mosaics: old and new

Legend has it Ravenna, on the eastern Italian coast, has the best collection of mosaics in the world.  We were fortunate enough to travel there last October and discover some of the ancient byzantine mosaics for ourselves.  These, and all of the stone work we encountered, were beautiful, but our favorite part of Ravenna was the museum collection of modern mosaics made by artists in the last 10 years.  The way they play with texture and materials is ingenius and so inspiring to us.  The disco chain has to be our favorite!

original gold leaf mosaics in the basilica

original flooring mosaics, also in the basilica

ceiling of the basilica

more amazing floor mosaics- love the graphic designs

mosaics as decor

old church where the modern mosaic exhibit was held.  we randomly walked by the entrance and decided to stumble in.  what luck!

tiny chunks of slate

rainbow of glass tile

unzipped!  all are whole pebbles

this is a bird, all pieces used were hand made.

most technical- very impressive what you can do with a slight change in angles

the disco chain!  our favorite!

 dragonfly

the burka.  so clever, and they really captured the eyes beautifully.

seashells and fossils

tribal graphic influence

our newest client in brentwood had these two blankets from which we drew our inspiration for their guest house, "the bungalow" as they lovingly call it.   as soon as we saw them we were enamored.  the design concept for the whole bungalow was derived from here, and it looks fab.  (more pics of the room to come).

gathered on a recent family trip to peru, they are the softest (and funkiest) things we have seen in a while!  since seeing them, we've found quite a few things that have that graphic-tribal feel to them and wanted to share...

now it's time to start our fund for a trip to morocco!

announcing...

Our temporary website is finally up!  While we work on more images of our projects and a new, prettier website, this one will have to hold you over.

www.maroneydesign.com

The newest addition to our portfolio is a set of wedding invitations for our dear friend Molly... it was so much fun working on these with her.  The graphic was inspired by a fabric she found last year, which she will now be using as tablecloths (octagons on round tables, so clever and perfect for the geometric feel!) at her summer nuptuals.  We took it, refined it a bit, moved it around and voila!  The perfect elegant and understated look for her wedding.  Looking forward to doing more wedding invitations in the future!  What an exciting time in someone's life to be a part of. 

Hearst Castle

This place is a never ending source of inspiration for us, and we thought it would be nice to share some of our photos here.  Besides the roman pool and the stunning spanish cathedral-like architecture, there are a trove of treasures to be found here.  Reclaimed ceilings from ancient Italian cathedrals, original church choir seats from England, even ancient Greek vessels lining the walls of the library.  This really is the designer's paradise.  We get lost in it every time we go there...

beach inspiration

  For some reason, we always find the most solace, and inspiration, in the colors of sunsets over the ocean.  Nothing really beats the intense reds, oranges, pinks, and pastel blues reflected in the water.  Seashells and sand are the typical, and quite literal, beach inspiration, but the sunset (or sunrise!) can be more freeing, more open to interpretation.  The sunset only lasts a few minutes of every day and only a few of those days really make for great sunset conditions, so we feel so lucky to have seen so many beautiful ones lately.  Here is a small collection, the latest view is from our hometown!  Redondo Beach.

Central California coast.

Central California coast.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Sian-Ka'an biosphere reserve just south of Punta Allen, Mexico. 

Tulum sunrise (same difference, right?)

Another Mexican sunrise.

Off the coast of Croatia, ocean is too dark to see!

Taken from the rooftop of the W hotel in Hollywood, looking west.  City lights + pacific ocean + bright pink = glamorous! 

Can't get the Lakers out of my mind when looking at this Venetian sunset!  

Another shot of the same sunset over Venice, a few minutes later.  We had never seen that saturation of reds before this!