A sock monkey cake?!!! Yes, please!
From Smitten Kitchen.
Chalkboard Horses!
Love these chalkboard horses for cool and graphic place cards! Available here.
Faux floral boutonnieres
We are enamored with these elegant and modern (not to mention very reasonably priced!) floral boutonnieres from One Happy Girl. So pretty!
Via delphine ephemera.
Don't forget to enter our Summer Giveaway! Ends July 12th.
Little Brown Pen
We've been recently enamored of the fabulous blog of Nichole Robertson, Little Brown Pen. She's a copywriter who splits her time between New York and Paris, and her blog is filled with gorgeous images and amusing commentary. The francophile in us swoons on a regular basis...
These are some of her photos from the Bastille open air market - we are pea green with envy and plotting a trip to Paris...
Her blog will make you want to chuck everything and move to Paris, to spend the rest of your days lounging at sidewalk cafés, pedaling down cobbled streets with a bouquet of flowers under one arm and a bag of meringues in your basket, and milling around at open air markets contemplating fifty kinds of cheese. If that's not a realistic possibility, she also has an etsy shop where you can purchase some of her prints for day dreaming purposes!
Sweet Paul Magazine Genius!
We have long been fans of amazing stylist, Sweet Paul and now he has a fab new online magazine!
It's filled with gorgeous (of course!) photographs of delicious things...
...all kinds of amazing recipes to go with...
...adorable party ideas...
How cute are these seal cookies?
...and craft projects - how fantastic is this corsage made from cupcake liners??
It's fantastic! Check it out today...
Pietaro Posti
We are seriously enamored of the illustrations of Pietari Posti
We especially love this series of giant animals roaming the city streets!
via the ever stylie the Bedlam of Beefy
Jennifer Behr
When planning her look for the wedding, Eunice knew there was only one place to go for her hair accessories - good friend and hair accessory maven, Jennifer Behr. Jennifer created a custom headpiece (available here!) after a consultation at her fabulous Brooklyn studio...
Initial thoughts included a dash of hand-dyed fuchsia feathers and something rather dramatic...
An early assembly of feathers and crystals that would later get pared down into the final look...
Jennifer, working her magic!
The result was a delicate crystal tiara handwrapped in 1920's vintage metallic ribbons. A spray of elegant ostrich feathers and floating crystals finish this breathtaking headpiece.
Jennifer also created beautiful little hand-dyed feather poufs to match each bridesmaids' dress for a final perfect detail...
Working with Jennifer was a breeze - her work, as always, was pitch-perfect for the occasion and coordinated perfectly with the dress.
Bottom photos by Gia Canali and Sara Remington.
Bay Area Wedding Venues
With so many engagements happening over the holidays, we thought it would be great to kick off the new year one of the very first things on the wedding planning to-do list: choosing a venue. The Bay Area is a fabulous place for local and destination weddings, and has venues for just about every wedding style, from vintage to modern. Here are a few of our favorites.
Vintage
We love Marin Headlands Center for the Arts (both photos above) for its rustic charm. The drive out there is short but scenic - perfect for wowing out-of-town guests.
Swedenborgian Church, nestled in Pacific Heights, is full of vintage charm. Head to one of San Francisco's classic hotels or reception halls for the post-ceremony bash.
Perched on a bluff overlooking the Bay, Old St. Hilary's in Marin is a one-of-a-kind, historic ceremony site.
Modern
Nestled in Golden Gate Park, the DeYoung Museum features stunning modernist architecture.
With its slightly Asian-contemporary-inspired notes, the St. Regis is an uber-stylish venue - perfect for creating a lounge atmosphere, with luxurious rooms for out-of-town guests.
For a more industrial chic look, check out Foreign Cinema in Mission. Dine on gourmet local organic fare, and project a favorite film (Casablanca, anyone?) on the big screen in their outdoor courtyard.
Wine Country
There are literally dozens of stunning venues in wine country - too many to do justice to here! A couple of our favorites: Calistoga Ranch (above).
Beaulieu Vineyard in Napa.
Annadel Estate Winery in Sonoma. And of course, don't forget Bear Flag Farm!
What venues are you considering??
Photos, from top: Marin Headlands; Swedenborgian Church; Old St. Hilary's; Foreign Cinema 1 and 2; Calistoga Ranch 1 & 2; Beaulieu Vineyards; Annadel.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, everyone! A few days ago, we embarked on some New Year's cleaning and came across these wonderful photos from our 1st year anniversary (amazing that now we're coming up on 7 years!). Back then, Hello!Lucky was just four of us -- Eunice and Sabrina (second and third from left), Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls (second from right), and Jen Kowskie (far right) -- with frequent help on the marketing front from our good friend Ruth Krumbhaar (far left). There were lots of critters and kids around, too -- Simon, Eunice's dog (foreground); Rumi, Ruth's dog (in Maybelle's arms); and Kellen, Jen's 2-year old.
Jen and Eunice had worked together as designers during the web boom of the late 90's; Eunice met Maybelle at a letterpress class at the San Francisco Center for the Book, and with some guidance from Sabrina, Hello!Lucky was hatched.
Eunice and Maybelle did most of the letterpress printing those early days, on a C&P printing press.
One of our earliest designs - a coaster with a sassy girl in a cocktail dress. She was featured on the announcement for our booth at our very first National Stationery Show in 2003 and can still be spotted on our Chi Chi party invitation.
Some more early designs, leaning on an old-fashioned book press that we kept in our studio.
Another early design, now what we think of as a "classic," available here.
A detail of a wall in our first studio, located on 4th Street in Berkeley.
Eunice & Sabrina in front of the C&P press with pooches Indie & Simon!
These days, Eunice & Sabrina are still at the helm, and we're now in our third studio space in San Francisco's SoMA district. Maybelle went on to launch her successful calligraphy business, working for clients such as Martha Stewart Weddings (and just had twins!); and Jen embarked on a free-lance graphic design career and raising her two wonderful boys. Ruth has switched from marketing to social work, and is raising a darling boy, too.
So, here's to remembering our roots and humble beginnings, and to many good things in the future! And, thanks to all our wonderful partners, fans, customers, staff, and supporters - you're the best!
Photos by Belynda Webb.
DIY Holiday Favors
Getting ready for the holiday season, we got inspired to make our own cookie cutters using Cottonwood, one of our favorite fonts, and bake yummy gingerbread cookies. Check out the results! We collaborated with Shana Faust on the project and packaging, which was featured on Style Me Pretty today. Read the full DIY instructions and templates here. These would be great for wedding favors, too! Note that rather than make your cookie cutters from scratch, you can also buy a DIY cookie cutter kit here - might save time and a trip to Home Depot! (Thanks to Susan, who commented on the Style Me Pretty post for the suggestion!!)
Happy holidays!
Photo by Anna Hurley.
Bear Flag Farm
With Bay Area weather turning so much colder lately, our thoughts are turning to one of our favorite summer wedding venues - Bear Flag Farm. With its fields of lavender, gorgeous orchards, and rustic details, it's the perfect place for an outdoor wedding. Wish we could be there right now! Bear Flag Farm is located about a hour outside of San Francisco in Winters, California. Check out their website for more inspiration & details -- and if you haven't already seen the gorgeous real wedding featured this month on Project Wedding, check it out here.
Photos courtesy of Bear Flag Farm.
Carmel Valley wedding by Alison Events
We were thrilled to be part of this amazing, effortless-feeling wedding by Alison Hotchkiss and Kelsey Sheofsky of Alison Events (one of our hands-down favorite bay area wedding planners!), featured on Style Me Pretty this week.
The wedding took place at the Holly Farm, and couple chose our L'Oiseau letterpress wedding invitation in moss and spring. The beautiful photos were captured by Adi Nevo. See all the details here.
Jessie Quinn
We came across Jessie Quinn on The Constant Gatherer and are now mildly obsessed...
Her dolls and objects are absolutely enchanting! We are *so* inspired...
Fascinated by her work in progress...
Love the plaid pantaloons and stripey socks on this slightly deranged looking clown and his mysterious masked lady friend and her tiny dog!
Adore all the intricate details and combination of many of our favorite crafting techniques - knitting, sewing, embroidery - to such fantastical and quirky effect...
Hilarious buck-toothed mousey creature...
This hat on this very serious bird...we are speechless...
Enamoured of this lovely giraffe...
And this very sleepy rabbit with matching rabbit card...love him.
Her etsy shop can be found here and her work is also available here and you can see more of her fabulous things here.
Tombées du Camion
We here at Hello!Lucky are hopeless addicts of fabulous vintage finds (our studio is a mad collection of bits and bobs picked up at the flea) and so we were delighted to come across Tombées du Camion (translated, it means, appropriately and hilariously, Things Fallen Off the Truck) on the Constant Gatherer...
This fabulous little shop is located in Paris (17 rue Joseph de Maistre, should one be so lucky as to be traipsing about Paris!)...
The shop is a collection of vintage bits and bobs, and many items are to be had in large quantities (fantastic for party favors, crafty endeavors etc.)
An online shop is supposedly forthcoming but in the interim, if something particularly strikes your fancy, such as these hilarious smiley guys, you can order via email.
Love these little soldier boxes!
Surely something fabulous can be done with these wooden whistles...
Trust the French to make tuna a fabulous and wonderful thing...
If Paris is not on your agenda anytime soon, here are a few of our favorite places to find cool trinkets:
Of course, the Alameda Flea (obsessed with it!)
Tail of the Yak in Berkeley
Etsy, of course, including Buttermilk Sky and SnapCrafty
Style Me Pretty Destination Wedding Giveaway!
We are thrilled to be a part of Style Me Pretty’s exclusive destination wedding giveaway...and, trust us, it's a doozy! One very lucky reader will receive a fabulous gift of goodies worth up to $2100 - FOR REAL! Prizes include a 1 hour consultation with wedding planner Alison Hotchkiss, beautifully handcrafted cup set from Heath Ceramics, 2 nights stay at the Bardessono Hotel, gift certificate to Bottega Restaurant and so much more.
Also included in the giveaway? 100 digital destination invitation sets from yours truly – Hello!Lucky. To enter and get more details about this amazing giveaway, check out http://www.stylemepretty.com/
Moody Birds
On a recent trip to Copenhagen, these wooden birds (aptly named "Bird") designed by architect and furniture designer Kristian Vedel quickly became an obsession even though we've seen them before. It is pretty remarkable for any one thing to consistently stand out among all the wonderfully inspiring Danish furniture, crafts, architecture...not to mention the remarkably attractive inhabitants of this lovely city. In adorable shop after adorable shop, their removable heads beckoned us until, at last, we succumbed to the temptation and picked up a few.
Designed and produced in the 50s to great success, the birds have recently been reintroduced in all 3 sizes - parent, grandparent and child (awww) and 2 finishes. You can tilt the head any which way you please (a nice way to express your ever-changing mood) and can flip the body to be either male or female. A great addition to any mantle, bookshelf, child's room, place setting....the possibilities are endless!
Wouldn't this type of circle arrangement be adorable as a centerpiece? They are readily available for purchase online in the US here among other places. Learn more about Bird and see more photos here.
Hilary Lang, Nursery Cuteness and more...
We were so thrilled to spot our baby's first year journal and photo album making an appearance in this adorable nursery!
The nursery belongs Phoebe, the daughter of the very talented Hilary Lang. How cool is this vintage mobile?
Love the cross stitch and these teeny (and very comfy looking) booties!
Aside from having a fabulous nursery, Hilary Lang makes many, many, super cute things - such as this hilarious overall-wearin' rabbit...
The patterns for hand-sewn projects such as this charming little turtle are available in her shop...
Um, hilarious.
You can also see pictures of her many projects here...
Snap Crafty!
Snap Crafty is one of our very favorite places to a beautifully curated selection of cabochons, beads, and other findings - check out just a few of their fabulous bits 'n' bobs!
Love this vintage velvet ric rac...
How cute are these vintage Scotties?
Oh the possibilities!
Pretty Pictures
Silk-screened concert posters are a truly fabulous and inexpensive décor option and Poster Cabaret has a great selection from some of our favorite artists and designers for some of our favorite bands.
They also have some great prints by artists such as Bianca Gomez...
Love this bull with his wooden features and curtain-bangs...
The Decemberists can always be counted on to have gorgeous posters...
We love all the different, totally cool design aesthetics...so inspiring! (not to mention that these gorgeous hand-silkscreened posters will only set you back $20-$30!) Love, love, love them!
Timeless Vixen Vintage
We absolutely LOVE vintage clothing and vintage dresses in particular. Timeless Vixen Vintage (found via Snippet & Ink - Merry Go Round inspiration board) has not only an amazing selection of gorgeous dresses, but remarkably, many of them are in reasonable sizes as well! How fabulous would these dresses be for bridemaids?
The dresses are a wee bit pricey, but so fantastic and in such great condition, it might very well be worth it for a special occasion!
Love this 40's number...
We can't get over their really stunning selection of stylish pieces...
Love the cherry red! And a fifties party dress is flattering on almost anyone...
And they have gorgeous things from somewhat harder to find eras, like this navy blue 1930's flutter dress...(and it's not a size 0! No offense to all you size 0's out there, but for those of us who have so often gazed longingly at a gorgeous bit of vintage with a 25" waist and then, regretfully, put it back on the rack - hurrah!!)
This Edwardian tea dress would make a stunning wedding dress...it reminds of us the dress worn in this woodland inspired wedding....
Love, love, LOVE it!