Royally Ready for the Holidays

Take a heaping spoonful of upheaval in the financial markets, mix well with the change of seasons, cut in the cacaphony of the political scene and sprinkle with a dash of ' time flies ! ' and voila - ! No wonder my nostalgia is springing warm from the oven of my memory.

How I long to be at my parents' house this winter, nestled in the bosom of my green Vermont home cuddled white with snow... with my husband, my brother home from college, the sounds and smells and hugs of the holiday season all wrapping themselves in layers around me.

As I was losing myself in pages of Italian travel magazines this evening, I found these great illustrations from a Harpers' Weekly Christmas Edition from 1895. As the Rare Posters site describes, "Very scarce and early Maxfield Parrish front and back covers . . . The front is decorative and shows a baker, the back advertises Royal Baking Powder. ". I adore Maxfield Parish, and was delighted by the happy smile of the baker and the buoyant dough steaming with tasty goodness - not to mention the ornate yet balanced detail of rolling hils and quaint towns through the leaded windows in the background.

I don't know what I'm longing for more - the confection or the countryside . . .

Bon Vonage, Imaginary Me !

There is something about the Fall season that fills me with wanderlust. My mind can't quite focus, my feet carry me down streets I don't usually tread, and I find myself suddenly lost in my imagination.

This afternoon, instead of doing work for Loop, I turned down a couple of e-passageways and took a stroll online to find some images to soothe my yen for a voyage.

I found a fantastic collection of travel publications from the '30s, the covers of which beckoned the footloose to be fancy-free in a different region of Italy every month. Oh ! To be in lulled in Lido, romanced in Rome, treasure-hunting in Venice. . .

Please visit David Levine's amazing online repository of these images, and others from all over Europe . . .

FIRST : Travel Brochure for Venice, published in 1933 by the Ente Nazionale Industrie Turistische (ENIT - Italian State Tourist Department). Signed "Treves - Treccani - Tumminelli."

SECOND : Rome, 1933. Published by the Ente Nazionale Industrie Turistische (ENIT - Italian State Tourist Department) and the Ferrovia dello Stato (Italian State Railway). Unsigned, designed by "Novissima - Roma.

THIRD : Travel in Italy, 1934. Signed "Retrosl," designed by Pizzi & Pizio - Milano-Roma. From the Ente Nazionale Industrie Turistische (ENIT - Italian State Tourist Department).

FOURTH : Travel brochure for Venice Lido, 1934. Published by the City of Venice. Signed "Tanozzi," designed by "Tridentum - Trento," published by "Soc. Acc. Stamperia Zanetti - Venice."

hey loop ladies !

A quick note to let everyone know that Loop has a new intern, Brenna Stevens, from my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. I am so excited to welcome Brenna into our office [ okay, I'll come clean .... my living room ! ]. Brenna is a sophomore majoring in Communications and she'll be helping me research fabrics and manufacturers for our upcoming eco-fabric collection. Her first post is below, so look out for more updates from her on various findings.

Holly, Loop's Girl Friday, just completed the amazing 60-mile walk for Breast Cancer Awareness with her mom. While she was buffered by gorgeous Fall weather, let's review... She walked 60 MILES !!!

[ And she has the blisters to prove it ! ]

I am so proud of you, Hols !

Fabric Findings!

One of my favorite fabric designers is Amy Butler. I discovered her clean, colorful designs while shopping in Philadelphia's own Spool. Not only does she create gorgeous home decor weight fabric, but she also writes easy to follow sewing patterns.




For those who choose to use organic fabrics, I came across Rubie Green. Though each yard will set you back $90, it's nice to know the fabric is printed in the most eco-friendly method available!

Sprig-tacular !

A warm 'thank you' to sprig.com for the wonderful write-up about Loop Wrap posted to their homepage this weekend ! Sprig is an excellent e-repository of great green products, happenings + news. With menu tabs 'fashion', 'home', 'beauty', and 'celebrity', Sprig offers a stylish spin on the eco-lifestyle. Loop is tickled 'green' to be mentioned here !

Also featured on Sprig :

I have been wanting one of these recycled sail bags from Sea Bags all summer ! I love the story behind this Maine-based woman-owned company, and how their bags embody the graphic simplicity of their nautical origins.

As an urbanite with rustic roots, I also love this folding bike from STRiDA. Folding down to a mere 45” x 20” x 9” package, it is inspiring me to run the cross-town errands I have been putting off. Not sure how comfortable it is ... but in alluring colorways like orange, neon green and classic cream, I'm sure I could make it work !

Polliwog

Get your own - Open publication

Not only is this magazine gorgeous, but it's so well-presented with issuu. with zoomable photos, it's so easy to get lost in the pages. and with a name like 'polliwog' - well, I couldn't resist !

Damn Scientists

Every now and then I actually click on the Threadless e-mail that glumps up my Gmail account, and this morning I was delighted to see something other than t-shirts. I remembered this woeful ode from a year or so ago, and now designer John Slabyk is offering it as an 18" x 24" screen print. Yay !

Seriously, mon amis who were born in the 70's - what happened to our cartoon promises ?! Why are we not jetting around in personal electric hover krafts and being instantly dressed in the morning by a vaccuum-like whoosh of air ?

the eggs from ipanema

Supermarket is a trove of wonderful design sold straight from designers - I often meander through random categories for inspiration. I was impressed by the News post on the Supermarket blog from this particular designer declaring that she was essentially taking the month of August off, [ I am living vicariously through her starting now ! ] and immediately clicked to see her work.

The hand-painted porcelain collection from Baily Doesn't Bark is gorgeous, spare, playful and unique. The Eggs From Ipanema series caught my eye - amid the birds, ants, flies, and spiders that adorn crisp white forms, what was this odd shape ? Here is the delightful answer :

"hand painted eggs with the famous ipanema beach (brazil!!!) sidewalk pattern.
i was inspired by my constant cravings for fried egg over toast and the always present in my heart: wonderful brazil, my home. weird combination…. "

YUM !

Daydreaming about LILYPAD

Let's face it : global warming and its attendant sea level rise isn't exactly an inspiring topic. Most days, we're not forced to think about what it will really mean to millions of people around the world who will lose their homes - literally, the ground on which they live - due to the 1m water level surge.

It's projects like this one, LILYPAD by Vincent Callebaut, that remind me of the power of design. While this self-sustaining, bio-inspired floating microcosm may seem outlandish in many ways - how will it practically be engineered, who would take the risk to invest in it, and how many gazillions will it cost - it's the outlandishness that I like about it. In order to solve the intense problems facing our planet, we need to dream without constraint, to imagine without tether in order to transform our anxiety into action.


While LILYPAD is currently floating through a ton of architecure and eco blogs at the moment, here are the highlights and links to other blogs that are featuring it :

via Archinect - described as an Ecopolis for Ecological Refugees, LILYPAD is meant to be auto-sufficient, using a coctail of energy technologies to produce more energy than it uses [ solar, thermal and photovoltaic energies, wind energy, hydraulic, tidal power station, osmotic energies, phytopurification, biomass ].

via Inhabitat - with the form of an aquatic leaf, the LILYPAD can either be 'docked' near a developed coastline or be responsive to the Gulf Stream, free to travel from the equator into the northern seas. it will house up to 50,000 people and will incorporate varied terrains + venues in order to ensure bio + programatic diversity.

new doodlespark sets !

float : cultivate : explore

a spark haiku

hot-off-the-press
juicy new doodlespark sets

yummm....

shop new sets on supermarket

Loop Booth

Whewsh ! We survived the National Stationery Show ! I have to say this year at the Javits was more inspiring and exciting than I imagined it would be. I am so inspired by my peers and was especially impressed by the talent, wit, creativity, skill and hard work represented by this years' attendees. Loop was delighted with its new booth assignment, as we were in the middle of great small companies and got to meet designers we admire. A special thank you to Cathe at Feterie, Stacey Pancake at Pancake and Franks, and Jean at EIEIO for your great advice. Carrot and Stick, your Booth was stellar [ I wish I took a photo ! ]. And Craig Barbieri, husband and Loop trade show Architect extraordinaire... check out that booth, man ! You're awesome.

Check out the companies that exhibited near us :

http://www.pancakeandfranks.com/

http://www.eieiostudio.com/
http://www.feterie.com/
http://www.carrotandstickpress.com/

Loop was on cloud nine showing its new Loop Wrap and Doodlespark had 3 new series' to display. I love being in the booth with my Mom; I blush so much by her praise that I look like a six year old after playtime ! Thank you for all your hard work and savvy New York driving, Mama !

Indie Goodness Giveaway - Yay !

Indie blogger and designer Jan DiCintio [ aka Daisy Jane ] has just posted a most spectacular GIVEAWAY on her blog, Scoutie Girl. You will not believe how much talent she's jammed into this package - the $547 value doesn't begin to quantify this cool event. Thanks for including Doodlespark, Jan !

24 chances to win between now and May 14th !

Daisy Jane has a must-see shop on Etsy as well. Her custom-screened fabrics are wonderful... I love LuLu especially.

I refuse to pick favorites, but I love this tee from Delicious Tees, a contributor to the giveaway. The website describes each tee as a new part of a story, with names like Instrument [ shown below ], Resonate, Duality + Untamed Imagination. Very cool.

Eco-mmunity Widget

I periodically check in with ' The Green ' on the Sundance Channel's website. This morning I watched an incredible video about the sustainable fashion house Nau and found this great little widget ! You can download it to Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, Vista, etc. in no time at all and keep up to date on all things green.

LOOP WRAP !

I love my printer ! [ Ed, if you're reading this, you're the best ! ]. Last Thursday was press day for LOOP WRAP and I spent the morning living a 'How It's Made' on printing and paper. Ed sent me home with a few hot-off-the-press sheets of wrap and some of the limited edition prints we'll be offering as well... He even had the guys in the pressroom [ craftsmen, truly ] clean up my plates for me to take home - I need more wall space !

Check back soon for more images !

Spring !

The last two weeks have been intense; days will pass and the amount of time I've spent outside can be measured in minutes... I have been working at my computer so much that I have 'mouse elbow', a dull ball of soreness from my bent arm resting on my desk for hours on end..

But ! While Spring is happening outside, a new Doodlespark collection is springing to life inside the Loop office ! The photo above is from my desk - seeing this drawing fills me with calm and happiness and I can't wait for the new cards to return from my printer in time for the National Stationery Show ...

[ Come visit ! We're Booth 1735 : May 18 - 21 : javits convention center, NYC ].