Inspiration: Dorothea Lange

Am listening to a documentary on Dorothea Lange.
She's the photographer who took the iconic Migrant woman photograph during the depression.

Inspiring, Kick Ass woman.

Design Salon: The Brunch Edition

Last Sunday my Design gals got together over brunch in Heather's Shaw's lovely home.
(When I'm at Heather's house I feel like I'm walking around in a decor magazine come to life :-).

Love this pic.
Note Alanna's ever present note book.

 Heather talks business. :-)

Delicious brunch including spinach and cheese strata (yum) buttery croissants + yellow tulips!
And LOVE the shabby comfy chair in the middle of the kitchen! Oh Yeah.
For a full tour of Heather's gorgeous house see the Aug 2012 back issue of Covet Garden magazine here.

The Perfect Mother's Day Gift: The Everyday Bangle

With Mother's Day approaching I'm inspired today to put in a plug for my friend Liz Kingstone.

Liz makes gorgeous jewelry and is also one of the most fearlessly creative people I know.  

I've written about her many times before - here + here + here!)

Liz's own Everyday bangle in silver with the names of her 3 boys custom stamped on to it.

Also shown: the Everyday bangle in brass

The Everyday bangle has long been one of Liz's best sellers. Why so loved?

1. Each bangle is handmade so the piece has a beautiful edgy imperfectness to it. 

2. It has weight + presence but can also blend in with other pieces. 

3. Very comfortable - Liz never takes her off!

4. Makes an IDEAL GIFT as Liz can custom stamp the names of your nearest and dearest on them for a truly special piece. (Great for Grandnothers + Mom in laws too)

ps. Some Celebrity name dropping:  

Liz counts Cindy Crawford amongst her loyal customers. OOh Ahh

 

Here is Liz rocking her Everyday bangle.

 The Everyday Bangle

Solid sterling silver or solid warm brass

Up to 10 names custom stamped

300.00

To order: lizkingstone(at)gmail.com

 And this just in ... Liz has now started to make Custom sterling silver cufflinks.

See above. Perfect for Father's Day.

News! My first Tattly was launched to today

Happy to announce that my first Tattly was launched today. It is a perky lemon.

Above: My Tattly page. Just love the photography by Brooklyn based Julia Robbs.

Tattlys are temporary tattoos created by designers + illustrators around the world. The company was created by designer Tina Roth Eisenberg - aka swiss miss - who had grown tired of putting poorly designed temporary tattoos on her 5 year old daughter’s arm!

Since launching in 2011 the company has grown in leaps + bounds and Tattlys are now sold in more than 400 countries worldwide. See list of great shops below.
Torontonians take note! The Drake General store is on the list. :-)

Don't you need one of these zesty lemons on your arm to perk up your spring outfit? :-)
Only 5.00 for 2!
You can order here.

A Month of Great Design in Toronto

The last 30 days has been absolutely chalk full of great design adventures in Toronto including:

 1. A super inspirational talk by Jonathan Adler at the DX

(Took 6 pages of notes!)

 2. A visit to Kevin Austin's stunning new shop Vintage Fine Objects in Corktown

(Could buy everything in the shop!)

 The Opening of Revealing The Early Renaissance at The AGO (curated by my friend Sasha Suda) (So proud of her!)

A fashion show of Comrags' Fall Winter 2013 Collection at Andrew Richard Designs. 

(Loved the clothes + check out this new swanky event space!)

All were very juicy experiences and deserving of their own post -- which will come next week when I'm caught up on my illustration work! Stay tuned.
Toronto - you are a great design city and sometimes terribly distracting. :-)

New Sketches: DOGS!

New Drawing

A couple weeks ago I watched Episode 6 of GIRLS Season 2. (The one that featured Marnie + evil Booth Jonathan + that great plastic dress)
When Marnie appeared at the bathroom door I just had to draw her.

Here's the screen grab which the drawing in based on.

Sneak peek of my upcoming collection at The Bay

Here's a little sneak peek of my upcoming collection at The Bay. 

 In photo: 

1. Garden themed tea towel (on bottom)

2. Set of 4 Bird canapé plates

3. Butterfly mug

4. Floral oven mitt

 Close up of Bird + Floral canapé plates.

In stores Early April 2013!

Comrags

I went to a Spring preview at comrags last night and as always it was inspirational.

 I splurged and bought this Isabella dress. 

Love the frill on top -and plan on wearing it - as all my comrags dress - for all 4 seasons!

Might just have to get this one too....

I love dresses with POCKETS. (Handy for the iphone!)

My sketch of Jennifer Lawrence falling on the stairs

All day today I had the image of Jennifer Lawrence falling on the stairs at the Oscars in my head. She struck quite a silhouette in that incredible Dior Haute Couture gown and immediately it reminded me of Miss Clavel running up the stairs from the Madeline books!
I just had to try and capture the moment in a sketch.

 

My sketch.

 

The moment.

What a great silhouette.

This is the image I immediately thought of when Jennifer fell: Miss Clavel running up the stairs in the Madeline book. This illustration by Ludwig Bemelmans was the inspiration for mine.

Happy Oscars!

Happy Oscars!  
The best opening to the Oscars ever - Errol Morris' short film from 2002.
Love. (Fun to try to identity all the people too) Watch it here.

And the Winners are...

And the Winners of my Giveaway for two Kitchen prints are:
Paula Shareski, Budd Hall and Ceri Marsh!

Congrats to you and thanks so much to everyone who entered.
I was completely touched by your sweet comments and Valentine's Day limericks.
xo 
ps. Have no fear I'll have another giveaway soon. (Perhaps when my new collection for The Bay is released in April!!)

Jonathan Adler is at the DX tomorrow

 

 Tickets available here.

Hi There. If you're having trouble posting a comment for the Give Away below - just send me an email and I'll enter you into the draw. :-)

GIVE AWAY TIME!

Happy Valentine's Day everybody.
Below are 4 brand new prints from my Kitchen series:
Espresso maker, Cheese Grater, Gravy boat, and Sifter. 
They are printed on Maidstone paper with a lovely deckley edge and measure 4" x 5.5 "
(See photos of process in previous post)
They're signed and part of an open edition (ie not numbered).

I am giving away three sets of 2 prints each!
To qualify please leave a comment below stating your two favourite images from this new series.
(If you feel inclined to also leave a joke, limerick, or valentine's greeting - please don't hold back:-)

Winners will be announced February 21st. Good Luck!
ps. These new prints are sold in a set of two for 30.00.

Back in the studio: Printing new kitchen icons prints

The past three days I've been printing up 4 new kitchen icons prints. (These are the prints I'll be giving away for my Valentine's Give Away) Below some photos from the inky process.

 Inking the screen for the grater image.

Pulling with the squeegee. WHOOSH!

 Ta da!

 Pulling squeegee on sifter image.

 Ta da.

Espresso card.