Interior Inspiration

I pretty much love everything in the new House Doctor catalogue - they really know how to do that modern country/light industrial look. And their catalogue is so darn pretty!

Vintage inspiration

Couldn't resist this sweet 1950s cake tin from Gena Loves Vintage. Yup, I thought you'd like it :-)

Reconnecting in 2011

One of the things that is getting me through our rather dreary winter here in BC is my big plans for our Cartolina market stall this summer. You may or may not know that at Cartolina we only sell to wholesale accounts - and because we work with distributors we only deal with a handful of buyers around the world(and then they take it from there.)

So I've decided that in 2011 I am going to reconnect with our end consumers - that would be you and your friends who buy our products in the shops. We are planning an awesome market tent for our local market(and beyond) and also we are planning to introduce a few new products that we will sell exclusively in our Cartolina Etsy shop. I love Etsy and purchase lots of great stuff from amazing shops.

I really want us to be involved in selling Cartolina in a more grass roots way. I'm thrilled that some of the most beautiful stores in the world carry Cartolina but to get out of the studio and connect with people, one on one, is my goal this year. It's all about balance - right?

I saw this vintage hanger on Etsy yesterday and it fits right in with my vintage design plans for the Cartolina market tent. By the time I had got my act together it was all ready sold but I'm on a mission to collect the coolest display props - stay tuned!

Inspiration - origami books

Isaac Salazar makes this look so easy - don't you just want to grab the closest book and start folding? I really love the giant capital letters and they'd look amazing on a shelf arranged as a word - like Cartolina for instance! You can see more of his work here! Via Recyclart.org

BUY! Oh no, wait a minute . . .

I took one look at this and almost pressed the BUY button on Etsy. I thought it was Victorian or Edwardian but it's actually fairly modern (Doug pointed out that it's a '100 year calendar' starting at 1983 - so I guess it's not an antique!) It's absolutely precious - maybe I should have it anyway! From 1001 vintage.

This is a very pretty, patterned throw from Urban Outfitters. Very "William Morris goes to India in a Gypsy Caravan" - don't you think?

The golden ticket

These people at Crank Bunny are so clever. I've featured one of their handmade cards before. They are so beautifully designed and so unique. This one has a gold leaf scratch off panel on the inside that you can personalize - which is amazing. Check out their other amazing designs.