Friday, November 28, 2008

Darling Clementine

Darling Clementine are two very talented ladies from Oslo, Norway who make really cute stationery. I also love their well-designed website and their product packaging! They have lots of cute Christmas cards and giftwrap , and the "origami" aerogramme is pretty original, there's design on the inside of the paper as well, how cute! You can buy their cards on Etsy, and you can also check out the stockists on their website.
photos: Darling Clementine

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Black Friday at Kiosk

After a long day of shopping this Black Friday, it's a good idea to go to Kiosk for Reference Library's Mini Exhibition for food and drinks, and more shopping. Items in the exhibition are for sale and they are vintage Utilitarian/Americana-themed items that Reference Library has collected (see pictures). I think the wedding rug is the sweetest thing ever and I wonder how much it will go for? In addition, RL has a very limited-edition aprons (5!) for sale. They are made by Workers from Japan.
The opening is this Friday November 28th from 7 - 10pm at KIOSK, 95 Spring Street on the 2nd floor.
images: reference library & kiosk

Friday, November 21, 2008

Holiday Cards Are Here... Finally

I worked double-shift to make these cards and work over the past week and they are finally here. Making these cards involve cutting the paper, scoring each card, printing each card 4 times (front twice, greeting inside and my logo in the back!) I made such a big mistake this morning that I had sent the email blasts before I posted any of the cards on my Etsy shop or my Wonting shop!!! Well they are now posted on Etsy but not Wonting, which I will post early next week. It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving weekend of doing absolutely nothing, well maybe blog a little. Back to the cards, I need to take better pictures of them but I can tell you that my favorite card is the winter wonderland couple, that navy blue and hot pink are such a good combo, it gives the print a vintage look! Check 'em out here!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

In the Mood For Shopping?

Cooper Hewitt is offering free shipping and no sales tax (it's always been tax free because it's a Smithsonian institute) until December 19, I immediately found a few good things that I want for myself... and perhaps for a few others for the holiday. Here are my faves:on/off switch by Tobias Wong

Lucienne Day tea towel by Twentytwentyone

Credit card cutlery by Ineke Hans

Ballpoint pen with stamp (choice of heart, asterisk or a pointing finger) by Naoto Fukasawa

U&lc: Influencing Design and Typography

images: cooper Hewitt

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wonting X Mascott

They are finally here and I can't thank Chris enough for his great job at silk screening them, the chocolate brown and warm pink just go together so beautifully, I love the opacity of silk screening, I think that is what I'll do after my Gocco supplies run out!

So, what is the poster about? I did it for a music video by Mascott, Kendall- the talented singer/songwriter contacted me to do the video and I thought, why not a poster too?! You can get it at my Etsy shop and my wonting web shop. You can also get Mascott's cd "Art Project" or download songs on her MySpace page. Check out the video at the bottom of this post.

If you live in New York, Mascott will be performing at Union Hall in Park Slope Thursday night (Nov. 13) at 10pm. I'll definitely check it out, and the poster will be available for sale there as well! What a way to plug my poster, right?!


Dream Another Day - by Mascott
from Red Panda Records on Vimeo.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

New In Shop

I had so much fun making these prints, I went crazy with the patterns and doing multiple layers which I had to press each print 3-4 times! Needless to say I was exhausted and I could use a massage on my shoulders. I am really proud of my "YOU ROCK" print, I hope it will be as well-received as last year's "KNOCK on Wood"! Get them here (available on Nov. 12) and here.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

So Good I'm Speechless

It is every kid's (big and small) fantasy to bring his/of favorite story book to life, and Su Blackwell has done that for us with her stunning cut out sculptures out of story books. Sometimes she cuts out the character in the book and makes her part of the sculpture, see below. I also love the negative space, the leftover that was not cut out, it is the foundation that physically and narratively supports the sculpture. photos: Su Blackwell

Monday, November 3, 2008

New Stuffff

I took a little break from blogging so I could work on some new prints. Here are a couple of them that I am pretty proud of. I love the florescent pink and I can't seem to stay away from gold! They will be available for sale very soon. What's next? Some holiday cards and more prints, so stay tuned!

My Money-Saving Tips

No matter how the current economy is or isn't affecting you, it is important to cut down your expenses and save money for rainy days. Here is a list of things that my hubby and I do to save money.

1. Cook at home. For a while we either ate out or ordered take out every single night and we spent about $200 a week, just on dinner. Now I try to cook every single meal at home, I even bake muffins for breakfast! I work from home so I can eat all 3 meals at home. Now I spend about $100 per week on groceries for not just dinner, but also breakfast and lunch!


2. Wash your own wools. Dry cleaning is so expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Sweaters are really easy to wash, just soak in cold water with a bit of detergent, gently wring out the excess water and lay it on top of a towel, then roll it up like sushi and press it down to get all the excess water out so it won't drip all over your bathroom floor. I washed 6 sweaters over the weekend, and I saved about $40, plus they smell great!


3. Cancel Premium cable and land line. The only person who calls the land line is my hubby, I don't ever watch movies on those premium movie channels and I can rent all of their original series (which I don't really watch anyway) on DVD. We now save about $100 a month on services we didn't really use!


4. Public transportation. I don't ever take the cab unless I'm with my hubby. But we now have a new rule to only take the cab when it's late at night, otherwise, stick with the train or the bus or walk. We can save at least $50 a month by taking fewer cabs (I'm realistic, there's no way we can stop taking cabs!)


5. Join museum membership. Our MoMA Dual membership costs $120 a year, but 3 trips to the museums makes up for the membership (it's $20 admission per person), we go about 8 times a year so we save $200 a year. Not to mention the members-only previews, and the discounts you get at the gift store!


6. Make your own coffee. It used to be an addiction of mine to go to Starbucks with my co-workers. I used to go at least twice a day meaning I spent about $7 a day on coffee. Nowadays I make my own coffee which is much more delicious and cheap, even with the best beans at Whole Foods (about $11 a pound that lasts more than a month) So coffee alone I save a whopping $200 a month!


7. Knit your own winter accessories. It is way fun and it's the best gift for your loved ones. One year I even knitted my hubby a button down vest with shawl collar!

8. Online coupon codes. I was getting a pair of boots online and before I submitted the payment I searched for a coupon code for that particular store, instead I found a coupon code for another store that carried the same shoes with a $50 off coupon, of course I opted for the store with the coupon, plus they offered free shipping and free return (very important because you don't want to spend $10 to ship back the shoes if you decide to return them).
image: wonting, I did the illo for a magazine in 2000.