WSJ: On Intuition

We recently started a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. (No, it's not all numbers all the time. And while I do quite like their Small Business section, I will admit that the Personal Journal is my favorite.) There is a great column in the WSJ Magazine called The Columnists, where they ask several professionals to weigh in on the week's topic. Last week, the topic was Intuition. You can read all the responses here, including a good one from Questlove. My favorite response was from Francis Cholle, whose response I've shown above. 

I've been a big follower of my gut for as long as I can remember - sometimes with wide eyes - like when I quit my ad agency job because no one around me was happy, and my dad thought I was bananas. Or when I signed up for the National Stationery Show for the first time and at the last minute with just six note card designs. Or last year, when I debuted an enormous wall calendar that doubled as artwork. Things don't always work out when you use your gut as your compass, of course, but it seems as though the odds are at least always in my favor. This week's WSJ piece on intuition reminded me how important that inner voice is. And it comes at an opportune time, as I navigate mothering two little ones while also trying to kick things up at L&H - and maybe in ways that seem unusual for what has primarily been a paper goods company. But sometimes, you just have to go for it, right?!  

Fear

I am the worst flyer in the world thanks to the flight from hell at 15 when the oxygen masks dropped & people cried all around me. I thought I was going to die that day, and now I do every day I step onto a plane. So grim. My palms are sweating right now just thinking about it. And as you can imagine, I'm the worst passenger ever. Ask my husband & his poor hand. You'd basically rather sit next to a crying baby than me. Or the lady who barfed into a ziplock bag ten times on my flight once. You'd rather that rankness. Trust me. It's bad.

This past weekend, we left our kids for the first time since Louise was born to go to my cousin's wedding Atlanta, and flying without kids only makes this anxiety worse. My wacko brain immediately goes into worst case scenario mode & I picture my kids without parents -- something I'm unfortunately too familiar with. Again, grim. I know.

But this weekend, our flights to & from Atlanta were smooth. Smooth, I tell you. I never say that. And for the first time in my whole life, when were approaching New York City on the flight home, I was actually kind of, well thrilled, to be flying 10,000 ft in the air. It was a cloudless day, and as we approached the city, we flew over Brooklyn and could see our building! where I knew both kids were likely sleeping at the time. We then flew over the Hudson river, where I quickly snapped the above photo of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. I felt like we were on our very own tour of the city as we kept going north, watching the yellow cabs going up & down Broadway, spotting MSG, then Central Park and Yankees Stadium.  It was... cool.

I can only hope this is a sign of a dwindling fear. Or at least a new perspective on flying. Makes me wonder what other fears I have that could turn into magical moments...

Summery Images: Crabs

I wouldn't touch what's in these tubes with a ten foot pole (crabs in tubes? barf! sorry, Swedes), but man I do love these little crabbies.

Wayfare Magazine

I was honored to be asked to do a hand lettering piece for the debut issue of Wayfare Magazine - a beautiful new publication "celebrating the art of the journey." The photos & layouts in here are amazing  & inspiring - like a little vacation for the eyes & for me, a reminder to go see & explore. We're thinking of taking a trip - toddler & newborn in tow - sometime soon. Hard not to feel the urge to get out, to get away, to see something new (and preferably in the sunshine) when January in NYC rolls around. Here's a little peek inside the Wayfare issue. See more on their website here.

Our Christmas Card: A Peek

A little peek here of our Christmas card. Does this wreath look familiar? After seeing Amy Merrick's gorgeous wreath creations & signing up for her class, I decided to draw a wreath based on my favorite creation of hers: the Birds Nest Wreath, and use it on our Christmas card this year. It's letterpressed in neon orange ink, which I think offers a nice color surprise, while still feeling festive.

See more of Amy's beautiful work here.

Quilt Calendar: July's Stars & Stripes

Each month of the 2013 Quilt Calendar features a quilt print inspired by a traditional quilt pattern. July, seen here, is the only one that's derived from an actual quilt: the Stars and Stripes Quilt in the Smithsonian (see bottom image) made by Mary Rockhold Teter for her son George who served in the Civil War. The family donated the quilt to the Smithsonian in 1940. It's a beauty.

[Stars and Stripes Quilt image courtesy of Civil War Quilts, an excellent resource tip from a friend's mom who is an avid quilter. Thanks, SD!]

Bellboy NY in Men's Journal

My good friend Mat of Bellboy New York made a beautiful chair that is prominently featured in this month's Men's Journal Perfect Things article. His chair is the most comfortable wooden chair I've ever sat in. It practically begs you to stay a while -- grab a drink, come sit, relax, everything is just fine.

We are super lucky to have had Mat help us out with the hanging mechanism for our soon-to-launch Quilt Calendar. Stay tuned for that in just a couple weeks!

See more of Bellboy's work here.

Quarterly: Swiss Miss

I got my latest Quartlerly shipment from Tina Roth Eisenberg of Swiss Miss yesterday & I'm obsessed. I waited til Griffin was asleep just so I could give its unveiling my fullest attention. This shipment included a white house tissue box cover (tissue box included to provide the chimney's smoke), cloud sticky notes, and simple classic scissors. The best part of the whole thing for me is the note that's included from Tina on why she chose to share these objects and how she uses them in her life. It's such a fun way to receive mail and to see & experience something in the way someone else does.

(For those who don't know, Quartlery is a subscription service where you sign up to receive a quarterly mailing of objects chosen by someone you select from their list of Contributors. I selected Tina Roth Eisenberg from Swiss Miss.)

Bellboy

 

My good friend Mat is one talented guy. He left his art director position at arguably the best ad agency for highly creative work to do what really drives him: making beautiful things with his hands. Bellboy is his company name & this is its latest stunner - a low lying lounge chair made from reclaimed timbers of a New York City Water Tower. I've watched this being made over the past 2+ months & can attest to its intricate detail. Can you see that each piece is a mirror image of the one opposite it? Blows my mind. 

The chair is being auctioned off this weekend as part of the 12 x 12 show - 12 woodworkers chosen to create a piece from one of 12 New York City sites - to benefit woodworking education for the non-profit Brooklyn Woods. Go check it out at Wanted Design. 

Big big congrats, Mat!

A Bruce Hightlight: Words Not Sung

We went to see the tireless Bruce Springsteen last night at Madison Square Garden. Twice he came into the crowd and stood up on a chair about five feet from us. Crazy. But the point of me writing about this was the bigger highlight of the night for me & one that gave me chills - when he was reflecting on people who have passed away (possibly referring to his saxaphonist Clarence Clemons who died last year) and said to the crowd: All I know is, that if we're here tonight, then they're here tonight. That simple statement brought tears to my eyes & does now just typing it. I know he meant that in any way you celebrate someone who is gone, you are bringing them to life, keeping them here, with us in life. I've lost both my parents at a relatively young age, so for me to think about how this statement applies to me is both comforting & profound. To remember that I am, in fact, a literal part of my parents. And indeed, Bruce is so right: Me being here is them being here. So simple. Amen, Boss. And thank you for the reminder.

ixxi

I've been working on quilting patterns for a big project I'm debuting at the stationery show in May. So when I saw this wall mural concept from ixxi, my mind went immediately to my quilts. This would be such a cool way to display art work (yours or your childrens') or old family photos or current ones. Personally, I'd love to do something like this as a platform for rotating artwork on a big blank wall in our home - starting with my new quilts. In honor of Griffin's second birthday in October, maybe we'd swap it out with 24 Griffin pics - one from each month of his little life. Wouldn't it be great?    

Check out more from ixx here and see a quick video of how it works here.

[photos courtesy of ixxi]

Craig Cutler

A year ago, commercial photographer Craig Cutler created CC52 - a personal project and promise to create personal work, every week for a year. These beautiful photos above use letterpress type with the goal "to compose and create photographs using various letterpress type; to look at the individual type, and sometimes their environments, as abstract forms rather than objects of function." 

You should check out the rest of his CC52 work here. I could easily post them every day. They're stunning. And I love his pledge to produce more personal work on a regular basis. I'd be interested to hear how this project has impacted his commercial work.

Well done.

[images courtesy of Craig Cutler]

Wood Paneling

I can't stop looking at the wood siding of this crazy house. It's beautiful. And very repetition-plus-variation, like I posted yesterday:)

See more images here.

[image courtesy of the architects, pencil office]

Surfing USA

Wish I could have seen this Quicksilver Pro surf competition at Long Beach last week. 21 year old Australian Owen Wright won the biggest prize check in pro surfing history — $300,000. Check out the slideshow here.

[photo courtesy of Barton Silverman/New York Times]

From the Desk Fridays: My Wall

We're going to be reorganizing the L&H office in the upcoming weeks, including this wall above my desk. So before it's rearranged, I thought I'd take a few shots of it. I didn't realize it until now that there's a lot of red, and there's three pictures of me & my dad. I didn't know I was so drawn to red. I did know I'm drawn to my dad:)

Happy holiday weekend, everyone!

Goodbye Home

One of my best friends left New York this week. I know it's the start of bigger & better things for her, and I try to focus on that to make myself feel better, but I miss her already. And terribly. We've shared several homes over the past 16 years - Pennsylvania, Maine and New York - and I feel a little lost knowing she's no longer a walk down the hall, a stroll across the quad or a quick subway ride uptown. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without her, but I think it involves being better at talking on the phone.

She recently posted some of her favorite New York snapshots & I'm re-posting a few of them here. Such great New York moments.

I miss you Miss Lizzy!!!! Go get em sister.

[All photos taken by Lizzy Sall.]

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!

Adele Enersen

Adele Enersen takes these photos while her daughter sleeps.  Amazing.

[all images courtesy of Adele Enerson]

Repurposed Ironing Boards

I have the NSS booth on the brain these days - trying to think of a clever use of space & materials that I already have. Seeing these repurposed ironing boards, used as Bakesale Betty's dining tables, gave me a rush of that's genius.

[via Remodelista]

Color Inspiration

This plant made me stop dead in my tracks. I've never really thought of pink as a natural color - but suddenly it was all around me - on these plants & the flowering bougainvillea in Florida, on the flamingos on Life. I'm definitely going to use this palette in an upcoming project.