Broadhurst

Hi everyone! Here I am, ready to give you another eye-candy report. I am reading this amazing biography. It's called Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives, by Helen O'Neill. Click the link to see more info on it.
Broadhurst was an Australian Wallpaper designer/icon later in her life. Beautiful, hand-screen-printed papers that were truly works of art. But, she lived many lives in her one lifetime as a performer, a fashion guru, and all sorts of things like that...all up until her tragic murder at age 77. It's a fascinating read so far. Her life (as I read the book) is reminding me so much of the movie "Big Fish." She seems to have done so much and all so thrilling; yet you get the sense that some of her stories in life were exaggerated for dramatic effect. This book is CHOCK FULL of her wallpaper designs. It's another must-have is you love eye candy (like me). Not just a photo here and there...it's full of beautiful imagery. And it's also a good read! Normally biographies can be stuffy, but this reads well for me. (Her life was exciting, so it's hard to be bored with it.) And the outside cover is screenprinted fabric...just so lovely to hold and have out on the coffee table! The Amazon.com entry for this has a "search inside" feature, so you can see more of the book there. Have a great weekend everyone! I will be devouring the new Harry Potter book in hopes I don't hear what happens before I get to read it. (Maybe I will turn off the tv for the weekend?)

My Birthday!

Today is my birthday! (on Bastille Day!) My husband surprised me with breakfast in bed and then gave me my lovely gifts. You can see the birthday card he gave me in the picture; a letterpressed card from Paper-Source. What a great wake-up!! Now I'm up and getting ready to head out the door; we are going into Boston to check out the Edward Hopper exhibit at the M.F.A. Next, it's off to lunch at P.F. Chang's (a favorite of mine), and then to the Museum of Science to check out all the fun there. I'd like to see the 3d sharks movie and then maybe catch an Imax film at the omni theater. Then, we'll head to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner from where I will need to be rolled home and likely have my stomach pumped from all the good food. I hope everyone has a great day! Happy "quatorze julliet" (Fourteenth of July) to France.

Book of Inspiration

Hi everyone! It's almost the weekend, hang in there! In honor of my upcoming birthday, I ordered myself this little gem of a soft-cover book. You can buy it here. It's a Japanese book all about Lotta Jansdotter and her life style. I'm a big fan of her products and an admirer of the "brand" she has created for herself. The book takes you into her studio (when she was in San Francisco) and home and where she likes to travel. It even shows tidbits from her sketchbooks. This book is just chock full of inspirational and lovely photos and bits; I just love it. While much is written in Japanese, there are still little "essays" written in both English and Japanese; so the English-speaking can still follow along with some of her thoughts. It's definitely an inspirational shot in the arm for me whenever I look at it and I instantly feel cheerful as I flip through the pages. Definitely for those who love a little bit of eye candy. Be well!

Crane's

Just wanted to share this book I got...it's got no photos or drawings inside (so, no eye candy). But, it is filled with information on how to properly address all kinds of things as well as how to properly put together different pieces of stationery. It's sort of an Emily Post-ish etiquette book. It's a must-have and acts as a clear reference for me as a graphic designer of stationery. It even tells you how to properly address folks like the President of the United States and all the other members of the Cabinet. Find out more about it here.

Back to it!

Hello everyone! I'm back in action today after a lovely week away. We were up in the Belgrade lakes region in Maine. It was very peaceful and I read several books...nice and relaxing! I've put some of my favorite photos from our time (I always take too many photos, so I have to sort through them to pick the favorites) on my flickr site. Now it's back to the grindstone and today started with getting out several Etsy shipments and getting caught up with email...now I'm working on sketches for different projects. It's never the same thing twice! There's definitely plenty to do; along with plenty of errands to run. It's a "scorch-a" outside; so I'm happy to stay in the air conditioning. I hope everyone is well! I'll be back soon with inspirations and goings-ons.