Yesterday John and I strolled around the Ferry Building (San Francisco, California) while killing some time between meetings. I loved seeing so much great graphic design in one place. (and the food and goodies looked delicious, too). The Far West Fungi stall was by far my favorite stall. Beautiful and interesting goods, amazing merchandising, and welcoming vibe overall. J does NOT like mushrooms, so I had to quickly snap a few photos while he powered by. We are taking the ferry tonight, so I will to sneak back while J waits (I think I can bribe him with a gelato) so I can buy some infused oils to take home for my dad. I bought a little surprise for my Mom at the Miette confiserie.
Friday, January 30, 2009
inspiration: california
Yesterday John and I strolled around the Ferry Building (San Francisco, California) while killing some time between meetings. I loved seeing so much great graphic design in one place. (and the food and goodies looked delicious, too). The Far West Fungi stall was by far my favorite stall. Beautiful and interesting goods, amazing merchandising, and welcoming vibe overall. J does NOT like mushrooms, so I had to quickly snap a few photos while he powered by. We are taking the ferry tonight, so I will to sneak back while J waits (I think I can bribe him with a gelato) so I can buy some infused oils to take home for my dad. I bought a little surprise for my Mom at the Miette confiserie.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
sweet hearts: valentine's day cards
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
travel: san francisco
Today I'm traveling to San Francisco for a quick work/fun trip. One of the things I am most looking forward to (besides visiting my cousins, of course) is a visit to La Boulange for a cannelle and café au lait. Thank goodness nobody in my neighborhood makes these or my pants would never fit again.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
color trend: paisley
photo by rachel rosenberg o'brienMy bff sent me this photograph of her dad, taken at a family wedding last year. Ron says "this jacket was made new for me in 1970 and it still fits!"
I'm thinking Ron could start a new color trend: psychedelic paisley.
I'm thinking Ron could start a new color trend: psychedelic paisley.
Monday, January 26, 2009
wedding blogger
Congratulations to Vané on the re-design of her fabulous blog, Brooklyn Bride. If you're planning a wedding but feel lost in a sea of "pink flowers and poofy dresses," then Brooklyn Bride is for you! Vané covers "all that is modern in the world and weddings" with a keen designer's eye. We are truly honored to have been chosen as a featured vendor. I'm having lots of fun discovering other wedding talents via her vendor page, and was particularly blown away by the photography of Daniel Krieger.
Friday, January 23, 2009
client we heart: here comes the bride
Yesterday afternoon I visited Here Comes The Bride in their new location (Mission Valley, right near downtown San Diego, California). I love the new store! They went with a lilac and deep plum theme for the décor, to match the new logo and business cards we designed for them. So pretty! I also spotted, among the sea of white and ivory gowns, a pretty blue wedding gown. What do you think about blue for a bridal gown?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
inspiration: factory orange and yellow
A recent visit to my dad's factory (top images) inspired the factory orange and steel grey color scheme for a project I'm working on now for Strathmore (bottom images). When I was a kid I loved visiting my dad at his factories and walking the floor with him. I inherited an appreciation for mechanical equipment, which, I think, is the reason I was drawn to the craft of letterpress.Wednesday, January 21, 2009
inspiration: california
california wild flowersI'm so excited the mimosa trees are just starting to bloom. They are my favorite Southern California tree. I'll take photos and post next week. FYI, the mimosa is a huge inspiration to me ... I have a wedding suite designed after it, as well as a lovely sympathy card. It's also my mother's favorite bloom, because it reminds her of her home town in the South of France.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
kids party: scooch is 5
big boy orange birthday partyLast week our son turned five. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. When I was trying to come up with a theme for his party, he told me he wanted a "Big Boy" party. To him, "Big Boy" means this big steam locomotive; to everyone else it means, well, Big Boy! I put a picture of the train on his invitation, and on the goodie bags, but otherwise I went with orange as the theme. It's his favorite color and his favorite fruit. He loves to pick oranges and tangerines from our orchard, so we gave a sack of them away to all the guests (pretty and free!). The kids drank clementine Izze soda and at cocktail hour the adults drank ruby red and clementine martinis. I made cupcakes with an orange-flavored icing, and decorated the table with all the orange things I could find in my house (which was not difficult, since it's one of my favorite colors and was the theme of a few of our delphine trade show booths).
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
before: waiting room chairs
My dad's factory is in the midst of a move to a new location, and he offered me these (this?) gross vintage office waiting room chair for free. What do you think I should do with it? Obviously get rid of the orange pleather ... but replace it with what? And I don't really have room for this in my studio; do you think I should sell it? Or put it in the warhouse? Hmmm ... I need help!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
wish list: taurus pendant
Since I didn't get a single thing off my Christmas wish list this past year, perhaps I'll have better luck with my birthday wishes? Or maybe I'll take matters into my own hands and get this cool vintage Taurus pendant for myself. I found it here at the 19Moons shop on Etsy. Love it!!! Want it!!! ... sigh.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
trend: violet
creme de violette -- violet liqueur
Discovered this holiday season: Créme de Violette Violet Liqueur. Delicious straight up or in a chilly vodka martini. Almost too good to be true! I also like this wildflower wine made by J. Lohr, which tastes of violets. Violet is a pretty every day/regular flavor in France; when I was a kid my favorite gum flavors were violet, cassis, and licorice -- none of which I have ever seen in the US. Why are there no violet candies in the US, yet we're plagued with a plethora of disgusting watermelon flavored candies? I'm just sayin...
Monday, January 12, 2009
get organized: personal calling cards
Calling cards are chic. Much better to give someone one of these personalized letterpress calling cards than one of these. Right?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
dollar store treasure: olivier the owl
Meet Monsieur Olivier LeMignon, our new studio mascot. I picked him up at the Dollar Store while looking for party favors for my son's birthday party. Hoooooooray!
Friday, January 9, 2009
christmas wrapping paper
I was making a list of things I'd like to print this year, and holiday wrapping paper is near the top of the list (after another letterpress calendar). Last fall I designed this one for Isabella Smith and it was sold in Europe and Scandinavia through her stores/catalog/website.
logo design: here comes the bride
Here Comes The Bride celebrated their move to a new location by changing their logo colors from earthy green to their new favorite color: violet. So chic and lovely, yes? Normally I would say that changing your branded logo colors is a big mistake, but in this case I think the new color is more representative of the whole bridal vibe and was the best choice for them.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
earthquake
So a few days ago here I was giving J some lip about being so crazy paranoid about earthquakes ... guess what? We just had one a few seconds ago. The books jiggled (and my stomach still is giggling), but the shelf did not fall down! Still, I'll take the occasional Southern California earthquake over my old terror: hurricanes, anyday!
free stuff: calendar
In today's in box I found a great coupon from Shutterfly for a free 12 month calendar! Use code: CALENDAR12. Offer expires 1/12/09.
studio makeover: rainbow shelves
After I figured out how to unscrew the bookshelves from the wall and move the shelf to its new location, I decided to re-shelf my graphic design books by color. I was inspired by the pretty cover photo on this quarter's Martha Stewart Weddings magazine (which, btw, is my all time favorite magazine ... I have issues dating back to 1996!).
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
logo crush: jin patisserie
While driving around Venice on my way to visit a client a few years back I spotted the lovely Jin Patisserie logo and have been ever smitten with it ever since. It's such a lovely logo--especially when blown up. The simplicity of the mum is really pretty, and I love any logo using the color orange! I've never had the time to stop into the patisserie, but I've found a few teas that I would buy for the packaging alone on their website: I'd love to try the Orient Blends Orient Chic tea. It's a blend of green and black teas, scented with Osmanthus, lotus and jasmine flowers, combined with pepper. Sounds so romantic, doesn't it? I love teas scented with pepper and with jasmine, but have never tried them both in one tea. But the tin is so gorgeous (and my very favorite shade of green), so even if the tea stinks I'd be happy to just look at the package!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
color worship: pastels
I'm always on the lookout for fun photo props. One of my favorite props to use is a cute cup. I usually pull them from my collection of vintage teacups, but I also love these pastel espresso cups from Anthropologie and couldn't resist buying the pale green one to use in the promo shots of our Ava invitation. The invite on the left is a sneak peek at our new Pacific Beach Blooms design.
Monday, January 5, 2009
southern wedding
As I've mentioned before, I spent many years living in the South (South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina). I've always loved the look of cotton in floral arrangements, and love the Southern tradition of a natural cotton wreath on the door, but have never seen cotton incorporated into a wedding bouquet quite as beautifully as these wonderful bouquets by Epting Events. Marisu, of the superb Athens, Georgia based photography studio Zoom-Works, captured this shot. (BTW, Zoom-Works is available for destination weddings, so you're in luck even if you don't live in Georgia!)
silver loveliness
When we finally decorate our bedroom I'd love to put this silver parsons desk in my dressing area. It looks so chic and romantic ... I can picture a little vase full of tulips and bottles of perfume in the corner. Dreamy! It's on sale right now at West Elm.
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