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This promotional poster for TWA captures the energy and excitement of New York City perfectly. I want a giant poster of this on my wall, and now I am also remembering how much I miss that beloved city. It is one of my first loves in this world.

Posting is a little light this week as I'm working on a deadline and going on a mini vacation, but I've got lots in store for you next week when life is (sort of) back to normal.

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Little New Things

I've got some products up on Society6, and they're offering free shipping from now until Sunday! So if you're in need of some fun prints, or an iPhone case or laptop skin, I gotcha covered. Go take a look for yourself! The next few weeks will be full of fun new surprises so get ready. In case you couldn't tell, I like to keep things nice and bold. Go make a statement!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

I've got some new items in the shop! There's more on the way, too.

PATTERN SKETCH THREE

A fun little argyle inspired doodad, based on some cards I'm working on for the upcoming craft show! Cannot wait to share them all with you, as well as a little shop makeover...

THINGS ARE CHANGING AND IT'S GOOD

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Things have generally been feeling great lately - I've been feeling productive and more importantly, I've gotten to a point where I can see how much my work and vision has developed over the last 2-3 years. There is a stronger sense of who I want to be as a designer and creator, and a heightened sense of optimism that hasn't always been there. My etsy shop is slowly but surely picking up business, and with each new order comes a huge sense of accomplishment and excitement - along with a stronger drive to improve my work even more and create new things. It is the most challenged - and happy - I have felt in a while, and I hope to keep up the pace. The most exciting and satisfying thing about this career path is that every day is something new and eye-opening. There is always something to learn and new opportunities to grow. There are certainly days where inspiration simply does not come, but I'm slowly learning how to make the best use of those too. But all of the successes and failures are mine, and that feels great In the coming weeks I'll be reaching out to others who inspire me in hopes of creating some great new work for this blog. I'm so grateful for the mountains of support and feedback from friends and family, who undoubtedly play a huge role in helping me get here.

WOODEN GLORY

So, I've been cleaning out my computer because it was a disorganized mess, and I
came across these photos I took this summer at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum.
That place was absolute heaven! Wood type everywhere, candy to any designer's eyes.
They even had the machines that were used to create all that wood type, which was
really intriguing - I never realized how complex it was to make type! The little town it's
located in is perfect for a long weekend trip, especially in the summer; it's right on the lake,
very quiet and they have homemade ice cream! It's also perfect for riding bikes. I've really
been wanting to bring Mark there for our anniversary, even though it's smack dab in the
middle of March. But I can't think of a better way to celebrate two years than to do some
printing together. We'll see!

Psst! You can see more photos here.

Fun Type

Ooof, these type renderings are so cool. As winter gets closer and closer, I'm starting
to think about some fun projects to start, and it would be super to play with different
type treatments and patterns. Hand-rendered type. Bright colors. Mmmmm.


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Book Heaven

Where does brilliance like this come from?!

Because I would like it infused into my head immediately.

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Type type type!

How delightful are these type treatments? Both of them made my day; I think it would be really cool to make typographical sculptures with paper (other materials I am not so good with :). And isn't it amazing how to can tell what something says even when some of the visual elements are stripped away? The human mind is just fantastic, and so are these designers.

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Brand X Liquor Packaging

 Don't you just love this packaging concept by CSA Design? I'm really digging the pop art influences with a modern, clean twist. My favorite is the "Obsolete Vodka" with the huge cell phone. Hilarious!

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Half Empty // Half Full

These posters by UK-based Because Studio made me all smiley this morning. Simplicity is everything.

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Infographics

I've been getting into infographics lately, and I absolutely adore these two by graphic designer and illustrator Ben Gibson. They are just so super clever and intricate! I sure learned a lot about beer.

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Refresh button.

Happy Monday! Hope you had a relaxing weekend that recharged you for the coming week! I was lucky enough to get away for the weekend to see some dear friends and just hit the "off" button. It felt great! Now I'm back to the world of bills, taxes, and work. But I feel ready for anything.

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With that, check out this awesome packaging concept, brought to you by Happy F&B. Not only does the surface look like bananas, oranges and watermelon, but they created corresponding stickers inspired by real fruit stickers! And the paper is scented! A present to excite all of your senses. I especially love how it looks when they're all opened.

Les Charlatans

Mmmmm! These prints by Darling Clementine really are just darling! Can't get enough of this 16 card series. Or anything else they create. New design crush.

Vintage book covers!

Yum!

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Hey four eyes...

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Friends! I am looking for a new pair of glasses to frame my peepers. These awesome framework posters are music to my eyes! Which ones are your favorite?

P.S. The posters were done by Moxy Creative, and they've created a bunch of fantastic poster series, including Dress the Part, where they recreate movie posters. The poster they created for The Usual Suspects is absolutely perfect!

Perfection.

via dezeen.

Bookshelf staircase! How perfect.

Janey.

Two design students, Erin and Audrey came up with this great packaging concept for plant seeds that I absolutely adore. Besides the gorgeous visuals, what I really love is that it truly is the entire package: you get the seeds, potting supplies and labels. Wonderful! I've been doing some more research into urban gardening. Do you have any tips with the city dweller with a green thumb?

Perfect Tea

I'm a self proclaimed tea drinker extraordinaire, consuming at least 2-3 cups a day. I was excited to discover these two perfect, simple solutions for all the tea drinkers of the world!

via One More Gadget

via le mouton noir & co

Brilliance

Mucca Design came up with some brilliant branding for a neighborhood Brooklyn-based gourmet shop. I am especially in love with the coffee cups - just the perfect amount of sass :) The next time I'm in New York City, I'll be sure to stop by this place, and will probably bring home some packaging as souvenirs.

 
 

via Mucca Design

P.S. You can read about the branding process here.