fleur de lys

The fleur de lys (or fleur de lis, in English) motif is near and dear to my heart because of my French roots. Fun fact: when my mom became an American citizen she wore fleur de lys earrings! I took the photo in San Francisco on my last trip. I can't remember the building, but I do remember it was a column and I love the watery celadon background color paired with the stone.

lunch table: la boulange

photos by delphine

One of my favorite spots in San Francisco: La Boulange. The exterior of the building is so inviting with its bright leaf green accents. I love that they stenciled the name onto the building with paint: they didn't have to spend a lot of money on expensive signage to create an effective storefront.

public art and press room visit

photo by delphine photo of the macarthur muni station

Last week John and I had a chance to visit with the super fabulous Cardstore.com peeps in Emeryville, California, and get a tour of their facilities. We loved seeing their press rooms, their fulfillment/shipping center, and their fun loft-like workspace. The press rooms were pretty quiet (we visited in late afternoon), but we were told that all the presses run nearly 24 hours a day around the holidays in order to keep up with all their orders! We were also beyond thrilled to find out that one of our holiday photo cards was one of their top sellers this holiday season.

One of the greatest moments of the tour was seeing their Heidelberg press, which they have converted into a die-cutting machine. It was completely surrounded by bright yellow safety bars. Our tour guide seemed wary of the machine and gasped when we told him that delphine uses the same type of machine to letterpress (only without all the safety modifications)! Many thanks to Matt and all the peeps at Cardstore for the fun tour!

inspiration: california

far west fungi

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.

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.