ten14 textiles

I met textile designer Josi Severson at last year's Surtex show in New York and loved her designs, so needless to say, I was psyched to hear that her eco-friendly line, ten14 textiles, has officially launched online. The textiles are printed using only water-based, non-toxic inks on organic cotton or recycled cotton blend. Beautiful and sustainable.

Because it's Friday...

...and because there's the prettiest light dusting of snow on the ground outside. (although I think they may have gotten more snow in my hometown of Savannah, GA last night!) I am craving this amazing confectioner's sugar-dusted breakfast, spotted recently on Frolic. Gah. Well, cinnamon-raisin toast will just have to do!

Etsy Faves for Friday

Rosie Music's "I think I'm in Love" print was a featured Etsy Find recently and it led me to her shop where I fell hard for the very dapper Mr. Elegant Cat, top. He is just awesome. I'm pretty sure if he was here in my studio we would have stimulating imaginary conversations about the state of the world and such.
The Elegant Cat by Rosie Music

Other Friday faves: Tangerine cosmetic bag by quiltish, 70's Sheer Striped Dress by Ainslie Wood Co., Screenprinted poster by honey & bloom

New Patterned Notecards!

I'm psyched about these new card designs I just added to the etsy shop. I developed a series of patterns - for another, bigger project that you'll be hearing LOTS more about in the coming months - inspired by my love of textiles and folk art from around the globe, like suzanis from Afganistan, hand-woven fabics from Peru and Tibet, and embroidery from Mexico. I took a whole bunch of my own illustrations and hand-drawn design elements and went to town, layering and coloring and adding textures as needed. As I mentioned above, these are intended for another project, but they made such awesome notecards that I couldn't resist adding them to the shop. I hope you like them too!

Loving...

...the pop colors and petite, punchy graphics on crisp white paper of these limited edition prints by pancake&franks. Detail below.

Color Fields

A nice Kenneth Noland tribute in today's NY Times.

New Shop Banner

I added a spiffy new banner to my etsy shop today in anticipation of some changes happening in the year ahead. The aim was to give it a more fresh, clean, modern look. What do you think?

What's Old is New

It's a whole new year, so let's....look to the past? I wanted to share a few spreads from one of my favorite design books, Antique Packaging by Josep M. Garrofe. This yummy, tactile hardcover features Victorian-era graphics from products ranging from food to pharmaceutical to cosmetics...great inspiration! The cheeky Nestle packaging is a fave - quite different from the brand's look today.

Sparkle and Shine, Goodbye to '09

Last post before the new decade! I am looking forward to spending the evening with friends, sending 2009 out with a smile, and kicking off 2010 with a bang. Here are my picks for a festive night out: sequined dress spotted on {this is glamourous}, feather-and-chain necklace from Anthropologie, and to top it all off, these wild mirror mosaic boots by Thakoon. Of course, in reality, I will be digging out whatever shiny items I can find in my own closet, but a girl can dream... Wishing you all a happy and sparkly New Year's Eve!

Design, Simply Put

The winter holidays is my favorite time of year for curling up in a cozy spot with a good book and a hot cup of tea. This afternoon, I'm going to take a little time out to chip away at The Count of Monte Cristo (a small literary step up from last year's Twilight obsession, ahem) - I've just passed the halfway mark of the 1200-page volume. With the joys of reading in mind, I'm loving the simplicity of these book cover designs. The magnificent imperfection of hand-rendered design, above, and beautiful classic typography with colorful patterns, below, by Christina Ottolini for Mucca Design.

Holiday Spirit

Pajamas, the coziest slipper socks, homemade hot chocolate, movies, family and friends, and of course quite a bit of cooking and eating. Aaahhh... the holidays! While I am being productive and working today, I'm going about it in the most leisurely way possible. I've got lots and lots of projects coming up in the new year that I am excited to share with everyone soon, so this little window between the holidays is the perfect time to rest and rejuvenate, stoking the creative fires for the energy I will surely need in the weeks ahead.

Snowy pics, top, from Camilla Engman's beautiful blog, and bottom, Rocky Mount Studio.

Last Stop Before the Holidays

Last weekend, I visited the Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Market - a really good showing this year of fun housewares, art, and delicious food items. I got to meet one of my fave designers, Tara Hogan. I've been reading Tara's blog, INK+WIT, for ages so it was super to meet her in person and chat for a while.


Tara was kind enough to feature my yoga tees and prints on her blog recently, and I am now the proud owner of one of her lovely letterpress prints (below) which is now making my home office a cheerier place to work! If you haven't already checked out her blog or shop, get on over there!


A few other faves from the holiday market: (clockwise from top left) ceramics by jennifer fisher, artwork by Kristiana Parn, handmade plush toys by Zooguu, screenprinted moleskin journals by fisk and fern