It’s been a rough few weeks for everyone, hasn’t it? When our son was little he used to scream this at the top of his lungs, with great joy and excitement in his voice, nearly every day … at dawn. When I’m having a bad day I think about his cute little voice shouting out “BEAUTIFUL,” and it helps get me through. Next time you’re having a bad day try taking a moment to focus on one little spot of beauty in the world. It’s always out there. — xoxo, E.
While on vacation last Sunday I skipped breakfast and sought out the local Target to snag this Jason Wu for Target striped dress. I just love the unusual color combination of charcoal, mustard and blush. It’s pretty short on me, so I may have to use it as a Fall dress with tights, but I still love it. Right now it’s hanging on the outside door of my closet so I can admire the colors every time I pass by it.
Happy February, friends. It’s going to be a busy month. Lots of fun projects and some pretty big news to share … coming soon. Promise. I’m thankful for the extra day we get this month. Yay for leap year 2012!
Sidenote: We have a handful of 2012 calendars in stock. It’s our most colorful one yet, and is printed on cozy 100 percent cotton paper.
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Last weekend I went to the Gem Faire at the Del Mar Fairgrounds with Mom. I picked up a few strands of crystals and beads. Can’t wait to show you what she makes for me. I’m particularly excited about the big natural crystals (the white ones that look like rocks). I’m going to have so many shiny and sparkly new necklaces that I will just have to find reasons to leave the studio so I can wear them.
I think the vendors at the show (which is open to the public, by the way … you don’t need to have a wholesale license) picked up on the colors of my outfit—comfy jeans, grey sweater, pale green + taupe purse, neutral accessories—and kept showing me strands of the same color beads. It totally worked: I liked their suggestions and they made sales. It’s a great tip to remember when you’re exhibiting at a trade show: make suggestions to buyers. As a buyer, shows are totally overwhelming. A little nudge in the right direction is welcome in my book.
Look what blew in the studio from the backyard while we were in the middle of a shoot: nearly neon, fuchsia Bougainvillea leaves. I love the crispy texture. They remind me of paper.
Every day beautiful letterpress crosses my desk. Every single day. I know. Get out the violins. While I’m always excited to see how Delphine designs translate into print, it’s not often that an invitation makes shout with joy. I actually shouted “WOWZA” out loud to an empty studio (everyone was at lunch except me and Ajax the cat) when I saw the stack of samples from the pressroom.
Holy Fluorescent Neon Pink Edge Painting! It’s even more bright, beautiful and electric in person. I’m in love with edge painted letterpress invitations. Don’t ask me how it’s done … it’s a magical process that involves scary looking clamps and magic dust. But isn’t it oh so pretty and worth all the headaches and extra work?
These letterpress invitations are printed in hot pink and gray on extra thick 220lb white 100 percent cotton paper, and are edge painted in neon pink. Not shown: the back is solid hot pink with the website knocked out in white.
I designed The Beauty Social‘s logo for them last month, with high end fashion world in mind. The typefaces are about as classic as you can get, but the shocking hot pink and the large scale really make it clear that The Beauty Social is a fun brand.
Lucky beauty, fashion and press industry Angelinos will be getting invitations soon. The event is open to the public, so check out The Beauty Social for the scoop.
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// photos: Erika Firm
A few floral arrangements my mom made for the house this week. Top: purple artichoke blooms from the neighborhood. Middle: roses from Mémé Delphine’s rose garden. Bottom: arrangement of roses, mimosa, tea roses and various backyard blooms. I love summer flower arrangements.
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Happy April, friends. I’m so excited for Spring, aren’t you?
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I first spied Domestica’s fabulous logo via a Tweet. It’s difficult to make a little 50 pixel square stand out, but they’ve done it for sure! After I saw their avatar I HAD to click through to their website. It was love at first sight, and their logo has been sitting in my inspiration folder on my desktop for about a year now. I love the color palette, the use of transparency, the perfect font choice. So fresh and retro at the same time.
I emailed the shop owner, Chrissy Jensen, for a little more info about the logo and was surprised to hear that she came up with the concept herself. It looks like it was commissioned by a fancypants agency, right?!? Here’s what she said:
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Photos courtesy Domestica
ADORE what Chrissy said about the logo opening doors for her new business. I whole heartedly agree that a good logo inspires confidence and helps get a new venture off the ground. This is something I’m constantly telling my clients.
Needless to say, I have a huge crush on the Domestica logo. Isn’t it lovely? Don’t you wish you lived in Des Moines so you could go visit in person? If that’s not convenient, you can shop online for modern home décor, paper goods, art and gifts. Check out their cool blog, too, for some fun inspiration.
I missed most of the Academy Awards this year because I was working on a deadline. But I did manage to catch a glimpse here and there, and I loved Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress and brooch. The stark silvery white background, with an unexpected pop of bright color is such a happy color palette.
No. 1 Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress at the Oscars 2011 inspired this colorful palette (photo by Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com) No. 2. I love using the Kendra Scott color bar — I created these colorful earrings to mimic the look of Gwyneth’s jeweled brooch No. 3 A fun fondue set from Crate & Barrel — would be fun for a screening party No. 4 White couch with bright chairs by Roche Bobois No. 5 Gwyneth Paltrow’s brooch at the Oscars 2011 No. 6. Delphine’s Ava and Amelie wedding invitations — our most popular invitation designs have been printed in just about any color combo you can imagine. I especially like them in bright colors like yellow and pink No. 7 Alice in Wonderland — love the colors in this Walt Disney cartoon classic No. 8 Pink and Orange china by William Yeoward from Michael C. Fina — I think they’d look fabulous as a mix and match set.
At the Pantone color trend seminar I attended last month, “black and white with pops of bright colors” was one of the color palettes discussed as being important for 2011 and 2012 product design. I like what I see so far!
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Haute off the press: our Charleston Stitch party invitation, printed in sand ink. The invitation was originally designed for Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, and is named after my “hometown” of Charleston, South Carolina.
One of the fabulous things about digital/flat printing is the opportunity to flood the background of a design with a solid color, and knock out the text (the white is the paper, not white ink). I really love this soft, neutral, romantic color palette for weddings, and hope it doesn’t fade away as a trend too quickly.
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I spent nearly all day last Friday prepping for Saturday morning’s wedding invitation photo shoot. The light is best in our home kitchen (we love to shoot in natural light), so we have to transport everything from the studio on boards.
Unfortunately, we had a very rare rainy day on Saturday, so the light wasn’t that great. We had to pull in lights to get the shoot finished. Normally, we’d just postpone the shoot, but our friend Adrianne Smith delivered some amazing flowers and special boutonnieres, and we wanted to use them before they wilted away.
Here are a couple of quick peeks. I’m still sifting through the hundreds of photos to find the handful that will end up on our website.;)
Our WONDERLAND invitation, shown flat printed in a truly classic black and pink wedding invitation color combo. Adrianne made a beautiful classic white anemone boutonniere for us, and I think they complement each other perfectly.;)
Our PACIFIC BEACH invitation, shown flat printed in one of my all time favorite color combinations for wedding invitations: yellow and gray. Adrianne made a charming yellow feverfew boutonniere for us. Isn’t it darling? I love boutonnieres. I tried to convince John to wear it around the house after the shoot was complete, but he said it didn’t go with his holey sweatshirt.
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The fruit trees in our backyard are blooming. There’s something magical about a pretty blossom on a leafless branch. I love the stark contrast. The colors in this photo may be one of the all time classic color combinations for weddings: soft, romantic blush pinks, with creamy off white, gray, and a pop of brighter pink. The palette of a bouquet of pink and white peonies, or a ballerina.
photo: delphine
Happy Valentine’s Day, friends. Hope your day is filled with lots of love and kisses.
