Stationery and Skirts is this weekend!!!

Hey everyone!! I'm so excited... Our second Stationery and Skirts Event is being held this weekend! I know you're jumping up and down too... =)

Please come on by to hang out and see our wares. Julia Newman will be joining Yvonne and I at Kimera on Saturday, so that's an extra layer of wedding goodness. All in all, we're very excited and are looking forward to it.

Check out my site for more information and the full invitation.

See you there!

orange pics!!

the kitchen cabinets, window, and counter tops on the right side. the lantern is a souvenir from our honeymoon in morocco.

so, we painted my office and the kitchen during the long weekend. we wound up doing both of them in the same color orange. i love how it looks different at all different times of day... in daylight the color is nice and bright, but not jarring... and then in the evening it's a richer, darker orange.

excuse the state of the rooms in the photos. i haven't really put everything back together correctly yet. especially in the office. we're in the process of rearranging, and will be hanging up our last wall cabinet this weekend.

close-up of the window and right corner. you can see how the lantern really catches the light from the window... you can also see the little jars on the last mug shelf, which we also brought back from morocco. they influenced the color concept, even though the plans changed last-minute!

you can see the small wall in the corner... we're going to make that a chalkboard wall, and will use charcoal-colored chalkboard paint on it. can't wait!

better view of the left side of the small-but-efficient kitchen, with the metal shelves for the appliances. the kitchen actually came with the shelves, cabinets, major appliances and countertops, which we are completely grateful for!

cabinet wall in my office. the last cabinet is going up this weekend. both the cabinets and butcher-block island are from ikea. the area next to the butcher block is where my new desk will go.

the currently-disorganized wall of the office... when we get our new bookshelves for the "library" area, this shelf system and everything on it will move out of the room.

the current area where my desk is. i'll be getting rid of this desk (it's 71" long, which i love, but i need more space in there), and getting a new one that will go on the other side. more to come about what's going to go on this wall later...

sorry...

i know i promised ICFF pics and reviews. but i haven't had a chance to post them yet, and i'm pretty busy today. so i have a feeling they're going to have to wait until tuesday.

have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!!!

portrait of... your cake!

an anniversary portrait of the artist's wedding cake.

so, i know that all of us worry about certain things regarding our weddings -- the dress, the flowers, the reception location, and the cake! more and more, that cake is taking center stage at the wedding. my clients sometimes go as far as have me design their cakes to align with the rest of the wedding design, tying everything together.

but the biggest problem with the cake? after you eat it, it's all gone! you don't get to preserve it like your wedding dress, or press-dry it like you can with your flowers. so, other than that famous pic of you and your hubby cutting the cake, how can you preserve it's beauty forever?

enter artist jennie traill shaeffer, and her wedding cake portraits. jennie is an artist (and college friend of mine) located in new jersey, who has recently become quite the hot commodity. she realized -- after her wedding and a number of friends' weddings -- how much everyone loves their cakes and how great it would be to have them preserved forever. so she started doing wedding cake portraits for both clients and friends, and they've gone over like hotcakes (ok, i know, corny, but i couldn't help it).

now she's launched a new site, where you can place an order for the cake portrait of your dreams. you also have the option of dropping by the artist's new studio in newton, nj, to see her work in person and order directly from the master. =)

these portraits make amazing wedding gifts (just make sure to order right after the wedding to avoid a gift-etiquette faux-pas), an anniversary gift, or a wonderful memory of your own wedding.

go to wedding cake portraits for all the information you'll need.

a portrait of michelle and david's cake, which i had designed for the wedding. (this was fun for jennie and myself.)

stationery show 2008 -- BEST IN SHOW

hey there! well, here's the last part of my review. the best-in-show. i have two "winners" for this category -- one for the work itself, and one for best booth.

let me just preface this by saying that so much of the work i saw was beautiful and amazing. so i hope no one gets offended by this post... frankly, i'm jealous of all of you. i'm not yet at the point where i'm ready to release a line, so i'm in awe.

ok, now that the PSA is done... the first best-in-show "winner" goes to old school stationers. i met brian reed, the illustrator and designer behind the line, at the stationery show. my first statement was, "wow, how refreshing to see a male stationer at this event!" it seems as though everyone else had the same reaction as well. but while brian clearly adds a certain je ne sais quoi to his work, they are not overly masculine. rather, they are colorful, interesting, and sweet, without being overly flowery. forgoing the current trends, brian creates using a pencil and paper and seems to draw what interests him. i appreciate that. and, being a fan of rich colors, i am a huge fan of his palette.

so, my hat's off to you, brian. i was extremely impressed with your work, and i think you should be really proud.

the work of old school stationers stood out from the crowd with great illustrations and bold color choices.

the next best in show is for best booth. now, i can't express to you how important i think a great looking booth is. while the work may be outstanding, people may never stop to see it if your booth doesn't draw them in. and while i understand how expensive this show is for the exhibitors, i do feel as though they could get creative with their remaining funds to outfit their booth accordingly.

always aware of the value of presentation, i thought delphine press did an amazing job with their space. without the use of too much furniture to get in the way of the visitors, delphine managed to get the punch out of the space by using an eye-catching yellow-green and heavy ornate frames for their stationery pieces. there were also graphics on the walls to draw the visitor's attention to important pieces or information. i thought the hook display for the tote bags was especially lovely. not to mention that orange poppy that kept, well, popping up everywhere! i want the tote. and the print. and the notecard.

of course, it doesn't hurt that erika firm (the founder of the company) and john arquette (director of operations) were extremely affable and fun to chat with upon visiting.

congrats guys. great work.

the booth by delphine press is so gorgeous i want to live in it. with the poppy. =)

stationery show post tomorrow...

tomorrow, stay tuned for my best in show picks, as well as my ICFF photos. night!

stationery show 2008 -- part two

and so it continues...

egg press had so much new, great stuff!! i loved the holiday cards they had at the show, but it's not quite the season to post about them. so i went for the thank you and birthday notecards instead. =)

it's easy to tell egg press's new stuff at their booth!

fellow brooklyn designer liz libre of linda and harriett launched both a wedding album and a redesigned album -- a limited edition of letterpress misprints, reconstructed by hand.

linda and harriett's inventive redesigned goods.

emily at orange beautiful has been posting about her new launches for over a week at her blog. they were fun to see in person, especially the new TYPE line.

orange beautiful's lattice and type lines.

always a favorite of mine, the L|2 design collective is, as was said at their booth yesterday, the "bad child" of the show. and why not! it's refreshing to see something a little different, colorful -- less pretty and more silly. i always enjoy taking in the view.

the L|2 design collective cards -- a feast for the eyes.

night owl paper goods is guaranteed to have something to make anyone smile. from eco-friendly wood veneer cards and notebooks to their always lovely letterpress cards, the booth is going to please. plus, they always have a great tote bag at the show (didn't take it this year because i still have mine from last year!) and are just the nicest people.

night owl's calendars were my favorite part of their booth.

a somewhat-youngin' in the scene, alee and press showed off two sweet collections -- a wedding collection and a baby collection. i especially enjoyed the use of the blind deboss as it mixed with bold type treatments and colors.

the blind deboss treatments didn't photograph as well, but the above cards from alee and press are lovely nonetheless.

i love a good pattern treatment, especially in wrapping papers. press play stationery had some interesting papers -- beautiful without being especially feminine.

the locomotive paper from press play would be great for a father's day or groom's gift!

stationery show 2008 -- part one

i'm going to have to break up my stationery show posts into several parts. there are just a ton of photos and info to give. let's start here...

the stationery show this year was great. i was really impressed with much of the work and the attitudes of the exhibitors. everyone was happy to be there, and clearly excited by the turnout and response. and i was happy for them.

let's start at some local favorites.... one of the must-see booths at this show is the mixed co. booth. it contains the work of Allymoon, Good on Paper, Laurel Denise, Linea Carta, Mateo Ilasco, and Nantaka Joy (happy birthday joy!). these ladies were all the biggest sweethearts in the world, and excited to be together. their work speaks for itself -- joy's pieces are always the ultimate in taste, meg mateo ilasco's type treatments are fun in simplicity, and good on paper's lisa jackson has sweet and lovely accessories. so much fun.

nantaka joy's beautiful journals.

mateo ilasco's happy notecards.

good on paper's sweet notecards and adorable baby t-shirts.

allymoon's notebooks.

another joint venture was between the great lakes goods and pearl & marmalade. fun stuff, whimsical and humorous.

pearl & marmalade's gnome card was my fave on her side of the booth.

TGL's mushrooms on both wood and paper.

i love the idea of joining forces in a booth. maybe myself and some of my fellow stationers can do it in a couple of years....

ok, i digress. onto single booths in the next chapter of the reviews...

intern needed

image by andy singleton, via don't panic.

so, i'm quite overwhelmed by the amount of work i have in front of me. not that i'm complaining at all... but i need help. i'm finishing up my home studio and as soon as that is done, i'll need an INTERN!!!

yes, you lucky kids, i'm looking to hire an intern. unfortunately, i am not in a position to pay my intern (i am a one-woman company after all), but i would be more than happy to give college credit and recommendations for jobs... and happy company all day long.

my intern would only be necessary a few days a week, and would be responsible for the following:

1. filing and billing.
2. research for projects -- images, inspiration, colors, etc.
3. email checking and responding
4. general organization.

i would hope that this could be mutually beneficial for myself and my future intern. i would like her/him to learn about design, stationery, printing process, etc. i'm not going to ask for actual designing, but definitely all other aspects that go into the job.

the internship would begin in mid-to-late june. if you're interested, or know someone who is interested, please feel free to email me at internship@nic-events.net. please include a link to your work (preferred), or a small pdf.

thanks guys!

ICFF and Stationery Show recovery!

phew... i'm exhausted! i attended both shows this weekend and man, am i pooped. but they were great! i'm going to cover the highlights over the next 2 days. tune in later for my updates. =D

for the love of the ampersand

poster by conor and david, via the ampersand.

the HOWblog has reported on something that i have a great respect for -- designer stephen gose's love of the ampersand! and now he has a whole blog devoted to it. i love it!!! because a good ampersand is hard to come by. =)

busy show weekend!

view into the national stationery show, via their website.

yay! the weekend dave and i wait for all year (ok, we're not that into it, but we do love it)... this weekend is both the ICFF and National Stationery Show!

dave in a wegner chair at 2007's ICFF.

the icff is always a lot of fun. furniture, fixtures, rugs, wallpaper, accessories... le sigh. it's a dangerous show to go to if, like us, you are obsessed with these things. we always want what we can't afford! this year we'll be joined by my best friend, loren, who is an interior designer. fun day!

sunday is my annual pilgrimage to the national stationery show. i hope to cover everyone and maybe get some pictures this year... but we'll see about that. hopefully i'll be joined by my hubby and my good friends jon and whitney from brown sugar design studio.

to everyone i see at nss -- they sent me a free badge but mixed up my info with the info for icff. so it has my name, nicole block, but then it says "david block designs"... cracks me up. so, if i can't get it changed for the event, you'll have to look for that badge to find me. =)