Monday, March 31, 2008

yellow


photos: salvatore ardillo

Over the weekend I took a walk around the neighborhood with my son and my friend Sam, who is visiting from NY, to see the amazing yellow wildflowers that are in bloom all over the county. From the road, they look small and sweet, but as we got up close we realized that they were tall --some were even taller than us! The flowers don't have a strong scent, so there weren't many bugs around except for legions of fuzzy caterpillars. It's going to be an amazing spring for butterflies!

This yellow color is creeping into my designs a lot lately, and I'm also seeing it in the marketplace. I think it's a hot color for this spring season--stores like Anthropologie are filled with yellow home décor accessories, and I have my eye on a sweet lemon chiffon colored cardigan, too. I'm working on a package design project right now for European natural/non-toxic cleaning products. One of the main colors I suggested was yellow. The owner of the company immediately shot it down, saying that in her experience yellow is the least-preferred color of all colors. She said that every time they introduce a yellow product (i.e. a yellow soap or a hand lotion with a yellow label) it is the worst-selling product in the collection. She also said that yellow flowers are considered "ugly" in her country. She said that mimosa, which is one of my favorite scents, doesn't sell very well for them--she said that people love the scent and will buy a product that is mimosa scented only if there is not yellow on the packaging. Poor yellow! It's so interesting to me the different associations that cultures have with color. I look at those photos that Nitza took in Mexico and wonder how dull a US city--with all our grey and concrete and steel--must look to someone from outside.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

road trip

photo from www.santamonica.com

Road Trip! We're taking a break from the studio today and heading to Santa Monica for a much-needed r&r. We plan on wandering aimlessly along the Pier and not checking our email or an entire day! It's been warm here in SoCal, so I'm hoping we run into an ice cream cart. Fun fact: J once stuffed an entire bag of cotton candy in his mouth.

Tomorrow we're going to visit one of our very favorite stationery boutique owners: Paige from La Partie. Part of the fun of visiting Paige is all the kooky people that enter her shop. Once I saw a woman with her little tiny dog in one of those baby bjorn carrier things. Owner and dog were wearing matching visors and pink sunglasses. No joke.

Monday, March 24, 2008

travel with list cont.



photos by Salvatore Ardillo

Thailand has always intrigued me. Sam shared these photos from a recent trip and my passport is now calling to me. Check out this amazing jade & teal & gold color combo. Although the pattern and gold leaf could easily be overwhelming, the ornamentation seems somehow restrained and elegant. Someday I'd love to see these temples for myself.

travel wish list





photos by nitza & drew

Our studio is only 40 miles north of the border, yet I have never been to Mexico. Honestly, I never felt the urge until my mom's friend came back from a trip to Guanajuato with these photos. All this color is delicious! I love the rich, saturated pigments.

Friday, March 21, 2008

easter bunny

I'm so excited to decorate Easter eggs with my son! It's such a joyful process--I just love to look at the pretty bowls of bright colors.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

happy spring

Happy Spring, everyone. Here in Southern California the wildflowers are blooming like I've never seen them bloom before. It's truly stunning to simply drive around & run errands!

bonjour

Hello everyone. Just testing this out! We'll be launching our blog in a few weeks. Meanwhile, this is our website: www.delphinepress.com.