I'm pretty sure I've confessed this to you before, but I am addicted to paper products. I love the feel of a good, heavy paper in my hand, the texture of a watercolour paper ready to be painted, and the potential of what can be created out of humble little torn-edged pieces. So it was important to me that the paper for my new business cards play a key role in their loveliness. Enter MOO.
I just love it when small things come in great packaging. Here's how my MOO Luxe business cards arrived. {There were more in another package along with it.}
I love the wax seal and the linen-textured box. So unexpected! Even better, look what I found inside!
My lovely graphic designer friend Melody took some watercolours I did up {including the herringbone pattern on the back of the cards} and laid up something simple yet sophisticated. I just love them!
One of the awesome details that MOO offers in their Luxe line - in addition to paper so thick you want to bite it - is painted edges. For someone who is all about the details, this is like candy. Yum!
From the simplicity of laying them up online to the lightning fast shipping to the print quality to the details like painted edges and bite-ably thick paper, I am thrilled. I would highly recommend MOO for your next run of cards!
Wishing you the happiest of weekends, friends, filled with time spent with the ones you love. Gathering, eating, laughing, creating memories. Isn't that what weekends are for?
By now my love of markets should come as no surprise to you. I love the happy hum of shopkeepers and shoppers alike, greeting each other whilst being bathed in golden morning light, admiring beautiful produce and delectable baked goods, making warm and happy small talk amongst their careful selections. I love the variety, colour and artisinal goodness represented by each unique vendor. And I love the possibilities and creative opportunity their wares offer a humble shopper like me.
If you are in San Francisco and love all the sensory splendour to be beheld at a market, then you simply must make a trip to the Ferry Building Marketplace. Located right on the water at the foot of Market Street, this historic and beautiful building opened in 1898. The port for commuters crossing the San Francisco Bay, it is also a natural home to the delightful market. The Farmer's Market {see the photos of produce above} rolls in to set up shop on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, taking up residence in temporary outdoor stalls. The permanent shops nestled in the Nave of the building are there 7 days a week.
Here are some of my favourites from the beautiful space inside:
As you'll know from yesterday's post, I have a sincere fondness for ceramics. I think it's something about the purity of the process that enchants me. It's a real collaboration between human hands and machine to create something truly beautiful. There is a joy in making things by hand that is so clearly reflected in Heath's product. I adore their colour palette - vibrant and fashion-forward - met with their subdued matte finish. Beautiful art for everyday living. Take a look at their beautiful process and beautiful product in this delightful video. If I didn't already love them for their product, I'm head-over-heels knowing the integrity and community that stand behind it.
Setting foot into Miette is a bit like taking a step back in time to a picture-perfect 1950's pastry shop. There is something charmingly traditional and authentically American in each cake and confection they create, with a serious dollop vintage perfection on top. I think it is safe to say that the owner Meg is as much an architect as she is a pastry chef, very carefully crafting each concept into California-playful-meets-perfect. She even has a gorgeous, scalloped-edge cookbook, published by Chronicle Books {of course}!
Last but not least, the truly remarkable organic and sustainably farmed olive oil from McEvoy Ranch is award-winning for a reason. Crafted in the Tuscan tradition and capitalizing on the good earth of Norther California, their product is truly exceptional.
Image via McEvoy Ranch
Not only was their olive oil a delight on the palate, but I fell in love with the organic simplicity of their olive wood presentation boards!
Writing this post has me craving another visit to the market! Perhaps this weekend.
I have a confession to make. I am not a huge technology buff. In fact, the term "techtard" has been bantered about more than once in my direction, and I've owned it honestly! Ask me to cook a lovely meal, design a beautiful home or to create something with my hands using raw materials? Great. Ask me to solve your technology problem? We might all find ourselves crocheted into a corner of wires and plugs. Not pretty.
My "techtardness" now on the table, it's fair to say that you should not look to this blog for the latest updates in technology. Yes, I love my Mac and my iPhone, but I'm definitely more of a consumer than a pro. But today I just had to share something with you that wowed me. I think it's the vintage concept brought to life in a modern way that caught my attention. I have a fondness for old-school record players and love the warmth of an old vinyl recording. Today's feature might not quite get us back to the vibey, vintage charm of old 45's, but it's pretty darn cool. Friends, meet En & Is' beautiful, Italian designed iPhone Megaphone.
Image via www.blessthisstuff.com
Image via www.blessthisstuff.com
Image via www.blessthisstuff.com
Image via www.blessthisstuff.com
Image via En & Is
Image via En & Is
This passive {aka not powered} ceramic amplifier uses natural acoustics to optimize the best sound output from your iPhone. The simple wooden base allows the megaphone to float off the surface, thus increasing the vibration of the ceramic horn, optimizing the sonics.
This video is probably the best way to get a taste of what it's all about.
Pretty amazing, right? The only flaw I can see is that I don't think you can charge your phone while using the Megaphone. That said, parties where friends all DJ with their own iPhones throughout the night could solve that problem, swapping out and charging as you go!
What innovative yet brilliantly simple designs have you stumbled upon lately? Would love to hear what inspires you!
You know how sometimes you feel like you've just found "your people?" People who also care about beautiful photographs and gorgeous content, people who value the unusual and the unique, people who have a slightly quirky sense of humor, people for whom beautiful paper and flat-edge bindings are a love language? Well, I found just such people on my recent trip to San Francisco when I stumbled upon Chronicle Books, and I am delighted to share them with you today.
Image via Chronicle Books
An indie publisher with three retail locations in the city, Chronicle Books is truly "by creatives for creatives." An hour spent perusing their shelves led to laughing out loud, smiling huge smiles, gasping with delight, a desire to create, and a really huge wish list of books! Thankfully they ship to Canada!
Here are a few of my favourites that I think you'll want to check out:
This beautiful, cloth-bound, hardcover book is brimming with inspiration and detail. Taking well-traveled design to a whole new level, Sibella Court captures the essence of exotic locations in the details, colour palettes, textures and artisinal crafts featured within stunning interior spaces. Showing readers how to carefully curate a look that has been "collected over time," NOMAD is the kind of book that can help you find your interior "voice" in a whole new way. Incidentally, Sibella Court is a celebrated designer who works with Anthropologie. She also owns her own shop in Australia called The Society Inc.
If you have a weakness for the vintage charm of Polaroid photography, then INSTANT LOVE will instantly be added to your wish list {as it has been to mine}.
This charming book trailer has me hunting for a Polaroid camera to add to my creative arsenal ASAP!
If, like me, you are addicted to paper products and love their possibilities, then you will love both the process and the product of this next book, BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON. First, watch the video that captures how the illustrations were created:
And here is the delightful cover:
Even as my son grows older, I will still collect beautiful children's books when they are this inspiring!
Now, for a seriously good laugh, check out their National Bestseller, F IN EXAMS. Celebrating the creative side of failure, this book has some exam answers I wish I'd given in university! Hilarious!
Remember how I said I came away with a huge wish list of books? This is just the start. I promise to share more from Chronicle Books in upcoming posts {and I will dedicate an entire post JUST to their delicious array of cookbooks}.
Which books are on your wish list? Tell me how Chronicle Books has inspired you and which ones catch your eye!
New Business Cards | MOO
