May 2008

My brain is joggled. Two new patterns: Angry-dead and Yellow abstract.

I honestly have nothing to write today. My brain is totally fried. I’m working full time during the day and then working full time at night getting ready for Surtex. My samples are almost ready. I’m currently contour cutting transfer paper with my designs and ironing them onto fabric. I’m going blind. Earlier this evening I made two new patterns….well one of them is a re-vamp of an early pattern of mine (the angry-dead one). So much to do and so little time. Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the lovely weather. It’s gorgeous. After Surtex, I really want to lay around in the park for a day…

I promise a great post tomorrow on wearing and living in your colors so tune in then.

Ink + Wit: Tara Hogan’s gorgeous notecards, prints, t-shirts, and more

I actually went to college with two talented girls that became stationary makers. I’m super excited to see them both at the NY Stationary show that runs concurrently with Surtex. One is Joy of Nantaka Joy and one is Tara Hogan of Ink + Wit. Tara majored in illustration too. She was a year above me so we just missed each other but I’m pretty sure I remember hearing her name around and seeing her work in the hallways. We’ll finally get to officially meet at the show. Her work is really beautiful. Take a look at her site/shop.

Here’s a little info on Tara’s work,” INK&WIT is dedicated to creating a functional and sustainable product that is fun and elegant. Many of the original notecard designs have been modifed to postcards in order to conserve paper and save on postage. In addition, postcards are great to have on hand and send for any occasion. They tack to your inspiration board or double as a framed print. All of the art is designed and illustrated by Tara Hogan and printed on the finest quality paper with the intention to add more color to your sacred space or give another a special greeting.”

Note/ Occassion Cards: A new addition to my website and Surtex booth. + Mother’s day/doggie photos.

Note/ Occasion Cards:

I spent most of the weekend finishing up my new note/ occasion cards. I printed them on 5X7 flats, some with scalloped edges. I’m going to show them in my Surtex booth with the rest of my samples. Erin of Design For Mankind (one of my all time favorite blogs), just posted about them and other applications of my work. She’s too supportive! This week I’ll have all my samples and will be able to show you some more. I added a section to my site with the cards in two categories, abstract/floral and illustrative. Please take a peek.
Mother’s Day:

I hope you all had a marvelous mother’s day. My mom is my inspiration. She’s the most artistic person I know and I’m just a chip off the old block. We spent a lovely afternoon together with my brother, dad, and husband. I made a little brunch and then we walked all the way around Prospect Park with our annoying pitbull who pulls and zigzags the whole way.

My husband is a real trooper and did not complain until we got home. Then he collapsed into a puddle from exhaustion. Maybe we should build a rickshaw so she can pull us along. Or maybe we should just beg the dog whisperer to come to Brooklyn to train us how to deal with her shenanagins. She’s a doll at home at least….see?.

Shopping by Color: Etsy, Polyvore, and other companies that let you work within your favorite palette.

I love making color palettes (red, blue, brown, yellow). I used to just hunt around for items I loved and make them in photoshop. Then I started using colourlovers palettes and polyvore. It looks like many companies these days are making it easy to shop by color. I just created a few examples for you today from Polyvore (a macaron pink palette) and Etsy (chartreuse palette) .

Shop by color ETSY

1. Mountain of the dragon vintage fabric
2. Brookadelphia Bee necklace
3. Sasha Barr Peace silkscreen
4. Man made designs pendant

Shop and Create on Polyvore:

Here are the two sets I created. You can click on items to see where they’re from.

* I did a quick google hunt to see which companies came up first when I typed in “shop by color”. Here’re companies that let you search and shop by color:

1. Yahoo
2. Russell and Hazel (These guys created color palettes for you to search within. I want to explore their site some more. Their stuff looks really nice).
3. Fredericks of Hollywood (I can’t believe I’m talking about them on my blog…ugh)
   
4. Bluefly

If you know of any other great ones out there, please drop me an email or comment so I can post more. Thanks! Oh and have a beautiful weekend.

Rebecca Thuss: Color, craft, and design genius.

Seeing Rebecca Thuss on Decor8 pretty much put me into a color coma. I don’t know if you are an avid Maquette reader but I’m obsessed with color and talk about it a lot and post about it on Colour Lovers too . I’m not knowledgeable per se in color theory but I have a strong visceral response to certain color combinations and colors effect on objects and on each other. I try to portray my color love in my own work. Rebecca Thuss has some of the most dreamy and delectable color combinations. I just want to eat them all up. I love her paper craft, table settings, and confections the most but honestly her entire site is eye candy of the highest sugar content.

Here’s a little info for you on the incredible Rebecca Thuss.