philippe stark

I was fortunate enough to hear Philippe Stark speak a number of years ago and was immediately drawn to his quirky nature and innovative aesthetic. I love these photos from a recent NY Times article about his vacation home in the south of France. Looks just lovely, sigh.



Read the article here. Via See Saw Designs.

mad men yourself

If you are a fan of Mad Men and enjoy creating avatars, then Mad Men Yourself is for you. I had so much fun making one for myself, that I made one for Jeff as well.


Click here to try!

Thanks Meredith!

the beauty of houseboating

I'm exhausted, dirty and sunburned...but it was all worth it to be houseboating on Lake Shasta with good friends, good food and some damn good times. I can't believe I have to wait a whole other year to go back!

happy weekend!

I am taking off early to spend a few days on a houseboat on Lake Shasta. The weather forecast is 106 degrees! Currently, it's 51 in San Francisco...brrr! Can't wait for tomorrow - have a nice weekend!

chasing whales through ice and snow

On the first Saturday of each month, the Maritime National Historic Park hosts a singalong of sailor songs, sea chanties if you will, abroad one of the historic ships at the Hyde Street Pier. James, friend, printer and pier volunteer, asked Anna and I to each design a poster for him to then letterpress. Given a line from one of the chanties, we each came up with our own interpretation of what the poster should be - mine is above and hers is below.

renegade report

My wares from this weekends Renegade Craft Fair included letterpress prints from Cindy Tomcyzk (above and below).

Apple necklace from Handmade Whimsy.

And a pin for Jeff, who is currently traipsing the German countryside. Man!

Want more? Read my more extensive review over at the H!L blog.

boredom + creativity + cheese

There were a ton of things that I liked at Renegade this year, but none more so than the impromptu wax creations from Hannah (Pie Bird Press) and Marina (Honeylux). Inspired by the fair junk food and motivated by the underwhelming sales, the girls put their creativity and time to use in creating a veritable feast using the protective wax from their Laughing Cow cheese. I can't decide if the hot dog and fries (above) or eggs and bacon (below) is my favorite.

renegade craft fair

I'll be spending my Saturday working at our booth for the Renegade Craft Fair. I attended last year's show and am looking forward to seeing some old friends, as well as meeting some artists and designers whose work I really admire.

vintage (literally!)

While cleaning out her cupboards, my grandmother came across some old bottles of wine. Figuring that since she wasn't a big drinker, she should pass them along to someone who might actually enjoy drinking them - her son, my father, who in turn gave them to my sister, who then gave them to me. When she pulled them out of her suitcase, I nearly fell off my chair laughing. I can't find a year on any of the bottles, but my guess is that they are easily as old as I am. From a design perspective, I love the labels, so I am excited to have something pretty to add to our every growing booze collection (but no, we are not going to actually drink them!).



Andre (below) is my favorite.

rodeo beach/battery townsley

On a beautiful Sunday in Marin, Jeff and I took a hike at Rodeo Beach in the headlands. On the second Sunday of every month, free tours are given of Battery Townsley, a historic World War II bunker a short walk from the beach. Apparently, they also used to test nuclear devices at the site as well. In any event, on a nice day its a great place to go for a walk and enjoy a tuna sandwich.

hearst castle: it's all in the details

Here are some of my favorite details from my visit to Hearst Castle - the faces (above) were my favorite.

hearst castle: interiors

It was fairly dark inside Hearst Castle (and no flash photography permitted) so my interior shots are pretty limited. I especially enjoyed the breathtaking tiled Roman pool (above), as well as the elaborate ceilings of the Assembly room (below):

...dining room:

...guest house:

...and billiard room.