to bring or not to bring a giant floppy hat

i have to go to the hamptons for a dear friends wedding this weekend. part of me wants to go all out and really dress the part as this may be my only chance. but i fear i would be overdone. plus no one will see me in black and white and i think it really adds to the drama of hamptons style.

hidden cigarettes and fur coats

i could watch the royal tenenbaums at any time of any given day. there's something about the family dynamic that feels a little close to home. i love the secrets kept, the knowing glances and all of the quirky personalities. i am the middle child in a brother sandwich so, maybe that's why i feel a kinship to the story. i also think the styling of the home and all the characters is pitch perfect! there's so many good things that to list them all would be too much, but when richie the tennis playing allstar loses it on the court and starts taking off his socks and shoes and sits down. and when margot loses her finger by axe blade. toooo good.

and another one

so, i guess once i start thinking about iconic ladies then i can't stop. shelley duvall. i can't really say anything more than that. there's something so precious and intense about her performances. she's just so darn cute too.

some little bits

so, my day job that fuels my creative fires is working at a boutique flower shop called asrai garden. we just launched our website (after 9 years of being open) and it's very, very exciting! we are a little behind the times in the technological sense! i helped design it by doing a lot of the drawings that are featured throughout the website. check it out and if you need flowers anywhere in the chicago area you now know who to call!

it's coming soon

image from design sponge
i got back from new york just about a week ago from the national stationery show where i shared a booth with pearl & marmalade. we always have a hilarious time together. i will be doing a post about it with some shots of out booth very very soon! here's a sneak peek at a new project i am making!

in awe of others

it's hard for me to put someone on icon status, but i will say that miss charlotte gainsbourg is a personal icon of mine. not only does she seem effortlessly cool and chic, but she has a pretty rad pedigree being the daughter of serge gainsbourg and jane birkin-2 artists known for pushing the envelope who produced a daughter who quietly seems to exude everything that they did. i also think she has an uncanny sense of style that is uniquely french and i often find myself trying to imitate it (secret's out). a lot of my time is spent dreaming of the time when i can become an ex-patriot to the land of france.

to pen a note a note of love

images from pearl & marmalade



images from sycamore street press

eva jorgensen of sycamore street press is doing a great q&a series with stationery designers as a lead up to the national stationery show next week. i will be there with my good buddies pearl & marmalade who i am sharing a booth with again this year. check out the pearl & marmalade interview today. eva will be posting an interview with a stationer every tuesday and thursday for the month of may. i believe my q&a will be up there next week! if you aren't familiar with sycamore street press then you should get on it. eva and co. dream up beautiful imagery evoking scandinavian folk design, nature, wit and a real sense of vintage pride. all of their work is letterpress printed on sustainable materials. i really love their print of the month series.

dreaming of wild things and far away lands

i can't wait. i can't wait. i can't wait. the imagery in this book shaped the way i looked at things as a kid and now.

let's think magically

i read joan didion's book, the year of magical thinking a little while back and it has stuck with me for quite sometime. if you haven't read it, it's a wonderful story of love, loss and the bonds that tie us all together. it's the sort of thing that if you have lost someone, she eloquently puts into words how it feels and the thinking process behind it. there's something about this picture of didion and her family that makes me believe in magical thinking.

everybody's learning how...

i wish that when i was little i had been a surf rat. i used to spend major time in the pools and summers at the beach. i don't regret many things in life, but not learning how to surf is a major regret of mine. i love water. i love oceans. i love surf and sand. but i think that i may be too old and not quite limber enough to learn now. maybe not. i have told myself that since i hate dressing for summer and hot weather, it might be more fun if i dressed like keanu and swayze from point break. white pants and giant armholes on all my tshirts. rad bra (supposed to sound like bro, but in surfing talk when you right it out it sounds like bra).