House Beautiful Magazine has a great series of tips from top decorators all about how to take your home from good to great. We particularly like their tips for hanging art (above). See all of the tips - 101 in all - here. And, in case you're wondering, all ArtStar mats are 8 ply Hahnemuhle paper with a lovely beveled edge. For a great example of a gallery-style wall see below from Young House Love, and of course, you don't have to follow these (or any) decorating tips to the letter. The important this is to make your space your own!

If you're in Westport MA, don't miss Zaria Forman's group show at Deedee Shattuck Gallery from May 1st-28th where she will be exhibiting alongside Hugette May and Sandra Allen. Forman says about her new work, “with my Greenland series I attempt to capture the ephemeral properties of arctic light. I am interested in the element of water and how it absorbs and reflects the light in its various forms. The forms that we easily recognize are water, cloud, and ice; these are essential elements that inspire my compositions. I am also interested in the transition between these states and enjoy the challenge of translating such sublime experiences into my work. The different forms of illuminated water give rise to the dreamy, atmospheric scenes that I hope will transport the viewer to this remote region of the earth, and encourage action to preserve it.” Read more about the exibition here, and explore more work from Zaria here. Zaria is concurrently in residence at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Arctic Visions: Away Then Floats the Ice-Island where she will also be exhibiting new work.

For our Friday design inspiration we're loving these dalmatian spotted chairs (sourced via pinterest, if you've got the credit for this pic let us know!). They take polka dots from cutesy to a whole new level of cool and the pink piping keeps the pattern from being too dizzying. Pair them with some bright pastels - we love the abstracts above the fireplace - and some gold accents and you've got a look that is fresh and invigorating.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us at NY Tech Day at Pier 92 - billed as the world's largest event for startups. We discovered loads of new tech startups and met tons on inspiring people. Not to mention Beefy the dog was there! A big thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth - we can't tell you how much we love talking about our company - and we hope to see you all again next year! Follow the #NYTD hashtag on instagram and twitter to see more pics of the event.

From a rumble at MoMA over their planned demolition to art vending machines in the UK and the reopening of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, here are some of the art world headlines that are on our radar this week:

 Photo: Giles Ashford/Tod Williams Billie Tsien via Bloomberg

1. An increasing number of high profile architects have come out against MoMA's planned demolition of the former Folk Art Museum building (its neighbor) including Annabelle Selldorf, Robert A. M. Stern and Richard Meier. [via ArtInfo]

James S. Russell writes that the planned assimilation is a "flabbergasting act of cultural vandalism." [via Bloomberg]

photo via The Art Newspaper

2. The Rijksmuseum has reopened in the Netherlands after decade-long extensive renovation. [via The Art Newspaper]

 3. Kenny Scharf, whose solo show is currently on view at Paul Kasmin Gallery, was arrested in Williamsburg for graffiti. Apparently the arresting officers are fans of Exit Through the Giftshop and there was little fuss all around. [via Gallerist]

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 image via the BBC

4. The City of Leeds has introduced vending machines around the city that sell original art for  £1. "For £1, you're able to buy very rare pieces," says John Slemensek of art collective Woolgather, one of the project's founders. "It really shaves off those ideas of 'out of reach artwork' or 'I could never own a piece of artwork'. [via the BBC]

Ever wondered how ArtStar prints are made? Check out our handy printing and framing page to see exactly how your art gets from our expert printers and framers to your wall. We're also proud to print and frame exclusively in the USA with fully archival and eco-friendly materials. Questions about printing or framing or anything else? Email us at hello@artstar.com.

It's no secret that we love art - but we also love the geeky world of tech startups. So we're very excited to be exhibiting at the second NY Tech Day at Pier 92. Come on by, check it out and ask us all your burning questions about how on earth we put art online (and make it look goood!). Click below for more info.

With a quick turnaround time post Architectural Digest, we're gearing up for one of our favorite fairs of the whole season, the Affordable Art Fair, which this year moves to a new home at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th street. The fair opens on Wednesday night and you're invited to join us for a cocktail reception. Thursday-Saturday the fair is open from 11-8 and Sunday 11-5. We'll be previewing new artists (including several not seen at Architectural Digest and some not even on the site yet!) and showing off our new facemounting framing option in booth 2F on the 2nd floor. For complimentary tickets, simply click HERE and enter code:  ONDPARTST to get your general fair pass (admits 1). Questions? Email us at hello@artstar.com

Ok, it's no secret we're all sick of the snow and wind and rain that has been drenching the East Coast and New York City for what feels like weeks! As such, we've decided to defy mother nature and celebrate spring flowers despite the grey skies with some of our favorite flower images and projects. From Libby Black's envious flower and book tableaux to super sweet terrariums and floral wallpaper, we hope you find some respite & a breath of fresh air in these blossoms.

Top left: We love this easy pansy terrarium made in a simple glass canning jar. Better Homes and Gardens has an easy-to-follow tutorial.

Top right: We don't have a source for this lovely botanical wallpaper but we love how it includes not only the plant illustrations but the hadwritten descriptions as well. Perfect for a mudroom or powder room. Spoonflower in the UK has a very cute botanical wallpaper with lavender and hyacinth.

Bottom left: Gone Again by Libby Black.  Black's current series of paintings explores the symbols of luxury in our daily lives, whether they are luxury apparel, a jar of fresh flowers or time to read. At the same time Black notes, "our lives are also filled with mundane moments, small pleasures, and frivolous distractions." We love that the books included in the drawing include Just Kids by Patti Smith and other personal mementos of Blacks including a copy of Art in America in which one of her exhibitions was reviewed.

Bottom right: The Exuberant Garden by Marc Dennis. We are so excited to have this new piece on ArtStar. Dennis is known for his hyper-naturalistic, highly detailed and obsessively delineated paintings that explore the subversive potential of beauty and pleasure. Fresh and unconventional, The Exuberant Garden depicts a fantastically bountiful celebration of the wonder of nature besieged with super-sized insects feverishly courting, preying, and fleeing, distilling something otherworldly from within nature’s beneficence.

Do you have your tickets yet? You're invited to join us at Pier 94 on Thursday (trade day) and Friday-Sunday for the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in booth 242. We'll be debuting our new framing options and several exceptional new pieces. For complimentary tickets click HERE or email us at hello@artstar.com. See you there!