1) St. Bart's
St. Bartholomew's is an Episcopal church on Park Ave and 51st Street in New York. Last year they redesigned their official logo and introduced a unified design plan that is beautiful.
The logo is based on the letter-work on the outside of the church itself, which was designed by architect Bertram Goodhue. The new work was done by The Original Champions of Design with lettering by Jesse Ragan. There are a lot of details of the brand on the St. Bart's page at their site. This is also the best name for a design firm ever.
St. Bart's also has a pretty great music series featuring choirs from around the world. They also have a modern art outreach program and a theatre that stages non-religious works.
2) Alison Bechdel
If you haven't read Bechdel's great Fun Home or Are You My Mother? you should. The 'mother' from that second title was my high school English teacher. These books are beautiful, sad, glorious studies of growing up and the strangeness of parent/child relationships.
