Happy Thanksgiving!

In between the turkey and stuffing, football and sleeping, small talk with uncles and much too long talks with moms... we thought it would be nice to take a minute and be thankful for lovely things and well designed moments. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with family and loved ones and we found some beautiful ways to add a little gobble gobble to this great day of feasting.

1: At the bottom of each spoonful of yumminess a nice message by Milk and Honey Luxuries 2: You don't have to be Martha to create an amazing tablescape, checkout how at Apartment Therapy 3: Organize the madness by sending out invitations with the menu on the back so your guests can pace themselves or take a load off and have a potluck. Check off the side dish, on the back of the invitation, each guest should bring so you don't get 10 green bean casseroles. Invitation by Fixing it Fancy 4: Best uni-tasker ever! for those of us non bakers. A mini pie maker, any good hostess should have one, available at Williams-Sonoma 5: My new found passion in life, needle felting. These tiny pumpkins were created by our friends at Lil' Chick, order 10 today!

Treasure Hunting

A few weeks ago, SMMS Design joined Catskill Coydog Vintage in hunting for treasure. It was the first time, for the SM in SMMS, to hunt for vintage pieces for the Brooklyn Flea. CCV is pulling together some fantastic pieces for their growing clientele. Lessons learned:

1) there's a lot of stuff on display so give everything a second look

2) consider the piece in context, most treasures are sitting amongst a whole lot of furniture so try and single it out away from the clutter

3) not everything is as it seems, think about repurposing the item into a new function

4) bring a friend, this way you have another perspective and more ideas, plus you'll need help getting that treasure chest back home

LIKE Catskill Coydog Vintage on Facebook to see all their new treasures.
Even better, if you're in Brooklyn stop by their booth to get some booty!

It's beginning to look alot like...

We've officially had our first snowfall and that's sign enough the holidays are upon us. The busy elves at SMMS Design have been hard at work creating beautiful new jewelry just in time for the gift giving season. All our new pieces are sparkling and frosted and ready for purchase.

 Join us at the 4th Annual Craft Show on Saturday, November 17th, 2012 from 10am-4pm
George G. White Middle School

120 Magnolia Avenue

Hillsdale, NJ 07642

We'll be sharing a table with our good friends at Lil' Chick Jewelry

Hope to see you there!

Happy Anniversary!

October is a sort of Anniversary for SMMS Design. It was about 2 years ago we put pen to paper, or more like jpeg to coding, to create our website smmsdesign.com. The concept for the website's layout was quite simple, SMMS at work. The opening view is us at our desk with our portfolio open and full of ideas. If you look up you'll see all of our inspiration; out the window to our clients, navigate the map for all our travels, above for a quote, and notes on our dartboard to links. Check out the website and click around to experience SMMS at work and to learn all about us and what we can do for you.

Thank you to James at www.inkholedesign.com for all your amazing work in creating the site

No Kitchen is an Island

SMMS Design recently consulted on a kitchen remodel with the owner of Orr Media. The plan was to create a well-designed and function kitchen layout, tying together an efficient sized kitchen and adjoining dining room. Initially Orr's want for a kitchen island outweighed the space available so a creative solution was to use a bar height table in the dining room, which worked beautifully in the end. Orr's contractors, Tooth-N-Nail Builders, came in and executed the designs brilliantly. With the completion of the kitchen, Orr is renting the house to families attending Saugerties Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) events.

Kitchen rendering by Sketch Up/Completed Kitchen photo featuring custom cabinetry and stainless steel appliances

Orr rendered and completed photo of Kitchen pass-through window with handcrafted bar ledge

Orr Media is a Video and Audio Editing, 3d Animation, and Recording studio. Please visit him at www.OrrMediaCompany.com

Grade School Colors

Stay within the lines, the lines are your friend. This might have been the rule when we were kids, but now we're all grown up and we've moved the lines. Here are some of our childhood favorites in grown up form. Think like a child and get creative and messy!

Color by numbers to color in your own dress. Color in a little more each time you wear the dress or be the life of the hipster party and have your friends color you in. This unique dress is by SOEPBOER & STOOKER

Chalkboard paint has endless possibilities especially in the kitchen. Weekly planning, menus, grocery lists, to a free space for the entire family to get creative or just leave phone messages, try chalkboard paint. Its even magnetic and tintable.

Grab a 64 pack, blow dryer, and a canvas frame from your local art supply store and start melting. Google melting crayon art for other great ideas.

London Design Festival

First staged in 2003, the London Design Festival is one of the world's most important annual design events. The Festival program is made up of over 300 events and exhibitions staged by hundreds of partner organizations across the design spectrum and from around the world. This year the festival is from September 14-23, with events and venues all throughout the great city of London. Marketplaces such as 100% Design, exhibits, gallery shows and interactive public installations are some of the fascinating events happening throughout the festival. For a complete itinerary of events click here to download a PDF of the 2012 Guide. 

BE OPEN Sound Portal arrives in the Square, Trafalgar Square, 19-23 September

This September sees the arrival of the BE OPEN Sound Portal in Trafalgar Square as part of the tenth anniversary of the London Design Festival 2012.  Situated within one of London’s most iconic public spaces, the BE OPEN Sound Portal is an entirely new kind of installation that focuses on the design that you can’t see – that of acoustics and sound – rather than visual spectacle.

An alien black, rubberized structure will be home to finely-tuned audio technologies aimed at delivering pure acoustic experiences to visitors in the middle of Trafalgar Square - one of the busiest and aurally chaotic environments in London.

Every day, the BE OPEN Sound Portal will host one of five leading musicians and sound artists, each of whom has been specially commissioned to create a unique soundscape. Expect a range of vibrant sonic and musical responses, from the dramatic sounds of the natural world, such as glaciers breaking up, to exquisitely detailed electronic music.  Cocooned from the external noise and bustle of the city, the BE OPEN Sound Portal allows visitors to experience a very different environment, one created by sound alone.

Yesterday's launch of the BE OPEN Sound Portal was made even more spectacular by the appearance of a flashmob orchestra! While there may not be an orchestra loitering when you drop by (who knows though, this is London after all), the ingenious audio installation is now open so do make sure you pay a visit to Trafalgar Square.