Oyster Sneak Peek

I recently had the pleasure of working with a bride & groom who are getting married in Cape Cod this fall and wanted to do a Save the Date that incorporated oysters. How cool! I have to say, I was a little nervous at first about coming up with an oyster design since they're such funny-shaped little guys. But I think they came out great - and I love that they wanted to keep the front blank - keeping it simple. Love that.

Calligraphy Spotlight

I've been hunting for a calligrapher recently and have come across some pretty stunning stuff. The first one is by Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls, who's work you have probably seen in Martha Stewart Weddings, where she has been featured many times. And for good reason - her work is simply beautiful. The second is by Tracy Joe, based out of Oakland, CA. And the third I found on Brooklyn Bride - who recently had her invitations addressed by Betsy Dunlap. I am more in love with calligraphy after this search than I ever thought I would be. Oh how I wish my hand would move like Betsy's!

ps - if you're in the Brooklyn/NYC area and need some wedding resources, Brooklyn Brides's got a ton of em on her blog, along with some great personal wedding bits. Great blog, Vane!

Pig Love

We're hanging in there with our pigs. Here's a little sneak peek at one of our new "greeting" cards - coming soon.

I put "greeting" in quotes because it makes me think of Hallmark greeting cards. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with Hallmark greeting cards (a special someone always gives me ones with kittens or puppies) but my work is just not Hallmark. But I would like a way to distinguish it from our blank note cards.

So what's a better way to say or group or categorize "greeting" cards? Or is this my issue?

The L&H Wedding Album

After thinking about it long and hard, writing down and re-writing down the pros and cons, and sketching out the costs in Excel, we've decided to come out with a letterpress wedding invitation album. This is a huge step for us - and one I feel very good about.

For those who don't know the story, I started doing invitations a couple of years ago and hand-stamped everything myself. I worked with brides one on one to develop a design, then had a rubber stamp (or many) made specifically for that couple's invitation set. While I loved (and still do enjoy and appreciate) the immediacy of rubber-stamping, I longed for the impression in the paper that letterpress offered. When I launched my line of letterpress note cards last year, I began to think about doing letterpress invitations, but held off for some time because I was not comfortable giving up the stamping.

But that changed when I noticed my strong affection for letterpress, the petting that goes on when a new piece is done, and really how perfectly letterpress matches wedding invitations - the best quality printing process (in my opinion) and the most special day of two people's lives.

This Bloom invitation above is an adaptation of one of my hand-stamped invitations that actually appeared in last October/November's issue of Modern Bride. It'll be one of our invitations in our wedding album we hope to debut this spring.

Stay tuned...

Fridays with John: From the Basement

From the Basement is a live music video series filmed in London by Nigel Godrich, a Grammy award-winning recording engineer and producer. It started with internet-only podcasts in December 2006 and has just recently been picked up by some HD TV stations in the UK and US.

The program has been recognized for its excellent quality and production. Unlike most live-music shows, there is no audience. The performer's emotion, energy, and talent are the sole focus. Where screaming fans, a host's intro and awkward post-song handshaking have become the norm, it's nice to see artists presented in this stripped-down form.

The first episode of From the Basement featured Thom Yorke who performed 3 songs from the (then forthcoming) Radiohead album In Rainbows, and one from his solo album, The Eraser. Here he plays Videotape from In Rainbows, which he recently described as "the best thing we ever created."

Tiny McSmall and artist Tamar Mogendorff

I was recently looking around the web for some cute children's gifts and came across Tiny McSmall - a beautiful site full of even more beautiful goodies. These vintage bird houses by Tamar Mogendorff are just amazing. And even though they are shown as baby gifts, I'd happily welcome a few of these treasures into my home. See more of Tamar's work here - you will not be disappointed!

Lessons Learned

boomp3.com

I wouldn't say I'm a die hard Ray LaMontagne fan, but the instrumental part (wouldn't say I'm a huge instrumental fan either) of Lessons Learned is to die for! I started listening to more of his songs recently, and cannot get enough of this one. I listen to the beginning of it over and over.

Saddened By News

I'm feeling some serious pangs over the death of actor Heath Ledger. I first fell in the love with the actor's good looks when he played a bad boy turned good guy in 10 Things I Hate About You. (You know you loved that movie, too.) And then really fell for his serious talent in Brokeback Mountain - a movie that had me crying long after leaving the movie theatre. Then - we became neighbors (dream come true!) when he and Michelle Williams moved into a townhouse about 5 blocks from here. While I never saw him, I have seen Michelle and their daughter Matilda a few times. It just breaks my heart to think of his family who's without him now. So so very sad.

Julia Rothman on Paper

Julia's illustrations impress me like no other. And also make me really jealous of her crazy talent. It's no surprise then that her line for Hello Lucky is above and beyond gorgeous. I chatted briefly to her the other night about this line - and she told me how much she loved seeing her designs in letterpress - especially because of how detailed the impressions are. No kidding! They're amazing. Congrats to Julia on her exquisite line - and to Hello Lucky for recognizing such a fiercely talented lady!

Fridays with John: We're ski racers?

Liz and I have just decided to do a 25 km cross country ski race in Lake Placid, NY this February. That's right. We're going to be entering the classic race of the 2008 Lake Placid Loppett. My brother and my niece have both done this race for the past several years and over Christmas they encouraged us to "give it a shot--it's really easy and fun." If their words weren't convincing, their ages may have been: he's 45 and she's 15. With much more experience, technique and practice under their belts, there's no question that they will both beat us.

With no snow in Brooklyn we're also going to be approaching this pretty "cold." Here's where I really respect Liz, though. While no expert, I've cross country skied a few times a year since I was 5 and telemark skied for the past 4 years. Liz, well, she's cross country skied TWICE. The truth is she decided to do the race before I did. So why am I doing this? I do think it will be fun. I've done a handful of running and cycling races and they've been great, and I'm guessing this will have the same effect. But mostly, they're 3 people out there (one older, one younger, one the same age) who will all make me look bad (or worse, lazy) if I don't. Not the most noble motivation in the book, I know, but motivation nonetheless. I'll keep you posted on our preparation.

Have a great weekend.

Stone Cold Love

Last night, when Lizzy told me that Oprah had heads of companies on her show the other day, I ran home and watched by DVR'd show. (Don't judge, I DVR Oprah every day.) I'm kind of obsessed with hearing how people start their businesses, so I was really excited to hear about the people who started Stone Cold Creamery, Williams-Sonoma and The Container Store.

Susan and Donald Sutherland started Stone Cold Creamery in 1988 in Tempe, Arizona. For the first 16 months, they say that they were just a regular old mom and pop shop, sometimes doing $6 a day. I am always amazed and inspired by people who start their own businesses and keep up the faith when things aren't moving as quickly as they might have hoped. Plus, I have a special place in my heart for any business that satisfies my sweet-tooth. Today, CSC is a 500 million dollar business. Clearly, they weren't the only ones who thought they had the best tasting ice-cream. My favorite? Cake batter mixed with anything peanut-buttery.

Check out the other heads of businesses featured of Oprah here.

[photos courtesy of Oprah.com]

The Cake Studio

These are cupcakes and cakes. All edible parts, cakes! Jill Adams is the genius behind The Cake Studio, based here in Brooklyn that custom designs these amazing and yummy works of art. I found Jill while searching locally for a cool grooms cake. I wanted something completely personal, funky and fun since it was a complete surprise for John. I haven't been on Jill's website in a while, so I was thrilled to see all this new stuff she's done. I am in love with the little frog prince cupcakes, but this tea set is my new favorite. Jill is quite the talent and is such a lovely person. Read more about Jill and her artistic background here. See more of The Cake Studio's crazy-yummy creations here.

Loving Loeffler Randall for Target

I've had a soft spot for Loeffler Randall ever since I found out that an art director from my old ad agency is married to the designer Jessie Randall and is now the marketing director for them. He was such a nice person - and there were many uglies there.

But I'm a little behind on this one. It took my sister living in London to remind me that Loeffler Randall was coming out with a line for Target. Staying on top of fashion trends is not my strong suit. Having an appreciation for them and $39 bags like this, however, is. I ran my sick self over to Target this weekend and picked up this beauty. It's huge - which is great for me and the 5 books and med kit I seem to carry with me at all times among other crap - and makes me feel like I'm carrying something fancy. I am increasingly impressed with the lines that designers create for chains like Target and love that they can make great design accessible for everyone. Check out Loeffler Randall's other goodies for Target here.

Winter Warmland

What the heck? I was supposed to wake up to a snowy drift outside my window, the sound of scrapers on windshields and boots crushing fresh fallen inches, and feel all warm and cozy under the covers. Total disappointment! Where has winter gone and why are the weathermen lying to me about Severe Snow Warnings - and on Monday morning, too!

The picture above is from a real winter wonderland in Lake Placid, NY. I miss snow.

January 10th

I can't seem to think of anything else to write today but the obvious... which is that today marks the 10th anniversary of my mom's passing. It's a day I dread every year - and not only because that day forever changed me, but also because it means one more year has gone by without her - and that means distance. And distance is scary when trying to hold on to someone who is no longer around. My memory of her physical presence has become blurry, and I have to pray for dreams to bring her back to me. I know there will come a day when I will have lived more years without her than with her - something I can't wrap my head around without aching inside.

But that's not today. Today, I want to hold on to and share a few things about my mom. Things like how she never let me leave the house without a hug, no matter how late I was or how hard I rolled my eyes - there had to be a hug. The way she answered the phone "Good Morning!" instead of hello. The time she left her bowling team to bring me my field hockey stick that I'd forgotten at home - she was not happy, but did it anyway. The way she always laughed at my dad - and even though he was the one telling the jokes, she was the one who taught us all how good it feels to laugh. How she would bring me and my best friend black jelly beans (our favorite) to all of our lacrosse games.

I miss my mom every day. And because this longing feels very real to me and makes her memory very real, I hope it never goes away.

Blogging at the Met

One of my New Years resolutions is to love New York City a little more. Get out and see and do more. We live here, for goodness sake! and I can't tell you the last time I was at the Met or the Whitney or walked through Central Park.

So, in looking up the current exhibitions at the Met, I came across this very interesting one: blogmode: addressing fashion. The exhibition shows some forty costumes and accessories dating from the eighteenth century to the present and invites visitors to share their reactions online or from a "blogbar" of computer terminals in the exhibition galleries. Some of these images are not to be believed. I'm definitely checking this one out! See a bit for yourself here. The exhibit runs through April 13.

[photo courtesy of the Met; Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci]

Shibboleth

While in London last week, John and I checked out the Tate Modern. I always look forward to the exhibitions in Turbine Hall - the large entryway to the museum. The last time I was there, the hall was filled with glowing light from The Weather Project. This time, I found the floor cracked from one side to the other. A football field length of cracks into the solid concrete. Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth was pretty powerful. Without knowing anything about the artist or her work, I felt shaken by this seemingly fragile and volatile ground beneath my feet - that some great unknown force has come in here and disrupted the place. I love when something allows me see it in a whole new way.

To read more about Doris Salcedo's work, click here. And to see more images of Shibboleth, click here.

...and we're back!

Wow! It feels like we've been gone forever, and I have to tell you, that feels pretty nice. But it's always good to be back and sleeping in your own bed. For the past 2 weeks, John and I were in Pennsylvania and Lake Placid around Christmas and then in London for the past week visiting my sister and her family of now 6! She had a beautiful baby girl, Hope, just 2 1/2 weeks before we arrived. So cute! Below are a few snapshots:

John and Kinglsey snowshoeing in Lake Placid, NY

My nephew Luke at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London

Doris Salcedo Shibboleth at the Tate Modern, London