fine little day

check out this delicate beauty of a poster:


Image courtesy of fine little day

for sale by fine little day. she'll have more up in her etsy shop shortly!

sunny sunday in sf

i just love SF on days like this. without having to leave my neighborhood, i got to enjoy - in the sun - an indie design fair, toffee coffee ice cream from BiRite in the park, lunch with nancy at the liberties and a visit with Jessica of josephine and debudda!

we visited ali of designalicious at the mission indie mart - she has gorgeous necklaces and some cool vintage earrings for sale... great christmas presents:




Images courtesy of Designalicious

at the mart, i was also taken with the laser-cut jewelry at molly m designs. such pretty cuts and patterns and shapes - i especially liked the circular acrylic pendants - they were so light - and would pick up light rays super well and send them bouncing all over ;)


Image courtesy of Molly M Designs


i also popped into Josephine & Debudda and met both Josephine (shop mascot and friendly french bulldog) and Jessica, the shop's super nice owner. she finds such great vintage jewelry! and displays it so artfully - everything looks like a million bucks, but is in fact totally reasonable.


Image courtesy of Josephine & Debudda

you must go here to ogle the sparkling and gleamy jewelry or pick up a super soft Hayden Harnett pouch for pencils or makeup or a purse (what i use mine for.)

my creative project keeps on trucking - i have a meeting with the new mom to discuss the invite in an hour... and hope to get it all printed tomorrow. wow. can't wait.

meet up

last night nancy and i attended the design*sponge biz lady event in sf and it was quite fun and inspiring to be surrounded by so many like minded ladies. we had a great time talking to ali of designalicious - who will be showing and selling more of her beautiful jewelry this sunday at the Mission Indie Mart.



check it out!

also, in belleepoque news, nancy will be featured as the designer of a super cute (i had a sneak peak) Halloween costume on live TV this weekend! watch the Saturday morning news show on CBS...

they are everywhere

when we were in london everywhere we looked we saw elephants!

stencil/poster art in the east end:



a herd in hyde park:




plus, bonus! a monkey!



london is such a feast of visual design - everywhere a fantastic color or funny ad to stare at. or a line of shops - all agreeing to paint their fronts in co-ordinated but technicolor saturated color:



and this i just loved:

art explosion

the city was definitely exploding with art this weekend! open studios galore - every where you look - almost as many as open house real estate signs.

my friend meghan took me to the Art Explosion Open Studios at 17th and Potrero. i loved checking out the art - but maybe even more that that loved seeing that there continues to be space for artists in the city.

and last night we had a super fun night at le zinc and then at the bishop allen concert at the independent - love those boys!





on my own creative front, i am working out a baby shower invite. i love my idea just need my illustrator skills to catch up with it ;) onward...

of course you do

i really admire Marian Bantjes' work... and i think her recent project for Saks is mesmerizing. i guess this is just what happens retail-wise beginning this time of the year;)



how could you not want a puffy vest when displayed and arrayed just so?




Images courtesy of Marian Bantjes

peanut and the moon jar

i just had to post this:



such a darling elephant toy! made by nancy of belle epoque based on a pattern from hillary lang. i saw 'peanut' in person yesterday and he? she? is the perfect, cuddley stuffed toy. hurray for elephants! and new babies of course ;)

on a totally different note: do you know about korean moon jars? i saw a tiny, jewelbox of an exhibit on them at the british museum in london and was really struck by their beauty:



these are very large and very rare white porcelain jars made in Korea in the 17th/18th centuries. to make them large enough, craftsmen created the tops and bottoms of the jars separately and then joined the parts together, which created bulges around the jars' girths. i love the simpleness and milky white color - the jar i saw just seemed to glow...

new designalicious!

ali of designalicious emailed to tell me about her new jewelry and it is, not suprisingly, gorgeous:



earthy and gorgeous and mysterious!

ali also has a new blog with more photos of new work - and she'll be showing it at the capsule design festival this sunday in sf. i love, love, love the capsule fair - such great designers and artists all in one festive gathering. i don't think i'll make it but will definitely be at ali's next showings at the Mission Indie Mart on 10/28 and the Holiday Bazarre Bizarre on 12/15.

i've been compiling some london and sardinia finds... and will step up my posting again (now that i am 1. in the us and 2. not sick!)

chihuly glass chandelier

here's a peek at the huge blown glass chandelier by dale chihuly that hangs in the front hall of the victoria & albert museum in london:



the modern and fantastical glass was so striking against the classical/victorian architecture...

back!

i am glad to be home after a fantastic trip! i need to recover a bit from jetlag and a nasty cold, but i wanted to show this gorgeous chair at liberty:



sorry about the blur due to no flash etc... i have tons more pictures and finds from london that i will pick through soon and show the best of. but first, check out this beach - probably the best i've ever been to - on sardinia:



breathtaking....

london calling

Image courtesy of Temperley

i am headed to london and sardinia in a few days...and am inspired to check out maje at fenwicks thanks to joanna... and will hopefully get to ogle the dresses at temperley. i cannot get enough of the drapey, flowy glorious temperley look.

then i will just aim to relax in the italian sun and do very little.

if anyone reading this has any shop/designers tips for me to check out while i am in london, let me know!

elephants!

Image courtesy of J. Crew

elephants galore! i am totally taken with this charm necklace - and with elephants in general. a symbol of wisdom, elephants are pretty popular in my family. a bunch of us collect them; i like the idea of wearing them!

steamroller prints

if you are around sf this saturday, check out the sfcb's 4th Annual Roadworks: Steamroller Prints and Street Fair.

this is your chance to see a-2 ton steamroller ink and press large linocut prints. there will also be booths with letterpress and bookarts vendors selling their work. i definitely am looking forward to it.

on bloesem

i was totally thrilled to see that my blog was featured on bloesem as part of irene's latest round of "recently discovered blogs". look at the left hand side bar.

this is so exciting! if anyone reading this hasn't not checked out bloesem, you must do so immediately! irene features superb design finds; you will see something you love i promise.

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!