Book Review: Modern Calligraphy

A little over a year ago we did a blog post on some of the most beautiful calligraphy we've seen in a while, which was created by Molly of Plurabelle Calligraphy. You can imagine how thrilled we were when we found out Molly was coming out with a book, now available and called Modern Calligraphy.

Molly's publisher sent us a copy of her book, which is just as lovely as her calligraphy. The book is the perfect primer on how to master this fresh modern lettering style. It includes 20 DIY projects where you can apply your new talent.

We love how Molly's book breaks the calligraphy process down into simple steps so anyone can learn to create their own wedding invitations, thank you cards, gift tags, and more. She starts with an overview of the supplies—from paper to ink to pens—you will learn how to form letters, words, and then phrases by following Molly’s clear step-by-step instructions, and by practicing with the provided templates.

You can purchase a copy of Modern Calligraphy here. Congratulations on your beautiful new book Molly!

Stuff We Love: Crane & Canopy

Lately we've been obsessing over the beautiful bedding and pretty home goods from Crane & Canopy. Besides coveting their lovely products we're also big fans of their story. Like so many great founders Karin Sheih created Crane & Canopy when she was looking for something she couldn't find. Shortly after purchasing her first house she was so excited to start decorating but quickly got frustrated when she couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for without breaking the bank. So she did what most sensible people do when they can't find what they need, she started a company that produces exactly what she was looking for -- high quality, innovative bedding and home goods, all available at a great price.

How pretty are these designs? We also love that many of their collections are named after San Francisco neighborhoods. Below is the Ashbury Pink, great name and great color palette.

We're smitten with their new collection called Floral Belles, which allows you to mix and match with detachable flowers-- perfect for people who get bored quickly with their bedding, and a really fun way to freshen up bedroom decor.

If you haven't had a chance to check out their collections head to their site now!

They're also extending a discount to all Hello!Lucky friends, enter the code CRANEANDCANOPY+HELLOLUCKY for 10% off all orders over $150.

Local Love: Little Paper Planes & Owl Cave

For this installment of our Local Love series we headed to Valencia street and visited one of our favorite new stores, Little Paper Planes + Owl Cave books. Little Paper Planes opened earlier this year in May and it's such a great addition to the bustling Mission neighborhood.

Little Paper Planes is owned and operated by Kelly Lynn Jones, who ran LPP as an online shop for years before launching this brick and mortar version of her store. Kelly is joined by Viniita Moran who brought her online bookstore Owl Cave Books into the shop. Owl Cave Books has a wonderfully curated selection of hard to find art books and magazines.

One of our favorite things about the shop is the space, which was transformed with fixtures and hand built pieces created by Kate Pruitt.

The shop also has a  print gallery which features a new artist every month and a residency program which can be found in the back of the store. The residency program offers space to artists, makers and curators.

If you're visiting the bay area or if you're a local who hasn't been to LPP + Owl Cave Books yet definitely make a trip there. They have such a great selection of goods and they're so well curated and displayed, you'll definitely leave feeling inspired and hopefully with something fun you didn't have before.

Little Paper Planes + Owl Cave 855 Valencia Street in San Francisco,  (415) 643-4616

Local Love: General Store

This weekend we made a trek out to the Outer Sunset in San Francisco and visited one of our favorite shops, General Store.

General Store has a wonderful collection of locally sourced and well designed goods for sale. We love the feel of the shop and the carefully selected items.

How amazing is this wall of cards? We love the simplicity of the wood and rope. Such a great design, there's something about the General Store that makes us feel like we're on a ship, which is pretty fitting given how close it is to the ocean.

Fat bags of local beans.

Terrariums and tea towels.

If you visit the bay area definitely make a trek out to General Store, it's worth the trip! And while you're out there stop next door and grab some cinnamon toast and something hot to drink at Trouble Coffee.

General Store

4035 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

415-682-0600

11-7 Monday - Friday

10 - 7 Saturday - Sunday

Wedding Inspiration Board - Nouveau Peonies

Today we're bringing you a wedding inspiration board for one of our most popular and dare we say favorite wedding invitations, Nouveau Peonies. If you're planning a celebration around this invitation you can go all out feminine or emphasis the 1920's vibe this design showcases. Pretty pink petal cupcakes above from All Things Cupcake.

If you love your wedding suite and really want to bring the design to the table there's no reason not to print up menus, they'll add to the place settings and reinforce your theme of the day. Big paper poofs in whatever color you chose for your invite are always a lovely addition to the decor. And how's this for a classic wedding getaway car?

There are so many different directions you can go for a wedding dress to match the charm and sophistication of Nouveau Peonies. Go all out 1920's with this flapper wedding dress or chose a more soft and subtle style like this pretty cream colored gown.

To see more curated inspiration for our Nouveau Peonies wedding suite check out our Pinterest board. Is there a wedding suite you've got your eye on that you'd like us to create a mood board for? Tell us in the comments and we'll get to work on it for you!

Card Caption Help and a Giveaway

We need your help! We're in the process of designing some new cards and we can't settle on a caption for this one. We're planning to release it for Valentine's Day so we're looking for something with a sweet sentiment.

Ideas we had include: Are You for Real?, You Amaze Me, You Dazzle Me. Would you vote for one of those or do you have a brilliant suggestion that would pair perfectly with this design?

If we chose your words for the card we'll send you a years worth of cards (12 total). If we don't chose any new suggestions we'll pick one winner at random who will win 12 letterpress cards from us.

So have at it and tell us what you think! We'll pick a winner this Friday 7/19.

Inspired by: Rebecca Thus, Paper to Petal

We can not wait to get our hands on Rebecca Thus's new book, Paper to Petal. Rebecca's book features 75 projects to create with paper flowers. There are craft recipes for everything you can imagine from party decorations, bouquets, to floral centerpieces. Even if you've made paper flowers before -- as we have many times, this books looks like it has some sweet new takes on turning ordinary paper into gorgeous flowers.

Buy Paper to Petal here.

Head to Rebecca's blog for constant inspiration.

Wedding Inspiration Board - La Vie En Rose

If you follow us on Pinterest you know we can't resist a good wedding inspiration board and we're always creating new mood boards based on some of our favorite wedding suites. We thought we'd bring some of those inspiration boards to the blog and do a regular feature showing how you can style your wedding based on your invite. Once you decide on your invitation it can really be the anchor for all of your wedding decor and design-- from the wedding flowers to the bridesmaids dresses. Today we're showing off one of our favorite invitations for a summer or spring wedding, La Vie En Rose. We just added this suite to our collection and we love the pretty elegant feel of this floral invitation. La Vie En Rose is a versatile design that can be perfect for a rustic outdoor wedding or a more formal affair.

If you go the rustic route for decor this dessert table is a great addition, it's casual and cool with just some burlap and vintage pieces added to the table. We would carry the soft pink color from the invites to the treats and think these pink heart cookies would pair lovely with the feel of a La Vie En Rose wedding.

This line up of bridesmaids in mix and match colors and floral dresses is a lovely way to keep a variety of colors in your wedding decor and not commit to just two or three colors. And what bridesmaid doesn't love getting to chose her own dress? Flowers picked fresh from the garden and roses in mason jars and vintage bottles would pair well with the original floral wedding design.

To see more wedding inspiration check out our Pinterest boards. To see the full La Vie En Rose wedding suite head here. To view all of our floral wedding invitations click here.

Is there a particular design on our site you'd like us to create a mood board for? Let us know in the comments and we'll feature it here next.

The image of the flowers is from Style Me Pretty, the bridesmaids dresses were found via 100 Layer Cake as was the pretty dessert table.

Stationery Show Favorites, Part 3

Yes! We've still got more photos to share from the National Stationery Show. Above, is Fugu Fugu Press, a husband and wife team that makes these clever letterpress cards. We wanted all of them. 

We were lucky enough to get to know the ladies of Ladyfingers Letterpress at the Louie Awards ceremony where we got to sit with them. They were so much fun and we love how their personality comes through in their colorful and clever designs.

This was the first time we had heard of Permanent Collection and we loved their colorful booth and great letterpress designs. They were as nice as could be and we're so glad we know about them now, we'll be following along and checking out what they continue to do for sure!

Sapling Press never fails to make us laugh, we spent a long time in their booth reading all of their new cards. Geniuses they are. We couldn't decide which cards to share with you so here are some of our favorites. 

Stationery Show Favorites, Part 2

We know the NSS ended a few weeks ago but we have some many more photos to share with you from the show! We'll try to get through all of them this week. Above and below some shots from the shiniest, most colorful booth at the show The Great Lakes. We loved their hand painted ornaments, bright colors, witty cards and blinged out booth.

No surprise that the Rifle Paper Co. booth was expansive and lovely. We're big fans of their recipe boxes, calendars, and new cards. Photos from their beautiful booth below.

We also had a great time checking out Banquet Atelier & Workshop's booth. We liked how their posters and cards popped off the dark walls of their booth - and how great are those big bold prints? We're coveting that whale print.

Stay tuned for more photos from the show coming soon!

Stationery Show Favorites, Part 1

We're having a great time at the NSS this week. It's impossible to get photos of everything we've seen and loved. But here's our first post to share some of the goodness we've been staring at all week.

HAMMERPRESS  - We've long been fans of this Kansas City press shop and we love that our booth is directly across from there's at this years show. They've got some great new designs. Including some sweet die cut holiday cards.

YELLOW OWL WORKSHOP - Just around the corner from our booth is one of our hometown neighbors and friends, Yellow Owl Workshop. We were so impressed during set up to see Christine painting a masterpiece in her booth - check out these lovely walls! As you can imagine their booth is definitely a stand out and we love how the cards match her amazing walls.

EGG PRESS - Another stand out booth is the this homemade beauty from Portland based Egg Press. Check out their custom built walls. Some great new designs from another one of our favorite letterpress companies -- and we're not just saying that in light of our big news.

9th LETTER PRESS - Another close neighbor to us at the show is 9th Letterpress, based out of Winter Park, Florida. They've got some lovely new designs and we're also liking their big spacious booth with simple wood shelves. We love the infusion of bright cheery colors in their designs as well.

Alright! We're off to the show for another day. Check back for more of our favorites which we should have up here soon!

Happy Friday!

Have a great day and a relaxing weekend everyone!

Inspired By: Coral & Tusk

We first discovered the embroidered work of Coral & Tusk at a local wedding fair where a vendor had a beautifully stitched table runner on display. We loved the detailed feathers and immediately sought out more of their work online.

Founded in 2007 by Stephanie Housley together with her husband Chris Lacinak, Coral & Tusk creates work inspired by their travels all over the globe. Their love of animals, adventure, and the natural world are reflected in every piece they create. We're especially fond of their stitched animals who always seem to be celebrating.

A RISD-trained textile designer, Stephanie creates all of her scenes and irreverent characters as original pencil drawings before she redraws them stitch by stitch using special computer software. Finished by hand in Coral and Tusk's Brooklyn loft, every machine-embroidered pillow, doll, napkin and artwork retains the story-telling spirit and hand-drawn allure of the original illustration. A mix of smart design, magic and mischief is at the heart of every Coral & Tusk embroidery.

View & shop Coral & Tusk here.

See if they are in a store near you here.

Follow along with their latest here.

The Fabulous Mr. Finch

We just stumbled across the work of Mr. Finch, a textile artist from Leeds in Yorkshire, and were immediately enamored by his ethereal and whimsical creations.

Finch says he is inspired by British folklore, shape shifting witches, and moon gazing hares. We love that he believes the animals he creates come to life at night when everyone is sleeping.  It's no surprise that his creatures feel so magical.

He has had no formal training which is completely inspiring.

Love this sea horse...

This charming hare reminds us of the Velveteen Rabbit.

Check out more of his work here and here. You can pick up some of his pieces at his Etsy shop.

Filex & Milou

I have two dogs and thus can tell you, with some authority, that a truly fabulous dog bed (and by that I mean one that isn't varying shades of neutral or plain ol' preppy striped) is tough to find.  Needless to say, I was super excited to discover Felix & Milou, a brand new dog bed line by Tove Jakobsson -huzzah!  Finally, something with a little style!

Her cushions are all made by hand from lovely graphic Swedish fabrics. They're sized for a cat or small dog, hopefully soon, a bigger size to come! I fear poor Indy is getting the shaft, being more in the medium to large range. But wouldn't they make great floor cushions around a low table as well?

This is the one I purchased - a fabric by Cecilia Hall Åhlens that has a lovely Josef Frank vibe - beautifully made and adorable in person!

All the cushion covers are removable and washable.  Check out the rest of her products here.

Chloé Fleury Studio Visit

Last Friday a few of us were lucky enough to visit Chloé Fleury in her studio in San Francisco's Mission District. Chloé's studio is in her apartment and we found inspiration in every corner of her home. Her space was full of light, colorful, and modern. We could have stayed there for hours and all left feeling inspired to go home and work on art projects.

(everything in this photo except the bear mask is made from paper) 

If you aren't already familiar with Chloé's work this will be a fun look into her world. She creates amazing sculptures and illustrations with paper and it was so much fun to see her work scattered throughout her home. We snapped quite a few photos so you can see the loveliness yourself. Enjoy!

(a shot from Chloe's living room)

(we were even inspired by her chairs and pillows)

(paper lady with fox mask & an ice cream truck made from paper)

Chloé moved to San Francisco from France and told us she didn't start making her paper sculptures until she arrived here four years ago. One of her main inspirations? San Francisco's color and architecture. This piece is from her first show which was at the (recently closed) Curiosity Shoppe.

(Chloé's workspace) 

(amazing paper guitar sculpture) 

(one of Chloé's iconic paper bunny heads) 

(paper bikes and a look at Chloe's library)

(there was beautiful paper every where we turned) 

(Eunice & Chloe) 

Thank you so much for letting us visit your studio & your home Chloé! We're still feeling inspired from the visit.

See more of Chloé's work in her Etsy shop and follow along with her daily inspiration on her blog.

Inspired By: Wee Gallery

How clever are these Wee Gallery Dress Up animal cards? As stationers it's sometimes a challenge to come up with designs that can be suitable for both kids and adults, but these cards definitely bridge that gap. We love the simple and painterly illustrations and the thought of kids customizing these card for a friend or sibling. So sweet! The Wee Gallery definitely has a knack for kids, and their focus on making “smart art for little minds” is brilliant. Getting kids to channel their creativity at a young age is a great way to inspire new ideas and we've got to give props to Wee Gallery for contributing.

They also just released a book to go along with the clever cards! It would be a great stocking stuffer or gift for kids (oh, and did we say this is fun for adults too?!) We can probably come up with 32 ways to dress up a pig, bunny, and fox. Can you?

Since Jude, Alex, and James are all obsessed with sea creatures and animals (remember their costume sneak peek?), these Sea wall graphics would make a fantastic addition to their rooms.

Visit the Wee Gallery website for more awesome kid-spiration!

New! Lisa Congdon for Hello!Lucky

When Lisa Congdon agreed to do a line of cards with us for 2013 we were beyond thrilled. We love Lisa's colorful illustrations, hand lettering, and imaginative renderings of nature and animals. We think her cards are perfect for any occasion but we're especially excited to launch the line just in time for Valentine's Day. Check out these images of her studio (Taken by Victoria Smith of SF Girl by Bay). No wonder her designs are so bright and cheerful, her space is an inspiration in itself!

We asked Lisa a few questions about her process and what she has in store for 2013:

What is your process like? Does it change with every project?

It does depend. Sometimes I draw things straight from my brain, especially if I am making a simple drawing without much nuance. The cards I did for Hello!Lucky were all things I drew that just came from my imagination. When I paint or draw something more realistic or complex, I find images (photographs) to use as reference, so I can get the proportions and lighting right. Typically, especially in my commissioned illustration work, I make sketches first. And then I move to making the final artwork.

I always start by drawing things by hand. Always. None of my work starts as digital work, even if it ends up as digital work. In the case of the card line for Hello Lucky, I drew the designs in pen on paper, then scanned them and turned them into vector so they could be reproduced as plates for letterpress printing.

What was your inspiration for this line? 

I remember I got really simple, straightforward art direction for this line: create designs in your own style around the theme of love. So I brainstormed different sayings that would lend themselves easily to colorful illustration: things like You are My Sunshine, You are my Queen, You Light up My Life. It was really as simple as that! I really enjoyed it!

Do you have a favorite in the collection or do you love them all equally?

I think You Light Up My Life is my favorite! But I like them all.

(My Sunshine, Sailboat Love, Falling for You, Lighthouse)

We loved your 365 days of hand lettering project you did for 2012. Is there a favorite quote/motto you have from that project? 

One of my favorites is: "Leap and the net will appear," which John Burroughs is quoted as saying. It's the motto for many things in my life.

What are you currently working on or what's your latest release? Is there a 365 day project for 2013?

I just launched a weekly project for 2013 with Maria Popova of Brain Pickings called The Reconstructionists. It's a a yearlong celebration of remarkable women who have changed the way we see the world. Every Monday in 2013, we'll publish an illustrated portrait (by me) of one trailblazing woman (artist, scientist, writer), along with a hand-lettered quote that captures her spirit and a short micro-essay (by Maria) about her life and legacy. I'm pretty excited about it!

(Queen, King)

Thank you Lisa for being such an inspiration and so much fun to work with! Visit Lisa's website for more lovely illustrations and follow along with her blog here. Shop Lisa's new collection for H!L here!

Product Photos by Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Portrait of Lisa by Leslie Sophia Lindell Photography

Welcome 2013!

After the holidays wind down and we return to our regular routine, we welcome 2013 with open arms. There are many events to look forward to this year, many resolutions to keep and many achievements to reach. As we look forward we always like to start off right with an organized, refreshed state of mind. We picked a few of our favorite 2013 wall and desk calendars from around the web to share with all of you. We're noticing a geometric theme in our calendars so expect to see a new trend! Happy New Year!

1. Linda and Harriett Quilt Calendar 2. Kin of Kin Lunar Calendar 3. Darling Clementine Harvest Calendar 4. Frankie Press Calendar 5. Julia Kostreva Prisms Calendar 6. Leah Duncan Shapes Calendar

DIY Holiday Tassel Garland

We pretty much love all holiday decor, but when it comes to our favorite, it's gotta come on a string. Garland is the best way to spruce up any room, especially during the holidays. With plaid fabrics popping up more and more this time of year, we couldn't wait to get crafty with it. This DIY does require a bit of handywork, but materials are very inexpensive. Instead of heading out to your local craft store, look in your own home for materials first! You might have an old flannel pillowcase that's missing it's match, or a plaid shirt you've outgrown from last year. And the twine can be replaced with ribbon or fishing line. The best part about this DIY holiday tassel garland? There's no-sewing required!

Drape these tiny tassels over your apartment-sized Christmas tree, or gather them up for a front seat on the mantle. Here's the how-to below!

Materials:

1/2 yard plaid fabric (or an old shirt or pillowcase), 1/8" gold ribbon, jute twine, scissors, ruler (optional)

How to:

Step 1. Cut your fabric into 4" x 6" pieces (This DIY can easily be made bigger! Just cut bigger rectangles of fabric)

Step 2. Cut your ribbon ahead of time. 5" strips is plenty to work with. Set the ribbon aside for later.

Step 3. From each end, cut 5 even slits, 2" long. This part doesn't have to be exact. It just gets rolled up, anyway.

Step 4. Pinch the bottom where the slits on both sides end and roll up.

Step 5. After rolling, pinch the ends of the fringe and fold together.

Step 6. Hold the tassel with one hand while grabbing the ribbon with another. Tie the ribbon around the neck of the tassel in a double knot, leaving a 3/4" loop. Cut any excess ribbon. (Friendly help encouraged here!)

Step 7. String your twine through the loops of your tassels and display!

These mini tassels can be made with any pattern, and can be hung just about anywhere! For more festive DIY ideas, visit our website!