Textile designer Rachel Craven works out of her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Angelino Heights, a historic neighborhood that provides the perfect setting for creating her Southwestern-style, handmade printed pillows, tablecloths and linens.

Craven, who cites influences from Agnes Martin to Marimekko, grew up in New York with parents who were both painters. After studying at The School of Visual Arts and working as a fashion stylist, she moved to LA to transition back to visual art.

Now, her hand-block-printed Italian linens are being sold at the Heath Los Angeles Studio & Showroom. The geometric "Circles, Arrows and Dots" collection provides a crisp backdrop for Heath's simple mid-century pottery.

"My Circles, Arrows and Dots collection marries my attraction to bright geometric pattern with my love for the tactile qualities of linen-combined I find the effect vibrant, comforting and subtly seductive," says Craven. Heath Gallery Director Adam Silverman was thrilled to bring in the designer's textiles along the classic ceramics, and "highlight a local artist whose design-focused textiles complement Heath's dinnerware at the table."

Craven's textiles are also available at deKor in Echo Park and she co-organizes the Echo Park Craft Fair with Beatrice Valenzuela, a Los Angeles artist collective, which will be making an appearance Beautiful Dreamers in Brooklyn, New York later this month.

Heath Ceramics
7525 Beverly Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90036

For their final year project while studying transport design at Northumbria University in Newcastle, budding English designers Roy Norton and Tom Kasher wanted to create a bike that would borrow from the past while looking to the future. The result—an exceptionally sleek take on the classic Triumph Speed Twin, kitted out with girder forks and signature quilted Barbour fabric on the seat.

The duo met with Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton, who not only gave them the utmost support in creating the concept, but sees the project as an inspiring foundation. "Some elements may have an influence on some of our future projects," he says. Triumph gave Norton and Kasher the frame of a production Bonneville to build from, which they reconstructed for a more contemporary aesthetic before adding Firestone tires, inverted levers, Thruxton brakes and a redesigned filler cap.

Warburton says Norton and Kasher's take on the Speed Twin is like "the bike the Bonneville might have evolved into in an alternative universe." Now graduated and fully employed by bike manufacturer Xenophya, the two are likely to be shaping the future of numerous machines to come.

via BikeExif

One bite of crusty bread spread with Sqirl raspberry and fresh lavender jam made by Jessica Koslow creates an explosion of local flavor. From the taste of such a juicy creation, it's hard to believe that Koslow swears she barely ate fruit as a child. Now, her sweet preserves are quickly gaining popularity among discerning consumers and pastry chefs alike.

The day after Koslow returned from a trip to London to sample bitter marmalades—she's on a mission to satisfy her new bitter orange craving—we tagged along for a drive to Mud Creek Ranch in Santa Paula, California. Koslow has made several jams with Steve and Robin Smith of Mud Creek, including, for one, pineapple quince with rosewater.

With the Smiths' menagerie of seven dogs in tow, Koslow checks out the Pitanga cherries, Palestinian limes, and Bergamots and places her order—"Whatever you have I'll take it," she says.

Still thinking about oranges, Koslow inquires about Sevilles or other bitter orange varieties like Bouquetiers, but Robin advises her that Sevilles are too hard to grow in their climate, despite several attempts. Miraculously, Mud Creek did yield a tree of Bouquetiers for the first time this season, and Koslow is able to leave with a heaping bag for her marmalade quest. She feels that American jams tend to be sweeter—and Sqirl skews on the sweet side of those American options—but for her, the bitter marmalade flavors of London are where her heart is at the moment.

The next morning Koslow will make her way to the other side of Los Angeles to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market where she will see Smith and the other farmers she has befriended along her food journey. Then she'll head back to Sqirl headquarters pull out the custom copper pots—made for her by David Burns of Copper Gardens—and begin the process of making her bitter marmalade one juicy fruit at a time.

Koslow jarred more than 6,000 containers of jam on 2011, in addition to piles of pickles, sauerkraut, cocktail syrups, candies orange peels, and several other small batch projects—all emblazoned with the bold Sqirl label designed by Scott Barry.

Sqirl jams are available at 15 Southern California retailers including Lindy & Grundy as well as in the Sqirl e-shop.