House Industries and Hugo Guinness Goodies From Chronicle Books.

Chronicle Books has just released two terrific collections for lovers of typography and contemporary art. Affordable, functional notecards, notebooks, postcards and journals.



Having teamed up with hip font foundry House Industries, Chronicle Books is offering a fabulous boxed postcard collection, a sticker and label book and a set of four mini eco-Journals.



House Industries 100 Postcards:




The boxed set of 100 postcards has an impressive range of letters, numbers, symbols, and patterns (including two full alphabets!) and is printed in bright, bold colors and silver metallic accents. Highlighting House Industries’ cache of typographic treasures, the postcards measure 4 3/8 x 6 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches and come in a cool hinged lidded box.
Link to buy:House Industries 100 Postcards

House Industries Labels & Stickers:




This will hip up scrapbookers everywhere! This handy portfolio contains hundreds of stickers adorned with House Industries’ one-of-a-kind fonts. Including full alphabets, numbers, and symbols galore, these colorful labels are kissed with metallic flourishes and are perfect for personalizing packages, labeling books, decorating goodies, and more. The kraft paperback portfolio measures 5 3/8 x 6 7/8 inches and has 30 full-color sticker sheets and metallic silver ink.
Link to buy: House Industries Labels & Stickers: Over 299 Typographic Stickers for Decor and Design

House Industries Four Mini Eco-Journals:


A set of hip mini eco-journals (1 graph, 1 lined, 1 blank, 1 dotted) feature enticing patterns with classic type elements, all drawn from House Industries’ collection of cool fonts. Featuring splashes of metallic ink and bold designs, these eye-catching journals are as covetable as they are portable. 4 notebooks, each notebook: paperback with stitched spine, 3 3/4 x 5 1/2 in, 48 pp, 100% recycled paper, 1-color interior, bellyband and polybagged.
Link to buy: House Industries Mini Eco-Journals: Four Mini Eco-Journals

Hugo Guinness Journal and Note Cards


Hugo Guinness, is a London-born New York-based artist, illustrator, model and writer. He is known for his illustrations in the New York Times and his bold, graphic black-and-white block prints, many of which have appeared in films and publications. Known for his fabulous lino cuts, Hugo Guinness has created a journal and boxed collection of notecards for Chronicle Books.

Desktop Objects Journal:




Five favorite pens lined up in a row—it’s an image that writers, artists, designers, and students will appreciate. Within, this sophisticated journal features striking linocuts of desktop objects, inspiring planning, doodling, note-taking, or dreaming. The journal measures 5 x 7 1/8 inches, has 192 pages with various 1-color illustrations and has a lay-flat binding making it easy to use.
Link to buy: Desktop Objects Journal

A Curious Collection - 20 Different Notecards and Envelopes:


An inkpot. A keychain. A vintage car. A dog. In this handsome and eclectic collection, 20 unique cards feature classic linocut prints from Hugo Guinness depicting all manner of things, ideal for all manner of correspondence. Measuring 4 3/8 x 5 9/16 x 1 9/16 inches each, the lidded box contains 20 cards (20 designs) and 20 envelopes.
Link to buy: A Curious Collection: 20 Different Notecards & Envelopes

Full disclosure: these items were sent to me for review from Chronicle Books, with the understanding that if I did not find them of interest, I would not blog about them.

Fish For Font Lovers. Stylized Wooden Koi Hand-Printed With Type Characters.

House Industries is offering beautiful stylized wooden Koi hand-printed with air-dried inks in a variety of prints using their own type designs. Characters such as ampersands, letters and brackets are printed on the objets d'art in a mid-century modern style.





They are unable to guarantee the availability of specific dye and pattern combinations. Please email your preference and they will try to accommodate your request.

8 x 4 in, (203 x 102 mm)
1.375 in thick, (35 mm)
Hand printed with air-dried inks
$75 each
buy them here.

You're Never Too Old To Play With Blocks: The Coolest Wooden Designer Blocks Available.

Seems that many artists and companies are convinced that grown-ups, especially design-loving folk, still want to play with blocks. And from the looks of these, they are right.

Here's a round up of beautifully designed wooden blocks available on the market:

PhotoLettering Blocks from House Industries:



• 12 Wood Alphabet Blocks
• Blocks 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) square, Kit 11.625" x 4.625" (29.5 cm x 11.5 cm)
• Made in the USA!
• Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free child-safe inks.
buy them here.

Alexander Girard Blocks from House Industries:




• 12 Wood Alphabet Blocks
• Blocks 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) square, Kit 11.625" x 4.625" (29.5 cm x 11.5 cm)
• Made in the USA!
• Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free child-safe inks.
buy them here.

Neutraface Slab Blocks from House Industries:


• 12 Wood Alphabet Blocks
• Blocks 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) square, Kit 11.625" x 4.625" (29.5 cm x 11.5 cm)
• Made in the USA!
• Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free child-safe inks.
buy them here.

NotNeutral Wood Block Set:



• 12 Wood Blocks
• Each six sided block is 1.75" x 1.75"
• Includes wood tray
• Made in the USA from replenishable Michigan Basswood
• Non-toxic, child-safe inks
• CPSIA Compliant - ASTM-F963 / EN-71 Compliant
buy them here


Make Art Not War Blocks by Bob and Roberta Smith


A Tate Exclusive: Bob and Roberta Smith Blocks

These delightful wooden alphabet blocks have been created exclusively for Tate by London-based artist Bob and Roberta Smith. Each set contains 16 colorful blocks in a wooden box with clear lid. 96 facings are included with letters, numbers and punctuation '&?!'.
buy them here.

Naef Blocks

Naef Blocks are more like art puzzles than building blocks and they have tons of styles, here are a few of my favorites:

Naef Mosaik:

Naef Modulon:


Naef Wooden Collection:



Naef Animal Blocks:


There are tons more wooden puzzles and blocks from Naef, see them all here.


You can purchase many of the Naef products in the US here.


Bok handmade wooden blocks by Petit Flaneur:






learn more about them and where to buy at Petite Flaneur
The etsy store
Or buy the garden ones here

HABA architectural blocks:






If you're raising a little architect, HABA wooden blocks come in tons of different architectural styles, representing cities all over the world.
Buy them here.

Worth mentioning:

These wooden Hand Gesture Icons by Roebuck Studios are fun for both adults and children alike:



Crafted of baltic birch wood, all the edges are rounded for safety and a safe, shellac finish is applied. Available in seven colors. Sold as a set of seven or individually.
Buy them here.

Technically, Tree Blocks are not square, but they are fabulous.



TREE BLOCKS®, Exquisitely hand cut branch blocks.
Freeform pieces come in precision-cut 2-cm. increments (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm.) with large 2 cm. disks and bridges to support successful building and early math and metric system learning. Diameter of blocks varies. Typical set includes "Y" or forked pieces. They lovingly finish each unique set with flax oil. Tree Blocks come in a colorful, cotton twill, drawstring sack with attractive logo block. Ages 3 to adult. Safe, lab tested.

The standard measure of maple unit blocks (regular kids wooden blocks) is 3/4", virtually the same as 2 cm. The sets can be combined flawlessly.
buy them here.

Okay, not blocks, per se, but these wooden dominoes by Keith Haring demanded inclusion:

Keith Haring Wooden Domino Set:



Keith Haring orange wooden domino set printed with colorful pop art characters. Keith Haring made his name with graffiti style art around New York.
Each set has 28 pieces and is presented in a wooden box. Comes with games rules.
Suitable for ages 2+.
100% wood
buy them here