In case you’ve never heard of Design*Sponge or Durham, North Carolina, here is a little taste of both that will have you craving for more.
Design*Sponge is a website/blog dedicated to home and product design. The person behind the site is Grace Bonney, a Brooklyn-based writer. Design*Sponge features “store and product reviews, city, product, and gift guides, [DIY (Do-It-Yourself)] projects, before & after furniture and home makeovers, home tours, recipes, videos and podcasts, and trend forecasting.” Updated several times throughout the day (6-10 posts per day on average), the site currently reaches 40,000 daily readers.
In addition to keeping up with Design*Sponge via the blog site, you can also follow @design_sponge on Twitter!
Durham, North Carolina
On May 12th, Design*Sponge posted a Durham, North Carolina city guide that featured many of the restaurants, storefronts, and historical sites that make Durham an inspiring city with a growing creative community. As an emerging artist and a fairly new resident of Durham (coming up on the end of my first year), I am happy to call Durham my home. Instead of repeating the many Durham highlights, I’ll let Jessie Gladin-Kramer, the writer of the Durham City Guide featured on Design*Sponge, tell you why this city is an up-and-coming place to live, work, and be!
Durham, North Carolina City Guide
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Tagged: Design, Durham
Once a thriving hub for the tobacco and textile industries, Durham, North Carolina has gone through many transformations over the years to become the thriving city it is today. Old downtown factory buildings now serve as retail spaces, restaurants, artists studios, and apartments know as the West Village. Golden Belt, a community within a historic textile mill, also offers living and working spaces targeted to artist types. Another noteworthy addition to Durham’s cultural and creative aesthetics is the Durham Performing Arts Center, which opened its doors in December 2008, offers live performances including Broadway musicals, comedy shows, and music concerts. Although Durham’s future was unknown after the close of many factories in the 1930’s, there has been steady growth in the Bull City since the 70’s and 80’s with a catalyst in 2003 when the large-scale renovation of the historic American Tobacco Company commenced.
One successful business in downtown Durham is Heather Garrett Interior Design. I’ve been working for Heather for a few months and am always inspired while at work. I keep the shop open on Saturdays for people who pop in to browse the home goods, artwork, and jewelry for sale. Using cool colors, a clean design, and calming tunes in the background, Heather not only creates a place of business but a creative, tranquil oasis for anyone who comes in. Heather attended Parsons School of Design in New York, which allowed her to work with top designers. She “brings a fresh perspective to the creation of uniquely personal interiors, in accordance with the varying style and scope of each project.” If you are in Durham, be sure to stop by to check out her design work.
My Saturday inspirations:
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Tagged: Durham, Home Decor
