Friday | Have a great weekend!

Well it's Friday all ready and what a busy week I had - we've been so busy getting ready for the Seattle Gift Show and the New York International Gift Fair. Always lots to do before shows - and if you happen to be going to the shows stop by and see what's new at Cartolina - details here.

Also thanks to everyone who stopped by told us about their amazing summer adventures at our first giveaway. I have so enjoyed reading them. There's still time to enter and I have to say that I am blown away by how many entries we have received so far. In fact I think we will have to have more than one winner - maybe a couple of runners-up too! Make sure to check back on Wednesday to see the winners name - could be you!

See you Monday - Fiona

Roost | Return to rustic

Lighting from Roost - how wonderful are these caged chandeliers? I love them hanging together like that. The shapes are really inspiring. The simple wood candle sticks are gorgeous too. They would look really nice in my slightly rustic home (we'll call it 'urban rustic' )

Funny how home decor seems to have come full circle recently. I am seeing so much more organic natural shapes and materials which we seemed to have moved away from for the last few years with the trend towards all thing modern and minimal. I, for one, am glad to see the return of rustic - combine it with a little modern simplicity and I think it's close to perfection!

And these wonderful bamboo "cloud" shades are fabulously organic - the random shapes just seem to float in space. Well styled photography - like these images - is really inspiring, don't you think? - gives me a total feel for a product line.

Window Shopping | Caravan

Caravan have the coolest website. It is so beautifully designed - I'm not actually sure if they have a bricks and mortar store - couldn't really tell from their site but the imagery is so pretty and unique, I was happy just to browse. Enjoy!

This is their raven! He is life sized and I think he is wonderful - almost looks like he is made of graphite. They also have a great selection of knitted dogs - yup, you heard me, knitted dogs!

Interview | Matthew Mead

Over at decor8 Holly has a wonderful interview with one of my favourite designer/stylists, Matthew Mead. I first started following Matthew's work a few years ago in Country Home Magazine. I love his sense of style and scale - his ability to combine new and vintage to make every photo an intriguing montage. He has a great new website with fun projects and resources. Here are a few images of his work.

I have dozens of binders in my studio full of magazine clippings that I have collected over the last few years - many of them feature Matthews work - he is a master of composition - big fan here as you can probably tell. Thanks Holly for interviewing Matthew and introducing him to others, who may not all ready know his work. ( OMG, check out all those cool things under that sofa will ya? )

Well it's time! Time for our first Cartolina Giveaway at the cafe. You've all been so well behaved for our first month of blogging(thanks for all the comments) that we have decided to offer up a fantastic collection of Cartolina products to one lucky winner this time next week. A fabulous selection of greeting cards, notecards, mini cards and Xmas cards - a value of almost $100. And all you have to do is tell me quickly what super fun thing you have done so far this summer....did you drive across the country, did you sail up the coast, did you start a wonderful new job or did you read the best book ever? I want to know what you all do when you are not surfing the blogosphere! Write about your summer fun in the comment box - you have until next week and then I will choose a winner - using some scientific method yet to be determined. How fun! Enter now! Check back on Wednesday August 20th for the winner - or, better still, check back everyday :-)

Inspired Design | Great finds

Here's a great collection of items that I have been withholding from you - and am now ready to reveal! Everyday items transformed by beautiful, inspired design. Products like these make my day. Hope they make yours too!

A graffiti - roccoco mirror from Luis Alicandu. This designer has some amazing pieces in their portfolio, I really enjoyed checking them out.

Another wonderful idea from Pedlars. How can you resist hanging up your washing on a blustery day with these birdy clothes pins?

You may have seen these mugs by  Thorsten Van Elten. Brilliant idea - how fun and clever!

Sign up | poppytalk newsletter

If you haven't all ready, you really should sign up for the Poppytalk newsletter. It comes once a week to your inbox and is full of great fun things. It's also really pretty - beautifully designed on a long, horizontal format which loads fast and is fun to read. You can sign up on Poppytalk's website, you will see the link in the left hand column. You get a preview of their blogging week, a DIY project, great affordable art ideas - hey, you get the idea!

Random Objects | Classic Racer

How cute is this - couldn't resist it - had to include it in today's Random Object post. You can get yours here - but not if I get it first!

Reservations | Ace Hotel, Portland

We are planning a trip to Portland Oregon. If and when we go we are going to stay at the Ace Hotel. This is one of the coolest hotels I've ever seen. Vintage-Mod is how they describe themselves. I feel like it would suit us down to a 'T'. You can read all about the Ace Hotel here.

Check out the graphics above the bed - looks like an airport terminal plan don't you think? And I love the fact that there is a turntable and records in the room - how cool is that? And a vintage photo booth in the lobby - what more could you want really!  Apparently this was a derelict building when the developers bought it and they used local, vintage and found materials to bring it back to life as a stylish alternative to a standard hotel.

The Ace Hotel is at 1022 SW Stark St, Portland, OR. They have a great little website with very fun graphics. Be sure to read the press pages for all sorts of really interesting information on the hotel. And if you are a Portlander we'd love some travel tips for first timers like us - artsy, vintage and foody stuff - thanks!

Illustration | Grady McFerrin

Here's a nice little illustration from Grady to get us all in the mood for a productive Tuesday. I have a bunch of orders to fill here this morning and then later this afternoon I am hopefully going to have time to put together a "Cartolina Giveaway" - first giveaway here at the cafe - so stay tuned! Now, get to work!

Art, Craft and Design | St Judes Gallery

St Judes is a gallery that presents excellent and unusual British art, craft and design. They also print and sell screen printed fabrics. They describe themselves as "Modern, British, eclectic and affordable." I really like what I found at this gallery online. The first artist that caught my eye was Emily Sutton and her birds . These are so wonderful. They look like they are sewn, stuffed, painted and embroidered canvas. I bet you love them as much as I do. There are about 40 of them on the web site.

The next item that caught my eye was Angie Lewin's illustration - and the wonderful textiles that they print at St Jude that are available to buy. Most of Angie's illustrations are wood engravings - great to see someone using traditional print methods. They have a very retro 1950's feel don't they - remind me of bark cloth curtains!

I'd like to feature some more of the artists from St Judes in the near future - it's great to see what everyone's up to across the pond!

Random Objects | Post Office Posters

I wanted to share this with you because I thought it was such an oddity when I found it at the little antique store here in Nelson. I think it is a poster for Canada Post probably designed and printed in the late 1940s. It is screen printed onto a hard board and I think it's quite unusual and funny. I can't imagine anyone at Canada Post approving such a graphic for their walls these days - they are a rather conservative bunch!

Shameless Self Promotion | Show Season

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later - a bit of shameless self promotion.

It's August 11th which means that show season is just around the corner. 

This month Cartolina Cards will be at the NYIGF {New York International Gift Fair} and also the Seattle Gift Show. We have all our holiday products ready for ordering including counter cards, mini cards and 6-packs. Here are the details:

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL GIFT FAIR - JAVETS CENTRE, NYC. 

Aug 16th to Aug 21st.   BOOTH  #213

SEATTLE GIFT SHOW - CONVENTION CENTRE, SEATTLE. 

Aug 16th to August 19th.   BOOTH  #3920 - #3922

Retail Therapy | Return to Fish's Eddy

We got home quite late from Vancouver last night so I don't have fresh post for you this morning - sorry! I have been meaning to post this guest blog (that I did for Poppytalk 3 weeks ago) over here at the cafe - so now is the perfect opportunity. Back tomorrow with something new for you! Enjoy!

Fish's Eddy.There are very few stores in New York that I like better then Fish's Eddy. The wonderful interior space is filled to the brim with vintage dinnerware, flatware, glassware and linens. Along with the massive amounts of vintage there are some great modern pieces based on vintage design. Its a little overwhelming but if you are not in a hurry you can find some real treasures here. And I love the way they merchandise the store. There are so may tea towels hanging from the ceiling and sugar bowls stacked into pyramids. You have to be very careful not to crash into displays as you wander around with your jaw hanging open at the scale of it all.

One of the things that I think is very clever at Fish's Eddy is that often it's hard to identify the modern from the vintage. Everything is displayed in scruffy old cupboards and shelves which gives you the feeling that you are the first person to discover this amazing old stash of stuff. In fact it probably is the same feeling that the owners had when they first laid eyes on their original inventory source, "One fortuitous day we came across an old barn filled with endless stacks of dishware from hotels, restaurants and diners. There were bushels of cups, creamers and sugar bowls. There were plates and platters stacked sky high.The barn had been in a terrible fire and it was in bad shape… yet the dishes were surprisingly intact. Still, the content was only good to anyone willing to cart it away." And apparently they were the willing ones!

 

Some of the modern and reproduction pieces available at Fish's Eddy are really wonderful. A talented group of designers have produced a number of in-house lines that really represent a good cross over from vintage to modern. I especially loved the display of porcelain glove manequins - all different shapes and sizes. I think they would be great for jewelry displays don't you?

Fish's Eddy is located in the Flatiron District of New York: 889 Broadway at 19th Street.