We caught up with the charming and stunningly talented Jennifer Behr this weekend - she was visiting San Francisco from her native New York for a trunk show at Neiman Marcus. Formerly the lead hair accessories designer at Frederic Fekkai, Ms. Behr launched her own collection in 2005 and has already garnered acclaim from fashionistas around the world (including style icon Natalie Portman). Her designs are perfect for everyday, as well as for weddings and parties - we want to own every piece! Check out her gorgeous collection here.
Fall Wedding by Jubilee Lau Events
Many thanks to Jubilee Lau of Jubilee Lau Events for sharing these gorgeous photos of a Fall-themed wedding she designed last year at Thomas Fogarty Winery, a stunning Bay Area venue in the Santa Cruz mountains with views extending in every direction. Jubilee collaborated with floral designer Nancy Liu Chin to create stunning floral arrangements featuring pumpkins and squashes with flowers spilling out of them. They used oranges, golds, and reds in the color palette, which coordinated with the green winery surroundings. The couple, Julie and Jay, looked stunning, too, and the entire event was filled with joy (as a wedding should be)! Congratulations to the couple, and the Jubilee and Nancy for creating an unforgettable event!
Photographs courtesy of Gene Higa.
Lab Partners San Francisco Print
We had a lovely visit from Sarah Labieniec of Lab Partners yesterday. We had just finished letterpress printing the second edition of their San Francisco print, now available once again at their etsy shop! Once again, we all drooled over their delectable illustration details, including the tiny weather vanes on the tops of the painted ladies. This print is amazing in person! Sarah designed several cards for us last year (including this fabulous birthday card). Read their blog for oodles of ideas and inspiration!
Rebecca Thuss - Wedding Stylist
We had the privilege of working with eminent stylist, creative director, and crafter Rebecca Thuss on the decor of Martha Stewart Weddings editor Shana Faust's wedding, pictured in the bottom image above, for which we created our signature Cherry Blossom wedding invitation. Her gorgeous website features beautiful examples of her ground-breaking work, and is one of our favorite sources of inspiration!
First Class People Send Real Post
We're fans of London-based artist and illustrator Joe McLaren and were tickled to discover the set of four posters he designed to promote old-fashioned letter writing, "First Class People Send Real Post." He's a man after our own hearts! See more of his work here.
Vintage Coaches
Last weekend, I attended a lovely wedding in Chorley, Lancashire (England). Among the many highlights were the vintage coaches provided for guest transportation to the ceremony and reception. Available for hire through Cumbria Classic Coaches, these 1940s- and 50s-era coaches (with charming names like "Florence" and "Harvey") are full of deco details and upholstered in gorgeous, Japanese-inspired velvets. The photos above are mostly of "Florence", a green and cream 1948 AEC Regal. The company also furnished the charming 1936 Rover which served as the bride and groom's getaway car.
Butterfly Seating Cards
We created these lovely butterfly seating cards by die-cutting blush paper and folding it in half to great a three-dimensional feel. Wedding guests' names are written in calligraphy on one side, the table number on the other. We displayed them by pinning them in a scattered formation to sheer netting with pearl-headed pins, arranging the guests names in (more or less!) alphabetical order. The effect was gorgeous and perfect for a garden wedding.
Our original inspiration for these was a 19th century naturalist wedding theme. The guests' place cards were placed in bits of moss under bell jars (designed in collaboration with Fork & Spoon Productions), and there were birdcages overflowing with roses, a garden hedge surrounding the dance floor, and large apothecary jars full of sweets. It was lovely!
Photograph by Sara Remington.
Eunice's Apartment - Because We Can
Eunice's apartment is coming along swimmingly, thanks in large part to fanciful custom furniture by Jillian and Toast at Because We Can. (Hello!Lucky is working with them to design furniture for our new space - stay tuned for more details and pictures!). BWC made gorgeous custom and shelves, a pullout couch and table and chairs, collaborating with Eunice on the design. Click here to see the more pics on Jillian's blog. Click here to see previously-posted pics of Eunice's apartment.
Robert Ryan Papercuts & Screenprints
We're tickled to have just discovered London artist Rob Ryan on Etsy. We must have been asleep at the wheel these last few years to have missed such a remarkable talent. (Imagine us motoring to Las Vegas and somehow managing to miss the Strip despite a thicket of glittering lights, pink flamingos, pirate's canons, wedding chapels, and Arthurian towers - a scene not unlike Mr. Ryan's fairytale-like, intricate creations.) Mr. Ryan's exquisite paper cuts, which he has parlayed into silk screens, tiles and textiles, have been commissioned by Paul Smith and Project Alabama, among others, and and he has decorated the shop windows at Liberty. His artwork can be purchased here.
Fork & Spoon Productions
We are in awe of the talent, creativity, and skill of San Francisco-based event production company Fork & Spoon Productions. Proprieters Jennifer Spiegel and Jonathan Biel are a dream team, offering world-class, mouth-watering food (both honed their skills with Wolfgang Puck), gorgeous flowers, and impeccable event design that is straight out of Martha Stewart Weddings (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a client).
Jennifer and Jonathan are a rare mix of both visionary and down-to-earth - no theme or concept is beyond their grasp (we had a blast collaborating with them last year on an Iceland-themed birthday party, complete with ice sculptures and Viking-inspired invitations!). What's more, given that they are both full-service and consummate professionals, you can just sit back, relax and enjoy a splendid event!
Elegant Flea Market Finds
A few more delectable finds from our flea market excursion - lovely vintage hosiery packaging, accessories, and a fabulous deco bamboo umbrella stand which now has a new home at Sabrina's house!
Vintage Clothing at the Flea
The flea market is vintage fashion maven's paradise (guilty!). Despite having closets bursting with the stuff, Eunice and I once again found ourselves succumbing to the irresistible temptation to try on all things sparkly, mod/polyester, be-feathered, and fur-trimmed. Our mother was a 60's fashion diva (as well as a home ec queen and Avon lady), so the experience is a lot like playing dress-up in her closet!
Our favorite new find is King Vintage, where we found the gorgeous blue fur-trimmed coat above. Next stop: the Vintage Fashion Expo taking place on March 15-16 at the Nob Hill Masonic Center. We'll be there with hats on!
(and hats off to Anna Hurley for catching us in the act!)
The Flea Returns!
After two straight months of being rained out, this month's Alameda Flea Market was hands-down one of the best in recent memory. A gorgeous sunny day, tons of vendors, and a huge array of fabulous finds. We have to confess we went a little haywire (we now are the proud owners of many more polyester frocks than one can possibly find an excuse to wear, several fur-trimmed coats, a hand-sewn piece of wall art, and much more). The flea market is sensory overload, so this week our blog will be 100% dedicated to feeding you bite-sized portions of our most delectable finds! Stay tuned for more pics...
Photographs courtesy of the talented Ms. Anna Hurley, our wonderful new designer!
Lauren's Peru Trip
Lauren, one of our wonderful and talented printers, recently got back from a trip to Peru and took these amazing pictures. The trip was a childhood dream of hers, and she went with a great friend from college. The scenery there is stunning, and we were especially inspired by the gorgeous textiles. She even went to a local flea market! See more of her beautiful photos here.
Will You Marry Me?
This tiny ceramic bowl proposal/engagement set is just too precious. Just put your ring in the bowl and present to your honey - seriously, who could say no? It was created by Austin-based ceramic artist Caroline Colom Vasquez and is available on her etsy shop, Paloma's Nest. Enjoy!
Oh, How Charming!
We can't say enough about the work of Los Angeles-based event planner Lisa Vorce of Oh, How Charming!, who we had the privledge of meeting through the Bridal Bar. Lisa's versatility and exceptional eye for design and detail are first-rate. And of course we love her internationally-inspired aesthetic, which she brings to planning events at venues ranging from Los Angeles' Moroccan-inspired Hotel Figueroa to the Loire Valley in France.
Photo credits (from top): Thayer Allyson Gowdy, Aaron Delesie, Elizabeth Messina, Jon Nickson, Elizabeth Messina
Second Hand Rose
Vintage patterns are a huge source of inspiration for us, vintage wall paper especially. Second Hand Rose in New York is hands-down the best source, with a large, well-edited selection.
Vintage wallpaper (or any wall paper, for that matter), can be used as the inspiration for the style of your entire wedding, from the invitations, to the day itself. It makes perfect place mats (just mount a second sheet of heavy cardstock to the back to prevent curling), and strips make elegant napkin rings. The paper can be used to wrap vases (we suggest using Chinese tea tins, and gluing the paper around it to create a lovely bud vase), and to decorate favors and program covers (wrapping a patterned band around the program, for example).
Add intrigue your reception cards by double-pasting (fancy lingo for gluing the paper evenly to the back of a second card) the paper to the back of the cards, creating an expected design element. You can double-paste the paper to the backs of your table number cards as well.
Note to brides: We'd love to design custom wedding invitations based on any of these patterns, so if you like what you see, call us!
The Knot: Lime & Cherry Color Combo
We have to hand it to Christa at The Knot Magazine for styling this fresh new spread for their Spring/Summer issue, showcasing a yummy lime and cherry color combo. The spread features our L'Oiseau wedding invitation (note to brides: you can have this color combo at no extra cost), and coordinating cocktail napkins and matchbooks available right here from For Your Party. We also love the way they used Toord Boontje's Until Dawn Curtain as a backdrop (available at Unica for $123).
Sabrina's House - Work in Progress
My husband and I bought our little Victorian house almost a year ago and have been slowly been trying to find the right aesthetic to fit the bones of the house and our personalities (amidst our frenetic work and travel schedules!). We're finally starting to settle on light-hearted, eclectic mix of vintage, modern, and Chinoiserie (after a short flirtation with 18th Century French country style that resulted in several bits of rusting metal, a.k.a. bottle racks, a wheat-sheaf cocktail table, a taxidermied bird being set out on the curb, much to my husband's glee). The pieces so far are a mix of flea market finds, travel artifacts, tchotkes from Monument (my all-time favorite interiors shop in San Francisco), and a few larger pieces from Jonathan Adler and Arkitektura In-Situ. The house itself has a lot of funky angles and open spaces; the upstairs was remodeled by architect Hugh Huddleson.
What you see above are some of the more finished bits (there is plenty of piled and stacked decorating in progress behind the camera lens). Watch this space for more pictures as the decorating evolves!
Ohmega Salvage
Eunice and I were jonesing for the Alameda Flea Market last weekend, but, sadly, it got rained out so we headed over to Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley to get our fix of vintage home decor. Eunice found some lovely pendant lamps for her apartment, and I found a fabulous 4 ft by 6 ft vintage mirror. We love all of the light fixtures, tiles, and hardware at Ohmega. This is what Restoration Hardware was meant to be!