Photo Opportunity | Le Pain Quotidien

I have been waiting for a good excuse to show you this picture - this is the window of Max Azria in Soho, New York. Isn't it superb? Truly gorgeous - those dresses, that brick wall and the dusty old store front -  perfect.

I took the above picture right before we stopped for lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. Have you ever eaten there? It's a wonderful experience. Roughly translated Le Pain Quotidien means The Daily Bread. The restaurant revolves around a couple of concepts - bread as the centre of a meal and communal tables to meet, eat and gather. The restaurants have an authentic, organic, paired down, freshly scrubbed feel. High ceilings, simple furnishings, pale wood and minimal decor. The design and ambiance of a restaurant is very important to me and if the food is great, well that's a bonus!

The organic meals are served on porcelain cutting boards. Cheese platters and open faced tartines. Chunks of bread with olives, nuts and prosciutto. The long tables have bottles of olive oil and bowls of sea salt down the centre. The food is deliciously perfect and the experience is calming and refreshing. Each restaurant also has a retail bakery and catering service.

Le Pain Quotidien was established in Brussels in the early 1990s. They have restaurants and stores all over the world including a brand new one in Toronto. Their menu is beautiful and you can see it here on their website. 

Of course this is not a restaurant review - Le Pain Quotidien is a perfectly executed concept from the simple design of the room to the sophisticated simplicity of the menu. It is a a respite from the city and from the frenetic energy of the street. 

Aaaaah blogging makes me hungry.

Ephemera | Pour l'art et la Pensee.

What can I say? - It's a very small, beautiful thing and I'm just sharing the love!  

{ Gotta keep a nice balance between the old and the new here at the Cafe. }

Window Shopping | Graham and Green

I still have a lot of friends in the UK - and I seem to have to send them gifts on a frequent basis - you know, birthdays etc.

So for the last few years I have found it easier to order gifts from British, mail order, online stores and then I know that the gift will arrive on time and it can be returned if it's not right. One of my favourite places to orders gifts is Graham and Green. So I thought that this morning we would just have a little eye candy from their current collection. . . no pressure this morning just relax and enjoy . . . 

I love this - it reminds me of a similar door stop we had when we were kids - a big stone elephants foot that my grandparents brought back from India.

These buckets are made from recycled tires - I love the fancy bellows too.

A black glass, venetian cut mirror - isn't it fabulous ? (Not sure that I would leave it propped up on the floor with a springer spaniel in the house though!)  Graham and Green have the most wonderful photography on their website and their stores in London are gorgeous. I hope you have enjoyed this little self indulgent window shopping trip as much as I have!

Graham and Green have shops on the King's Rd, Elgin Park and Regent's Park Rd, in London . . . take a look at their website it's faster than going to London and it doesn't involve airline food.

Design | Design books

I thought since you seemed to like yesterdays Paris street map design then you would also appreciate the wonderful deco design of these 2 labels.

I love the way the clouds are represented in these crudely printed designs.

Steven Heller and Louise Fili (my all time favourite designer) have a great series of design books published by Chronicle Books. The series includes French Modern, British Modern, Dutch Modern, Italian Art Deco, Japanese Modern and American Art Deco. They are a great resource for designers - pages and pages of posters, magazine covers, packaging and labels (just like the labels above). I thoroughly recommend this series of books - they are a well used source of  reference in our studio. And check out Louise's portfolio it is truly awe inspiring.

Ephemera | Paris street map.

Do you think this is interesting? I do. This is a street map of Paris that I think was printed in the 1920s. The zigzag frame is so cool and, considering the booklet is almost 90 years old, I am surprised how current it looks. I think this would be classified as French Art Deco. When I saw it this morning on the table it reminded me a lot of the post that I did yesterday of Grady's illustrations - what do you think?

This piece comes from a selection of antique maps of Paris that I have collected over the last few years. I love it more for it's cover than for it's map!

Illustration| Grady McFerrin

When we were in New York I bought a notebook at Anthropologie for my friend Lisa. I loved its simple illustrated cover and the words on the back, "Where troubles melt like lemon drops."  - from the song, "Somewhere over the Rainbow" if I am not mistaken.

Well, coincidentally, while I was buying the pretty notebook Doug was having a visit with the illustrator of the notebook, Grady McFerrin, at his studio in Brooklyn. And it wasn't until this morning that I put 2 and 2 together and figured out that the illustrator that Doug had been talking about for the last week was the same guy that produced the beautiful art for Lisa's book. So I went to Grady's web site and now I can't wait to show you his work.

Grady has illustrated a number of different notebooks, journals and stationery for Chronicle Books (above). On his web site you can see samples of some brilliant hand drawn type especially on some of his fabulous wine labels. I don't usually buy wine just for the label but these ones would catch my eye for sure - I love the distressed vintage look and the  faded colours.

And finally, the posters. I had a hard time choosing which posters to show you - and I really hope you will go and visit them all because they are simply wonderful. Each one is a beautiful piece of art. A magical combination of hand drawn type, pattern and vintage inspired elements. Each piece looks like it has been individually screen printed by hand. This is an artist who knows how to blend his passions and his skills to create uniquely personal, yet publicly accessible art.

Grady McFerrin lives in Brooklyn, NY. 

You can see more of his work here. 

Grady is represented by Gerald and Cullen Rapp in New York.

Paige Russell | North American Wildlife Series

So I am running the risk of being told that I am the last one to have noticed these - oh well! 

I was browsing through the Poppytalk Handmade Market  and I stumbled across this RV by Paige Russell. According to Paige this is a vase or an "anything vessel". I love it. I love it's originality and I adore the way she has photographed these pieces against a paint-by-numbers background. Very clever. I think you will love them too.

So as you probably know I am often influenced by vintage design in my own work and you may start to think that's all that inspires me but, on the contrary - when I see an original idea, whether it is modern, vintage or kitch, I am inspired. It's the originality of the design that excites me and motivates me. This series of vessels is a wonderful, original concept. The real beauty is in the idea. Paige has produced each one beautifully and her choice of paint-by-number presentation is brilliant. Good job - you have inspired me today. Thanks!

Paige Russel is a BC artist based in Kelowna, a 4 hr drive from here - we're almost neighbours!

You can buy her wonderful art at her Etsy shop here.

Conran Shop | Pillows

Couldn't resist these pillows from the Conran Shop UK. Just had to slip them in this morning!

Just noticed that I really must, subconsciously, be into orange and tourquoise at the moment - looks like my last 3 posts all have the same colour palette.

Web Finds | Seven-Nine and Andy Sargent

Thought these were really interesting when I stumbled upon these the other day. I am really drawn to the vintage styling, the distressed wood, the fun type faces and retro colours. I'd like a whole group of these stacked on my bookshelf!

There doesn't appear to be much information on the creator - Andy Sargent at this web site. Perhaps if you know him you can fill me in.

Premium Goods - Bazaar Items.

Thought you might like these images. The first is some old type on a transom window, taken somewhere in the Flatiron District in New York when we were on our way for lunch at Chat N Chew. The second picture I am afraid to tell you I can't remember where I took it - Anthropologie perhaps? Do you recognize these beautiful plates?

Illustration: Brad Yeo

We had an interesting (and fun) weekend. We had some guests - illustrator Brad Yeo and his partner, painter Tanya Rusnak. I don't have any images of Tanya's work but I do have some of Brad's illustrations. I will try and find some images of Tanya's work for you this week. Brad's wonderful illustrations are produced for books and magazines and you can see more of his work here.

Brad's work is represented by Gerald and Cullen Rapp in New York. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. You can also buy prints of Brad's illustrations online at Thumb Tack Press.

My neck of the woods.

It's a glorious morning here - hope you enjoy your weekend. I'm starting off my day the french way - with fresh brioche and a cappuccino from Au Soleil Levant.

I took this picture this morning outside the bakery - check out the flowers!

Au Soleil Levant is a rustic french bakery at 281 Herridge Lane here in Nelson BC.

A Bloggers Week

I thought since this is the end of the week (is a bloggers week only 5 days long?) I would include a few images that didn't quite make it to this weeks posts. Mostly they are pictures that I took in New York, in no particular order. People keep asking me what camera I am shooting with and I have to confess I am using my iPhone. Yup!

This first image is a store on Bleeker Street - it sells a lot of very stylish cowboy and western gear all displayed in antique shop fixtures. I don't really have a thing for western gear but I am a sucker for a beautiful old store front and I am sucker for Bleeker Street. Does anyone know the name of this store? - it's right by the Bonpoint store - oh, note to self, must do post on Bonpoint.

The next couple of pictures may look familiar to a few readers. I was lucky enough to visit Tinsel Trading just a couple of weeks before they move into the their new location. It's an amazing space and an amazing retail environment. You know they have been in this location for 75 years - and there is 75 years worth of cool stuff every where you look. I can't imagine what kind of challenge it will be to move this store. While I was there they were busy tidying out the basement boxes - some of which hadn't been opened in 50 years!




Much of what they sell at Tinsel is new old stock. Spools and spools of 50 year old trim and ribbon. Some of their oldest trim is metalic victorian brocade. They still sell it by the yard - and they keep it under glass. Everywhere you look there are boxes of wooden spools and sequins and feathers. The store fixtures themselves are worth the visit!

I don't know who's cards these are. They are lovely and they looked really great displayed on this vintage time card rack. I also love the way they were displaying cards without plastic sleeves, I am a big fan of that. If you can make it in to Tinsel Trading before they move that would be great - but I am sure that the new store will be just as impressive.

Tinsel Trading is located currently at 47 West 38th St, New York and they are moving to 1 West 37th St in August. They are open until 5:30 everyday and closed on Sundays. Go now!

And finally I am going to leave you with a view from my neck of the woods( just in case you think we've gone mad and moved to New York). Because it's all very well living in the middle of nowhere but it only works if you get out to the middle of SOMEWHERE on a frequent basis.




And I'd like to say thanks to everyone who stopped by this week. I hope you can make Cafe Cartolina part of your regular reading schedule. And if you've enjoyed the posts this week and you think you've got a picture, a product or just a story I'd like to know about, drop me a line, write a few comments or email me some pictures - I'd love that :-)

Up and Down New York

While we were in New York last week Doug was lucky enough to get this book for his birthday - Up and Down New York, illustrated by Tony Sarg. I love this book, everything about it from its dust cover to the preface by Jonathon Adler. The clever gift giver found this book at none other than Fish's Eddy. The illustrations were done in the 20's and 30's and have been compiled into a book published by Universe Publishing(Rizzoli). Tony Sarg was a famous artist, puppeteer and cartoonist(he apparently was responsible for developing the flying helium character balloons used in the Macy's parades). He also had his own chain of stores where he sold textiles, wallpaper and rugs - of his own designs.....hmmm, note to self, research more about Tony Sarg's wallpaper designs. I think his illustrations are wonderful and remind me of another great illustrator from that era, John Held Jr (who illustrated the classic flapper girl). 

We have a lot of books on illustration and illustrators in our studio. One of the reasons that the Tony Sarg book caught my eye was because I am an avid New Yorker reader - I love the articles and I love the cartoons. 

My love of New Yorker cartoons has a rather odd beginning - when I was a kid growing up in Scotland we used to spend our summers in a tiny village on the SW coast of Scotland called Monreith. We had a tiny cottage by the sea that was about as big as a garden shed - and it was filled to the brim with very odd artifacts. There was a collection of strange musty smelling books and amongst the more interesting was an album of New Yorker cartoons. I loved it - and used to practice copying the drawings - not that I understood the humour or the references. Rather odd really for an 8 yr old to be reading New Yorker cartoons in a rose covered, seaside cottage in Scotland. Well years later I found a copy of that book in a flea market, snapped it up and laughed again at all the cartoons that I remembered so well. 

Oh, and by the way, if you are ever in Scotland take a side trip to Monreith and stay at the Steam Packet Inn - it's a magical place!

Make Art Not War

I bought this poster for the studio the other day. I really like it. I don't know much about it, except that it is by Shepard Faire. It has a lovely art nouveau feel. You can purchase it online here. 

I bought my copy at a local store in town here called Still Eagle. I saw it in the window. Still Eagle has been a Nelson institution for many years. We moved to Nelson 15 years ago and it was already an established hemp store back then. They carry a simply amazing selection of organic, sustainably produced, and fairly traded products. Everything from clothing to stationery to bedding. It smells like pachouli oil and tiger balm in there and there is more tie dye and macrame than you will see in a normal life time(but then again this is not a normal place  - this is Nelson!)

Here's what it says on the Still Eagle web site, "Still Eagle Planetary Persuasions began as a small alternative environmental storefront in the Kootenays of BC. That was 1990. Shortly thereafter, we became one of Canada's first hemp stores, wholesaling the best hemp products we could find to other hemp stores across Canada. Today, we carry everything from twine to food to rope to clothing to bags, body products, hats, socks, jewellery, rolling papers, posters books and information." 

One of the things I love about Still Eagle is that everything in the store has 2 prices on the tag - and you can chose which one you feel like paying . . . I think it's brilliant - they have always had this policy - and it really makes you think beyond yourself every time you purchase something. And in the change rooms there is a sign with John Lennon's face on it that says "Don't steal things - Instant Karma will get you " ! 

Still Eagle is located on Ward St, Nelson BC 

They have online catalogues and they wholesale an amazing selection of hemp products.

Poppytalk guest blog today : Fish's Eddy

Well we are very happy to be guest blogging on Poppytalk again this morning. This time we are not in my neck of the woods - but it could be your neck of the woods! We had the pleasure of spending a week in New York last week and even in the 95 degree temperatures we managed to walk our feet off, pounding the pavement through Soho, Midtown and downtown. Today's post at Poppytalk is all about one of my favourite stores, Fish's Eddy. Hope you enjoy.

I have lots of New York photos and details to share with you over the next few weeks and days so tune in and turn on.

And thanks to Jan for the shout out today - Cafe Cartolina is our newborn baby blog - and, guess what? It's all your fault - you got me hooked!

Lilikoi and Jenna Rose.

I stopped in at Lilikoi this morning to take some pictures of the pillows that I had seen there last week .

Lilikoi is the brainchild of designer Barbara Boswell who studied design right here in Nelson at the Kootenay School of the Arts.

All her designs are gorgeous and her shop is fabulous - bright and sunny and inspiring. Her designs include clothing, accessories and home decor items. Her materials are all organic and are from sustainable resources like bamboo. Very nice!

I am also really loving these pillows that they sell at Lilikoi. They are produced by Jenna Rose - another Canadian creating wonderful silk screened fashions and decor items in Ontario. Check out the hats on her site too.

Lilikoi is located at 358 Baker St Nelson BC

Abacus Beads, Nelson, BC

Today I had to run out to Abacus Beads. 

I love Erin's store. It's not the biggest bead shop in the world but it has an amazing selection of semi-precious stones that Erin buys from locals who spend their winters in Asia and South America. If you are not into skiing then the winters are pretty long here so it's quite tempting to head off to exotic places for the season. I for one am happy to stay home and hit the slopes but I am very grateful to the non-skiers who bring back the beautiful gem stones to Abacus. Erin doesn't have a web site so here are a few pictures that I took this  morning.

I love the way Erin merchandises her shop in abundance using vintage wine glasses and old cabinets. I can spend hours in here!

New business cards.

Just took a picture of Dougs new business cards. I love them. He whipped these up in about 10 minutes and I think they are the prettiest business cards I have seen in ages - though I may be biased!

Bad Boys

Today I want to introduce you to some gorgeous fellas courtesy of Mimi Kirchner.

I am in love with everyone of these guys. Aren't they amazing. I have been thinking about them ever since I first saw them here.

I love the way Mimi represents their tattoos with vintage toile fabric - such a great idea!

You can see more of Mimi's work here at her Etsy shop