NSS 2011: First Sneak Peek

Just a quick sneak peek of what's to come at next month's National Stationery Show. We're doing some same and some different this year. Can't wait to share!

Have a great weekend!

Baby Food

Not sure why they're called "solids" because they're certainly not so. Griffin has started eating soupy food, and it's messy! We're going through bibs like nobody's business over here. This little viking bib made me laugh because it's pretty much exactly Griff's attitude towards his new real food. Gimme, gimme, food! (btw - fruit hasn't fallen far on that one!)

L&H for Paperless Post: Spring/Summer

I'm excited to announce that my Spring/Summer collection for Paperless Post is now available! I looove images of summer. Especially this time of year and especially this year. Because seeing fish, sailboats and lobsters means that pretty soon we'll be able to ditch the winter coats, not have to put on socks, and if we're lucky, spend the end of the day outside with ice cubes clinking in our glasses. Ahh, doesn't that sound so nice?

Check out the full L&H Spring/Summer collection for Paperless Post here.

Stay warm this weekend, my fellow North Easterners. And Happy Easter!

Mara Sprafkin & Charlottesville

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Griffin & I have been so sick! (Having your happy baby not smile for 24hrs is the saddest thing ever!) But we're finally on the mend & able to take our trip out of town. We're heading down to Charlottesville, VA today to visit John's sister & her family as well as John's parents. Charlottesville is such a cute town. Plus, their spring starts earlier, so I'm hoping for some jacket-free fun. While we're there, I want to stop in to see Mara Sprafkin's work at the 2nd Street Gallery. She's working on a community based public art project honoring Charlottesville's namesake, Queen Charlotte. Sneak peek of Mara's work, above. Paul said this will be up all over Charlottesville. I can't wait to see!

Hope you all are doing something fun this weekend!

[image courtesy of Paul Handler and Mara Sprafkin]

"Eat both squares, please."

We were not big movie collectors growing up, but Jaws was one that made the cut & is likely the reason I have an unrational fear of sharks. Despite that, this ad made me chuckle. Love it, BBDO.

From the Desk Fridays: 2012

I'm in the home stretch of the 2012 Calendar & once again it's a lot of "-ber"s & color decisions. I have about fifty Pantone chips floating around on my desk and two per month taped into my sketchbook. This is always the hardest (but most fun) part for me. Once I get a good color combo, I feel it & know it, and I can move on instantly. If not, I tape in, rip out, tape in, rip out. It's a process. Can't wait to show you more in a few weeks! Stay tuned.

Lulu, the book

I got my Lulu book this week & am loving it. It's a compilation of designer Lulu de Kwiatkoswki's personal journals, photos, & drawings from various times & travels in her life. I had a friend at art school in Florence who journaled this way. It's so inspiring to see how people put their thoughts on paper in other ways than (or in addition to) words.

 

And for those of us in NYC, her collages are up at Clic Gallery until May 8!

Introducing & Please Welcome Nicole!

I hired an assistant to help me while I was on maternity leave in the fall - mostly because the mental picture I had of myself fulfilling holiday orders with a 2-month-old on my hip was not pretty. And it's a great thing I did! Not only was I really sick post-baby & wouldn't have been able to do a thing for L&H, but I also got a star of an employee.

Nicole is awesome & has quickly turned into my right hand woman around here. She's an artist/illustrator who studied (and started out in) theater performance and costume design - a background I think you can feel in her work. Her Etsy shop, The Overstuffed Chair, showcases her illustrations - many of which are part of her '365 Project' - which loosely follows 365: A Daily Creative Journal by Noah Scalin. At the end of the year, half of her proceeds from all '365 Project' sales will go to Art Start, a non-profit in NYC that provides art education and outreach to homeless/troubled children in the city. Great project, great cause, great lady.

Stay tuned for more illustrated work coming to her shop this summer & read more on her blog, here.

Please help me formally (and by formally, I mean here on the ol blog!) welcome Nicole to L&H!

[above: a couple of my favorites from The Overstuffed Chair: Tulips and Bundle]

Mr. Sun

We've been listening to a lot of Raffi. Do you know of him? He's a children's singer-songwriter who I had never heard of until our nanny suggested we listen to him. (When I told her I didn't know who he was, she asked me if I grew up here. Apparently my parents were not hip to the children's music scene.) Now Raffi is our go-to Pandora station. Our favorites are Baby Beluga and Mr. Sun. Although, we're still pretty smitten with Ernie's I Don't Want to Live on the Moon. Do you have favorite childrens' songs? I'd love to hear!

From the {Studio} Fridays: Outlet

Our Outlet debut was a big success! We were able to sell (and sell out of) a lot of our designs and now have a few empty shelves in here. And that feels great! So a few thank yous are in order. First, thank you to you all who ordered. And thank you for your patience as we got orders out as fast as we could - even though it wasn't as fast as we would have liked. And finally, a big big thank you to Nicole, who was working around the clock getting things packaged up & shipped out. (Who's Nicole? More on her next week.)

 

We're hoping to open up the Outlet again in a couple months with more Craft Bin Bundles and something I think you'll love: wrapping paper! So stay tuned. In the meantime, I'd love to see what you guys are doing with all that paper from your Craft Bin Bundles. (Connie made some great gift tags!) Email me some pics at liz@lindaandharriett.com

Have a great weekend!