Doug's new illustrations

Doug has been working on some very cool illustrations recently. I specifically love this piece that he did for the Wall Street Journal. Doug's been illustrating for a long time now with clients that include the New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times. Very cool. You can see more of his new work on his site which I updated for him yesterday :-)

Found - Annie Smits illustrations

I wanted to share this holiday card with you that I got from Helen our New Zealand distributor. This card is from a line of cards she carries that reflects New Zealand heritage and culture. I love that this angel has the simple and exotic 'tribal' decoration that you might find in Maori art. Illustrated by Annie Smits.

Illustration by Annie Smits

Inspiration - printers samples

Some simply stunning examples of early 20th century printing. The skill it took to design and print these blows my mind. I am always in awe when I run across stuff like this. From Sheaff Ephemera.

Inspiration - patterns

We have seen these a few times recently but this a fab collection on Flickr - security envelope patterns.

Hello everyone - welcome back for a whole new year at Cafe Cartolina! I'm excited. This time last year I was making big changes at Cartolina. I knew it would be a big scary year as we tackled a whole new distribution model, selling cards to buyers in more places around the world than I ever would have expected. I love that Cartolina has found such appreciation in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand - and I am so grateful to everyone who has made that happen in the last 12 months. So let's say hello to a whole new year - it's looking pretty good so far!

A new hobby or great inspiration?

These are plates are from vintage books on Pennsylvania folk arts being offered for sale here. I thought they looked very interesting - a new hobby perhaps or just some really great inspiration!

Inspiration - simple utilitarian vases

I really like these vases from West Elm - love the vintage texture and the bulkiness of them. Oh and I love the spring colours ;-)

All pictures from West Elm

How could I start a new year without a few vintage tins? I'm a total sucker for small, french, vintage tins - these are just perfect!

All images from La Pomme