On Sharkey's Shelf: "Grafica della Strada: The Signs of Italy"

Though I love exploring new places, there's one travel tradition I honor without fail: my yearly escape to the Italian coast. I've been going there for over 20 years, and every trip is as inspiring and restorative as the last. It's my happy place -- the perfect familiar-meets-unfamiliar getaway.

I wish everyone could experience the magic of Italy firsthand. In the meantime, "Grafica della Strada: The Signs of Italy" offers a marvelous taste of the visuals I've found so captivating. Literally a photo flip-book of signs from across the country -- storefronts, road signs, street art, and more -- it captures how Italy's elevated design aesthetic plays into everyday life.

Where else would you see an everyday traffic marker done in colorful mosaic or scripted curls of wrought iron? It's that no-holds-barred attention to detail that inspires the work I do -- and the life I live beyond it. We can all use a reminder that life is as beautiful as we make it.

Do you have a happy place? What about it inspires you?