YOUR DAILY INSIGHT // As Told By: Edgar Allan Poe

There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm.

NEW MEMBER WELCOME // Noah Wall Takes Web Design To The Next Level

Noah WallWe're thrilled to introduce you to one of our new co-working desk members, web designer extraordinaire Noah Wall.

Wall started the cleverly named Knowawall in 2007, and his company quickly established itself as a leading name in creative and cutting-edge design. Clients have included iconic filmmaker David Lynch and renowned artist Maya Lin. Knowawall's website for Lynch's Interview Project received two Webby Awards for Best Documentary Series.

Working on such high-profile projects has been a unique and valuable experience. "I'm so lucky to have worked with some really talented folks," Wall says. "Many of our clients are so heavily invested in their own work that it can feel a bit like cradling someone else's child sometimes. There's also a lot of opportunity for close collaboration which I've definitely benefited from as a designer."

With plenty of impressive work under his belt, Wall has recently been taking a break from web design to focus on some personal projects, particularly his music. In September he released the album Hèloïse and created 38 Figures In Hiding, a scavenger hunt throughout New York City to promote it. "I hid 38 copies of the LP and cassette all over the city," he explains. "The locations of each corresponded to points on the Manhattan grid that, when connected, spelled out the name of the album." The project naturally attracted lots of attention, including a feature on WIRED.

Wall tells us that he has more musical projects in the works, including a couple of videos and "a 'memory catalyst' EP that includes scratch and sniff packaging for triggering memories."

Luckily, he hasn't abandoned his design exporations. "In the web world I've been trying to focus less on custom sites and pursue some web apps geared toward 'creatives,'" he says. "These ideas have been brewing for a while and should finally see the light of day in 2012!"

Either way, let's extend a hand to to Wall for taking the initiative to make these things happen. We think he'll prove a vital addition to our new co-working space.

-- John Ruscher

WHEELS UP // London Designer Katy Beveridge's Zoetrope Bicycle Animations

We couldn't resist sharing this video, as it combines so many things that we love: bikes, ingenuity, design, DIY craftwork and more. For a dissertation project at the renowned Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London designer and illustrator Katy Beveridge created some amazing zoetrope animations mounted on bike wheels.

As the wheels spin, the images come to life, and Beveridge's animations become more complex and eye-popping as the video progresses. "This is a piece created to question whether it was possible to film animation in realtime," Beveridge says in her description of the video. She also refers to animators who have created similar work, such as Jim Le Fevre and Tim Wheatley. And, as if the visuals weren't awesome enough, the soundtrack remixes bike sounds from the filming of the video.

So who's gonna be the first person to try this with a 3rd Ward ride?

-- John Ruscher

YOUR DAILY INSIGHT // As Told By: Tallulah Bankhead

If I had my life to live again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.

HANDMADE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA #32 // Give Something Succulent: A Halona Terrarium

We're keeping the Handmade Holiday Craft Fair previews coming so that you'll be well-prepared for the big day tomorrow.

If you've browsed through West Elm or read practically any design blog in the past year or so, you know that terrariums are all the rage. But a Halona Glass stained-glass terratium is something special, something handmade and one-of-a-kind. And filled with cacti and other succulents, they're self-sufficient too. (Trust us, a plant-based gift for someone with a thumb that's not quite green can lead to nothing but heartache otherwise.)

Twiggy Levy, the stained glassmaster behind Halona, is on a personal mission to stop the association between stained glass and "antiquated images like biblical scenes and flowery pastorals." Of her current work, she says "I find inspiration uniting the structure of geometric shapes and the natural warmth of plants." We think it's also pretty inspired to put a cactus where no one can accidentally rest their arm on it and wouldn't be sad to find one under our tree.

--Layla Schlack

HANDMADE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA #104 // Kayrock Screenprinting: For the Paper-Chaser in Your Life

With the Handmade Holiday Craft Fair just around the corner, we're basically spending the day bouncing around and chattering about all of the cool stuff we're going to get. But we managed to calm our wildly waving arms to write another preview for you folks.

Karl LaRocca of Kayrock Screenprinting is a kind of printmaking superstar who's done band posters and books and whose work has been collected by MoMA. So when you buy his wrapping paper (which, incidentally, he made just for this event), you're buying artwork--even if it's just to wrap around that Yankee Candle you bought your great aunt Celia because you didn't know what else she might possibly like. 

In addition to the wrapping paper, Kayrock will be selling cards, totebags, journals, totes, and, very excitingly, his minimalist Scrabble boards. We smell a new Christmas Day Scrabble game tradition.

--Layla Schlack

HANDMADE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA #52 // Keep Time With Richard Birkett's Fantasy Clocks

As the hours left until Saturday's Handmade Holiday Craft Fair tick away, we'll give you another vendor preview that is...well, quite timely.

Richard Birkett doesn't make plain old clocks. He makes Fantasy Clocks. Inspired by an idea that was "implanted in his brain when he was captured by aliens," Birkett's creations incorporate not just a clock's typical hands and gears, but a whole slew of other additions and appendages, from old cameras and broken typewriters to slide viewers and magnifying glasses.

Birkett has been crafting these amazing Frankenstein-like timepieces since 1984, and they've been featured in markets and fairs across the east coast and on Bushwick BK and BoingBoing. Stop by 3rd Ward this Saturday and pick up a Fantasy Clock--perfect for the steampunk enthusiast in your life!

Hit the jump to see another one of Birkett's one-of-a-kind pieces.

-- John Ruscher

PROFILE // Mieka Pauley Brings Independent Tunes To Saturday's Craft Fair

In addition to the many mind-blowingly crafty vendors, Saturday's Handmade Holiday Craft Fair will also feature some superb live music from singer-songwriter Mieka Pauley.

If you haven't heard Pauley's music, we think her press bio sums it up nicely: "Imagine Radiohead tiptoeing silently behind Patty Griffin as she makes her way backstage. Imagine Jeff Buckley in drag, singing along loudly at a Nirvana concert. Imagine Death Cab hiding in the back of an Emily Dickinson reading."

After receiving her degree in Biological Anthropology from Harvard in 2002, Pauley didn't embark on the career path you'd expect from a typical Ivy League graduate: She threw her guitar in the trunk and hit the road. By summer's end she had won the BMI/Rock Boat Song Contest and made a serious impression at Colorado's renowned Telluride Festival. After snagging few more awards and playing major showcases like the Newport Folk Festival, Pauley was back in Boston in 2004, opening for the legendary Eric Clapton. She hasn't let up since, winning the first ever Starbucks Emerging Artist Award in 2005 and the nationwide Cosmopolitan StarLaunch competition in 2008 and sharing stages with Jason Mraz, Citizen Cope, Wyclef Jean and Black Eyed Peas, just to name a few.

Pauley's debut album, 2007's Elijah Drop Your Gun, was funded entirely by donations from her fans, and she's taking the same route with her forthcoming record, which has already surpassed her fundraising goal. You can still donate, though, with perks ranging from a digital download of the album to your own intimate acoustic concert.

The success and accolades that Pauley has racked up over the past decade are a perfect example of the independent and creative spirit that we thrive on here at 3rd Ward. She's proof that you don't need to settle for a desk job or wait for a major label to come along before you can follow your dreams. Just get out there, do what you love and show the world what you've got!

Watch the video for Mieka Pauley's "All The Same Mistakes" after the jump.

-- John Ruscher

HANDMADE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA #72 // Welles & Graham Keep You on Flask

Have we mentioned it?! The Handmade Holiday Craft Fair is almost here! Here's another great vendor to be on the look out for.

Flasks don't get enough play as a go-to gift. We understand that you might not want to imply your friends and relatives are lushes, but flasks are classy little alcohol-delivery devices that we can't imagine anyone who occasionally likes to imbibe wouldn't want. And a flask from Welles & Graham comes with not only a little bit of character but also a little bit of history. 

"We get inspiration for our flasks by pouring over the stacks and stacks of old books and articles we have hoarded away in our studio," says Brittany Bartley, one half of the sister-duo behind Welles & Graham. "This usually happens after we get together for a champagne brunch down the street.  All of our flask imagery is pulled from 1900-1960s publications."

That means there's something for the dandy in your life, something for the frat boy, and something for the badass who likes to keep some hooch tucked in her boot. Affordably priced, you could also just start a collection for yourself to match any of those moods. Hit the jump for more looks.

--Layla Schlack

YOUR DAILY INSIGHT // As Told By: Elie Wiesel

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.