happy holidays~

Happy Holidays to everyone~ At this time of wrapping up the year, I want to thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I hope you, your friends and family all have a super holiday season and a new year full of good times~

I leave you here with some photos of my favorite Christmas find...ornaments made of pages from Pride & Prejudice from Brookish.

{Photos courtesy of Brookish}

edgy-er pearls

Pearls have always had a difficult time being cool. But perhaps that has changed with Thakoon's debut jewelry line for Tasaki. I like the simple line of pearls and can imagine it subtly dressing an outfit up. It definitely has a more youthful feel and look forward to checking them out in person {coming out in April 2010}...



{Photos courtesy of fabsugar}

roy haynes @ birdland

This weekend I got surprise tickets to see the legendary jazz drummer, Roy Haynes, at the Birdland. He is apparently known as "one of the seven wonders of modern jazz" - and it is amazing that at 24, Haynes was the drummer in Charlie Parker's group on Birdland's opening night, December 15th, 1949. So, fittingly, this set was the cornerstone of Birdland's 60th Anniversary celebration. Get this, he's 84 YEARS OLD! But he played like he is decades younger - and how appropriate that his band's name is "Fountain of Youth"...inspiring~

{Photos courtesy of Josef Polleross and Carolyn Appel (JALC)}

must-have handheld of 2009

I watched this little parody of an iPhone and thought it was pretty well done - and so true! No waiting for pages to load, no contract, no losing reception - there's no substitute for the good old paper. Created to celebrate the the 40th anniversary of the Sun, this video is a fun way to fight the paper cause...

numbered bowls {gleena}

This weekend I went to a nice housewarming/holiday party at my friend's home. I was looking for a housewarming gift for this family who already has all of their basics. I came upon these bowls by Gleena and thought these could be so pretty in a new home. They are a versatile size that could be good for the kitchen {for little treats}, the bathroom {maybe soap?} or the bedroom {perfect for your jewelry}. I love the shape and simplicity. Apparently they are inspired by gourds found during the designer's trip to French Guiana. Just lovely...

{Photos courtesy of gleena website}

museum of chinese in america {moca}

After seeing signs for the new Museum of Chinese in America {MOCA} for some time now, it has opened and I went fora visit. The 12,000 square feet of former industrial space now tells a story of the presence of Chinese-Americans from the 1700s to present day. This space located in Chinatown is designed by Maya Lin {who is no stranger on this blog} and has a really nice facade on Centre Street. It's modern and tasteful - which I think is a nice first impression for the Museum and the people it honors. Highlighting the past and present of Chinatown {in NYC, as well as all over the country}, a visitor can read and see how the Chinese in the US have endured so much throughout time, have survived a tough history, and have accomplished so much. The museum has interactive elements, videos, anecdotes, old photo collections, original artwork from the various time periods {some samples below}. There is also a temporary exhibit called HERE & NOW of contemporary Chinese-American artists and their work {my favorite was the bottom photo if hanging Chinese and English books that all had view-holes carved into them with little figurines inside. Oh, and Thursdays grant free admission...nice.

fiat luxe soap

I received one of these Fiat Luxe felted soaps from a friend and love it~ These handmade soaps - by Valley of the Roses - are wrapped in softly spun, natural wool to create a lathering effect. I have the green one that has a verbana fragrance that is subtle and refreshing. They say that when the soap dissolves, reuse the felt pocket by making a small slit and slipping your own soap inside...smart design.

december 2009 {tota press}

Inspiration

Happy Holidays everyone~ It's that time of year where we wonder where time has gone and we are going in all directions to end the year right. 'Tis the season and NYC lights up to embrace the holidays and so this month's cards are delivered with some gold and silver shimmer in a subtle style.

I recently walked through Midtown and perused the holiday windows of Bergdorf Goodman - as they are always my favorite. This year's theme is called "Compendium of Curiosities" which I think is a loose interpretation of the Alice in Wonderland stories - there were windows that featured the red and black of playing cards, the rabbit coming out from underground, strange illogical adventures and more. I have to say that compared to other years, the windows {BG and others} are a little bit more "modest" {in a high-end luxury kid of way} but I think that might be an overall trend for the holidays this year...I still enjoyed seeing the glowing streets all lit up.

Also, just recently, I returned from a trip to Japan - and I am ALWAYS influenced by the beautiful aesthetic in the everyday, the understanding of simplicity, the care that goes into the tiny details and the respect for tradition while embracing innovation. Some highlights included a trip to Nikko where I stayed in a hot spring ryokan, the food {both the taste AND presentation}, visiting some 100+ year letterpress and paper shops, a vintage kimono shop and traditional paper fan store...the list goes on. Some trip photos »

I tried to capture that sense of simple beauty in this month's cards while keeping it festive {it is that time of the year!} with shimmer paper and metallic ink. Cheers to a warm, safe, fun, relaxing holiday season to you...



Many much more photos on our Facebook page - December 2009 album »


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judy ross scarves

Came across these beautiful embroidered scarves by Judy Ross. They are hand embroidered in art silk on wool - I love the modern design and neutral color palette. It looks like something that stylishly can keep us warm in this winter's-on-its-way weather...


{Images courtesy of Judy Ross}

packaging with mt tape

Yesterday, my TOTA Press December 2009 cards went out in the mail! The last few days and hours of the month are always spent where my working space is upside down and I am in major packaging mode. One of my favorite packaging "tools" is mt tape - a line of masking tape that comes in beautiful colors, sizes and patterns. I am a big fan of the grid pattern {shown above} as it's versatile but adds a touch of uniqueness. But during my last trip to Japan, I got to see their latest colors and patterns, as well as other brands that have come out with similar products {like Classicky, whose cute numbers tape pictured below I got}...and of course brought them home with me. I find the tapes to be refined + simple and use them to seal envelopes, as well as post little notices to customers on their packages. For the holiday season, I bought a silver and gold duo package and used them for the December packages~



Side note: Did you know that there are blogs out there solely about tape and their uses! Like this one, happy tape...ideas ideas!

{Images courtesy of mt, uguisu shoten and happytape}