sesame letterpress

i just came across these letterpress table cards at sesame letterpress:


Image courtesy of Sesame Letterpress

these give you both the utility of table numbers and a splash of color. (so many of the table number sets out there are just so boring.)

then i poked around the sesame letterpress page. lovely baby announcements and custom note cards and yes wedding invites all handmade by a couple with a baby in brooklyn.

sophie leblanc

via labour of heart, i learned about sophie leblanc, a french illustrator. i just love her work. it is so whimisical and colorful - with a bit of an edge...


Image courtesy of Sophie Leblanc

i am also obsessing about this for storing letterpress type and print...

the book stool

now this is something that several people i know in need of both more seating and more organization (myself included) could use...



although this would minimize the fun/inspirational/general craziness vibe of the look of magazines strewn everywhere!

check it out here and here....

me and the machine

now that my press has been pieced back together by my handy husband, i am pulling together a list of all the bells and whistles it needs to start humming. i spent a bit of today staring at this and at my press:


Image courtesy of Don Black Linecasting

i am learning a lot - for example, after some headscratching and deductive reasoning i figured out what a letterpress - not vehicular - truck is. can you tell i need my upcoming letterpress class to come quickly?

nyc

so a couple of weeks ago, i went home to nyc and i wanted to share some of my favorite finds/stores/experiences.

*most friendly sales people
bird - sweet sales lady helped extract my embarrassed and stuck, somewhat sweaty self from a pretty but too spendy top, then she let me use the restroom.

*most helpful sales people
the awesome store manager at calypso home in soho who did a major web search just to find a paris store location for me. i wanted to know if the fantastic line maison de vacances had an actual store in france. i bought this mdv beauty for my living room:




*sweetest bargains
sleek white belle flats half off and also at bird, but this time the bird in boerum hill



*best belly laugh
'vintage' smurfs at ugly luggage! i love how my childhood toys are dating me ;) this store is hilarious. you've got to go! many thanks to grace at design*sponge for the suggestion.

*favorite finds: seeing the wallpaper animals in person at romp, the huge gursky photograph poster in the moma store, the mini muji shop in the bottom of the soho moma design store, the funky, conceptual pieces at A&G Merch and The Future Perfect (also favorites of design*sponge). i got this blue lacquer tray and pink plastic vase (that only stands up when you have a very specific amount of water in it) at those stores respectively:




*favorite experiences: checking out the work of julie chang, an artist who comments on consumerism and the commodification of our culture and then heading out to williamsburg to idolize many of those same objects and purchase a few - relishing the irony of this all the way, finding an hour to spare in hudson nyc and seeing the michelin man in the window of an antiques store:




and exploring many galleries in chelsea with my cousin katie...

and enjoying just picked vegetables in ct:


yum!

allegra hicks

i am heading to London (and Sardinia) and, inspired by all things british as well as desire to inspire's post on allegra hicks, checked out the allegra hicks website. where i found these:


Image courtesy of Allegra Hicks

love the varied colors and patterns. i'd use 1 of each type and combine with otherwise white table furnishings for a summery/beachy look. or else with pewter for something a little richer.

the pic is also especially fun - doesn't it look like a fan made out of multi colored and multi paned cotton?

also, i am almost ready to post my NYC finds... but am still trying to find a time - when I am 1. home and 2. the sun is still shining - to take some good pictures of a couple of them! it has been a busy month!

hive

lizzie of designwatcher recently posted about the growing numbers of saarinen tables popping up in traditional decor. i have also noticed that and also love the look. a white "tulip" table is so refreshing - especially as a counterpoint to darker furniture or heavier traditional pieces.


Image courtesy of hive

anyhow, i checked out hive - the store lizzie linked to - and fell in love. with its inventory, yes. but also with its site design and interface. it is just lovely -white and clean and simple with stunning images of good design popping up as you point and click.

joyful

Back in NYC, I was browsing in the Moma bookshop and came across this new book on the work of Pop Artist Sister Corita:




Her work is so alive and just joyful - that is the word many people use to describe it. I love it visually, but I also think her commentary on the world around her is intruiging.

sale at rose and radish

rose and radish is having an online switch sale - while they swap their old show for the new one. check it out.

while i was checking it out, i saw this lovely picture of some lovely bavarian glasses. not on sale, but pretty all the same:


Images courtesy of Rose and Radish

mission indie mart

If you are around SF this weekend, definitely check out the Mission Indie Mart. Besides the sweet whale (I love whales) icon, they are bound to have some sweet designers. For instance, Ali of designalicious will be there with her beautiful jewelry! I have two of her charm necklaces (wearing one today actually!) and get endless compliments on them.

I wish I could go but I'll be away for the weekend. But Ali mentioned that she'll be at the next Capsule SF Design Festival on Oct 14 in Hayes Valley so there'll be another chance!

Also - while on the topic of local indie designer fairs - I know there will be some wonderful letterpress works for sale on Sept 8 at the SF Center for the Book's Fourth Annual Roadworks: Steamroller Prints and Street Fair. If you've been jonesing to have a real life steamroller print a carved linoleum block for you - here's your opportunity.

Among others, my letterpress teacher, Megan Aidie, will have a table. Check it out!

making letterpress progress

I am definitely going to post more on my NYC finds, but first I wanted to post these:









I made my blog some stationary!

Letterpress class could not be more fun. My partner Geoff and I mixed up our colors and took the press by storm (not really, but we did feel super happy with our results). I had laid out just some boring text - the three bits you can see - but then in a burst of inspiration with our second color registration we adjusted things on the fly, played with overlapping text and went with our gut. We ended up with what I think is a really dynamic, integrated design as a final product.

I made flat stationary, folded a few of the flat pieces up into cards and also - thanks to Geoff's idea - perforated a few just above the wording which created some extemporaneous business cards.

I love it! Can't wait for future classes and... In other exciting news, my husband and our friend - both two handy people - fixed my broken tabletop letterpress! They fixed broken cast iron - no idea how they did it, but they did. I am impressed and super grateful. So I am a huge step closer to being able to do this chez moi. Again, can't wait!

use of color at home

i like seeing how people work with color in their homes. elisabeth dunker's use of it in hers is so simple and beautiful.

i like the pops of color against the white and blue for the kids rooms - it is carefully designed and laid out but i get the feeling the kids can still play freely, be inspired, leave toys on the floor (look at the second picture) and make the space their own.

many thanks to joanna for the link to her article and interview in cookie magazine with elisabeth dunker.

now i really am dying to visit sweden and denmark to see more aesthetics like these!

Images courtesy of Cookie magazine

romp

in honor of another new baby born yesterday, more baby toys!

this is an awesome elephant baby toy sold at romp in brooklyn:

romp was quite possibly my favorite store in my recent wanderings through various brooklyn shopping neighborhoods. i have no kids, but love the clean lines and bright colors of well designed baby toys!

i think the shop lady thought i was a little crazy because i entered without children in tow and just stood, by myself, in the store ogling the animal figures and the wallpaper elephants and giraffes and the wonderful bunny mobiles. i didn't buy anything but i am sure i will online one of these days!

Image courtesy of Romp

kathryn parker almanas

after a much needed week+ with family in nyc/ct/ny, i am back in sf. while i was back east, i spent a lot of time with my cousin katie, a fine art photographer. her work is stunning:


Image courtesy of Kathryn Parker Almanas


it reminds me of dutch still lives and the slant of light in a vermeer.

to make a photograph, katie sets up the still life and waits for the light. check out more of her work on her website - it deals with issues surrounding the body and dissection.

she'll be coming to galleries in boston, chicago and other cities so watch out for her.

and i am back to my regular postings and have lots to share from my trip east... stay tuned.