yes.

I thought "keep calm" was the new transit scroll.

yes. when i saw that in the contest, i was a little sad.

that said, when you venture outside of the people who read design blogs everyday & really know trends, it doesn't matter.

most of the people i know don't even really know the terms deco, mid century, wabi sabi, etc.

i'm tired of keep calm and transit scrolls. enough already

They're both overly trendy, which totally kills it for me.

They just remind me of the live music set on SNL.

They look very TGI Fridays to me.

Probably. I like them just because I grew up there and they’re kind of nostalgic for me, especially the BMT R, B and N lines. Prices are ridiculous. Saw the Restoration Hardware copies in the store. They’re pretty crappy looking in person and prices at $795 – just stupid.

Totally!

I think a real one, from a city that has meaning for you, isn't lame.

If you like how it looks, who cares if it's trendy?

Unfortunately yes.

Could be worse, it could be the "boxing every Friday" signs we see hung over beds...

@mariegael, ain't it the truth! On eBay things are absolutely randomly called "deco." I cannot figure out what that's supposed to mean if the item is clearly not Art Deco. :P

If RH has the sign and if CB2 has a Keep Calm RUG it's over.

of course they are. but i agree with tvgrrl; if you like it, who cares.

Exactly, howaboutcookie. WHO CARES. Unless you're getting paid to set the trends, do what you like.

By the way, I actually think the West Elm Parsons
Desk/Ghost Chair combo is the new Keep Calm. And I still love it! Especially when there's a train scroll hanging right next to it.

I hope not. We have several authentic ones from the T in Massachusetts and simply enjoy collecting transit signs.

I think it only matters to the person who has the sign in his/her house. If it fits someones style or taste, then let it be. Trendy? Sure. But it's also trendy to be "un-trendy." Not everybody has this kind of sign hanging in their house.

If you like it who cares! You live there, we don't.

Though most definitely trendy, at this point they haven't reached the KCACO over played, completely devoid of meaning stage. And really, I fell at this point the scrolls at least have some redeeming qualities: They are attractive, and echo a sense of place.

I'm right with you howaboutcookie, tvgrrl and creative license. A home should reflect what you like and how it makes you feel. If it makes you happy, go for it!

For earth day I created an etsy treasury featuring crafty public transit commuters:
http://craftscafe.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/celebrating-crafty-bus-commuters/
and found one great more affordable example of a customizable bus scroll art by HirondelleRustique - my personal favorite version.

I like them, I would buy one!

Much as I think they're cool, I wouldn't buy one. Once something becomes that trendy, I would only buy it. I'd only go for it if those scrolls had some sort of deeper meaning for me - otherwise, it just looks like I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I thought the Keep Calm signs were cool, but now they've been done to death and I wouldn't go near them.

Yeah probably, But since I didn't fall for the KCC poster I am saying a big YES for these!!

I have antlers in my home. Those were a trend; now they're over, and they still fit my style. We're all here; we all read the same blog and are influenced by the same design ideas. But, chances are, no one else in your neighborhood does so while it might seem like EVERYONE is doing it, it's just because we're surrounded ourselves with a very particular kind of "everybody".

I think the one thing that makes these different than KCACO is that most of these ARE different... different cities, locations, typefaces, vintages, etc. It's not like the same repeated message over and over, PLUS I agree with a previous poster.. if there's an element of nostalgia involved, (a city you used to live in, hometown, etc) it works better for me, though of course how anyone would know that unless you told them is beyond me.

LOL agree with allisen.

I dig em.

Coming from a males perspective, it's a great way to have great design without saying "feminine".

They should have a meaning though...if you have never been to NYC (like me), don't put it on your wall. But this goes with everything, if you've never been on a sail-boat, don't have an anchor.

Even if it is, I much prefer it to Keep Calm. Keep Calm has the opposite effect on me from keeping me calm.

this reminds me of my bedroom in middle/high school. traffic signs, license plates.

i'm over that. i find it more fun and interesting to go to an antique store, buy a few pieces that actually have some type of meaning or nostalgia to you, and put it up.

grandma's handkerchiefs framed, old greeting cards from your 'early' years....i guess that's just me, because i have saved every card i have EVER received.

do what makes you happy, something that will make you smile when you see it.

i think the reason we're all here is to get inspiration for our own homes, not replicate the 'trends' that others are using.

I wondered about that when I saw that matchup. I thought it was intentional on the part of the editors, kind of like a "who wore it better".

They are, but as a few said, unless you read decor blogs and know what is "trendy" 90% of people won't know/care. I would feel weird personally if the places on the scroll didn't have some meaning to me, but I feel that way about most art.

Yes, and both are so over. It's so tiresome when everyone thinks they are so different and individualistic, but in fact they just follow the herd.

To me, the Keep Calm poster and the train scroll are two completely different animals. I never understood the hate for Keep Calm. It's just a poster, expressing a sentiment. It's not even a real decorating choice, per se. It's like hanging up a smiley face, or a peace sign. It's just so innocuous. I think it's sort of fun and cute, and it comes in pretty colors. The train scroll, on the other hand, is a decorating choice. It's a cool industrial item. The first person to hang one in his living room was a visionary. I'm sure that people thought he was the coolest person around. He (or she) should be applauded for his creativity as much as his design skills. Now, however, it's "been done." It's not creative anymore, but that doesn't mean it's not cool, or that it wouldn't look great in your space. So, again, who cares. You followed a trend. Big deal. The question is, did you do it well? Does it look great? If you love it, and it looks good, that's all that counts. Just know that you won't be getting any points for originality.

I'm glad to see the lively debate over bus scrolls. I'm also glad to see my Etsy shop, Transit Design, mentioned.
(Opening Soon!)

I agree that for the most part, they haven't trickled down to the masses -- they can be a cool way to trigger a memory. I've had great feedback from folks who want to make their own "destinations".

Become a fan of my Facebook page to receive a purchase discount and announcement when my shop opens: http://www.facebook.com/transitdesign

Thanks, Apartment Therapy! You're great.

Not impressed. It's cool if you're a NYC'er or the city has special meaning to you. But otherwise, what's the draw? I love the KCaCO because it's a wonderful life philosophy, but the scrolls are pure decoration.

I've got the original (1920's) number plate from my childhood home, on my wall. That's got meaning and is a bit more of a convo piece, IMHO.

scrolls jumped the shark in 2008.

Blockbuster trend in the making? oh pulleaze! It's lemming design at it's best. As a one off - very cool - as a mass produced available to all - very passe.

i have a transit scroll with numbers on it rather than destination names. i saw it on three potato four's site, liked it, and bought it. people always ask me about it, and no one knows what it is.

however, i am obviously a little weirded out that they've gotten so popular. i would say that both the keep calm poster and the transit scroll are part of a larger embrace of graphic elements and signage in art that has spread throughout the blog world. i do find this trend a little tiresome because it is so "easy" -- i.e. you don't have to know much about art to like and appreciate it.

however, the keep calm poster craze annoys me more because people seem to like them not even for the way they look, but for the sentiment they promote, which is really banal.

borrrrrrrring

Yeah it's a 'trend' but I think usually purchased/displayed by people who think it's totally original.

I'd like it if it were from a city that's extra special to me, but at this point, there's no way I'd pay these prices for something that IKEA will definitely be selling by year's end for $80. Why spend a fortune on something that is a cliche by now?

I agree - if you love it, buy it regardless. I just don't love it enough to pay that price.

P.S. I haaate the 'Keep Calm' signs. EVERYone has it. It looks cheap and tacky. Reminds me of something that would be sold in the children's section of K-Mart.

I like the message, but it loses it's panache when you see it everywhere you turn. On AT I feel I see it in every third post - someone will have a sign in a room, without fail.

PLEASE kill this 'trend'!

Well, they look awesome, but the REAL ones are kinda expensive. Not like a 20 dollar "keep calm" poster. So I doubt they'll be in every house/apartment. And is it me, or do all these "trends" seem to be dying out more quickly than usual? And that's probably only because we see them on design blogs every other day, but regular people have no idea of what's really trendy or what good design is. I have a friend who thinks she's hip with the design world, but her design world is PotteryBarn and an endless amount of candles and knick knacks from Home Goods, and the crap that says "live, love, laugh" "friends" "family" "love life" blah blah... She would have no idea that vintage bus and subway scrolls are trendy or ever even were this trendy to begin with.

I just found this AT site who knows how and don't consider myself schooled on design or interior, though Im starting to know a bit more. I also didn't realize the Keep Calm poster or the city signs were a massive trend.

I like them both and if its something you like or can identify with it-ROCK IT! so many people here do IKEA and no one is suggesting burning that at the stake!

If you love it, go with it. If not, move on and don't own it.

yes, they are. Next its going to be those neighborhood names city maps...

Mercy, I hope so! If I see another Keep Calm sign....

Oh please PEOPLE! Get over yourselves. Who cares if it's too trendy. If you like it then feel no shame in having it in your home and enjoying it. Trend or not! I am so over people who won't have something in their home just because it has suddenly become too trendy in their opinion. If you like it, who cares what anyone else thinks. Isn't decorating supposed to be about expressing who you are and living in a space that you enjoy?

Way better than those effing 'keep calm' posters (but, that's just my humble opinion).

Sadly. But I come from a family of old railroaders, and I'd love to have one. . .esp. the one from one of your Small Cool contest members that has the Altoona route sign (that was my grandfather, a former engineer for the PRR's route).

I'd be pleased to never see another Keep Calm sign again.

My apartment is one of the ones featured in the post so obviously I'm a bit biased. However, I do agree with an above poster that you are consciously concentrating your view of them by immersing yourself in the design 'blogisphere'. Honestly, I saw it, I liked it, I bought it, and now its on my wall-- that's all I have to say. It does has the added bonus of having both of our family's hometowns listed - however the size and topography won for me. I will say I have looked at it as more of an original and once functional 'found object' then a just a average poster which printed thousands of copies (as with the keep calm).

I think in the bubble of AT, we forget that not everyone in the world lives and breathes these posts or even interior blogs in general.

So "overexposure" *here* does not mean over-saturation (or anywhere near it) in the "real world."

Even here, there are glimpses that not everyone here is as "clued in" to trend or what's popular (or overpopular). Within the last month, there have been questions about what kind of chair the Louis Ghost chair was, and someone mentioned the Eames "brothers."

Even many of those complaining about Keep Calm recently asked about its origins. Kinda sad that we can reach that point and the "design literate" still don't know some of the history behind the items or trends...

My point? Live and let live. What makes you happy in your own home is the ONLY thing that matters.

And as I have said before, the only style trend I wish would go away is Uggs. :)

I have one which features destinations around where I live / grew up in Brisbane, Australia. It's an original and it was salvaged by my dad years ago who gave it to me. So it has sentimental value. My husband loves typography and trams so its a reflection of our history, interests and style. I posted on here last year about how I should display it. We only last weekend finished hanging it!

I eyeroll whenever I see a KCACO sign, however if I were anticipating an imminent terrorist attack or foreign invasion, I might get one. Or maybe if Roe v. Wade gets overturned. Or if Perry v. Schwarzenegger goes poorly.

The scroll trend died last year.

Since I've owned mine now since '99 or so (still love it), it hardly feels like a "trend" to me anyway.

And funny no one has called out the vintage globe trend that was also rampant in this year's Small Cool.

You could argue that the Ork posters are going the same way.

I do think if a city is special to you why not.

In a word, yes.

I do have a Keep Calm framed print in my work office, but it's currently covered in papers. I bought it years ago when I had never seen one on the web and thought it was the Coolest Thing Ever.

I'm already tired of my Ork SF poster.

My ongoing obsession is framing wrap sheets by Cavallini (vintage maps, etc). Dirt cheap.

That said, people should display what they like in their homes. If it's visually offensive to others, they can...not put them in their homes. The "ugh, XYZ again?" and "when will this trend die?" comments do get old. But I understand people have strong opinions :-)

I'm expecting Pottery Barn or Z Gallerie to make knock-offs soon.

I have the other apartment mentioned above with the bus scroll along with Matthew. I am amazed to see such a spirited debate about these scrolls. I bought mine a while back at the Long Beach flea market - it is vintage from the UK and has a wonderful weathered quality - I still love it and it fits my big wall perfectly. It is a bit disappointing to see them at Restoration Hardware but I'm not going to worry about it. I agree that outside of the AT world most people haven't seen or heard of them.

Toilets are getting so trendy these days. I'm getting rid of mine now so i can keep ahead of trends. :P

I really enjoy the photos and inspiration here on AT, but sometimes the comments can really get snobbish. Who cares if something is trendy? I often LOVE it when aesthetics I admire become popular, because then I can find things easily for my house.

My favourite (not) comments are the ones that have the general feeling of, "Oh..oh....I have one! But mine is an original/I got it first/it has special meaning and so therefore it is SO much better than all those other lame people!" As though they are ashamed to have something they like in their house, and feel the need to justify it because *gasp* others found it it interesting and liked it too! (I don't mean to devalue it if something actually holds special meaning to you: but one often sees this as a justification of why people shouldn't just think of you as "one of those posers.")

Our own "personal styles" are created and developed through exposure to, and absorption of, what we see around us every day. I have seen beautiful homes that incorporate the Keep Calm sign, typography posters, Ikea cube shelves, Eames chairs, and any other number of items that have been repeated over and over within spaces featured on this site. Hopefully people will take what they glean from a wonderful repository like AT and find a way to make it theirs.

matt and karamel, I love both of your gorgeous homes. And as inkybrushes said, you each found a way to personalize (what some are calling) a trend. So, one similar design feature; two completely unique homes. One of the things I love about AT, actually, is seeing how many different ways a particular item can be interpreted. I mean, really, how many truly unique items are there in the world??? (And maybe it's just me, but now I kind of look forward to KCaCO! It's like seeing how many ways you can wear the same white t-shirt. Honestly, I never tire of it.)

Yes... and for me that means avoid it!

inkybrushes--

I never actually thought of it that way... and honestly, that was not my intent of confessing I've had one for several years. I just meant that I've loved them ever since I saw the first one I had ever seen in Banana Republic, so it does not seem new to me. Not because I think I had any kind of special insight or that mine was better than newer versions.

@ patrick.... i like my uggs and i even liked my crocs....

i'd love to own a vintage (ie. original) transit scroll that was specific to philadelphia or south jersey. if anyone knows where i could locate one, please let me know.

In my opinion NOT doing something just because everyone else is doing it is just as bad as doing something just because everyone else is doing it. If you like it and you like the way it looks in your space, who cares?

Also, I don't think it's necessary for everything you display in your home have to have some special meaning or back-story. Sure, it's always nice to have some pieces like that, but there's also nothing wrong with having art just simply because you like the way it looks.

I remember seeing one of these in The Osbournes, in their living room - it caught my eye as it was one for Oldham where my husband was born. The Osbournes must have been one of the first!

Those were a 2008 thing in Australia, so I gotta disagree. But if you love it, who cares.

Manfredini writes:"I saw it, I liked it, I bought it, and now its on my wall-- that's all I have to say." And it's all anyone should ask you to say. I want a home with a little bit of charm, some good design, and that (when I can bring it off) reflects my taste. I don't care if an item is trendy, "over," or whatever the powers that be decree. The right item, in the right place, always looks lovely.

Besides, with time, things that once were trendy become dazzling again.

Hmmm. I liked them when I first saw them (and had a few ideas for my own... not telling!). But now, it just feels overdone already. Is that because of blogs (which I love) and the instant accessibility of every trend? Are things over before they begin now?
On the weekend at Kmart, I saw letters cut out of wood in cursive script, and a metal tree-shaped objet with spots for tealights. So, if these things are at Kmart, they're already over, right? But does that mean things are only worth having when they are too expensive for all but the very rich (or very dedicated), and haven't yet been copied by Chinese mass-producing factories.
I'd like to read some more analysis on AT about trends, the bell curve, globalisation (you can buy the same trendy little widget in your own country as you can in the country you travel to, if an emigre opens an import shop!).

Tell us more, AT.

I work in technical support and get yelled at all day for stuff that is NOT my fault. The keep calm sign helps me feel better!

inkybrushes:

I don't think people are justifying why they have the posters or trying to say they are super cool for having then first.

AT asked "So, what do you think? A blockbuster trend in the making or just a coincidence that we had a few in the contest? Let us know in the comments"

I would assume people who owned the object in question would speak up and say when and where they got said object - how else would we determine if it was a "blockbuster trend" vs a coincidence? If all the responders said they got their transit poster last month then it looks like a trend....

The transit signs don't really bother me. However, Keep Calm posters, ghost chairs and chalkboard paint get my dander up. I don't like any of them personally, but their ubiquity just boggles my mind. (Please don't stone me, AT elite!)

It's so interesting how we all of a sudden stop liking something because it becomes trendy, even though the item itself hasn't changed at all. I'm sure I'm guilty of this.

Besides, I'd have to agree with the others that outside of the insulated design blog/trade resource world, these items are not very common. Some people lament all the MCM decor on this blog, but in reality, very few people design their homes this way and I'm sure for most people, seeing this type of decor is rare these days.

@Jerseyfresh - "I do find this trend a little tiresome because it is so "easy" -- i.e. you don't have to know much about art to like and appreciate it."
I don't even know where to start. Tell me you're joking, please.

@kemdem - "In my opinion NOT doing something just because everyone else is doing it is just as bad as doing something just because everyone else is doing it. If you like it and you like the way it looks in your space, who cares?"
Well said!

I'm so with you on the Uggs, Patrick. Blows me away that people buy those hideous things for that kinda cash.

"the keep calm poster craze annoys me more because people seem to like them not even for the way they look, but for the sentiment they promote, which is really banal."

How exactly is that banal? It seems like the opposite of banal. Art that resonates with people's emotions -- what a novel concept! And yet so banal! >:(

Uggs need to go.

I really like my Ork poster, its of the city that I live in now.

Before I moved here I mounted a city map of where I now live, over the bed. So I could see the city streets and figure out where I was going.

Now the Ork poster in my bed room reminds me of where I am. And that makes me happy.

I love transit signs, but......

I live in NY and
Ride the subway every day

They are historical relevant since the NYC subways have changed to single letters, numbers and colors.

For those of us old enough to remember the IRT and BMT lines, and when trains were the GG, and RR

they aren't trendy at all, they are our childhoods.

Yes, as I NYer, I think I have a slightly skewed perspective and feel it is more about nostalgia, rather than a "trend". My brother had several of old ny scrolls in his apartment for a few years now. When my family moved into our new apartment, he gave us the GG Smith-9th street poster....which is a block away. I proudly display it and could care less if it is a trend. (also nostalgic for me, because growing up in this neighborhood, we would rather walk 5 blocks from Carroll St., rather than trek the block from the seedy Smith-9th stop)

Also.. I miss the GG, RR, etc.

@ patrick (the other one)
yes, I too, picked up on the globes, or have for a while. Meaning way before you or anyone else did ;)

I AM one of those people who stays clear of certain easily attainable trends. If the sales person tells me something is very popular right now, I will run away.
Then again, people think I'm a snob anyway, so I embrace it best I can.

Re: "Meaning way before you or anyone else did ;)"

Gee, I wonder why they think that? :)

Odd, isn't it?

:D

I think it's the new: I have no imagination or sense of style, so let's go with what everyone else is doing. The first few were cool; now they're a cliche.

minimalist1 - Thanks for letting me know I have no imagination, no sense of style, everything I own is a cliche, I'm a moron and loser! Nice.

inky brushes - Point taken. I didn't mean to insinuate that I was the first or better than other people who had these - in fact the first one I saw, that I remember, was on AT a couple of years ago. I just saw mine, liked it, it's big and thought it would look good in my place. I guess I was lamenting the fact that RH has these now as a roundabout way of admitting to myself that the scrolls are trendy.

See, now I like that first one because I happen to live in Kew Gardens, Queens. But that's allowed, right? =>

Didn't you guys do a post a while back on the MTA selling these? Perhaps I saw it on another site, but I do know that a popular home design blog covered sourcing these awhile back, and that since then I've seen more and more of them. And please god, let's hope they're not the next KCACO. (Personally, I think the new black might be maps, which I used to love but I'm getting sick of seeing.)

It's so nice that being a transit geek is so chic now....

For people in Toronto, I've made up three different posters you can order via Zazzle that are reproductions of vintage subway and current streetcar rollsigns:

http://tinyurl.com/TTCrollsigns

As with many things, if you have an authentic transit roll, then it's charming and offbeat. If you have a reproduction that you bought from Restoration Hardware, then it's tacky and pointless.

The same could be said for faux zebra skin rugs, fake railway luggage cart coffee tables and, yes, brand new Keep Calm posters. They're uncool things pretending to be cool things.

"the keep calm poster craze annoys me more because people seem to like them not even for the way they look, but for the sentiment they promote, which is really banal."

How exactly is that banal? It seems like the opposite of banal. Art that resonates with people's emotions -- what a novel concept! And yet so banal! >:(

I think that the sentiment is only banal in the modern context. The original Keep Calm & Carry On posters were created in 1939 to encourage the citizens of England to keep going in the face of the war and, specifically, the potential for Nazi invasion and occupation. Keeping calm and carrying on was literally a matter of survival.

Whereas the modern Keep Calm poster is intended to reassure a soccer mom who's discovered that her nail polish clashes with her Prius. The potency of the original message has been "banalised" by our effete, comfortable lives.

love the keep calm posters and true vintage scrolls not the repros. i think that's the problem here - the repros at RH and PB that are ridiculously expensive and they're just junk made in china or whatever. there's no purpose to it. real old stuff is cool. most of the time.

and on aside re: p2's hatred of uggs ...
i, too, used to hate Uggs. but then i became a hockey mom and my child has to be at 8 am games ONE HOUR EARLY. yes. it's unfortunately true. so although i am morally opposite to the sarah palin style hockey mom i can't give up my warm fuzzy shoes. i even had to go to starbucks on occasion when traveling for hockey to get some tea to warm up. i never would have done that before because it's so annoyingly trendy/not mom and pop shops but don't worry folks i'll never vote republican - my core values are staying the same!

on the other hand chalkboard paint must go! i hate chalk dust. let's swap it out for magnetic paint - there's a trend i can be happy with!

Yeah ...nice to see bus rolls getting some media! I started selling these last year and they are so popular. I love the look...even created one for my new kitchen. Great post!

This post sure garnered a lot of discussion. My TRANSIT DESIGN shop, which is mentioned in posting above, is now open, if anybody is interested: http://www.transitdesign.etsy.com

How are you all so "tired" of these pieces? I have personally never been in anyone's ACTUAL HOME and seen a KCACO poster or a transit scroll so they can't be but so "trendy". Even 100 pictures on a blog doesn't equate to "everybody in the world". Let's not be so narrow-minded.

i for one find UGGs charming in an ironic way, and quite possibly on the fast track to becoming classic - although never classy - pieces. in fact, despite my snooty self i have entertained the idea of getting a pair.

oh, but what i meant to say was, yes, i'm with Joan in SB on this one, the authenticity is key.

I want y'all to know, I had a globe in my room when I was five, so suck it!

I had, and still have, two.

If anybody has a place with a transit scroll, macarons and (eep!) moustaches on sticks, accompanied by an opaque glass table lamp, they may just have captured the zeitgeist...

I actually don't mind them...the authentic ones...not the PB/Jayson Home/Restoration Hardware knockoffs. What I do mind is that you can't find a framed one for less than a month's rent. Is there a store anywhere that sells framed bus scrolls at a price that most people can afford? I'm actually curious.

The transit design store featured in this post is pretty good. Prices are decent. Oh but they're not authentic. Oh well. I also came across recentsettlers.etsy.com. Can't vouch for them but they're real London bus scrolls and framed.

I have a Keep Calm textile I wanted to frame and hang in my boys bedroom, but after visiting AT it's sitting very quietly in my cupboard. As for the transit scrolls, if you've been to every place listed then it's cool with me to have them up. However, half the people who have them have not/never will visit those places so why bother? Whenever I see one, I always ask the question "Have you been to Berlin, Paris, New York, Amsterdam, etc?" LOL

I love the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters, they burrow under my skin and inspire me in a way that few things are. As was previously commented, they are from an era in which extreme heroics were expected as a part of everyday life, and I so greatly admire and respect the pluck and pride of the British nation as they dealt with the blitzkrieg without breaking or being perpetual victims. Someone else said that they are now banal because our lives are banal and overly comfortable, but I disagree. The Keep Calm posters don't reflect us, they reflect the British grit in WW2... but they do make me want to be better than I am in that way.

After thinking this through, I think I'm going to go ahead and get that Keep Calm poster I've been thinking about. dangab33, I'll take yours if you don't want it! :)

I adore the black and white industrial look. I make International Code Flags as www.bexpert.etsy.com you can buy your personalized initial there with a code flag meaning they are all in black bus roll style.

@NorNor -- you are absolutely right. To put these things up in one's apartment because they're "trendy" is silly but when they are from places we've actually lived or traveled to, it makes all the difference. Thanks.

i just don't see the joy of looking at that as "art". yes, it is something to stick on the wall. yes it is trendy and will become passe soon.

Keep Calm has to go. Everything else can stay.