STEPHANIE ORMA :: travel, arts, & design writer » design writer http://ormadesign.com/blog Writings on arts, design, travel, san francisco and other creative musings... Sun, 13 May 2012 23:33:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Travel + Leisure Article: Most Over-the-Top Room Service http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/05/travel-leisure-article-most-over-the-top-room-service/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/05/travel-leisure-article-most-over-the-top-room-service/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 06:31:37 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1324 On a secluded African island, you’re finishing dinner in your private cottage when there’s a knock at the door. Villagers from the local church choir have arrived ready to perform a song and dance ritual just for you. That’s the kind of above-and-beyond room service to expect at Tanzania’s Lupita Island retreat.

These days, attracting travelers takes more than just good service—it takes oodles of creativity. Hotels are one-upping each other with the most unexpected of amenities, large and small, serious and silly. From in-room art lessons to personal Book Butlers to homemade ice cream for your pooch, we’ve uncovered the world’s over-the-top room service offerings, whatever your idea of pampering or price range.

Read my full TRAVEL + LEISURE ARTICLE.

Courtesy Enchantment Resort

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/05/travel-leisure-article-most-over-the-top-room-service/feed/ 0 Spa Magazine Article – At Your Room Service: Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Chicago http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/04/spa-magazine-article-at-your-room-service-kimptons-hotel-monaco-chicago/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/04/spa-magazine-article-at-your-room-service-kimptons-hotel-monaco-chicago/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:09:17 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1318 For the latest issue of SPA MAGAZINE, I uncover what makes Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Chicago the ultimate urban unplug.

Check out my article below:

Image Courtesy Spa Magazine

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/04/spa-magazine-article-at-your-room-service-kimptons-hotel-monaco-chicago/feed/ 0 California Home+Design article: SF Creatives Turn Literary Classics Into Poster Art http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/california-homedesign-article-sf-creatives-turn-literary-classics-into-poster-art/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/california-homedesign-article-sf-creatives-turn-literary-classics-into-poster-art/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:29:46 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1304 When writing is good (like insanely good) – it’s art. The problem? You can’t exactly frame your favorite reads without wallpapering every inch of your abode. Enter SF-based Matt Grinberg’s and Alex Yancher’s NovelPoster – entire literary works printed on a single page. Classic tomes (like Pride and Prejudice below) turn visual art with a symbolic image crafted from white space in the arranged text. And although the words are small, these tall tales are fully readable from beginning to end.

Read my full article on California Home+Design.

Pride and Prejudice

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/california-homedesign-article-sf-creatives-turn-literary-classics-into-poster-art/feed/ 1 7×7 SF Article – New on the Aisle: Brooch Bouquets http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/7x7-sf-article-new-on-the-aisle-brooch-bouquets/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/7x7-sf-article-new-on-the-aisle-brooch-bouquets/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:51:53 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1281 While you want your wedding day to last forever – your bridal bouquet has more short-lived plans. So why not toss the dead-in-a-day posies for buds that won’t kick the bucket? Enter, SF-based Britta Uniacke’s offbeat brooch bouquets. After falling head-over-heels for the non-prickly trend last year and recently walking down the aisle with her own head-turning creations, her Silver Stems business blossomed.

Read my full article on 7×7.com.

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/7x7-sf-article-new-on-the-aisle-brooch-bouquets/feed/ 0 Communication Arts Magazine: Design Book Reviews http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/communication-arts-magazine-article-design-book-reviews/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/communication-arts-magazine-article-design-book-reviews/#comments Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:31:41 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1268 For the latest issue of Communication Arts, I had the awesome opportunity to review two stellar design books dripping with creative inspiration: Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design and Paula Scher MAPS.

Check out the reviews below (click image to enlarge):

 

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/03/communication-arts-magazine-article-design-book-reviews/feed/ 2 Print Magazine Article: License Plates Turned Into Coolest Design Invitation http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/02/print-magazine-article-license-plates-turned-into-coolest-design-invitation/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/02/print-magazine-article-license-plates-turned-into-coolest-design-invitation/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:44:23 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1255 How do you know when you’ve officially “made it” as a designer? Forget winning prestigious design awards, having your work featured in coveted magazines, or even scoring the biggest clients.

We’re talking license plates, baby!

Image Courtesy Go Welsh / Society of Design

In a wild attempt to woo designer/typographer Jessica Hische to speak at Pennsylvania’s Society of Design, Lancaster-based Go Welsh design studio conceived literally one of the most moving invitations ever.

Read my full article on Print Magazine’s awesome design blog, IMPRINT.

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/02/print-magazine-article-license-plates-turned-into-coolest-design-invitation/feed/ 1 Travel + Leisure Article: America’s Most Romantic Hotels http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/02/travel-leisure-article-americas-most-romantic-hotels/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/02/travel-leisure-article-americas-most-romantic-hotels/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:46:11 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1246 Imagine you and your better half cuddling fireside as the sun dips behind the distant mountains. The only sounds are from the wild; the only sights are canyons and the stark desert. No, you’re not in the Sahara. You’re at Utah’s ultra-romantic Amangiri resort.

With Valentine’s Day looming and no end to winter in sight, who doesn’t dream of stealing away on vacation? But you don’t need to travel to the ends of the earth (or beloved spots like Paris or the Caribbean) to find that spark-kindling setting. From seaside New England to Washington State’s wine country, we’ve uncovered dreamy properties certain to get you in the mood—whatever your idea of romance and your price range.

Read my full TRAVEL + LEISURE ARTICLE.

Image Courtesy Amanresorts

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/02/travel-leisure-article-americas-most-romantic-hotels/feed/ 0 PRINT Magazine Article – Book Review of Vogue: The Covers http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/01/print-magazine-article-book-review-of-vogue-the-covers/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/01/print-magazine-article-book-review-of-vogue-the-covers/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:19:15 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1237 Strike a pose – specifically, a comfy reading position.

As we ring in the New Year, iconic magazine Vogue invites us to look back on 120-years of style with their luxe coffee table archive, “Vogue: The Covers.” And just as crazy-excited “Sex and the City” Carrie Bradshaw was to tour the legendary Vogue accessories closet – for a design-lover, ogling over more then 300 relic Vogue covers (from as far back as 1892!) is equally squeal-worthy.

Read my full article on Print Magazine’s awesome design blog, IMPRINT.

Cover from April 1910 - image courtesy Vogue

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2012/01/print-magazine-article-book-review-of-vogue-the-covers/feed/ 2 7×7 SF Article: The Streets of San Francisco Centerpiece Collection http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/12/7x7-sf-article-the-streets-of-san-francisco-centerpiece-collection/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/12/7x7-sf-article-the-streets-of-san-francisco-centerpiece-collection/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:29:44 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1224 Giving wedding out-of-towners a taste of our stellar city just got a little easier. Swank out your rehearsal dinner party SF-style with event planner Well Rehearsed’s new “Streets of San Francisco Centerpiece Collection.” The handcrafted table toppers dish up small-scale versions of famed icons from the Golden Gate to the Painted Ladies, Giants memorabilia to Chinatown.

Read my full article on 7×7.com.

Image courtesy Kathy Goodman / Well Rehearsed

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/12/7x7-sf-article-the-streets-of-san-francisco-centerpiece-collection/feed/ 0 Conde Nast Traveler Article: Norwegian Cruising http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/12/conde-nast-traveler-article-norwegian-cruising/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/12/conde-nast-traveler-article-norwegian-cruising/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:10:18 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1214 Rest stops with the starchitect treatment? Only in design-minded Scandinavia. Norway is halfway through an 18-year plan to spruce up its motorways with roadside overlooks, art installations and architectural walkways that put American rest stops to shame.

Read on in my CONDE NAST TRAVELER article below (click image to enlarge) or read it online:

 

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