One of the biggest requests I’ve gotten since announcing our closing was: can you suggest some places to read now that you’re leaving? So I reached out to our team to gather some recommendations, as well as share details about where you can find them now that we’re closing. Design*Sponge was special because of this amazing team of writers, so I hope you’ll follow them all at the links below (in addition to their suggestions of who else to follow) and continue to support them and their work as they move forward, too. We have one more very big and very special post coming up today, so stay tuned for that at 12. But until then, here are some wonderful sites and people that we all love and follow and hope you will, too. Because we hope this post will be a resource for anyone else out there looking for inspiring and meaningful design content to follow, please feel free to leave your suggestions in the comment section, too! xo, Grace
Photo above from Cotton & Flax, by Laure Joliet, taken in Jessica Comingore‘s workspace
Grace Bonney is the founder of Design*Sponge
Grace’s Recommendations: These days I get most of my inspiration from feeds related to travel, nature, and up-and-coming photographers in different parts of the world. I share them on a regular basis on our Instagram feed, so be sure to follow us there (link below) for a weekly dose of recommendations (because I can’t fit all of my recommendations here). Some of my favorites right now are:
- CRWN Mag: Such an expertly curated feed of talented Black artists, makers, designers, and creatives around the world.
- Woodlucker: I think Ann’s work is stunning — and she is a lovely person to boot.
- Chandan Mahimkar: I love Chandan’s inspiring lettering.
- Jamie Okuma: Jamie is a talented artist and designer and her feed, along with many others, have introduced me to a slew of incredible indigenous artisans around the world.
- Morgan Harper Nichols: Inspiration + motivation galore.
- Kate Blairstone: I love Kate’s pattern and illustration work. It always makes me smile.
- Justina Blakeney: She is my guiding light in the design world. I feel like the community is always in good hands if Justina is nearby.
- Rebekah Taussig: I love Rebekah and all the beauty and honesty she shares online. She is a voice to follow and support in and out of the design community.
- Shavonda Gardner: For all things inspiration and design and home and FUN. Shavonda is a must-follow for anyone looking for home content with heart behind it.
- Podcasts! Here some of my favorites: All My Relations, 99% Invisible, In the Thick, Code Switch, On Being, Tell Them I am, Where Should We Begin.
- Magazines! Here are some of my favorites: New Philosopher, Uppercase, Bitch, CRWN, Tom Tom, Frankie, Kazoo, World of Interiors
Where to Find Grace: I’ll still be sharing things on social media at our old Design*Sponge feeds, so you can find me at @designsponge on Instagram (where I am most often), Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. But hopefully you’ll see me out in the world doing something away from a screen for a while. And I’ll still be on email at designsponge [at] gmail [dot] com.
Caitlin Kelch is Design*Sponge’s Relationship and Brand Director
Caitlin’s Recommendations: I recommend that all of our readers visit people and places in real life in their community. Or if a nearby town or neighborhood needs some help, go there. Take some time to get offline and in person. Read books, volunteer, visit the elderly and your neighbors. The internet will always be there but sadly some people and places will not. Share some of you with them.
Kristina Gill is Design*Sponge’s Food and Drink Editor
Kristina’s Recommendations:
I try to keep as broad a survey of food industry as possible. In addition to the “mainstream” food sites, I follow these to learn about other people who may not be traditionally captured in those sites. I regularly hit these (and any related sites they have) up:
- Shannon Mustipher ( @shannonmustipher on IG). On the forefront of cocktails. Super smart, super knowledgeable.
- Black Food Folks ( @blackfoodfolks on IG) to learn about who, where, and what among Black food industry people.
- Heidi Swanson (www.101cookbooks.com) not just her recipes, but her monthly list of what she’s reading, recipes she has liked, etc.
- Kara Rosenlund ( www.kararosenlund.com) Australian photographer — her nature images are spectacular; love her blog.
- Hetty McKinnon ( @hettymckinnon on Instagram ) — her food and feed bring happiness each time I see it!
- Bryant Terry ( @bryantterry on Instagram ) — My fave vegan; his message and activism go much deeper than food. His commitment to being thoroughly informed of the issues he discusses makes him also a reliable source of information!
- Equity At The Table (EATT) database and related newsletter ( https://equityatthetable.com/ ) to which women/gender non-conforming individuals are doing in the food space (primarily from the POC and the LGBTQ community) and find out about job opportunities, events, etc. to share with others.
- Santilla Chingaipe ( www.santillachingaipe.com ) — Award-winning Australia-based journalist and filmmaker (Zambian immigrant to Australia) who produces a quarterly newsletter. The newsletter chronicles events, exhibitions, books she has seen/read, as well as her own projects. It is smart, insightful and thought-provoking.
- Matt Armendariz ( @mattarmendariz on IG )– IG stories for a behind-the-scenes look at photography shoots, to have your questions answered about any aspect of food photography, to learn about gardening, and for fantastic hijinks and unrivaled cuttin’ up.
- Nicole Taylor ( @foodculturist on IG ) — Her stories give a glimpse into the way she eats and her networking in New York. Keep at eye out on her IG feed to experience her in “3D” and after the new year, check in to Thrillist and see what she’s been up to.
- Yossy Arefi ( @yossyarefi on IG ) — for golden crust.
- Helen Goh ( @helen_goh_bakes on IG), pastry chef — love to see the baking trials she’s up to mixed with the comfort food she is eating.
- Sami Tamimi (@sami_tamimi on IG) — lots of home cooking from his native Palestine.
- Nigel Slater ( @nigelslater on IG ) — dreamy food, dreamy travels, dreamy garden. I don’t usually dream via IG except about owning all the dogs, but Nigel Slater’s is a dream account.
Where You Can Find Kristina: You can find me at @kristinagillfood and I will announce my next steps there — including my newsletter, portfolio updates, etc.!
Kelli Kehler is Design*Sponge’s Executive Editor
Kelli’s Recommendations: I echo completely what Caitlin said about getting out in your community and making face-to-face connections, and as far as online resources go, I am currently enjoying following @badguild, @
Where You Can Find Kelli: Online, you can find me at @kellikehler on Instagram, and in real life, hopping around Orange County, CA. Find me on LinkedIn, too, to collaborate or chat about projects.
Garrett Fleming is Design*Sponge’s Head Interiors Writer
Garrett’s Recommendations: When we head out, Coming Soon will keep you up to date on up-and-coming designers and interior products. Coffeeklatch will satisfy your urge to get inside the minds of interesting creative folks and see their spaces. Check in on This Little Miggy now and then for content around designing for those with disabilities. And Vicki T. and Maegan Blau will also inspire with their focus on wheelchair-accessible spaces.
Where You Can Find Garrett: People can follow me on Instagram @insta__gare
Sofia Tuovinen is a Senior Writer at Design*Sponge
Sofia’s Recommendations:
- The Bleu / www.the-bleu.com
James Kicinski-McCoy is the first blogger I ever followed. She recently launched her latest concept, a media platform called The Bleu. The site focuses on women, young, old, and everything in between — what we have in common, what we can learn from each other. From the inspiring interviews to the latest in fashion and beauty, it’s definitely worth a peek! - @bobbyberk / https://
bobbyberk.com/
Bobby Berk from Queer Eye shares some gorgeous design inspiration on his Instagram and has some great tips for decorating on his website as well — and who doesn’t want to take a closer look at the homes he designs for the show?! - The Maryn / www.themaryn.com
Michelle Adams, the former editor in chief of Domino and cofounder of Lonny, created this website as a destination for timeless interiors, modern design, wonderful food, and carefully sourced goods. It’s a celebration of modern makers and classic aesthetics — I always give a little sigh when I click through the beautiful content!
Where You Can Find Sofia: You can find Sofia on Instagram @sofia.tuovinen
Lauren Chorpening is a home tour writer at Design*Sponge
Lauren’s Recommendations:
Follow the people your people follow. This is how I approached finding new home tours. Instead of searching aimlessly for new blogs and Instagram accounts that would lead me to unique homes and stories, I went to accounts I loved and looked at the accounts they follow. Finding out who inspires people who inspire me is always a great way to uncover incredibly talented people that would have never come up in a basic search. I don’t think there’s another site that will fill in the beautiful space that Grace has created with Design*Sponge, but maybe by giving away my secret to unearthing incredible artists, homes and products, you can keep D*S alive in your own way.
People who I’ll be following:
1. Freddie Harrel — she’s my style icon forever and ever. https://www.instagram.
2. Sarah Gibson — her renovations blow me away. www.roomfortuesday.com
3. Kate Arends — her podcast has been so helpful to me lately. https://witanddelight.
4. Julia Miller — she’s making the coolest house in the Midwest. https://www.instagram.com/
5. Alice Gao — her photos inspire my freelance work so much. http://alicegao.com/
Where to Find Lauren: You can find me at https://www.instagram.com/
Erin Austen Abbott is a home tour writer at Design*Sponge
Erin’s Recommendations: The resources I would suggest to follow are places that are working hard to make an inclusive place for all their readers. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done at Design*Sponge to [do the same]. Challenge the sites you love to be more inclusive and create your own place for other voices if you can’t find it. Don’t be afraid to speak up for those that we don’t always see. A few outlets I think are sharing this space well are Omkari Williams, The Jungalow, and Mother Mag. Don’t put design in a box. There are so many great design blogs and accounts to follow… find your new favorite by finding one that doesn’t stick to just one style of interiors.
Where to Follow Erin: You can find me at @erinaustenabbott on Instagram and at ameliapresents.com