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.

Visit to Kansas City!

Letterpress lovers take note! Recently, one of our intrepid employees took a trip to Hammerpress in Kansas City, Missouri and came back with some great photos of their lovely studio!

Check out their very organized shelves of metal and wood type, as well as the impeccably well kept presses.

In their impressive brick and mortar storefront, they sell greeting cards, posters and lots of one-of-a-kind goods.

A closeup view of their beautiful wooden wall and display.

Thank you to Brady, Matt, Eric and Jenn for the tour around the studio!

You can purchase their awesome posters here.

Pot + Pantry: 7X7 Best of the City!

We're mighty proud of Donna for winning 7 x 7's award for her adorable housewares shop, Pot + Pantry in Noe Valley/Mission in SF! It was less than a year ago that she left us to start it all up, so we toast her honor.

And we had to share these hilarious cookies with you, perhaps as inspiration for Father's Day gifts, or just as a clever treat for the carnivores in your life:

Of course, the presentation is key.  It was all part of a "Meat Market" show she did a week or so ago.

Check out the Pot + Pantry Blog for more fun.

It all made us think of our BBQ Parade Father's Day Card.

Happy hunting!

New Julia Rothman fabrics on Design Sponge

Design Sponge just featured one of our all time fave designers, Julia Rothman, and her fab new fabrics!

Cloud9 is producing these rich, ornate and fun designs—all printed on organic cotton.

Be sure to check Design Sponge for more pics and for a link to more of Julia's work .

Did you know Hello!Lucky carries a line of Julia Rothman cards and gift-wrap as well as many gorgeous and whimsical wedding invitations?

SFMade: Hello!Lucky at Ramp it Up!

SFMade is one of our very favorite non-profits, and we are super honored  and excited to be one of ten local businesses selected to participate in their annual fundraiser party, Ramp it Up! What's Old is New Again.

SFMade supports businesses that imagine, design and manufacture products right here in the Bay Area. May 21st-27th is SFMade week.  Food, factories and fun abound!

Here's the flier for Ramp it Up:

Check out the SFMade website for details on the week's activities and an info  page with a link to purchase tickets for Ramp It Up! And be sure to stop by and say hey to the Hello!Lucky folks at the event!

See you there!

Lynette Andreasen's Metalwork and Jewelry

Adore Lynette Andreasen's work!  She incorporates embroidery into a lot of her metal sculpture and jewelry. Love the contrast of textures.

Embroidered flowers on a pewter plate. Gorgeous and utterly fascinating! Want it!

That would be quite a piece to wear out on Valentine's Day, no?

Love the shadow, the silhouette and the softness of the fibers.

This one reminds us a touch of Joel Dewberry's Ironwork and Architecture designs.  Love, love!

Check out Lynettte's blog and site for more beautiful work.

Unique Housewares at Pot + Pantry

A good friend of Hello!Lucky, Donna Wageman,  just got a write-up in the SF Chronicle on her charming new shop, Pot + Pantry,  in Noe Valley. Such a cute little store— we had to share!

So if you're in SF, wandering in the Castro/Noe/Mission area, check it out. Or make it a destination!

Or check out her website.  Pot + Pantry also sells Sightglass coffee (a new Hello!Lucky favorite!) and is sure to have all manner of unique gifts for the vintage-minded among you.

Via SF Chronicle. Photos by Michael Macor.

More of our Favorite things... Paper and Porcelain!

Just had to share these with you!

Aside from writing letters, we'd say having folks over for coffee or tea is one of the best ways to keep in touch.

And how better to host a little get-together than with these beautiful handmade cups and saucers by Meredith Host? She gets some of her inspiration for design from paper patterns.

Just lovely!

We've had our eyes open for gifts, since it's getting on toward that season.  We ran into Meredith's work on the Clay Studio website. The Clay Studio is a fab non-profit organization, studio, and artist residency for ceramic artists in Philadelphia. Had to give them a shout-out because they do great work, and have gorgeous handmade goodies.

Isn't this serving dish delish?

And this mug to match, found on Etsy. Thanks, Meredith!

Tartine Bread

One of our favorite local bakeries, Tartine, is coming out with a new book - Tartine Bread. Check out this cute video from the baker!

Herriott Grace

How gorgeous are these petit flags and other sweet handmade things from Herriott Grace?

Even more charming is the fact that it's a father daughter venture that began with Lance Herriott sending his daughter hand carved wooden spoons in the mail...

All their products are hand-made (you know how we love thingshand-made!)

How lovely is this wooden cake pedestal?

Nikole and Lance Herriott - we are big fans!

Via Ritzy Bee...

Beautiful Enameled Jewelry by Jill Baker Gower

Jill Baker Gower's wallpaper patterned enameled earrings are exquisite!  We think they'd make perfect bridesmaids' gifts to coordinate with our Antoinette stationery design.  Such an elegant mixture of modern design and vintage patterns.

And how about this gorgeous enamel and silver pendant?  Jill teaches Metalsmithing at Rowan University in New Jersey, and she does beautiful work, including some very simple and elegant bridal commissions.

Splendid silver rings to match!  You can see more of Jill's work, including her fascinating sculptural jewelry here.

Fresher than Fresh

We need your help! Our friend Lindsay (wife of Brady from Hammerpress) is trying to raise money for Fresher than Fresh, her snow cone business based out of Kansas City. She's got a few hours left on Kickstarter (an amazing resource to raise funds for individual projects) to raise enough money to get her business off the ground. She'll even throw in anything from recipes to t-shirts for those generous patrons out there. You might even get a flavor named after you!

With flavors like Watermelon Basil, Pineapple and Serrano Pepper and Lemon Prickly Pear, and a mascot named Snowie, how can you resist?!

Visit Fresher than Fresh to learn more about the business, and visit Kickstarter to donate! Good luck Lindsay!

Studio tour on Re-Nest

Check out our green studio tour featured on Re-Nest! Click here to see the feature - thanks Adele!

Behind the scenes at Hello!Lucky

The intrepid Ms. Lia Lafreniere took these behind-the-scenes snaps of our studio a while back, and we thought we'd share them! Our space is an old button factory in downtown San Francisco - it's got a real club-house-y kind of feel...

Here's what you see when you come up the stairs to our offices...

We have flea market finds all over the place - including this be-bowed quail!

Downstairs is our press room and packaging area, where we do all our letterpress printing and ship out greeting card orders.

Aaron and James, two of our letterpress pressmen, getting ready to work on their vintage Heidelbergs...

The amazing and dexterous Francois helps finish orders that need ribbons, envelope liners, etc. He made that amazing paper dress on the mannequin upstairs!

Our packaging area, piled high with boxes and envelopes!

Back upstairs, we have some vintage shelves where we display our cards...right now that area is full of boxes of supplies for our new crafting book we're working on!

Our design department, led by Eunice our Creative Director, and whipped into shape on a daily basis by Shauna, designer and taskmaster extraordinaire!

Some of our invitations - getting ready to be checked, assembled and shipped to happy brides!

We welcome visitors, so if you're in the Bay Area, come on over! We're open 9 - 6, Monday - Friday and while we have a retail-ish area, it's best to make an appointment to look at invitations or chat with our staff. We're a small, super-friendly shop, and love it when people stop by!

Modern Met Studio Visit

We had the pleasure of meeting Alice Yoo, founder of My Modern Metropolis, a new social networking site, on Friday.  She and her husband Sam stopped by the studio and we had fun giving them a tour and chatting about what it's like to be an entrepreneur (read about their visit here).  Fellow designers often approach us for advice on starting a small business, and we're always happy to share experience, so herewith, a couple of our top tips:

1. With great autonomy comes great responsibility. Being entrepreneur is liberating and creative, but comes with sleepless nights and big ups and downs.  You have to have guts of steel and be ready to work long hours. And you have to be humble - there is no job that is too low when you're starting out (including cleaning toilets, licking stamps, and answering phones!)

2. Choose your partners well. Be sure everyone's ready to roll up their sleeves and put in their fair share of work, cash, sweat, grey hairs, sleepless nights, etc. One of our biggest criteria in selecting employees is whether or not they have "Hello!Lucky in their hearts" (to quote one of our hilarious and beloved veteran staffers!). If everyone's passionate and loves what they do, success will be more likely to follow.

3. Develop great products. Be true to your vision, but listen to the market and refine accordingly. And make sure the economics of creating, selling, and distributing the product are workable (discount your projections by at least 10% - entrepreneurs tend to be a wee bit optimistic - they have to in order to handle the risk!). If you can't find funding for your business, whether it's from friends and family or investors, it's probably not viable.

4. Cut your losses. If something isn't working, change course. Everyone makes mistakes; it's how you respond to them that determines the final outcome.

5. Stay objective. Every entrepreneur has moments when they wonder whether it's worth it to go on; sometimes this happens with uncanny frequency!  It's also easy to take ups and downs (especially the downs!) personally and lose confidence. While you need to be realistic, it's also vital to step back from the setback of the moment and look at the positive, whether it's press mentions, customer testimonials, or sales. If things are trending in the right direction, then keep it up and don't take the setbacks personally!

P.S. Happy Labor Day!