Saturday morning, Boston welcomed back one of our own, Decor8‘s Holly Becker!

Holly came to Boston from her home with her husband in Germany in support the launch of her first book, Decorate: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home. The event  started with Holly giving a how-to all about mood boards. I missed this part but was told that the second floor of Anthropologie was PACKED — an impressive fact, given that the Back Bay is more a place for brunch on a Saturday morning than a place for design discussion.

Following the mood board event, Holly signed books. The book signing was scheduled to end at 12:30, but the line just wasn’t having it. I picked up my copy of Decorate and got in line around 11:45, and ended up in front of Holly about an hour later. As I got to the head of the line, Holly greeted me with a, “Gradon?”

Yep, six years after first becoming blogging friends — starting in the same city — we finally got to meet each other!

She stood up, walked around the table, and gave me a hug. We had a quick chat (as quick as you can have with a pack of ravenous fans waiting in line) about the book, about loved ones in other countries, and about starting families — at least Holly and her husband starting a family. That’s the plan for the Beckers shortly after Holly gets back from tour (so exciting!)

I had to run off to spend the day with my family, and now Holly’s on her way to Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and finally, New York… before going back to Germany and her husband.

It was a shorter visit than I would have liked, but it was great to finally meet one of my first friends from the blogging world.

Harvard GSD and ACTAR have recently released GSD Platform 2 (Amazon affiliate link), “a sampling of the most salient research and design explorations undertaken at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) during the 2008-2009 academic year.”

Organized thematically, the publication identifies underlying congruencies among studio work, theses, research, lectures, conferences, and writings to unfold some of the many critical ideas and interests currently being explored in the School. Ranging in scope from detailed material fabrication to large-scale territorial and infrastructural strategies, the work spans a broad and diverse set of geographies and scenarios. In documenting this work, the publication archives and disseminates the rich intellectual momentum of the GSD.

GSD Platform 2 is a chance to look into the work of tomorrow’s design leaders. It’s a hefty book, weighing nearly 2 pounds and containing 300 pages in full color and B/W, in a variety of different papers.

(via)

I want to thank STUFF Magazine and Erin Gates of Elements of Style for including me in their recent article, “Designing By the Book.” For the article, Erin reached out to local design personalities to find what their favorite design books are. For good measure, she had us each send two favorites.

What was my favorite? Well, you could hop over and read the article, or I could tell you what both of my choices were. Oh, all right!

The first choice was “Danish Modern” (not an affiliate link) by Andrew Hollingsworth. I’m not sure if it’s that obvious to you, but I LOVE Danish Modern furniture. This boo is page after page of furniture porn for me.

My second pick, and the one Erin featured, is “Apartment Therapy Presents Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions” (wow, long title!) by, of course, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan. I love how, like his blog network, he shows how regular people can create stunning, comfortable, healthy homes. I’m guessing she ran with this one because there weren’t any mentions of, um, adult content with it.

Thanks again to Erin and STUFF Magazine!

…but it’s for a good reason!

When I should have been writing about the great designers I’m coming across, I’ve been working with Joyce — not just a blogger but also a freelance photographer and graphic designer — on designing and programming a new DesignBoston.org.

The basic layout is all set, but there’s still much to be done. We’re hoping to be finished in the next few days. When that happens, the site will be unavailable for a short time while we make the switchover.

In the meantime, I’ll be sure to post as often as I can.

Thanks for your patience!

(Yes, I was dared to put this old school .gif up. )

Recently, interior designer Charise Glasson shared her favorite design maganzines. All over the internet, people have been talking about what changes need to be made to save magazines. What content needs to change? Will advertisers come back to magazines? Will readers? Will they all go online? Even Elle Decor‘s Margaret Russell discussed this in last month’s issue.

One group of consumers is putting their money where their mouth is. They want to build a group of support for the magazine industry by having everyone buy a magazine on the same day — tomorrow, February 1, to be precise. They even made a Facebook fan page, imaginatively titled “Save the Magazines!! Make Feb 1st National Buy a Magazine Day!”

I’m not sure if corralling everyone to buy a magazine on one day is going to cure the magazine industry’s ills, but it’s nice to see people wanting to do something to save a media platform they care about. And it’s fun, so why not?

Tomorrow, I think I’m going to buy three magazines — at least one that I wouldn’t otherwise buy — and subscribe to at least one. All design, of course.

I’ll see you tomorrow, in the magazine section.

(photo via Flickr)

Merry Christmas!

Shop where the designers shop this weekend at the Boston Design Center. There will be furniture, wine, cooking demos, shopping, and decoration tips all for free! And if you missed the ‘Domino: The Book of Decorating’ book signing back in October, you’ll have your chance to get it signed here. Or if you haven’t got your copy yet, be one of the first 100 visitors you’ll score a complimentary copy of the book!

Check it out: www.bostondesign.com/ShopByDesign/SBDHome.cfm

Celebrate the launch of domino magazine’s new book, ‘Domino: The Book of Decorating; a room by room guide to creating a home that makes you happy’ (Simon & Schuster) at Louis Boston this Saturday from 2:00-4:00pm.

domino Style Director & author Dara Caponigro, along with Rita Konig, domino contributing editor & daily dose blogger will be signing books, while you enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live music and more.

Knowing domino, it’s going to be a great event. Be sure you RSVP by calling 800-660-9159.

I may stop in, depending on how up for it my son is. Will we see you there?

Louis Boston
234 Berkeley Street,
Boston, MA 02116

As I mentioned previously, I’m organizing a fund raiser, called Social Media for Social Change. Here’s the basic idea of it:

The social media world has proven that, though still a young and small community within a multitude of industries, we have the power to exact great change.

Social media has broken down walls and created conversations. IBM does product testing in Second Life. Old college classmates reunite on Facebook. Zappos does intra-office communication via Twitter. All great, paradigm shifting events.

But we believe something more is possible.

The event is going to raise funds to benefit Jane Doe, Inc., a Boston-based anti-domestic abuse organization. It’s going to be held Friday, October 10, at the Harvard Club on Commonwealth Ave.

It’s one event, but it’s shaping up to be a movement. One that brings individuals, startups, companies, corporations and the causes we value together to change the lives of those who need it most.

How can my friends in the design world do to help?

For the back story, check out the SM4SC blog.

If you are an individual looking to help out, find out how to get involved now.

If you are a designer, store or firm looking to earn some fantastic karma, check out how to sponsor our event.

And thank you.