printsource 2009

well well well. printsource has come and gone, and whew! what a week. i missed you all!! having my first trade show under my belt feels really really good. i was so nervous going into the show, mostly because so much was unknown to me-- i wasn't sure if my booth set-up was going to look how it was supposed to, if my work was going to fit with the other work exhibited, etc.

when i arrived in new york, my bag (*full* of all my show stuff) didn't arrive with me, for whatever reason, so, was i panicking? yes. i was thinking it was a very bad sign at the beginning of my week in new york. plus, i was really excited to get to my friend's house in brooklyn where i was staying, because we grew up together and haven't seen each other in 10 years, and then i was stuck at the airport dealing with a lost bag!! oh, air travel. luckily, my bag arrived a couple flights later (read: 2.5 hours), so i scooped it up and hopped in the car that delta got for me as a consolation for their stupidity. they also gave me a $7 voucher to the starbucks in the baggage claim area, which bought me a latte and a banana. nice.

but after that small fiasco, everything else was smooth and easy, which was a huge sigh if relief! the photos above are of my booth. i thought it turned out nicely, although next time i would like to hang some more small pieces on the walls. i loved having the big banner-like prints, though. i sold prints to some wonderful companies and have lots of follow-up work to do now-- i'll tell you more as i go!

one of the best parts of the entire show were the fabulous women that surrounded me the whole time-- samantha hahn, lisa kelley (milkshake crafts), and jan dicintio (daisy janie) (pictured from left to right, with me in the center image) were just too good to be true. it was incredible to spend time with such passionate and talented women, and i miss them already. we bounced ideas off each other, encouraged each other, compared notes and prices, cheered each other on when we made sales and got great contacts.......

another highlight of the show was when michelle from cicada studio (top right in photo, and below her is sara schmidt (salvage), another talented woman who was also in our booth area) came into the city to have dinner with us all-- i love getting to meet blog friends in person! i am always amazed how people's personalities match the tone of their blogs, and i feel like i already know them before we meet-- such was definitely the case with these wonderful ladies. :)

and one final piece of excitement from the show was getting to meet lilla rogers and her crew in person-- what a treat! their booth was colorful and inspiring and a treat to see in person.

all in all, it was a fantastic experience, and now i want to move to new york. :)

joe wilk makes my day

ok, so i'm feeling a little (ok, a lot) freaked out about printsource at the moment-- i keep thinking about all the ways in which i'm unprepared (my clothes are all hideous, what if they don't let me hang my booth the way i've planned, i don't have the right invoice sheets, what if i sound stupid?...) blah blah blah! totally unhelpful to myself.

so. i decided to do a flickr search for some peacful images, and what did i find? these gems by joe wilk. my day is totally turned around. i am in love. yes, love, my friends.

does it get any better than a meditating bald and naked man, covered with a cloud, with little winged feet, and a big blue third eye? no, it does not.

and just in case you were wondering what else joe might draw, he has several drawings involving hotdogs that are brilliant and hilarious. you may see them here. (oh, and you can learn more about joe here, too.)

so, i hope you all have a happy happy weekend-- posting will be light next week, as i'll be away at printsource (aaaagggh!)-- wish me luck! i'll have you stowed away in the part of my brain that stores positive thoughts and encouragement, so i can use you when i'm feeling unsure of things. :)

new pattern: paisley

my friend jennifer suggested i create a paisley pattern yesterday, soi thought i'd give it a whirl. it's sort-of a quirky and non-traditional paisley, but i think it's kind-of fun! what do you think?

sarah beetson

i'm crazy about sarah beetson's illustrations! i love the way she draws people. and i read in her bio that she attended the falmouth college of arts in cornwall (uk), and now i'm totally jealous because cornwall is one of my favorite places i've ever visited.

aren't these drawings of parties amazing?

you can see more of sarah's work on altpick and i2i.

2009 goal and intention kit

i couldn't be more excited to share this with you all, my dear inspirational readers. i spent much of yesterday creating this new year 'goal and intention kit' (time i should've been spending getting ready for printsource!), and i'm so pleased with how it turned out! it's sort-of an extension of the take it tuesday download from a couple days ago, but has *much* more included--

the kit contains: 1 sheet of stickers, ready to cut out-- can be stuck on calendars, day planners, or anywhere else you please, a mini notebook with a pretty patterned cover (with one of my patterns as a cover!), blank goals, intentions, wishes,and gratitude sheets, fill-in-the-blank 'be.do.have' and 'personal stuff' sheets, mini positive reminder notes and mini goal notes, a super cute bookmark that says 'read good books, a sparkly pen, and a pretty paper pouch (again, a pattern created by me) to keep it all in!

the new year is a great time to get reorganized, and i know from personal experience that it's hard to keep track of all the goals and intentions i set, so i thought it would be helpful to have one place to do it all. it'll make it easier to keep track of, and hopefully more fun to do because it's cute and colorful!

you can snap one up in my etsy shop and get your 2009 in tip-top shape in the cutest way possible!

spoonflower + me in the new york times!

just a quick note to tell you that one of my designs was included in a short piece about spoonflower in the new york times-- mine is the top piece in the photo on the left.

i also love that sneak peek into the spoonflower production room! i think it would be heaven to work in there.

a huge thank you to spoonflower and the new york times for including me in the story!

ps-- if you are interested, i listed this fabric in my etsy shop today, so you can have your very own if you desire!

clare nicholas

i'm really enjoying these pieces by clare nicholas this morning. lovely colors, gorgeous layering.
want to see more? head over to new division illustration agency, and also her website.

the beckoning of lovely

watch this. and when you want more information about it, go here.
{it is by amy krouse rosenthal, a writer and maker of things...}

new pattern: dashes

i can't decide if this pattern is sort-of boring, or if it could maybe be nice for a skirt or blouse or something. am i crazy?

bird and bear makes the best banners ever

i am smitten. smitten, i say! i want these banners by bird and bear (aka: joetta maue) all over my house. kiss often? yes please! (although ryan would probably say i need no reminders for that-- i kiss him and tell him i love him about a billion times a day!)

and try again? who doesn't need that reminder?

and another fave of mine from bird and bear's shop-- be a mess. because sometimes you have to fall apart. no one is perfect, right?

pick up a banner to inspire your fabulous 2009 right here! and joetta also creates a variety of other fabulous things, which you can see on her website and blog.

ps... an unrelated update: i found a band for the wedding!! more details soon....

pietari posti

the thing that fascinates me most about the incredibly varied world of art is how people use color. for example, i love that finland-born and barcelona-based pietari posti used some yellow-ish grays and a creamy white along with black and just one small bit of pumpkin-y orange in the piece above. it's so much more interesting than straight up black and white and gray, yes?

pietari has created lots of illustration work for an impressive list of clients -- and he's just one year older than me! sheesh. here is his website-- go have a look!

i need your help!

you guys! did you know i'm getting married in less than 7 months? i know. you're wondering why you haven't heard much about the planning? that's because i've hardly been planning! and now i need to find a bluegrass band in the LA area, and i'm hoping one of you will be my angel and have a friend or a relative in the perfect band and send them my way. :)

please please please! any ideas you have would be most appreciated. you can email me right here.

thank you!!

{image is the attoyac valley string band}

take it tuesday: goals & intentions

it's take it tuesday time, my lovelies! in the spirit of the new year, i made you some cute little list-making sheets so you can keep track of all your goals and intentions for 2009!

i hope you like them.

just click on the image above to get the high-res version that you can print out from your computer! they are ready to cut out and use. and if you want to send me images of the lists you make, i sure would love to see them!


enjoy!

new pattern: sofia

have i told you that i'm leaving for new york city in 5 days for printsource?
am i nervous? yes. excited? big fat yes. freaked out? a little bit, yes. this week is dedicated to finalizing details, as well as hopefully designing some new patterns that will knock people's socks off! we shall see. :)

this pattern is called sofia. it felt a little bit russian or byzantine or something to me (i guess it's that onion-shape, not really the colors). so i gave it the name of st. sofia cathedral in kiev, ukraine, a place i would love to visit one day.

(did you know that this cathedral was built in 1037? it was a burial place for kiev princes. wow.)

emmanuel polanco

paris-based illustrator emmanuel polanco does some really lovely work. something about the combination of deep orange, black, and that dusky white color below gets me every time.

and how about the colors in this one? and the font? perfection.

(emmanuel is represented by colagene, an amazing illustration agency.)

alphabet poster: in pink!

my dears! i just listed a pink version of my alphabet poster in my etsy shop!
is there a special little lady in your life who likes pink...?

(it's 13x17" and is printed on 16x20" thick, white, matte paper)

and did you know there's a blue version, too? you know, for the boys.
(or little girls who like blue, like i did when i was young.) :)

dana carlson

is there a better way to start off the year than with the piece above by dana carlson titled 'cat mountain'? perhaps i'm biased-- i have cats on the brain lately. ryan and i are hopefully going to get a kitten in a couple weeks (finally!), and we were chatting about potential names while out on a walk. the funniest one of them all: kim dang. just think about it for a minute and it'll get funnier and funnier. a cat named kim dang? so.freaking.funny.

anyway, i'm also crazy about the piece below by dana carlson-- this one is called maroon grazing. dana's pieces are interesting combinations of embroidery, paint, beadwork, and more. i love it!

new pattern: seeds

oh, 2009, what do you hold in pattern-making for me?

this is the 2nd pattern i've created so far this year, called 'seeds'. i like this better than the first pattern of 2009--- 11 days off from making stuff left me a little rusty! i think i'm getting back into the swing of things, though, because i quite like this pattern. which is your favorite colorway?

happy new year!

2009. my goodness.

it's so good to be back to the blog! i missed you all so. :)
i hope you had fantastic holidays and got everything you wished for.

2008 seems to have flown by.... so many good things and big changes.

at this time last year ryan and i had just gotten engaged (on new year's eve!), and i was not yet working fully for myself. ryan hadn't begun medical school yet, and i had not reached even the 20 etsy sales mark. now at the start of 2009, i am finding myself looking back on how amazing 2008 was (i quit my part-time job, ryan is at the top of his class in med school, i'm now at 728 etsy sales...), and also looking forward with big hopes and dreams and plans for this new year.

i like the idea of giving each year a theme-- for me, 2009 will be
the year of gratitude.
it feels challenging and a bit scary-- how can i be grateful for everything? how can i reframe situations to discover lessons to be learned, to be open and feel thankful for opportunities to grow and learn and change, to be less judgmental of myself and others?

in 2009 i will be getting married. (these are some photos of the beach in california where it will be.) it's very hard to imagine myself being a wife, or calling ryan my husband, but i am elated, honored, grateful, and so so excited to spend the rest of my life with such an incredible person.

with gratitude this year comes the desire to do my best to live in the moment and trust the universe. i worry a lot (like, a lot), and i would like to transform the worry into faith. faith in myself, faith in the universe, faith in the moment.

and being the list-maker that i am, let's put all these intentions into a list form:

1. i intend to be grateful for everything, even when it is hard
2. i intend to transform my worry into faith in the universe
3. i intend to be less judgmental toward myself and others

and some more goal-oriented items:

1. learn how to make animations
2. create a new website for myself
3. sell and/or license patterns/designs to companies for products
4. take more photographs
5. reach 2,500 etsy sales
6. have $100,000 by august 1, 2009 (eek! i said it)
7. get an illustration rep
8. start making monthly zines
9. start volunteering at the homeless shelter in atlanta
10. get a cat
11. exhibit at a 2nd trade show (my first is next week! whoa!)
12. travel to iceland
13. start the scrapbook project i've been meaning to create for years!

***
ok, my dears, here's to a happy, healthy, and smashing 2009! thank you so much for helping to make my 2008 so special. :)