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Matthew Brandt is a Los Angeles photographer that's really caught our eye with his unique "Lakes and Reservoirs" photo series. A California native, Brandt specializes in startlingly beautiful interpretations of traditional landscapes. He shoots landscapes (all of them involving water), then soaks the prints in his darkroom with water that he has collected from the same body of water captured in each photograph, anywhere from a few days to a few months. Brandt usually has no idea how a photo will turn out before he starts - it often depends on the amount of sediment found in the water, which can create really interesting and beautiful effects on the final piece. In some of Brandt's other work, he has used a variety of unconventional materials like candy, dead insects, and tree branches to achieve the strange effects in his pieces. Whatever the method, we're loving it. See a few of our favorite photos by Matthew Brandt, below.

All photos via Matthew Brandt Photography

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This week's design blog of the week goes to This is Paper. This is Paper curates a well rounded collection of architecture, product design, fashion design, interior design, fine art, graphic design, and photography. The blog features works that reflects an elegant and delicate design aesthetic full of soft pastels and neutrals complemented by clean lines and a touch of wood here and there. Aside from This is Paper's impeccable taste, we want to highlight that the blog often showcases student work. It is nice to see young artists and designers with fresh new ideas and even nicer to see well-known blogs recognizing the importance of supporting the up and coming not just the established. 

All Images via This is Paper

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Flipping through a recent issue of InStyle, an article about British painter James Nares caught our eye. We've been working with calligraphy and brushstrokes for a client of ours, and his work looks very similar to a lot of the inspirational photos we've been pulling. Most of Nares' canvases measure at least 7 feet across and start at $65,000 (wow), but Coach was quick to jump on the Nares bandwagon and is offering a limited edition tote bag (175 pieces per color) featuring the signature brushstroke for about $800 a pop. We like!

Images via: 1. ...etc  2. Lucky Magazine  3. Interview Magazine  4. Delta Hunter Gallery  5. Suzanne Randolph Fine Arts  6. Durham Press  7. Senior & Shopmaker  8. Design in Bloom

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We've been doing a lot of research on water recently for our client that has a skincare line based on Japanese hot springs... check out some of our favorite inspiration photos below!

Images via:

1. Photo by Alexandra Valenti via Design*Sponge  2. Photo via Godammit I'm Mad  3. Photo by Mary Ellen Bartley via Elements of Style  4. Photo by David Burdeny via Le Territoire Des Sens  5. Piece by Andreas Schimanski via Flickr  6. Photo via Just Monk3y  7. Photo via Push The Movement  8. Photo by Shinichi Maruyama via Never Yet Melted

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A few weeks ago, we noticed that a lot of our collective pins on Pinterest were coming from a Tumblr blog called Remain Simple. As far as sites go, it's very simple (how fitting) - plain white background, two columns on the main page, largely photo driven with user comments / responses under a few postings. The content, however, is what's remarkable on this particular blog - every post aligns with our aesthetic almost perfectly. She posts art, architecture, fashion, jewelry, interiors; you name it. Clearly we love it, so we started following her somewhat regularly. That's when we discovered the one-two-punch behind this particular blog - Kathryn, the mastermind behind Remain Simple, is a 16 year old girl (she's a junior in high school). Um... what?! We're just that much more impressed. Here's a small sampling of what Kathryn has posted in the last week. Click the link below to check out what else inspires Kathryn (and us): remainsimple.tumblr.com.

All images via Remain Simple

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Ben Blatt, a friend from RISD, just finished a new watercolor painting - and we LOVE it. Absolutely stunning. See more of his amazing work on his website: http://benblatt.com.

Image via Ben Blatt

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This week's "site" is actually a boutique in Los Angeles that sells antiques and art from various dealers: The Melrose Project. The store, which opened just over a year ago, has received a lot of buzz in the relatively short time it's been open. With stories in magazines from Architectural Digest to Elle Decor, Angeleno magazine calls The Melrose Project " a breath of fresh air for antiques. (...) It's like seeing old pieces within a new context for a new generation." We agree - and we want absolutely everything. To visit their website, click here. To read more about The Melrose Project and see more pictures of the interior, click here to visit the Velvet & Linen blog.

All images via The Melrose Project

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Melancholia, a 2011 film written and directed by Lars von Trier, is billed as "A Beautiful Movie About the End of the World." We agree - but for us, Melancholia stands out from other movies not because of the plot (this is not your typical disaster movie, trust us) but because of the stunning visuals. Although lead actress Kirsten Dunst won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for the film, we can't help but feel that her (albeit impressive) performance was a little upstaged by the combination of directing by Lars von Trier, cinematography by Manuel Alberto Claro, and art direction by Simone Grau. The Ophelia reference aside (the first picture below that was used to market the film), the visuals throughout the film (especially in the first 15 minutes) blew us away. This is something we haven't seen for a long time, and we hope it inspires filmmakers to remember that film is a powerful art form, not just a way to make money by producing less-than-inspiring, blockbuster films for the masses.

To read more about Melancholia, click here.

Images via

1. Melancholia website  2. hnphim.com  3. About.com  4. Screened  5. Zap 2 It  6. The Neat House blog  7. Movies Pad  8. Film O Filia

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Photographer Anne-Laure House sees illuminated windows at night as living pictures. Her Pictures of Intimacy series includes windows in New York City, Paris, Amesterdam, Ile De Re (France), and our favorite, Prague (below). Anne writes: 

"At nightfall, the windows of the flats that are lit up attract more attention than the façade of the buildings that frame them. Lit interiors become real tableaux vivants. The interior takes precedence over the exterior, and we can glimpse moments of people’s intimate lives. I am not actually interested in their intimacy as such, but rather by the space itself – the warmth of a particular light, the twinkling of a Christmas garland or the shimmering glow of a television, the corner of a painting. All these details stir my imagination and inspire my work. When I gaze at these windows, I like to tell myself a story. I capture these intimate moments and build my own structures.” - Anne-Laure House

Image via Wall 30 and Kateoplis

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