Cartolina on location | NYC

Well after a busy week of preparations we are off to New York for the Gift Fair at the Javits Centre(Galleria Booth #213). I am very excited, can't wait to get there. It's always very surreal to leave our quiet little neck of the woods in the morning  and climb out of a cab 8 hrs later in midtown Manhattan. We will be back next Saturday the 31st and I am looking forward to putting together a couple of posts during the week, next week. I'll try and give you some style reports from the show. We are going to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show on Wednesday at noon so that will be fun(we're going to a David Letterman show too but I am way more excited about Martha) - I'll try and take some pictures there too.

We will be at the show most of the week so if you happen to be there email me and I'd love to connect. We have one of our sales reps taking care of our line which means we are freestylin' at the show this year. If you have a booth at the show and you'd like us to stop by to say hi - or to potentially blog your stuff that's great too. We are going to take lots of pictures and hopefully will have some good blogging material when we get back.( Any great New York tips are welcome). But, as I said, I will check in with a post or two over the next week. Ciao!

Just a few pictures of one of my favourite haunts in NYC, ABC Carpet and Home. I could have posted a picture of the Empire State Building or Central Park - but lets keep it real here - we all know why we really go to New York!

*Cartolina Recycled Notebooks are Finally Available Online*

Sorry for the delay folks but I am happy to tell you that you can finally get your notebooks online here at GreetQ!  Thanks for waiting!

Inspiration | Textiles

A whole bunch of new pillow designs from Burke - there are lots of great new patterns here so check them out(my favourite is the top one, but I like the simple red chenille swirl too.)

Inspiration | Wallpaper

I wouldn't dream of heading off for a week without leaving some nice patterns behind.

A Question:

I've noticed that many of the bloggers have shortened up their blogs presumably so that they load faster. Would you like me to shorten up the number of posts that load everyday? When you have a moment leave me a message and let me know what you think. And any other feedback is welcome.Thanks  :-)

Inspiration | Frames and moldings

Sometimes when I am looking for some graphic inspiration, when I'm drawing a frame or a cartouche I can find ideas in some likely, and unlikely, places. Mirror frames are a great source of inspiration for fun curlycews and and flourishes. Even the shapes of the switch plate hardware at the bottom can inspire a cool shape  - it just takes a little hunting to find a good jumping off point for a design.

Window shopping | Anthro

Predictably pretty pictures from you know who. Good thing there isn't one in my neck of the woods or I'd have no money left.

More Cake! | Amy Atlas

There's still cake leftover from Tuesday!

Cake from Amy Atlas.

Designers | Basic Grey

I am sure that many of you are familiar with the gorgeous designs that come from the studios of Basic Grey. We have a few pieces of Basic Grey paper in the studio that we have framed and are hanging on the wall - I love them as art pieces. This first pattern is superb, isn't it? They have such a wonderful way of distressing their art and creating great scratchy surfaces. Here are a few of my current favourites . . . . 

Design | Koko Co.

I know I have featured  couple of these pillows before but I love to see them all together like this - from Koko.

Inspiration | Sweet Stuff

A little sweet stuff left over from yesterday's post - fabulously inspiring colours and textures in a sweet display from Amy Atlas!

It's a good day. 

It's a good day for everyone who believes that a calm, intelligent leader can make a difference to not just a country but to the world. And, it's a good day for cupcakes.

Thanks for the illustration Doug, it's perfect!

Cupcakes for everyone | part 1

Incr-edible cupcake creations from Cupcake Delights based in S. Africa. 

Via Elle Cupcake who is a regular reader here at the Cafe - thanks!