Mid-week moodboard...

Happy hump day!

And here's a nice little moodboard for your enjoyment.

How lovely are these colours together, yummy...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

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Take Four...donuts!

It was Donut day last week so I'm a bit late to this particular party, 

but couldn't resist a little share nonetheless.

I'm not the biggest fan of donuts 

(gasp!) 

but think I'd struggle to say no to these little lovelies.

top left

top right

bottom left

bottom right

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Mini colour crush...

I've got a mini colour crush post for you today.

I couldn't resist this beautiful artwork by Silvana Avila, aren't the colours beautiful...

Happy Friday!

(image source)

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This & That...

This lovely photograph by Golubka Kitchen

That beautiful print by Bouffants and Broken Hearts

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Things that made me happy in May...

Another month gone by in the blink of an eye!

Heres a little round up of all things May...

Reads, eats, discoveries, laughs and more!

Enjoying...

a week in New York!
(love this photo above by Georgianna Lane)

Looking forward to...

jetting off for some much needed time in the sun very soon!

Reading...
The Vacationers

Listened to...
Joy Williams - Blur - Thea Gilmore - Sheppard - Will Young

Feasted on...

these cumberland sausage hot dogs with beery onions
the best lunch bowl
this pea and asparagus risotto with basil and lemon
this chicken, tomato, feta and lemon salad
lots of yummy American food, including my old favourite, the Cupping Rooms in Soho...the best pancakes, nom nom nom!

Discovered...
pea soup blog

Loving...

the new 'Just in case' collection in Paperchase, gorgeous!
my new house doctor vase and filling them with beautiful stems
these dinky mini face planters

Buying...
The Picnic book with lovely illustrations by Emily Isabella
a new serum, love origins!

Wanting...
these little lovelies

Sharing...
Linda's lovely promo for the Surtex
Emma's lovely notebooks

Crushing on...

these colours

Watching...
Blended (lovely film, well worth a watch!)
Say When
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Gone Girl (not as good as the book in my opinion but still a good watch)

Following...
this instagram account
this pinterest user

Inspired by...

these new designs from the awesome project...love love love.
(click here for a past blog post on them)

Admiring...
the beautiful work of Karlee Rawkins

Laughing...
at this

Favourite things that happened...
A fab show in NYC and resting up after it for a few days!
Pheweeeeee...

So, that was a round up of my month,
how was yours?

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A bluesy kinda mood...

I think we may actually have decided on where to go for a week in the sun next month, 

wooooo hooooo, happy dance and big mexican wave! 

(thats not a cryptic clue by the way)

It's looking like a week in Greece is on the cards, and to be honest, at this point, 

I just want some time out, and as long as there's sun, a pool and hubby is with me, 

all will be good in the world.

Amen.

So, here's a little bluesy kinda mood board with a holiday feel...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

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Etsy shop find... a chat with Gingiber!

Todays etsy interview is with Stacie Bloomfield, aka Gingiber.

Stacie's company produces illustrative paper goods and homewares.

You can find items such as pillows, tote bags, tea towels, cards and prints in her etsy shop, featuring her lovely animal illustrations as well as some florals.

Lets get to know Stacie a little better shall we...

1. Can you tell us a bit about you and your background... 

I grew up in Springfield, Missouri. 

I met my now husband when I was only 11 years old, where we went to the same small private school. 

I always knew that I wanted to be an artist, and studied Design and Fine Arts at Drury University. 

Upon graduation, I drifted a bit from my passion for art and instead worked at a coffee shop while my husband studied Math. 

After the birth of my 1st daughter, Violet, I could not find any nursery art for her room, 

so I made my own! 

My husband encouraged me to try and sell my artwork on Etsy (which was relatively new at the time). 

Over the course of my first year, things were very slow. 

But soon my work picked up momentum and I was a featured seller on the Etsy Blog! 

After that blog post went live, I had enough sales to quit my day job and focus exclusively on Gingiber.

2. What books/ magazines are currently on your coffee table?

The New Bohemians & Pretty Prudent Home!

3. Who are your design heroes and what keeps you inspired?

I am inspired by Charley Harper's illustrations. 

I can't say that I have a "design hero". 

I very much enjoy bright colors and pattern, so finding new ways to play around with those elements keeps me excited about design!

4. Tell us about a typical day for you...

Everyday is totally different! 

I have 3 kids and a husband who commutes 1.5 hours to work each way. 

We wake up at 6, make breakfast, by 7:15 we are out the door to drop the oldest off at kindergarten. 

We mosey over to my studio by 9 and I spend that time until lunch working with my 2 younger kids in tow. 

I use that time to prep orders, answer emails, organize new projects, and basically chase my kids around. 

We go home by 2 and have family time, and by 3 we are picking up my oldest from school again! 

While we wait for my husband to get home from work I give my kids a snack and then I sketch! 

Honestly right now I don't have a lot of free time, but somehow (mostly) everything gets done....

5. When and why did you open your etsy shop, and how did you decide on the name ‘Gingiber’?

I opened my Etsy shop as a means to try to get my artwork out there! 

Etsy was much smaller then. 

It was easier to be seen. 

And Gingiber was picked from an old Latin dictionary. 

6. Can you give us an insight into your creative process?

In a perfect world, I would sit leisurely in a coffee shop and sketch for hours. 

As it is now, I just have to carve out any bit of time I can find and "deliver" good work. 

I have learned to be much faster in my creative process just out of necessity. 

But if I am in the "zone" things come together much more quickly. 

I now sketch with a theme in mind. 

We release 2 new collections a year (1 to coincide with the National Stationery Show in May, & 1 for holiday). 

I find keeping it structured in that timeline keeps me on schedule and allows me time to really figure out what I want Gingiber to say!

7. What are your big loves?

I love coffee. I love food! I love television. I'm pretty typical.

8. Do you follow any blogs? What are your top three?

I read "A Beautiful Mess", "Design Sponge", and "Oh Joy".

9. What are you working on currently? 

And any big plans for 2015?

I am gearing up for the National Stationery Show, which is NEXT WEEK! We just moved into a new studio and are opening a little showroom space with limited retail hours! 

Lots happening right now.

10. What’s the most popular item for sale in your etsy shop?

Right now our Black Sheep Prints and Pillows are most popular!

11. What makes you laugh?

Anything that involves Tina Fey! She is my spirit animal ;)

12. What’s the most rewarding thing about being a designer/illustrator?

I love getting to express myself creatively. 

I love having my own hours. 

I am my own boss. 

And mostly, I love that I get to share my work with so many people. 

It is so humbling to imagine how many homes have Gingiber prints in them! 

I am thankful everyday for this gift!

Thanks to Stacie for taking some time out to be part of the etsy interviews!

x x x

Back from Surtex!

Wooo hooooo!

We did it!

Paper & Cloth are back from Surtex and a super busy week spent in New York.

As much as I enjoy seeing New York, 

its always nice to get back home and see my boys.

Especially when the weeks and months leading up to the show are so crazy busy preparing and getting the portfolios all good to go.

If you visited the show, I hope you had a great time,

and if you exhibited, I hope the show was a success!

I managed to catch up with some lovely blogger friends while I was there which was great and obviously there was a lot of heavy snacking, mmmm, pancakes...

Anyway, here's our promo from the show. 

This was our flyer, and we had postcards printed, and it also featured as a huge banner on the back wall at the show.

See you next year Surtex!

(image above copyright of paper and cloth design studio)

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Moodboard Monday...

This will be my last post for a while as I head off to New York for Surtex with the lovely Paper & Cloth design studio.

So, I'll leave you with a selection of beautiful images in the form of this lovely moodboard.

Gorgeous soft, washed out sugary pastels and greyed off muted tones, yummy!

Have a good week.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

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Paper & Cloth at Surtex...

Paper and Cloth had a little mention on the lovely print and pattern blog this week.

We'll soon be heading off for Surtex in New York so here's a little taster of things to see at the show.

See you there for the first day of the show on the 17th!

(images above are copyright of paper and cloth design studio)

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Three (peachy) lovely things...

1. A yummy fresh watercolour citrus pattern

2. Pink grapefruit yoghurt cake

3. Perfect day bear

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This & That...

This beautiful wallpaper from Designers Guild

That gorgeous floral display

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Things that made me happy in April...

It's time for a little round up of April happenings and goings on.

A lot of time this month has been spent browsing holiday brochures trying to decide where to go for our sunny, summer break, hmmm decisions decisions...

Other things have included some new yummy recipes (obviously right?), the discovery of some lovely new homeware and interior shops and some fab new listens on spotify, 

including the 'Chef' soundtrack. 

If you want to get in the mood for summer, this is the album to do it. 

Definitely check out the track by Hot 8 Brass Band with a cover of Marvin Gayes' Sexual Healing, amazing!

The film was great too.

Enjoying...

browsing holiday brochures and trying to decide where to fly off to this summer

Reading...
The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh

Listened to...
Rae Morris - Cody Chestnutt - Swingrowers - Brandon Flowers - Brooke Fraser

Feasted on...

this spiced chorizo with beans
this prosciutto wrapped cheesy chicken with wild mushroom sauce
these jersey royal, smoked cheddar and spring onion cakes
this parmesan and spinach orzo
lots of nutrition bowls
these green eggs with ham
this warm chorizo and chickpea salad
this hawaiian one pan pasta

Discovered...
this gorgeous online home/ decorative accessories shop
the Craig Charles Funk & Soul show (bit late to the party but love this!)

Loving...

the look of these, mmmm

Buying...
these baskets
this throw
these Cable and Cotton lights

Wanting...
Lots of these West Elm cushions
A Hannah Cole canvas
Everything in the House Doctor SS15 collection!
a lovely succulent garden

Sharing...
new artwork by Hannah Cole from Whistlefish Galleries
New designs by Kitty McCall on instagram

Learning...
how to propagate succulents

Crushing on...

these colours

Watching...
Fast & Furious 6
House of Cards (ooooooh season 2...)
Maleficent
Chef (amazing)
Ride Along

Following...
this instagram account

Inspired by...

the artwork of Babeth Lafon

Admiring...
this beautiful cabinet full of glorious eye candy..the colours!
the beautiful artwork of inaluxe

Looking forward to...

warmer weather and breaking out the flowing skirts and dresses, woooo!

this book being released

Dreaming...
of this place, oh my...

Favourite things that happened...
An absolutely gorgeous bank holiday weekend
Long forest walks with the boys
Some surprisingly beautiful weather here in the UK, especially for the month of April

So, that was a round up of my month,
how was yours?

(the above image is copyright of louise / loveprintstudio blog)

x x x

Etsy shop find...a chat with Cori Dantini

It's time for another instalment of some etsy shop loveliness, 

and this time I've been chatting with Cori Dantini.

Cori creates lovely whimsical art and sells the prints in her etsy shop.

Subject matter includes beautiful, elegant birds, characterful intriguing girls and most recently, lions, giraffes and zebras in her nursery art.

Lets have a little looksie shall we, and get to know Cori...

1. Can you tell us a bit about you and your background... 

My story is not a traditional story... and it is a bit long.

I grew up knowing that I wanted to make art.  It was simply the only thing I was really good at...  so when I went to college, I studied art, fine art to be exact.  

I focused on oil painting with a minor in printmaking from WSU (Washington State University), in my hometown of Pullman WA.    

I thought I would grow up to be a waitress/bartender. 

I imagined that I would paint all day and serve food all night, but commercial art sort of crept into my life.  

I didn't seek it out, and I didn’t truly understand it, but one day I woke up and realized I had become an illustrator.

It began when a liquor rep came into the bar where I was working in Seattle.  

He said he heard I was an artist, and asked if I would be willing to hand paint some signs for him. 

I jumped at the chance to make money doing what I loved to do, paint!  

So it began...  an illustration here, a series of illustrations there, a bathroom door, a chalkboard menu, a painted floor...  and before I knew it, I realized that I had unintentionally become an illustrator and that I didn't mind it. 

In fact, I liked the challenge of it.  

Eventually I found myself in Denver with my soon-to-be husband, and I couldn’t find a job. 

One day while cruising the want ads my husband found a job listing for a "clip art designer". 

I called up the company, went in for a meeting, and they sent me home with a big packet that asked me to draw a bottle of wine in "this" style, and a car in "that" style.  

It was a huge undertaking, but when I brought in my pile of drawings they hired me on the spot. 

Then they asked me if I owned a computer. The answer was no...  

My father kindly bought me a computer (I am forever thankful for this) and I began the process of learning all about vector based artwork.  When I began I was creating about 20 images a week, but by the end of 2 years I was designing 40 per day 

(that is a lot of drawing!). 

And then poof!, the business died off, which encouraged me to try my hand at greeting cards, and I am still designing them today.  

After the clip art cycle was over, I started putting up online portfolios, which lead to some exciting work with a local art director by the name of Gale Venosdel.  

He pushed me in ways that I had never been pushed and he really made me grow as an artist / illustrator.  I love him for that, and I still to this day look forward to projects with him (as they are always challenging and produce the best work)!   

When my husband finished his PhD in neuroscience, we left Denver and came to an empty rental property "with great studio space" that was owned by my parents.  And that great studio space and a chance encounter with a lady at a tiny craft show in Uniontown, Wa led me to open my etsy shop... which then led to sales, which led to interviews, which led to a faith in myself that people actually liked my artwork, which led to craft shows...  and then art fairs where I had a chance encounter with my licensing agent Sheila Meehan. Now she and I are on a ride together, and who knows where we’re going!  

Hopefully to some really fun places that hold some exciting career challenges.

 2. What books/ magazines are currently on your coffee table?

My coffee table is absolutely COVERED in Legos, but my bedside table has stacks of books on it! 

I just finished reading 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' by Sherman Alexie (which I totally recommend), and now I’m reading a book called 'Refuge' by Terry Tempest Williams. 

And next will be 'Elsewhere' by Richard Russo.  

This would also be a natural place to talk about the fact that I am ALWAYS listening to an audio book in the studio...  and if I am working hard I can go through as many as 2 or 3 books a week in there... it helps me get back into the studio day after day, as I can hardly wait to find out what happens next (in the book AND in my work)!

 3. Who is your design hero and what inspires you?

I must confess, I really don't have a design hero.  

I learned early on that paying too much attention to what other people were doing/making affected what I made, so I try to keep my nose down and stay as true to my authentic "making" as possible.  

4. Tell us about a typical day for you...

I pull myself out of bed at 7 a.m. to a very typical morning routine focused on getting my son Henry out the door for school.  

When he’s fed and his backpack has been zipped shut, I leash up our (very old) dog Lucy, and she and I walk with Henry to school. 

Then we walk back home so I can get to work.

On any given day I am typically in the studio from 8:30 - 3:00 working on anything from printing and shipping etsy orders to designing fabric, and creating new paintings or illustrations.    

I try very hard to finish working before Henry gets home from school so that I can do my favorite and best thing, which is to be his momma (I really do love it).  

Then it's all about homework and the evening meal as a family.  

Evenings are a bit free form, but we are all tucked into bed fairly early with our books, getting ready to face a new tomorrow.

I'd like to be able to write in this section that I practice yoga and take dance classes, perhaps that I carve out time to meditate and spend time with friends. 

But truthfully a typical day is very much about "getting it all done" and trying to fit happiness into the cracks of the day.

Did I mention that my husband Liam works from home as well?  

He is a nice little part of my day too, and we often meet at the coffee pot or share lunch.

5. Can you give us an insight into your creative process?  

When I have a new job in front of me, the very first thing I tend to do is thoroughly clean my work space. 

The studio is often totally out of control after I am finished with a project, and this act of tidying seems to help me get excited for the next challenge.  

As I clean I handle all the bits and bobs and it sort of fills up my creative well, and by the time it is cleaned up I am ready to begin.

 6. Complete the following sentence...

'My happy place is......... on a pebble beach looking through all the tiny rocks in search of a perfectly round rock with Liam and Henry nearby. 

It makes me smile to think on it.

 7. What art do you have on your wall?   

Ooh I love my art! 

If you were to look around my home you would see work by Amanda Blake, Jenny Mendes, Stepanka, Diane Sudyka, Ouida Toucshon, Calef Brown, and Michael Corney. 

I have a soft spot in my heart for old carved wooden "things", like old touristy totem poles, hand carved wooden bowls and angels (all found thrifting). 

And lately I have fallen in love with Scandinavian folk art, and have been lucky enough to find a large Dala horse and a funky Swedish doll. 

 8. What's your guilty pleasure?  

Thrifting. 

It takes time, and I don't have a lot of "free time".  

Basically, I feel like I am playing hooky when I do it!

 9. Do you read any blogs? 

If so, what are your top three?

I'm a huge Pinterest fan, but that isn't a blog. 

BUT it takes me to all kinds of places (some of which are blogs)!!!  

I seem to end up on interior design blogs the most, but that could be because I am obsessed with kitchen design right now. 

We’re planning a remodel and hopefully that will be happening this summer.   

 10. What’s your favourite item for sale in your etsy shop, 

and whats the most popular item with buyers?

I think my most favorite piece is a personal piece called ‘We are at the curve that never ends’ (see below). 

girl and bird art print - we are at the curve that never ends - limited edition - archival - print - cori dantini 

It was created in honor of a great little story that once upon a time happened to me. 

I was at the park (up on the top of a little hill) in tall, tall grass.  

I was lying there, sun on my face, birds chirping, clouds floating by.  

The grass was tall (maybe a foot deep) and the hill… the hill had a little path that went all the way around it.  

So I am all blissed out and laying there minding my own business when this little person starts in on a sing-songy tidbit. “Look mom” he says, “we are at the curve that never ends, we are at the curve that never ends, we are at the curve that never ends”. 

It went on and on. 

Around he went on the curvy bend (ALL the way around) saying it over and over, rhythmically.  

Repeat, repeat, ‘we are at the curve that never ends’.  

And aren’t we all?  

We truly are always at the curve that never ends. 

It was such a perfect little piece of truth (out of the mouth of babes).

The most popular item for years were the owls (hands down), but now I am noticing that people buy a fairly even representation of everything.

A big thanks to Cori for such a wonderful interview!

You can follow Cori here...

facebook | etsy | website | instagram | pinterest

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