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.
English Wedding Invitations
We debuted several new letterpress wedding invitations at the Designer Wedding Show in London last month, including several elegant designs inspired by the traditional English wedding invitation - a simple folded card with plain type and reply details printed on its face (no ticking of boxes for the truly traditional!). We couldn't resist adding a small hint of our signature vintage-inspired flare, of course!
Photographs by Sara Remington.
Orchid Wedding Invitations
We created these orchid wedding invitations for Su-Lynn and Pierre, a wonderful couple we first met in London. Their January wedding was held at Au Jardin des Amis at the Singapore Botanical Garden followed by a reception at the Ritz Carlton. The letterpress printed invitations featured a modern, minimal orchid design in a fresh spring green, plum and gravel color palette, a Warhol-inspired "hair of the dog" invitation for the post-wedding brunch, a fan-shaped program, and a custom-illustrated map. We're grateful to Su-Lynn and Pierre for their vision, and to collaborating with us to create our favorite wedding invitations of late! Congratulations, Su-Lynn and Pierre!
Photography by Sara Remington.
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!
The Flea: Sombrero-wearing Frogs and More!
Where on earth can you find a sombrero-wearing frog, and his accordion-playing campadre? Why, at the Alameda Flea Market, of course! But, seriously, we love the flea for its numerous collectibles that can be used, among other things, to decorate a room, wrap a gift, or add flair to parties. These cherry and strawberry millinery notions, for example, can be tied to a gift with ribbon, or twined around napkins at a dinner party. We've used kids' alphabet blocks to spell guests' initials at place settings at a baby shower. Mix-and-match salt and pepper shakers are perfect for a large sit-down dinner or vintage-inspired wedding. There is just so much inspiration at the flea - your imagination (and your husband/boyfriend/fiance's/roommate's tolerance for vintage ephemera) is the only limit!
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!
My Story
We were thrilled to receive our advance copy of My Story, by Mitchell Symons, from Headline Books last week - just in time for Mother's Day in the UK! The book is a guide to writing your own autobiography and includes a blank journal with plenty o' pages to fill with all your juiciest tales! Hello!Lucky's talented Shauna Leytus designed the covers (way to go, Shauna!). This is our second project with Headline; the last one was Left Bank, by Kate Muir and we're working on Ms. Muir's next title as we speak. Many thanks to Headline Books, and the lovely Ami Smithson, with whom we worked on this project!
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.
Mothology
We love the French flea-market inspired goods at Mothology, including this silver-plated toast rack - perfect for holding letters and stationery (unfortunately, it's sold out but you can find similar ones on ebay). Other favorites: blue milk glass vases (these would be lovely centerpieces for a beach wedding or summer party) and dainty bird finial pot-de-creme dishes. Enjoy!
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
The Designer Wedding Show
Most bridal fairs tend to be overwhelming, replete with bad wedding singers and puff-sleeved bridal wear, so we generally try to avoid them like a bride-to-be avoids Ben & Jerry's. We make an exception for London's Designer Wedding Show, held this past weekend in Battersea Park.
The Designer Wedding Show is a wonderful feast/fantasy for the bride-to-be, and a tolerable weekend afternoon for grooms. (Note: We have suggested that the organizers add a groom's salon, where one can tip back a pint and watch football while the ladies try on gowns. We are still awaiting a response.)
Some highlights: gorgeous wedding flowers and table centrepieces from eminent florist Jamie Aston; exquisitely detailed gowns by Sassi Holford and Barcelona-based coutourier Pronovias; fun, 50's-inspired frocks by relative newcomer Candy Anthony (who herself is a traffic-stopping style icon); effortlessly elegant gowns by celeb couturier Bruce Oldfield; and stunning hats by our favorite London milliner, Rachel Trevor-Morgan. Of course, we were there, too debuting our latest custom designs for our letterpress wedding invitations.
The next show is in October 2008 - mark your calendars!
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!
Hello!Lucky & Daily Candy Deals
Attention, paper-cravers! This week Hello!Lucky is offering 30% off our entire letterpress greeting card and gift collection through Daily Candy Deals, including our fabulous thank you notes, birthday cards, and our new collection by Julia Rothman. And don't forget Mother's Day, which will be here before you know it!
Just click here for more info! Happy shopping!
*Note: Offer excludes our custom wedding invitations and other custom stationery.
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).
Real Wedding: Kelly & Erich
Kelly & Erich's Art Deco-inspired wedding at Gaia Arts Center, Berkeley, was nothing short of glamorous. Kelly, a manager at Hello!Lucky, has a sophisticated 1940's and 50's-inspired style and dry, quick wit (think Tina Fey). Both were incorporated in her letterpress wedding invitations and save the dates, which featured custom-illustrated silhouettes of a toaster, the couple, and their faithful dog, Montana.
Kelly looked stunning in a beautiful tea-length dress with her hair tied in a fabulous side bun. The crisp palette of black, white, and yellow was carried through all the details, from calla lily bouquets by family friend Irene Birch to Uncle Billy's home-made cupcakes. Silhouettes of Kelly and Erich graced custom-printed cocktail napkins by For Your Party, as well as signage for the men's (Erich) and ladies' (Kelly) rooms by Hello!Lucky.
Congratulations, Kelly & Erich!
Photographs courtesy of Akiko Photography.
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!