DNA 11, the inventors and creators of custom portraits made from customers’ DNA, has opened its first pop-up gallery called the DNA 11 House. The gallery marks the first location on the West Coast where authentic DNA 11 art is on display and available for purchase. Located at 218 6th Street in Hermosa Beach, California, the house is open to the public by appointment only now through April 1, 2009. We’ve known co-founders Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed for years and manufactured the window graphics for this awesome house. But more importantly, we’re psyched for these guys – their stuff is amazing so you should definitely make an appointment to check it out.

You may already be familiar with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, but in case you aren’t, this renowned facility opened its doors in 1855 as the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to caring for children. It’s been the birthplace for many dramatic firsts in pediatric medicine as well as fostered medical discoveries and innovations that have improved pediatric healthcare and saved countless children’s lives.

We were fortunate enough to be asked to help infuse some positive energy into CHOP’s Radiology Department. Specifically, we’re working on design layouts for 15 rooms where children will be screened or receive treatment. We’re thrilled to be a part of this project and can’t wait to show you the reveal! In the meantime, here are some mock-ups of what’s to come.

This morning, the day of President Obama’s inauguration, our friend and neighbor Deborah of epOxybOx, hosted a Venice neighborhood viewing party and celebration. Folks came together for food and drink, gathering around a large-screen TV to watch the swearing in of our new President. On the windows, blik installed the words, “Hope is a verb”…We agree, don’t you?

Threadless KIDS! has just opened a retail store in everyone’s favorite windy city, Chicago, IL. It’s packed with tons of their kids tee shirts, all of blik’s Threadless kid-friendly wall graphics as well as original prints of popular Threadless designs. They even have an awesome “coloring corner” where the kids can practice up on their design skills. Whether you live in Chicago or not, we think it’s worth the field trip to 1905 W. Division St.

We have lots of reasons to give thanks this month. Two of them center around our very close friend Oprah. Ok, ok, she’s not exactly our friend, but we did recently appear on her show and now, we’re featured in the Winter 2008 issue of O At HOME magazine, hot off the presses.

Earlier this month, Divine Design’s, Candice Olson, starred in an episode of The Oprah Show along with clutter-wrangler Peter Walsh. Their mission: revamp NYC apartments overtaken by chaos. In one ambush, long-time blik fan (lucky us), Candice, turned Birds of a Feather into a headboard and installed a blik Chandelier to add sparkle to a kitchen.

As if that weren’t enough, the current O At HOME magazine, “The Color Issue,” features Grandfather Clock designed for us by BY: AMT of Studio Jan Habraken. So, like we said, we have lots to be thankful for and in turn, we hope these will lend some inspiration.

Our friends at The Land of Nod are featuring I AM 8-BIT and RACE ‘YA Re-Stik in their holiday catalog. The 8-BIT design and photo is so rockin’ we couldn’t resist sharing. Thanks, guys, for including us in your collection of “big gift ideas for the little ones.” We could be biased, but we agree, these are two great choices for decking out the playroom.

Dutch designers and friends of blik, Jan Habraken and Alissa Melka-Teichroew, just wrapped up an exhibition at Peel Gallery in Houston, Texas. The art – which included the brand new silhouettes they designed for us – was displayed in house-shaped units: “The use of bare wood is a little wink to the crates where the expensive art pieces normally are transported in and normally are never seen by the public,” says Habraken. Such a fresh approach from the duo who always has an inspired point-of-view on everyday objects. One of the things we love about them. Congratulations, guys!

To read more about the show and the designers, visit Dezeen Design Magazine.

We are fortunate enough to have a fan in Candice Olson, interior designer extraordinaire and host of HGTV’s Divine Design. She recently used our blik Paisley in “Audrey’s Office” to help transform a shabby attic into a gorgeous home office. We’ve been flooded with calls ever since from folks eager to know what colors she used, so here you go: gold, silver and light gray. Obviously, these are not standard colors offered for Paisley, but in case you didn’t know, you can custom color most of our wall decals. We have 33 colors from which to pick and choose so you can create your perfect package.

All photos courtesy of pointclickhome.com

One of our friends, director Bob Gosse (NIAGRA, NIAGRA), is in the middle of shooting the new film I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL based on the New York Times bestselling book by Tucker Max. The movie is an edgy comedy about Tucker who decides to take an impromptu trip to celebrate his friend’s bachelor party where, of course, he drags his friend into a lie and gets him into deep trouble with his fiancée. Instead of sticking around to mend fences, however, Tucker abandons his friend to pursue hilarious carnal interests instead. Tucker is disinvited to the wedding, and in order to get back in, he has to find a way to balance his narcissism with the demands of friendship.

One of the main characters in the film is an avid video gamer, so Bob thought she’d have her place decked out in blik designs. Here are a couple of preliminary shots from set – check out HAPPY CREATURES in the background. More to come.