Moonstruck

Artist Alice O'Malley shoots with an old-school 4x5 camera from the 1950s, using strictly natural light and lengthier exposure times - often working at the legendary Chelsea Hotel, citing its good natural lighting and architectural detail in her New York Times interview. There's an ethereal, silvery quality to the light in this "Moonstruck" series of portraits she created for the NYTimes Style Magazine, produced with fashion editor Susan Winget, that simply can't be found in digital photography.

Note: you can see large full-screen images (well worth a look) right here.

Sad Mac, With a Happy Ending

I found myself having major computer-separation anxiety today. I've had my iMac for oh, about 7 years (it's a little slow but still works great), and while I've transitioned to a MacBook Pro and was only using the iMac occasionally, I found it really hard to pull the plug - literally - on my cute desktop buddy. Wiping the hard drive clean felt a little like lobotomizing a trusty old friend.

Now for the good news, I'm donating my computer to a needy school via iLoveSchools.com. This is a great organization that makes it really easy to pair up equipment directly with the teachers and students who need it. I highly recommend checking it out if you purchase a new computer and want a happy home for your old one. Yay!

Good Times (Way) Down South

Hello! We just returned from 10 wonderful days in the Southern Hemisphere! We were lucky to be able to attend our dear friends' wedding in Rio de Janeiro, the home city of the bride. Shown above is the gorgeous Save the Date designed by our friend Agi; the design was applied to Havianas as wedding giveaway gifts (below)!

Rio is a city unlike any I've ever travelled to before, carved out of a space tucked between lush green mountains and dramatically beautiful beaches. We made lots of new friends and spent much of our time eating, drinking and dancing the night away. We also were fortunate to spend some time in the fishing community-turned-beach hotspot, Buzios, situated on a peninsula about 3 hours from Rio and home to the most gorgeous beach I've ever laid eyes on, Praia Ferradura.

I have a newfound appreciation for agua de coco, acai berry smoothies, Havianas, sarongs and the Portugeuse language! I'm still readjusting to life in the Northern Hemisphere after logging some serious travel hours, in particular this gloomy gray weather we've returned to here in Brooklyn, and will return to regular blog postings tomorrow.

Impeccable Audrey

From the new book Audrey 100

Winter Wonderland

How great are these retro holiday card designs? I spotted a few on Print & Pattern and just had to take a look at more! Designed by textile designer Walter Erhard in the '50s and '60s, they have been reproduced by Vigo Cards; you can see the full line right here.

Stamp-a-thon

I've been playing around with some return address ideas for the upcoming holiday card season - all that card-writing leaves my hand a-cramping, let alone writing all those tiny return addresses in the upper left-hand corner! Custom rubber stamps make a perfect solution, and there are quite a few making the rounds on the internet lately. Here are just a few of my faves:



The Butter



PaperWink



Primele Holiday Wreath stamp

A Good Cuppa

In the winter, I drink cups and cups and cups of tea. Mostly Yogi Tea Super Antioxidant Green Tea, in case you were wondering... but sometimes black , sometimes Rooibos, and sometimes Yogi Bedtime. I love occasionally adding in a new mug to my repertoire. Although the cupboard's getting a little crowded, I can definitely, definitely find room for one of these Anthro "Inner Beauty" mugs. So pretty!

Happy Wednesday

I love the simplicity of this cheerful artwork; the perfect mid-week pick-me-up! Now I can skip my afternoon coffee...

Hand-silk-screened prints and embroidery by Australian designer/stylist/writer Rachel Castle. Loads more fun items in her online shop.

Flowerful

Cheerful designs for a blustery gray Monday morning! Tote bags, pillows and wrap by Brie Harrison.

A Nice Birthday Present!

I have some exciting news today! Yes, it's my birthday, but in addition to that... one of our holiday cards is featured in Woman's Day magazine! This is their special "Best Ideas for Christmas" issue, on newstands now. It's jam-packed with recipes, crafts and gift ideas; I highly recommend picking up a copy to get in the holiday spirit.

The Card Smarts feature recognizes several fabulous stationery companies and recommends cards by personality type, such as folksy, traditionalist, jokester... One of my favorites is the suggested "Happy New Year" card for procrastinators. Our Happy Holidays retro dots pattern card (below) is the pick for "If you're a modernist".

Oh, Amy

Did you know that crafty cupcake-creator and bizarro-homemaker extraordinaire Amy Sedaris has a new book out? Known for the same crude but wonderful humor and dry sarcasm as her brother David, Amy's tongue-in-cheek book title - Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People - comes as no surprise. I have Amy's first book, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (images below), and it never ceases to make me giggle and guffaw. There's a great interview with Amy over on the Etsy blog; check it out right here.

Going Tribal

I have a bit of a predilection for all things folksy, boho and ethnic. Whether it's Mongolian/Persian/Thai/Indian/Peruvian, I love it all. The handiwork that goes into these types of pieces always amazes me, and it has a certain perfect-imperfection that machine-made textiles and goods just don't have. This aesthetic was also the inspiration behind my global weddings invitation line for Fine Day Press.

So, of course, these bags by Dazzling Lanna are on my hit list. The handmade ethnic totes are constructed using vintage fabric from Thailand and India. Many of the bags are made from vintage Hmong baby carriers. Visit her etsy shop for lots more wonderful bags.