We're off tonight to the big apple for the New York International Gift Fair. If you are going to the show, we'll be in Pier 92, booth 36009. Please stop by to say hi!
Prize
We just discovered these gorgeous photos of Prize, an eclectic shop in Ashland, Oregon, on the Paris Boutique Hotel blog (a favorite!) and we are frothing at the mouth! We want to drop everything and go, right now (unfortunately, however, we blew our budget for vintage ephemera at last month's Alameda Flea Market so we may need to postpone the spontaneous road trip!).
You can visit her adorable website here - just note that you can't shop online just yet. See more gorgeous photos here.
264 East Main Street, Ashland, Oregon (541) 482-0345
Store hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00-5:30 Sunday: 11:00-5:00
Vintage stamps
We just love the notion of using mix-and-match vintage stamps on wedding invitations. While it can take patience to amass enough 15- and 3-cent stamps to match today's postage rates, we find the look to be worth the effort (wouldn't this be just the perfect task to delegate to some well-meaning family member who wants to help with wedding preparations? We think so!).
Above, designer Lena Corwin's wedding invitation courtesy of Design Sponge, and a lovely assortment of stamps courtesy of Duet Weddings.
And of course we have to mention Martha Stewart Weddings, who have long championed the idea - trust them to compose each envelope perfectly...!
Where to buy? Ebay, of course. We're partial to seller SeaJay Stamp and Coin, who allows you to "buy it now" (no waiting around for auctions to end!) and offers topical sets featuring different themes, e.g. flowers, birds, butterflies, etc. Just be sure to look out for "mint" (e.g. unused) stamps.
Jude Miller & Crepe Paper Flowers
We love making crepe paper flowers, but artist Jude Miller takes our breath away with her delicate and intricately detailed work (via Oh Joy!).
The incredible realism and the delicate colors and details are simply stunning. So inspiring...
Her headpieces are to die for...and imagine having her fashion a gorgeous bridal bouquet that you could keep long past your wedding day!
If you're in the Bay Area and would like to learn how to make your very own crepe paper flowers, Castle in the Air in Berkeley offers a great class and carries beautiful duplex crepe paper that they import from Germany that's an absolute dream to work with, as well as all the supplies you might need to create a veritable garden of delightful paper flora.
It's a wonderful way to add floral details to your wedding design - they make great boutonnieres, table setting decor (think place cards holders, a little blossom tucked into a napkin...), hair pieces...the possibilities are endless!
Featured Retailer: Magma
We paid a visit to one of favorite design shops and Hello!Lucky stockist, Magma in Covent Garden, the other day. As always, they had an impeccably edited selection of modern, design-led gifts which we coveted, fawned over, etc.
We couldn't get enough of these ridiculous Japanese soft toys, shown on the left and far right of this shop window vignette. We relate to the expression on both their faces!
And, in our persistent effort to build our brand in the UK, we couldn't resist these diva-esque business card holders.
Magma Books, 16 Earlham Street, Covent Garden, London (Covent Garden tube) Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 10am - 7pm, Sun: 12pm - 6pm
We heart Ban.do!
Check out ban.do a brand new range of fabulous headbands brought to you by Jen Gotch and her friend Jamie. We love the combinations of vintage flowers and details, feathers and other bits of loveliness.
These would be beautiful on any bride...
Though really, any excuse to wear one of these gorgeous bits of finery is good enough for us!
Truly hilarious cake toppers
Trolling Etsy is one of our favorite pastimes for wedding inspiration, and this quirky rabbit cake topper caught our eye:
Designer Jennifer Murphy specializes in wedding and baby shower products. You can visit her Etsy shop here.
Dreamy Magical Surrealism + Tim Walker
We spotted Tim Walker's Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? spread in British Vogue a while ago and ran across him again on Decor8. We have long loved anything to do with Alice in Wonderland-style dreamy magical surrealism and are in awe of the beautiful dream-like quality of Tim Walker's photographs. So inspiring!
Love the almost chalky quality of the light and color...
Excerpts from the Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? spread in British Vogue
Always fans of a little wink and a nod, we love the wit and quirky humor...
An exhibit of his work is on at Design Museum in London, until September 28th. His book, Tim Walker Pictures, and various other bits and bobs are available through the Design Museum Shop...
Abigail Brown
We are huge fans of Abigail Brown, one of the artists who contributed to our upcoming book from Chronicle Books, Handmade Hellos (in bookstores in September!) and were so excited to hear that she has launched a blog so we can keep up to date on her latest delightful creations.
Her quirky birds are so charming and full of amusing character...love the color palette - it reminds us of an especially delicious cupcake!
Wall art that would be so fanastic in a nursery...the little fox with the one crazy eye is hilarious!
Matchbox Tweeters! Each Tweeter tucked into in his own little vintage match box, decorated with bits of fabric and stitching...
The gentleman pictured above is so very appropriately named Bostwick P. Federhut. Seriously, the tiny turquoise hat and upturned snout is just too much! You can shop for more darling critters and more at her etsy shop...
Scenes from a Gift Show
We just finished a busy week at the San Francisco International Gift Show. In addition to catching up with some of our favorite boutiques, stores and places to buy fabulous things, we made friends with a number of new and great vendors. We were huge fans of our neighbor, Tina, and her eclectic jewelry:
We also enjoyed visiting with fellow letterpress card designer Kim Austin, from Austin Press:
We have a soft spot for early California pottery. The new styles based on vintage designs from Bauer really caught our eye:
Ryantown
Last weekend we paid a visit to Ryantown, Rob Ryan's new shop in the Columbia Flower Market, London, which we heard about from one of our favorite London bloggers, Wee Birdy. (The market was heaving with people and we couldn't get far enough away from the storefront to take a decent pic so this one comes via Wee Birdy's fabulous post, as does the shot of the tiles below.)
We've long adored Mister Rob's work, especially his gorgeous, intricate paper cuts. But we were practically giddy at the sight of all the fabulous new bits and bobs to which he's applied is fanciful, organic, folk-arty style.
One of our favorites: these delicate one-of-a-kind vintage glasses, which Ryan has decorated with birdies, stars, flowers, people, and sayings. At £10 each, these make great gifts and perfect collector's items.
We also loved these new ceramic plates. This papercut, which reads "Thank you for everything" pretty much sums up the generous, whimsical spirit of Ryan's work.
One of the wonderful things about the shop is that you get to be surrounded by Ryan's quirky world: these etched glass doors sit at the back of the shop, while this "You can still do a lot with a small brain" (here, here!) tile mural greets visitors at the entrance.
And of course we adore his line of four laser-cut cards for Roger la Borde. The one on the left is quite possibly the best romantic cards we've ever laid eyes on!
And finally, we peeked in the shop window at some lovely new flower vases - love them! For ongoing news and updates visit the Ryantown shop blog. You can also shop for a limited range of Ryan's work online here.
Ryantown, 126 Columbia Road, London (Old Street tube) Shop hours: Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Show Us Your Colors!
Lately, we've been noticing vibrant and primary colors everywhere. We love the colorful palette in this shop window in Notting Hill (sorry, we didn't catch the name!).
We also love the combination of fuchsia and other bold colors in these pillows by notNeutral and this Agenda by Sukie.
And then there are the fabulous pop-art-inspired pillows by London-based designer Karen Hilton. These color palettes make us so happy!
Creatures Great and Small
We Moyle sisters come from a family of quirky scientists who spend their whole lives studying things like moss, algae (our grandmother has a magnet on her refrigerator which says "where would we be without algae?" which garners a nerdy chuckle from family members on a regular basis), birds, bugs and fish. Needless to say, we have a special place in our hearts for the natural sciences, especially for the aesthetic of the 19th century naturalist (think bell jars, insect pins, vintage magnifying glasses...). It comes as no surprise, then, that one of our favorite stores in Paris is Deyrolle, a 170-year old quintessential cabinet of curiosities on rue du Bac near the Musée d'Orsay. With creaking floorboards and cabinets chock full of fabulous specimens of all kinds, not to mention a menagerie of taxidermy creatures, it really is a natural history museum masquerading as a shop.
How fabulous is this arrangement of birds?
Much to our dismay, they suffered a fire in February that destroyed part of their historical collections and their entomology room, but they have partially reopened and are planning to continue to restore the rest of the shop. They also have an online shop with a nice stockpile of scientific charts, among other things...
Hello!Lucky Shop!
The moment we moved into our new space, we fell in love with the idea of having a little shop area where visitors could purchase our letterpress greeting cards and custom invitations, which are all designed and printed on premises. We're thrilled to announce that it's finally happened, and our little shop is open to all!
Downstairs we've displayed greeting cards and boxed note cards (interspersed with vintage ephemera). Our custom studio and wedding-related items are upstairs (some examples from our baby collection are below).
The talented Francois Vigneault did our window display, based on our Birthday Cars card. Ridiculously cute!
So stop by if you're in San Francisco! We'd love to see you!
Location: 977 Howard Street between 5th and 6th (Powell St. Bart) Shop hours: 9:00 - 5:30, Monday - Friday and by appointment
Photos courtesy of Shauna Leytus and Sara Remington.
San Francisco Zine Fest
We took a trip to Golden Gate Park last weekend to visit the San Francisco Zine Fest. Some of our highlights were handmade books from Newlights Press (and Hello!Lucky printer Aaron Cohick!):
As well as zines from Family Style, and new cards from Motermouth Press:
One of our favorite booths was Pod Post, with their letterpress patch kit - too cute!
Claus Porto - New collection
Claus Porto soap packaging has always been divine, but we were blown away by the new Fantasia and Classico collections. This line extends beyond the vibrant art deco vibe of the original line to delicate designs with a more eclectic feel.
Every detail of the packaging design is so beautiful and inspiring! And, needless to say, they would make amazing gifts or favors!
Nani Iro Pattern Book by Naomi Ito
As an avid crafters, collectors of inspirational materials and fans the Japanese aesthetic, we could barely contain our glee when we spotted this new book by Naomi Ito, a Japanese textile designer on Purl Soho's (one of our all time favorite fabric and knitting shops) blog. Her new collection is absolutely gorgeous, and we love the simple, elegant silhouettes and delicate details in the patterns in this book. The book features clothing for women and girls and accessories too..
Since we're always looking for great wedding details here at H!L, these would make adorable flower girl dresses - and simple to make! None of the patterns in the book have zippers, a few of the patterns have hook and eye closures or buttons. Purl Soho also has a helpful guide to working with Japanese patterns.
And these purses would be fabulous bridesmaids' gifts...
And we just love the cool little tucks on these...
Paul Smith Furniture
Oh my goodness, the Paul Smith furniture stop on Abermarle Street in London is to die for! We drooled over this photo of a young Angelica Houston by iconic Vogue fashion photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri - see more from the exhibition here. The back room, pictured above, is especially tempting - chock full of one-of-a-kind vintage finds!
9 Albemarle Street, London (Green Park or Bond Street tube), open Monday - Saturday, 10:30 - 6.
Southern Weddings invitation contest
We're excited to announce a new contest on the Southern Weddings blog - we're giving away 100 1-color letterpress wedding invitations (retail value of $600). Just respond to their blog post to describe your wedding vision, and we'll pick a lucky winner! Contest closes July 30. Need inspiration? Feel free to browse our wedding invitation collection, custom design gallery, and wedding inspiration boards!