We recently took the plunge into parenthood, and with this came a whole new opportunity to collect special modern and mid-century inspired finds. Finds for his room, bookshelves, toy box, and walls. Narrowing down choices for a room that you are so excited to create, and yet want to keep simple is difficult. So we’ll start with one of the best parts of a baby room, or any room for that matter…books.

Aside from the vintage classics such as “Snowy Day” and “Where the Wild Things Are“, there is a wide selection of both vintage and modern books that every lover of mid-century should have grace their shelves. We’re not going to lie and say that we didn’t include several of these books at first merely because we judged them by their covers (and illustrations). :) But beautiful illustrations aside, reading these books to Coltrane both brings us back to our own childhood, and keeps us entertained. And we hope they will for you too.

1. “Color” by Alexander Girard

2. “Along a Long Road” by Frank Viva

3. “Henri’s Walk To Paris” by Saul Bass

4. “Blueberries For Sal” by Robert McCloskey

5. “Mama, Is It Summer Yet?” by Nikki McClure

6. “Manners Can Be Fun” by Munro Leaf

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Meet our newest find, Coltrane Francis Yousling.

Apart from moving, new jobs, traveling, and other various life changes during our hiatus…we had a kid. And a pretty sweet one at that. This new adventure has expanded our horizons as vintage and modern inspired enthusiasts…so you’ll see some of that here as we explore mid-century and design as parents now. We can’t wait to share. :)

p.s. we think he looks a bit like Steve Zissou, don’t you?

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Last Summer I was doing some work with an agency that was neighbor to a charming interiors store, Sheridan + Company. On my walk home each day, I would check out the windows to see what new vintage or eclectic finds they’d found to put on display.

One day I noticed a series of vintage cameras that had been turned into lamps, paired with vintage inspired bulbs and brightly colored power cords. Perfect. David’s birthday was coming up and this would be the ideal gift. In the store I met Daniel Saldutti, creator of these amazing pieces of work. He “lit” up when I asked about the camera lamps and went on to tell me about his meticulous process in building them and the care he took in selecting each camera and bulb. I was struck by his obvious passion and enthusiastic attitude.

He shared how his grandfather who used to repair cameras had taught him how to take apart the body and lenses, removing the glass and putting them back together. He also made sure to note that when sourcing the cameras for these lamps, he only purchased broken and unusable bodies. It was obvious the respect he had for not only cameras, but repurposing. I found it intriguing.

Throughout the rest of the Summer I often saw Daniel outside the shop building displays and on one occasion he showed me the mural he was painting inside, as well as all the signs he painted. It’s pretty great to meet designers and artists who are so multi-faceted in their talents.

As the Summer came to an end, Daniel told me he was leaving to head back to the East Coast and would be doing some shows out there. I stayed in contact with him and as we approached the decision to restart posting regularly on TSTM, I knew he should be the feature of our first post. So we “sat” down with Daniel, asked him a few questions and this is what he had to say.

East coast or West coast?

Both, I have friend and family ties to both Seattle and Philadelphia.

We find that for particular types of work, different music/artists/designers put us in the right creative and productive zone. what music/artists/designers do the same for you?

Music: The Beastie Boy (rest in power MCA), KRS ONE, Hal & Oates, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Peanut Butter Wolf, JEL and many more.

Artists/Designers: Matthew Anderson of ampersanderson.com and readwax.com, My dear friend Peter Anderson both an amazing artist as well as an up and coming furniture designer, Alinda Morris (Habitations Interior Design), Jason Matthews (Sheridan + Company) and the whole crew at Graypants.com

Two favorites and why: place to eat and film to watch?

Seattle: La Isla, Ballard, go there.
Philly: Earth Bread & Brewery, Mt. Airy, go there also.
Movie: The Man Who Knew Too Little, Bill Murray

For those not familiar with your work, what medium do you prefer to use and why?

I prefer using otherwise useless items to create useful and functional items. I love a good piece of Plywood, hard woods and metals of all kinds.

Tell us more about the work you’re doing with lighting.

I look to use the actual light that is cast to paint the walls and other objects in the room as well as making the fixture aesthetically desirable. So far most of the lighting I have made is the type of light you start a family to…

Dog or cat?

Historically Cat, lately..Dog.

What is one event in your life that pushed you to achieve your goals and ambitions?

My birthday.

You are an artist, but you are also a business owner. What do you find to be most challenging about being both?

Knowing which financial risks to take in order to grow. Having the time/energy to handle both the creative and business side. Having a team seems to be the answer.

With all of the ongoing buzz about new media, do you enjoy reading online publications for industry news and personal inspiration, over print magazines? is there a particular print or online magazine that you always look forward to reading?

I draw inspiration from a handfull of blogs, Homedesign, Convoy Online publication is great although I find myself just skimming for photos, which serves its purpose for me, however, I love the feeling and smell of print. Just discovered Megawordsmagizine.com and have always loved Dwell, it is one of the biggest fuels of my fire and hope to see my work in it one day.

Is there a color palette or tool particularly inspiring to you right now or perhaps one you want nothing to do with?

Anything with balanced and tasteful contrast. Lately CNC machines have really got my attention and I have been designing with the intent to use their pin point accuracy. That’s the kind of stuff that’s worth you-tubing!

Five years from now, do you see any significant change in your artistic or design process, whether more of this or less of that?

I aim to make the process from design to finished product as time, cost and waste efficient as possible. Much more preliminary design and redesign before action.

What are you hoping to do in 2013, whether they be ambitious goals or merely satisfying a passion?

Express myself through design and fulfill my potential, that goes for 2014 as well.

If there was one message you could share with the world what would it be?

Love More. Hate less.

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