The Domino Falls

In the midst of collapsing businesses, I'm stunned and so sad to see that DOMINO, the terrific design mag, has gone under.

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The closing of the magazine was announced on their web page, http://www.dominomag.com/ I especially liked their motto, quoted now on their home page: "home should make you happy." Indeed. Domino had such a fresh, happy, approach, and yet it was realistic, and had great photos. In the announcement, the editors say their hand was forced due to a lack advertising dollars.What on earth are we going to do now? Especially now that so many unemployed people have more time to sit around wondering how to fix up their places?

I Want One! Handmade Cards

The Stylehound is always seeking out great design ideas, so we're instituting "Object of the Week." Next time you see something great, send in a photo of it and a description of where you saw it.We're starting with these cards made by Jennifer Ramos, one of our favorite bright designers.

You can see more---including a really clever Valentine, at her blog, madebygirl, at http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/

Climbing the Heights—Design Summit

With all the talk this week about politics, policy changes, and the importance of government, you didn't see much mention of design policy. In fact, the only mention of design has been exclamations about the fashion choices of our new First Lady.Unknown to many is that recently, a con-fab of design heavies was held in Washington, D.C. Leaders in design, design education, and Federal government design met to at the US National Design Policy Summit in November and discussed a vision for the future of design.That's right.

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The Wedding Hall or City Hall?

I'm not suggesting you cut back on your wedding costs to the extent that you just go down to City Hall and skip the whole catered dinner, floral arrangements, bridal party in matching gowns. But everyone wishing to be legally married has to stop in at city hall and sign the papers, and now New York City has made this experience much more pleasurable---or, we could even say from reports we've heard, has taken it from being a dreadful exercise in bureaucratic paperwork to being a beautifully designed preamble to the big event.

"New Yorkers and visitors visit the Clerk's Office on one of the happiest days of their lives," said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn in a press release. "So it is fitting that the Clerk's Office and Marriage Bureau are housed in a beautiful new facility that will give New Yorkers an elegant place to get married, and give tourists another reason to visit New York."

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Art In America

My friend Paula is visiting. She's a sculptor. We spent the day yesterday engaged in one of the best activities available in New York City---no, not going to the Guggenheim, not going to the Empire State Building, and certainly not going shopping, even though we'd both love to do our part to help out the economy. Instead, we went to the galleries in a neighborhood called Chelsea. This neighborhood is not much to write home about---you have to cross 10th Avenue, which is a popular thoroughfare for trucks and buses, all belching their truck and bus fumes. The area seems perpetually under construction, too, and has autobody shops and gas stations. I mean, if you didn't know you were going gallery hopping, you'd think you were going to get your car repaired.

But then, across 10th Avenue,  there are about six blocks, from about 21st Street to about 27th Street, that are filled with galleries.

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