affinity Group. To reserve tickets, call (612) 870-6323

Click here for more information.

Photo source: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Toby Weiss of the blog, B.E.L.T., writes his farewell to the Glasgow Shopping Center. The strip mall was built in 1957 in Glasgow Village, a suburb of St. Louis. The mall recently met the wrecking ball. Click here to read Weiss’ complete story.

Photo source: B.E.L.T STL

Join Clubhouse Jäger in Minneapolis (923 Washington Ave. N. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401) this Saturday, April 13 and the second Saturday of every month for Swingeasy! The dance night features Electro-House music in addition to swinging tunes of a bygone era. Swingeasy is free to the public. Enjoy retro ragtime and swing from 8pm-10pm and a dance party from 10pm-2am. Visit clubjager.com for more information.

Photo source: Clubhouse Jäger

Hugh, a store offering masculine decorative and personal accessories in Detroit explains how to shave using a straight razor in a recent blog entry. Click here to read High’s blog!

Photo source: http://thankhugh.blogspot.com