Peg and Awl

Wouldn't a bunch of these Peg and Awl candles create the perfect subtly-spooky Victorian-esque vibe for a Halloween party? I'm fascinated by the slightly macabre woodland creatures - like the tufted-tailed porcupine who adorns a wooden desk caddy - and bizarre medical imagery.

Using antique decoupaged illustrations and reclaimed 19th-century wood, this Philadelphia-based husband and wife team loves finding old things and making them new. Their look reminds me of my childhood in Savannah, a town most well-known for its historic homes, ghost stories and famous cemeteries - a great place to celebrate All Hallow's Eve!

Marni-Love

Gilt Groupe is having a sale on Marni today, yum. It's still well beyond my budget but that doesn't stop me from admiring these fab garments and punchy accessories. Wouldn't that green chain link necklace take a simple outfit to a whole new level? Yes, it would. Hmmm, the calf-length sock with heels look is a bit tricky to pull off, no?

Radio, Radio

Here is some great graphic inspiration to brighten up a rainy Wednesday. Spotted these vintage transistor radio packages recently on The Dieline; love the color combinations and excellent typography. You can see more at the original post, right here.

Happy Monday!

Wow, it is a perfect, super-mild fall day here in NYC. I'm skipping out of the office for a few hours this afternoon to accompany my dear friend and bride-to-be Christy, along with her mom, to some bridal boutique appointments. I am sooo excited! Here's a few bridal looks that are getting me in the mood:

Kicking it off is this amazing flower-adorned number from Amsale, from this gorgeous wedding just posted on Style Me Pretty today.


Middle row, chiffon layers from Marchesa (l) and Vera Wang (r) via New York Magazine
Bottom row, fabulous frothiness from Pronovias

Holy cow.

Austrian product/interior designer Florian Pucher studied under such design greats as Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas; his limited edition LANDCARPET project won the Elle Decoration International Design Award for best floor covering, 2009.

This project just fascinates me... Each carpet was inspired by aerial photos of a particular region (Netherlands, Europe, USA, and Africa), and is composed of colored shapes at different heights, creating a mini-landscape. Personally I am drawn to the "Europe" palette - shown here at top, and bottom two photos - but I am also loving the neutrality of the Africa carpet (directly below) and the pop of purple mixed in with the color blue tones in the Netherlands version (middle).





In other news, I'm stepping up our advertisement out there in the blogosphere; I'm thrilled to have a brand-new ad over on Poppytalk, one of my favorite blogs! Check it out below:

New! Letterpress Gift Tags

I've been a busy little bee tending to the etsy shop - check out our new letterpress gift tags! They come in four different designs - two holiday and two "all occasion". I had a lot of fun designing (and photographing!) them; they're perfect for adding an extra little something to a birthday or holiday gift. These tags are also great for jazzing up homemade gifts, like a mason jar of your custom lavender body scrub or your grandma's apple butter or whatever it is you make...

Holiday Card Sets are up!

Whew, it is shaping up to be a busy day for me, with lots on the to-do list. After my hearty bowl of oatmeal (with agave and cinnamom - yum), I'm diving right into work this morning.

A bunch of holiday card sets have been added to the etsy shop, for your pre-holiday shopping pleasure! Hope you all have a happy Monday.

Dying from the Cuteness...

How **adorable** is this packaging for 8th Continent Soymilk? It's not often that I use the word "adorable" to describe food products, but it seems suitable here... I'm just enthralled with the retro-yet-fresh color palette and cheerful, slightly Alexander Girard-esque illustrations by UK illustrator Ben Javens for BBDO West. And the website (screenshot at bottom) is even cuter! Who knew soymilk could be so fun?

You can read a bit more about the redesign, and see the old packaging, right here on the blog Brand New. It really shows the impact a design overhaul can have on a brand.

New: Thank You Card Sets

Thank you card sets have been added to the etsy shop! Check them out right here.

Coming soon: Holiday card sets and gift tags...

Collage, Collage

I LOVE collages - love making them, love looking at them, love collecting paper scraps for potential future collages, as evidenced by the boxes and binders in my art room stuffed with visual tidbits.

My friend Liz and I were recently awestruck with Anne Ryan's collage exhibition at the Met (which sadly has ended) - her sublimely restrained use of color and texture indicates the depths of her talent. Ryan did not start doing collages until late in her career, and was originally inspired to do so after seeing an exhibition of Dada artist Kurt Schwitters, but she clearly had a gift for it.

Just yesterday, I spotted some truly gorgeous collages by British artist Kenneth Mahood at Anthropologie's Rockefeller Center store (on the bottom floor, near the "Sale" section - my favorite area). His artwork is for sale, priced around $2400. A bit out of my range at the moment, but something to aspire to... I couldn't find the exact pieces online, but the two images below are of similar works.

If you are in the NYC area, pop in to Anthro and have a look for yourself. Happy weekend!

Cupcake Withdrawal

Omigod, these were the best cupcakes ever! Yes, "were" - as in, they're all gone and now I'm in cupcake withdrawal. These photos are of the last, lonely cupcake just waiting to be devoured. I made these for my friend Christy's birthday - a long-standing tradition of ours - and most of them were disappeared pretty quickly. Luckily, this last little guy escaped and I was able to savour each scrumptious bite.

The recipe is the Guinness Cake by Katie Quinn Davis posted on Design*Sponge last week. I altered the recipe to make it cupcakes (as suggested by Kristy in the comments section) and also added a healthy dose of cardamom and cinnamon to the whipped cream/cream cheese frosting. The cake itself was insanely moist due to the Guinness and sour cream that went into the super-thick chocolate-y batter.

This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Wowza

Beautiful watercolors by textile designer Naomi Ito. I first spotted Naomi's work on Decor 8, one of my absolute favorite blogs. Isn't her work just stunning?

Me-ow

I'm not sure how I feel about actually using this lipstick - watching the poor kitty head get all smushed and featureless after a few applications - but nevertheless I applaud their bold fanciful design choice. That, and I love the completely random yet somehow glamorous swan sleeve design.

Spotted on TheDieline.com