oh and one more thing

how's this for inspiration? thirty thousand years of art - the cave paintings right up to art from right now. my intro art history class all in one gorgeous album with just pictures, no (ok, maybe few) words. it is going on my christmas list right now.

holiday indie shopping - let's get to it

the holidays are upon up with a vengeance. luckily that means lots of indie art and craft fairs, including several super letterpress sales.

up first: the Calendar Show & Sale on November 30th from 6-9
at my haunt the SF Book Center (16th and DeHaro), where my letterpress teacher Megan Adie will have her brand new letterpress calendars for sale. i heard about the amazing number of printruns and colors she used to create these; i can't wait to check them out. speaking of letterpress, i am psyched - i finished my letterpress certification over the weekend and am looking forward to printing my own work now!

next: Carrot & Stick Studio Sale on December 8th from 10-4
at 6050 Lowell Street, Studio 102, in Oakland

the ladies at C&S create such clean, strong graphics and are super to work with. they did a save the date for me and it came out beautifully.



Image courtesy of Carrot & Stick

i am bummed b/c i will actually miss those first two sales b/c of upcoming trips. i am not bummed about the trips but b/c i can't be in 2 places at once - the trips and the fairs. you get it. onward...

Holiday Fair at SFCB on December 16 from 12-5 which I will be able to attend. More calendars and letterpress goods a la the Calendar Sale this Friday.

And last but not least certainly (I should say most) the Bizarre Bazarre on December 15. Nancy of Belle Epoque will be do a craft demonstration and Ali of designalicious will be selling her gorgeous gems and jewelry. if you are looking for a surprise gift for someone, i totally recomennd Ali's jewelry. she sells online here too.

Looks like a great letterpress line up too at the BB: Dutch Door Press, Lizard Press, Green Chair Press and so, so many more.

just fun stuff to look at

yikes - i didn't mean to be away for so long. but between a minor car accident (i am fine), a neighbor's burglarly and the general business of life, i haven't had a chance to blog. but i've been collecting images and ideas as always...

first of all, i saw this fun gift idea in a magazine:



i believe those are stina persson's watercolors decorating a space.nk travel set. i luuuuv stina persson - what a great way to take her with you. and if you want her with you at home, you can buy her prints here.


last week, my co-worker, the artist and designer david rose, was invited to showcase a dress made of recycled paper at the AIGA SF 2007 Gala. his dress is the one on the left in the picture at right... he made it entirely out of the leftover pieces of paper from one of his design projects. you can also check out his glass work (great for gifts) at these upcoming shows. he designs super wrapping paper too so be sure to snap some of that up too.

finally, here's a picture of a garage door in my hood with which i am obsessed. i love the shiny black scrolliness of it all. so striking in a neighborhood of beautiful but largely white/pastel houses.

wishing this worked for me

i just like this planner by Shinzi Katoh so much. the images are stems and branches, but i think they also look like alternative christmas trees. now if only i could actually get myself to use a beautiful planner with any regularity...

it is available at three potato four right here.

typography for kids and kids-at-heart

robin rosenthal designs modern, simple & fun art for kids - which i came across on designsponge...



and this one is great too: but i suspect it is more soothing for the tired parent eyes than 3 year old attention spans:



i have no kids and i'd totally hang that last one up in my living room in a heartbeat.

check out some of her really colorful and graphic illustrations too. i know so many expectant moms that i just could not not share robin's bennett and the garden series:



Images courtesy of Robin Rosenthal

so fun!

visual organization

i realize i need to fix up that image of my invite. i'll try to take a good quality pic tonight - it is hard to do this when i am never home in the daylight but i will persevere...

in the meantime, via black eiffel, i found the visual dictionary site.

some sample visuals:

italian price list text:


this makes me think of my husband:

images courtesy of Visual Dictionary


just the place to go for inspiration. go on, goggle all the different typefaces and then contribute. i'm already picturing what i want to upload - there is just so much visually interesting and entertaining type all around us everyday - why not share?

creative project unmasked

i have a letterpress project in the works - exciting! - but for the moment, i wanted to show you the 'creative project' i've been working on:



it is for a friend's baby shower. we went through the creative process (which i usually do from the non-designer side) and it felt great to produce a result that incorporated everyone's feedback - and that everyone liked. no small task.