studio violet

elisabeth dunker and camilla engman have combined forces via studio violet, a studio/shop they share... can't wait to see more of what comes out of here. and what a beautiful space! hooray. as as if the talented artists don't have enough work with their own projects and blogs, they have a studio violet blog too!
(via poppytalk via design sponge)

funny/serious

...from YeeHaw Press. top to bottom: letterpress pole dance bear print, hand printed letterpress obama poster

built + french bull

have conspired! married! co-mingled! quite lovely-like. check more out here

cake

i have a wicked sweet tooth. and my achilles heel in the sweet tooth department is in cakes. i don't need anything special to make me swoon. a sheet cake from the grocery store will do. so long as it has that ridge of slightly crustier frosting... i do diverge. i discovered recently that i can fall in love with really classy cakes too. amazing wedding cakes, a show on the WE network, profiles some of the most challenging, fun and creative projects going on in some of the best cake shops in the country. one shop in particular, the cake girls in chicago, run by sisters mary and brenda maher, totally knocked my socks off with both the wedding and specialty cake art (above).

the show itself features more of the awesome cake artist teams across the country and you can see a lot of their work and profiles of the owners here. it's kind of like the project runway of the cake world (without the competition/elimination) since these artists are using their skills and talents to dream up & make happen something extraordinary, inspirational and one of a kind for their clients. cool stuff.

red prairie press

i just ordered this folkprint capsleeve tee by red prairie press. can't wait to get it!!

out of it

i have been out of blogland for a while (and the rabbithole of blogness that has a life of it's own), because some other life stuff has required attention (and because i have been moving my office to create space for a playroom for ruby). i likely will be out of the loop for a while, so here's a little montage of what's playing in my world... kinda like a visual mixtape

beauty on the inside by martha rich



mr. red kitchen towel by patapri



new pillows by jonathan adler



F that S letterprinted postcard by rar rar press



topo cards by crafterall



everything will be ok cards by bread + butter

small magazine

i'm sure i've mentioned small magazine before but the recent issue is really neat.top: illustrations by jayme mcgowan, bottom: photography and styling by this talented and inspiring woman

jackalope cards

by argyle whale
and you can write whatever you want in the banner between his antlers!

marni 3 tunic dress

grey and sea green, by bread and roses. this is a competitor in the handmade kids sweepstakes on etsy so it may be hard to come by

no bear

print by corduroy

organic goodness

in my search for an evening gown i added to my search something that was better for the planet. though i knew an evening gown was a reach, and indeed never found something ankle length and green, i did find an interesting variety of lovely eco-conscious cocktail dresses, undies, etcetera
clockwise from top left:
angelica dress by ecoskin, organic john patrick hand knit cardigan,the movie star dress by kate, perfectly imperfect organic cotton lace boy short, alison pleated dress by sublet, hera dress by popomomo, fleece jacket by stem, brasenia dress by ecoskin

vintageous

i have an evening gown to purchase for a formal event around the corner. specifically, a floor-length evening gown. not that i am having tremendous luck finding the perfect one but i did come across this fabulous site of vintage party frocks. they post new dresses every couple of weeks and seem to sell out quite quickly (i think all of the above have been spoken for). an interesting selection of goddess-style and full-skirt stuff...

wrong is subjective

handmade signs

inspired by a show we saw last night about the artist steve powers and the hand-painted revitalization of coney island, i looked for some handmade sign inspiration. so i poked around flickr and found some wonderful images.

some with colorful advertising...


some with important messages...


some beautifullly weathered and simple...


(pls bear with me while i credit the flickr photographers)

jesse brown

i came across seattle artist jesse brown on happy cavalier ... love his handlettering and- better yet- the way he uses it to show how (cleverly) his mind works

john bennett fitts

love the beautiful abandoned pool photographs by john bennett fitts

petite collage

animal alphabet silkscreen by petite collage (aka lorena simonovich). pics of her studio (below) are via poppytalk blog.





etsy store here, website here

in honor of the beard

bearded guy tee by loyalty and blood

this here song makes me cry, but i love it.
makes me think of this article

i never was his biggest fan but

i really like two songs on his self-produced album : milk thistle and cape canaveral (thanks david)