bright prospects for 2009

Pantone, which provides color standards to design industries, announced PANTONE® 14-0848 Mimosa {image above}, a bright shade of yellow inspired by the flowers of mimosa trees and the favorite brunch cocktail, as its color of the year for 2009. In general, Pantone expects the public to embrace many tones of yellow, since in these current times, optimism is key and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow.

"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

On that note, may our 2009 bring us all bright + positive opportunities for a fun, healthy, exciting, challenging, rewarding, amazing year...cheers cheers to that! Happy New Year~ {popping the cork...throwing confetti...}

it's a new year!

The coming of a new year brings bright prospects, a time of excitement, a chance for a new "start", and all that good, positive stuff. Yay! But it also brings about those few days of crossing out "2008" to write "2009" instead and giving your brain some time to adjust to the new year. With that special recognition, I share with you my favorite calendar design for 2009 - CATS LET NOTHING DARKEN THEIR ROAR by Noa Bembibre. Using a font color change on quirky little phrases, Noa highlights each month in a typography-based design. {You can see months February, April and June above...} I love the random fun - just as I hope that each day of the coming year may bring to you {and me}!

For those who have been reading this blog, thank you for your attention, time and support - however long it may be. It has been such a pleasure to share my thoughts and experiences and I look forward to another year of many discoveries. Cheers to the new {2009} year all~

letterpress-educated

For the past few months, I have been taking an excellent letterpress printing class at Cooper Union. Through the weeks, I have learned the process of setting wood and metal type to print using their typography studio's Vandercook presses from the early 1900s {can you believe it?!?}...as well as die-cutting, foil-stamping, printing from linoleum engravings, and much more. As a refreshing reprieve from the digital nature of my job {aka staring at the computer screen} and getting the rewarding feeling from producing something one-of-a-kind from my own hands, this class has thoroughly been a highlight of my every week. Below is a series of photos taken in creating my holiday/new years postcards that were just sent out. I took advantage of the press's ability to print white - and chose origami paper as my canvas and a futura oblique typeface to mark the coming year in type. They are very simple - but I had so much fun making them. Other projects included poster prints, note cards, stationary, and printed imagery. Next project = new business cards!

happy holidays~

Happy Holidays from NYC! Cheers to a merry and bright holiday season...~
Above are renderings of the Empire State building holiday lighting from What Color is the Empire State Building.

life photos on google

Did you know that the LIFE photo archives are now available via Google? Upon this discovery, I spent some/too much time going through some amazing photographs taken in the last 15 decades {from the 1860s!}. The above photo was taken in Paris in 1963 of children watching a puppet show. The mix of honest looks of delight and horror are priceless. Let's see, you can also check out: a portrait of Gandhi, Madonna as a teen, an unreal family portrait of Eric Clapton from the 70's, Ansel Adams' Grand Canyon views...and it keeps going. Amazement #1 is that such amazing and beautiful photography has taken place over the years. And amazement #2 is how it's so readily available by merely clicking around on our screens now...

the fabulous garlands {sophie cuvelier}

Today is quite gray here and the upcoming forecast is not looking any better. So this colorful bit of decor, the fabulous garlands by sophie cuvelier, caught my attention and I thought I'd share. Handmade in France, she strings dyed paper pieces {triangles, rectangles, circles} to brighten up any space. Above is a collage of images from her website that I really fell in love with. She plays with rainbow, monochrome, same hue palettes in her various compositions. Maybe some ideas for your next holiday soiree?

coffee love {christoph niemann}

Coffee gives so much. It can simultaneously provide us with energy AND relaxation. It can define the everyday routine, as well as a special moments in the day. It brings us much needed warmth during cold days... and with the latest trend of low-key but serious coffeehouses everywhere {hi to gimme! coffee, think coffee, everyman espresso, 9th st espresso, Portland's pride Stumptown now in NYC}, this just makes it all more the fun. And now here, I stumble upon Christoph Niemann's latest for the NYTimes.com's Abstract City - Coffee - that narrates his personal history with coffee. I've written about him and his illustrations before, but I really loved his whimsical sketches on napkins using the coffee stain rings as part of his story, so he's back =). Above is my favorite image in the piece, but there is more more more so check out the whole thing here >>

astier de villatte {paris}

I went to a wonderful French-ized Thanksgiving dinner party at my friend's home in Paris. She created a feast of rotisserie turkey (<-- not dry and really tasty!), butternut squash soup, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, pureed pumpkin, brussel sprouts, and more! During the heavy consumption of food, I could not help but notice her super charming dishes - handmade terracotta tableware glazed in a milky white porcelain finish, seemingly inspired by 18th/19th century designs but modern in good taste. The dishes are really light to the feel and helps to create a unique ambiance on the tabletop. The dishes are from the collections of Astier de Villatte, a French boutique that sells their designs of various tableware. {Above are screenshots from their funny little website} My friend mixed and matched their various patterns {such as the above} to create a naturally eclectic but very put-together look - like true Parisian flair and style~

my paris

There is something extraordinary about Paris. It rained for many of the days I was there but it didn't matter. I got to see friends, travel out to Bordeaux and St. Emillion to visit wine producing chateaus, eat amazingly well, be inspired by the natural sense of style that the city has - quite a special week. Above are some photos from the trip! Thank you Paris and look forward to seeing you again soon.