Nixty, Nixty

Birdy [my mom] has a big birthday today! She'd be upset with me if I told which number, but there is a hint in the title. Happy Birthday, Bird -- we love you!

[Above picture from Sea Island, GA circa 1984. I'm standing to the left of my mom -- love her rockin' pixie cut and shades!]

Cole Haan // The Inspired Life

Remember this book that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago by Todd Selby? I just saw that he photographed a new ad campaign for Cole Haan called The Inspired Life...







I gotta tell you, those Little Bert chairs in the top picture? On my wish list!

Prudence

ML was playing with her Prudence doll this morning, when I noticed that they matched! I heart Prudence a lot. I heart all the BlaBla dolls a lot, but I think Prudence might be my favorite. We bought her at the BlaBla shop the last time we were in Atlanta -- a must go if you are in the area!

Uber Blocks

Designed to replicate the Eames House when put together, these blocks give new meaning to the term "Alphabet Blocks."



"Sitting high atop the Pacific Palisades and overlooking the ocean, the Eames House was built as number eight in the series of Case Study Houses and is still recognized for its revolutionary use of space and materials. Our Eames House blocks form an puzzle image of this monument to mid-century design while showcasing the letters, numerals and symbols of the Eames Century Modern collection."





I wonder if they just might be more fun for adults than kids, turning cocktail hour into building hour!

[Eames Alphabet Blocks by House Industries]

Double Time

One baby at a time has been plenty for me to handle, so I cannot imagine what parents of twins do, especially that first year! I came across this packaging, though, and thought it was such a clever way of catering to parents of twins. Not only does it look great, but because the drawers slide out, these would stack up so well in a closet.



Below is a brief description from the design firm:

“TOT-a-LOT is a brand dedicated to design clothes for twins. After designing the brand, we devised a packaging that conveys the idea of twins and also thought to be reused in the form of drawers for clothes. Having two babies at the same time takes effort and money. TOT-a-LOT is very responsible with the environment so all materials and inks used in their clothes are eco-friendly, so we designed a simple but impressive packaging focusing on the tone of voice of the brand. Did not need anything else to do it so appealing. The boxes are personalized with the names of babies and parents can begin putting their first clothes each in its corresponding drawer.”

A Matchbox with dividers + clever wording + bold type = well thought out perfection.

[Spotted on the Lovely Package]

Happy // Yum // Delish

Definitely three words I'd use to describe the images on the Sprinkles Cupcakes website! I came across a Kia ad in a magazine last week [the one where the sock monkey, Mr. X, etc. are emptying out a Sprinkles cupcake store -- have you seen it?], and while we don't have a store where we live, and I have therefore never eaten an actual Sprinkles cupcake before so cannot speak to the taste of them, I was taken with the exterior of the store. The facade appears modern, warm and delicate -- a perfect combo for these sweetly sophisticated confections.



Check out the hubcaps on the Sprinkles Mobile:



Love it. Have any of you ever been to one of the stores/partaken of the yummy looking goodness? I saw where there was a store in Houston, and I voted for them to open one in Hotlanta -- probably my best chance of getting a taste!

Minted Holiday [Round 2]

The final round of voting has begun for the Minted Holiday Challenge! And as extra voting incentive, Minted is entering those who rate at least 50 designs for a chance to win a $500 credit at Minted [voting ends at 5:00pm PST, Wednesday June 23rd].

Below are the b.wise designs that would love your vote [click on the image to go to the voting page]!

Head of the Crew

Miss Mags and I made a trip to see the fam and some friends this week, and the other night, my dad brought home the WSJ. magazine from the Wall Street Journal. He thought my sister and I would want to read it because there was "a big article on J. Crew." Can you can tell he's the father of three girls and has paid more than a few J. Crew bills?



I'm so glad he did save it for us because I really enjoyed it. The article is more specifically about Mickey Drexler, the current CEO of the company, who has been known to play Come On Eileen over the intercom, and rides his bike and rings the bell through the office. Sounds like my kind of work environment! Not that it's all fun and games -- he has high standards -- but he seems to balance personality and professionalism well, fostering an environment of both creative, unconventional thinking and top quality work.

I was actually just in J.Crew the other day, thinking about how much I like it now. There were a few years there in between my college years and now when it bored me a little bit. Not anymore. The patterns, textures, layering -- I love it all. What do I wish were currently in my wardrobe? Glad you asked...



[Cotton Hammock Dress; Ruffled Placket Cardigan; Jericho Tote; Single Chained Mesh Bracelet; Metallic Astria Sandals; Lemlem Nika Wrap]


[Read the full article here]

Minted Holiday [Round One]

Minted had well over 1300 designs submitted for their holiday challenge! So many in fact that they are doing two rounds of voting to determine which designs will go on to compete for the final prizes. Round one voting has started and ends this Monday. Only 25% of the current designs will make it on to the final round. There is some major talent going on over there, so if you like pretty things and you like voting, check it out! Below are the designs that I submitted this year [click on the image to go to the voting page]:





















Some may wonder why I submit designs to these challenges, so let me share with you some of my reasons:

One, having this forum of other designers makes me a better designer. When I know a design is going to be critiqued, it gives me even more motivation to come up with something fresh and new. And this fosters better design in general as I'm sure other designers feel the same way. It takes me back to art school. I value knowing how other people interpret something -- it helps me to see things in other perspectives.

Two, I had the opportunity to meet with the founder and CEO of Minted while we were in DC, and I really appreciate how she values independent design. The folks at Minted appreciate design risks and want to give independent designers a platform for their work. As any small business owner/artist can attest to, having a larger platform for their work is a welcomed thing.

And three, I like Bravo. There I said it. And entering challenges makes me feel like I'm on Project Runway [I know it's not on Bravo anymore, but I liked it better on Bravo. What happened to all the PR marathons, people? I'm just sayin'...].

Entering this particular challenge also helped jumpstart the designing of the 2010 holiday collection at b.wise papers. I've got lots of ideas flowing, and I'm excited to see what designs will result. I'll keep you posted on the process!

A Bit of Holiday Inspiration

Hey gang. It's been a crazy week over here. Last night, I was pouring myself a glass of wine, and then proceeded to put the wine bottle back into the cupboard with the wine glasses instead of the fridge. Walked away and thought "why does that not feel right?"

There are several reasons for the fog I'm walking around in: last week of school events, a Brandi Carlisle concert [Oh yes, it was amazing as always. I'm just the teeny tiniest bit obsessed with her and Tim and Phil. And now the unbelievable drummer Ali. She was headed to Charleston after our show here, and I was tempted to just follow the tour bus. Brandi in Charleston -- what could be better?!], a teething baby who just decided that being immobile wasn't really her thing, and lastly, trying to muster up as much constant creative energy as possible to get holiday card designs churned out.

It was a bit comical to me designing holiday cards in June in the South where it is as hot as the dickens and the constant refrain in our house these days is "Close the door! You're letting out the bought air!" Anyhow, above are some images that inspired me for the latest batch. And below is the now mobile little nugget...



I'll be back soon, hopefully with less loopiness! Peace out.

P.S. you can follow the link on the right to see my latest holiday design...

[Images clockwise top left to center: anyone?; snippet & ink typewriter; martha; smashing magazine; anyone?; martha; marc johns antler illustration; style me pretty pie; wovenplay hoola girl]

In Their Places

I'm sure you've heard about the Selby website, and now there's a book called The Selby is in Your Place [available on Amazon], which is a collection of spaces photographed by Todd Selby. It includes peeps like Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler, and shows homes from NYC to Tokyo to London and more.





To me, one of the things that makes The Selby so fascinating is the quirkiness of the images -- most really do look like you just stumbled upon [ie: the shower scene, above] these chic bohemians livin' it up in a wonderfully peculiar flat somewhere. Plus, could a table of contents [below] get much better?





[All images from the sneak peaks of the book on theselby.com]

Paper Fashion

I spotted these charming paper dresses while I was flipping through Luxe Interiors + Design magazine. They were made by British clothing designer Vivienne Westwood to celebrate the launch of her line of wallpaper with Cole & Son. Doesn't the white one look like someone just rocked a Project Runway challenge to make a couture dress out of paper?

Our bathrooms are in desparate need of some freshness on the walls [no exaggeration here -- the current wallpaper was picked out and put up sometime around 1961]. I've got some picked out for the kids' bathroom, but I'm still on the hunt for ours. This one from the collection is a good option:



Happy Friday!

[images via Ecouterre]

Ace

Yesterday, I saw some beautiful images from a wedding over on 100 Layer Cake that were taken at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs. Check out this vintage inspired hot spot:















Not only does it look cool, but rates are reasonable for that area. Plus, along with the vintage furniture, they also use recycled materials and low-VOC paint in the reno. Looks like a perfect getaway location to me! To find out more, hop over to their website [which also happens to be quite lovely]...