Archive for September, 2009
- 9.30.09Oh So Good
- 9.30.09Fillypa
- 9.30.09Biisoo Knitted Goods
- 9.30.09Your Favorite Things
- 9.30.09Etsy Take Five Tuesday
- 9.29.09Bonnie Tsang Photography
- 9.29.09Joy of Cookbooks!
- 9.28.09Girl Time
I heard from graphic designer Sarah Roberto from Oh So Good in Toronto this morning concerning her pretty new paper collection and I knew I’d be blogging it… Her flora notebook is my favorite, shown directly below in the first image…
I like that she is recycling vintage paper (including wallpaper) and using it for greeting cards, gift tags and notebooks, a growing trend and a very good one! And of course, her product shots and styling really show off her collection perfectly. It’s so important, and I’ve said it a billion times, to photograph your wares the best that you can for your store. A good product shot goes a long, long way!
Thank you so much for writing to me, Sarah!
(images: oh so good)
Fillypa is an artist from Colombia who lives and works in Bogotá and she has incredible talent in both graphic design and illustration. In her work, she combines her four loves: screen printing, etching, drawing and painting and has been recognized and published in magazines worldwide such as Frankie (Australia) and MILK (France). Just look at her pastel world… You almost have to look really hard as they are SO soft like a whisper or a ghost…
Her art has been part of gallery exhibitions too — in Colombia, L.A., Spain and New York. I love her watercolor illustrations, I find them beautiful and touching — I look at them wondering what message each is trying to convey.
(images: fillypa)
Biisoo Knits over at Cookie!
I wrote about the topic of favorite things this morning over at Real Simple in case you’d like to check it out. Also, I have a few favorite things to share of my own in the future, I’m just waiting for my boxes to arrive which will be around three more weeks! Once I have everything out and in place, I can photograph a few of my favorite things because I would really enjoy sharing them with you.
And good news! I also plan to bring “Favorite Things” back as a regular once weekly column on decor8, especially since I still have a few in queue from some blogger friends who are waiting to share them with you, and I have many others whom I’d like to ask to participate. I believe the topic is a good one because it’s important to reflect on the memories behind the items in our home, of course not all have deep emotional attachment or value of any kind, like a towel from Target, but there are those things that you just adore and cannot imagine leaving behind in a fire or losing somehow. Pets and husbands and children are not the things that will be highlighted in this column as those are not really things, but people (or fur kids) and it’s pretty obvious that you adore and cherish your family members.
This column will explore the items in the home that mean something personal to the owner, why, how acquired, and anything else they’re willing to share. It’s important to value what we have and to also stop and think about our possessions and why we really have this or that in the home. We often get stuck and keep the table or bookshelf looking the same, and then realize that the space has been neglected. This is when you can move things around, or switch them out from room to room, or perhaps grab new things from corners where you’ve tucked away goodies for another season pulling something out of a drawer to replace it for instance. We tend to go shopping when our homes look boring… first try shopping from another room or from beneath your bed… More on under the bed in a moment, because I’m guessing you’re like, “What IS she talking about?”.
I believe that decorating the home is never “finished” and interior design is not something you “complete”. It’s an organic process of collecting and putting away and of recycling, upcycling, or selling. It’s a process of enjoying what you have today but if it no longer interests you tomorrow, that it’s okay to tuck it away and replace it with something that does. I’ve tucked away a lot in my lifetime, then retrieved it at a later date and felt first love feelings for it all over again. It just needed to rest for awhile in a closet for a renewed appreciation to occur. Often it’s this way.
Some are so quick to sell things they tire of, and of course this is fine to do, but have you ever rid yourself of something only to pine for it a week later wishing you had not? I have. That’s why I came up with a solution that works for me to end such regrets. And this is where “under the bed” comes in. It’s my version of playing some adult hide and seek game, where you hide something or place it away and then go back to it a month or two later to see if you have new ideas for the object or if perhaps you really have grown tired of it and that old spark cannot be renewed. A bed can be helpful for this if you lack space elsewhere (like I do, because apartments in Germany consist of rooms and no closet space whatsoever, you need to buy your closets here). Simply slide a storage container beneath your bed (cloth or plastic will do) and tuck away, or “hide”, those things you aren’t keen on today. Then on your calender, 2-4 months out, mark a return date when you will “seek” for them — return to the container to retrieve what you’d hidden months prior. Look over everything, see if you can repurpose them or perhaps use them again, and if you are convinced that this or that item no longer feels right for your taste, home, etc. then you can give yourself the permission to get rid of it. I donate things on an annual basis (in the Summer) and I once had “tag sales” common in the states, though here in Germany less common — in fact, rare here in the city — so I’m planning to either take my things to the local flea market and rent a table for the day once in the Summer OR put things on eBay or perhaps bring them to a few shops that I know accepts second hand homewares. I find that by having a spot to place things that you can return to later to reevaluate and by having somewhat of a system to get rid of things (donations, selling, etc.) then you’re less likely to have a space cluttered with things you don’t really enjoy. Oh and another idea for getting rid of your goods — have a decorating party! I’ve done this in the past where girlfriends come over with clothes and we swap, or they arrive with home things and we swap, and it’s been great fun. You should be surrounded by things you consider favorites. Your home will feel better and more authentic if you have items that reflect your current taste and style.
So… with all that said, I will be introducing Favorite Things as a column sometime soon… stay tuned!
(images: holly becker)
Yes I know… You’re not confused because it’s really no longer Tuesday. I’m just posting this on a Wednesday, a day late, because I goofed and forgot to run it yesterday. Wow, do I owe you an apology for this running late. Sorrrryyyy. Hopefully my finds will make up for being tardy. :) Ready for this week’s round up of my favorite etsy shops? Okay, heeeere we go!
Lisel Ashlock Shop {etsy} {website}
Paper Pie Shop {etsy} {blog} {website}
Wonderfluff, same artist as Paper Pie Shop above. {etsy}
Sally Elford {etsy} {website – must see!}
See you later on with more finds and things! :)
(images linked to sources above)
A found out about Los Angeles-based photographer Bonnie Tsang a few moments ago from Utterly Engaged and I fell for her blog instantly. You’ll really love it. What an amazing lady with an eye for beauty and of course, exceptionally talented — you can tell when a seasoned photographer is behind the lens. Here’s but a glimpse of her work… to see more please refer to her site.
Bonnie is so creative, which explains her popularity — I love her angles and what she picks to zoom in, it’s fascinating to me to study her images and see what she seems to be highlighting or what mood she’s trying to capture. Lovely!
(images: bonnie tsang photography)
How is your day going? If you’re looking for inspiration (as I was), spend some time in your local bookstore in the cooking section. Oh my! There are so many great titles releasing right now as the holidays roll in. I found a few that I scooped up immediately, one is called La vie en rose by Murielle Rousseau (heavenly French recipes!) with illustrations by Berlin-based artist Stefanie Roth and the other is Gemüse and Gemüse by Delphine de Montalier (a vegetarian cookbook, gemüse means vegetable in German). With food photos to die for, styling to learn from and even some personal references to family along with pretty illustrations, they are both such inspiring cookbooks. It’s dark here now and well, I just removed my precious new books from their bag in my somewhat dark living room so excuse the poor lighting. But I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to share — the ‘feeling’ may be lost and no doubt I’ll be onto other things! :) So here’s a few snaps of what inspired me today…
I can’t wait to crack them both open and start preparing meals for Fall. But this post isn’t a book review for either of these titles, it’s merely to say that the cookbooks in your local bookstore may be a great place to look for inspiration. The presentation of food in newer books seems to be stronger than ever — styled beautifully with food so enticing that you wish each page had a scratch ‘n sniff sticker so you could experience the smell of each recipe to go along with the visuals. ha ha. :) No seriously, the photos really draw you in and make you want to cook but even more… they give you ideas for color palettes and even styling ideas for the home. I was looking at one and noticed how beautifully olives looked with turquoise dinnerware and hadn’t given it much thought before today… now I’m thinking of how nice it would be for presenting a meal or setting a table. So, need some inspiration and unable to find a decorating book you really click with lately? Try a cookbook, you never know what could come out of it — in addition to a great meal of course!
And a BIG P.S. on this post because I hope major booksellers everywhere read these words and put this into practice immediately… it’s popular here, at least in the bookstores I’ve visited, that books that have photographs in them — like coffee table books, cookbooks, art and design books, etc. have a “customer” copy on top a stack of shrink-wrapped copies. I LOVE THIS. I have been telling my husband for YEARS when we were living in the states that bookstores should have a customer copy and then all the others should be in shrink wrap. Why? It made me feel annoyed with people would take books into the restroom, cafe, or even just sit in those chairs at large booksellers for hours, breaking the spines, bending pages, etc. and then not buying them. It was getting so bad in our local Barnes & Noble that I would only go to flip through a book that I was interested in and then I’d go home and buy it on Amazon because at least that way I knew the book was new – it would arrive unused and in shrink wrap. I once bought a book for $50 and it had a coffee stain on a few of the pages! Now that I’m in Germany, I go to the bookstore and find my idea in practice and let me tell you, it’s a great idea and not just because I had it. he he. It truly makes buying a book a wonderful experience again because well, I want to be the first to crack it open and smell that fresh book smell. :) Does this sort of thing matter to you?
(images: holly becker for decor8)
Sometimes all you really want to do is to wear extraordinary girly-cute clothes, sassy high heels and surround yourself with nothing more than pastel French macaroons and decadent cupcakes. Marie Antoinette style. Which is precisely the look I think the stylist here was going for when these shots were produced for Vogue Girl magazine in Korea back in 2007.
Finding these images for the first time today on the style blog, Fashion Nation, I felt like the time was just perfect for me personally. Gee… being a girl is such a treat, is it not? I think we all need to give ourselves a bit more girl time. Spend quiet moments browsing perfumes, take a moment to dine or have tea alone in your favorite spot, purchase a gorgeous little something to wear to bed, enjoy a night out with your lady friends… we girls need this sort of thing. Take it from me, as I just had a most lovely ladies lunch today with a most dear friend, you simply must buy out time to do something fantastic for yourself either by yourself or with a person who doesn’t stress you out or bring you one bit of negativity. It’s so refreshing to enjoy these special breaks and will make you feel inspired and refreshed like you wouldn’t believe. And doing it on a Monday is priceless… sets the tone for the whole week I think. Try it sometime and let me know if it made your week a little sweeter to take a break on Monday to do something you-specific. :) Hey, being a little self absorbed or spoiling yourself now and then can be a really nice thing. I vote we do it more often!
(images: vogue girl, korea, 2007)
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