welcome to the ad industry, bitch

On a Monday, at the beginning of a bonanza of Dude and Chick holiday release madness (in living color on site in St. Paul!) all I can manage is sharing a terrific mashup of my two favorite things. Get ready to have Phantom Planet stuck in your head for the rest of the day (and for the record, if you don't understand the title of this post, you have three seasons of excellent mid-aughts television to watch before we can properly chat).

pattern pals: abstract

When Emma and I decided to do an abstract pattern, I think we both thought it would be....easy. Because, you know, when you just get to use shapes and color everything's simple, right? Well, not so much. This was most definitely my most difficult pattern to date, despite the fact that it just used simple brushstrokes (which were extremely fun to make - I have whole sketchbook pages of just random geometric stuff). The colors were changed multiple times, and I finally settled on these muted, June gloom inspired greens. I think I like the result? I may give this another go, if only for that awful/awesome brain growing feeling it provided. Above is the repeating square, below you can see it in action.

springtime in brooklyn

It's been a while since I ventured out to New York - almost four years, in fact. Lucky for me, the stationery show was the perfect excuse for a little visit to one of my favorite places. Thanks to a few NYC-savvy friends and my fearless host Matt, I did it up right this time. It was an amazing trip, and it made me miss New York...but man, was I glad to return to the sun soaked land that I now call home (and the boy and dog waiting for me).
A few highlights, as illustrated by the photos above. Not pictured: copious amounts of food, beer, and bloodies consumed.
a) the rooftop view from my digs in Crown Heights.
b) neon is king at Beverly's.
c) Bree treated me to The Book of Mormon, which is every bit as awesome as I imagined!
d) treasures of New England, found in Matt's cabinets (it's a board game about yachting?!)
e) The Frick Collection, highly recommended for an off-the-beaten-path museum experience - it's housed in what was formerly the Frick estate on the UES.
f) and of course, my visit to the apartment I sublet in Brooklyn Heights for my semester stay in NYC during college (my intern/nanny days). Don't be fooled by the fancy exterior - my place was 96 sq feet, on "garden" level - that is, basement. I bought a bagel and my favorite corner store and sat on the steps like a creeper, naturally.

get em while they're hot

Well, would you look at that. New cards, at long last! You can find them on the Etsy store, or coming soon to a brick and mortar shop near you. We debuted these babies at the National Stationery Show earlier this week. Stay tuned - once I make it through the pile o' work that built up while I was gone, I'll be taking a peek at all the cool stuff I found while walking NSS and doing a roundup.
top row:
086 Fancy Pants
087 Flamingos
088 Tower Power
middle row:
089 Muscle Car
093 Flock Togetha
094 Another Ewe
bottom row:
095 Tramp Stamp
096 Truly Yours

3124

At the risk of sounding like a huge nerd, it's been a lifelong dream of mine to attend the National Stationery Show in New York. Ever since I was just a wide-eyed intern at DG Inventive (RIP), I've pictured myself running a booth, hawking my delightful paper goods to thousands of screaming fans.
So, we're not quite there yet, but this year I am proud to announce that our lovely reps at Crow and Canary will be showing our line in their booth! You can find Dude and Chick stock amongst the collection at booth 3124, if you happen to find yourself at NSS next week (May 19th-22nd). Be sure to check this space soon - I'll be officially releasing our new fresh designs on the first day of the show.

mama's weekend

A major downside to living in Los Angeles and working with a dude who lives halfway across the country is that, sometimes, I miss special weekends like this one. I leave for the National Stationery Show at the end of next week (don't worry, a preview of our new stuff is coming soon!), and it just wasn't in the budget (financially or mentally) to make it up to Portland for Mother's Day and my Mom's birthday, both of which fall on the same weekend this year.
And so, in lieu of my presence, I just wanted to take a moment on my corner of the internet to honor the sassy, headstrong, beautiful lady that is my mom.
I love you, Mama! I'll make it up to PDX for some mother/daughter partytime soon.
above: my mom in New York, at Multnomah Falls, and with me last year in Portland

monae for all

Our crazy lead-up to the National Stationery Show is almost finished - the release is done, the catalogs are printed (by my not-so-trusty Konica Minolta) and soon I'll be floating around NYC with not a care in the world. In the meantime, my internet lack of presence has been slight, but I managed to catch this video with the always amazing Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu - two of my top style icons. But seriously. Monae can work a tux like nobody's business, that booty don't lie.