studio tour no. 102810

Holy week of Illustrator and Photoshop and getting print quotes and Pantone books and wow, wow, wow. Seems all I've been thinking of and doing this week is graphic design stuff, friends. Trying to get the new catalog done that will go out as a marketing tool to all of the stores I would like Laurel Denise to be sold in and to all of my fabulous sales reps to have them do an even better job than they are already doing. Thank goodness for my gal Rachel who has been keeping things going on the production tables. Also thank goodness for my gal Marcy who has provided me with photographs that make creating a catalog so much easier. And because looking at shining screens filled with layouts probably isn't the best blog feature ever, I will leave you with a few of the round two shots that the wonderful Marcy took this week.

Also? Those pictures above? Those feature some of my newest collection. Happy!

stores shipped this week...
Silver Clay: Cambridge, MA
Surprises in Store: Denville, NJ
Sophie's: Chattanooga, TN
Jitkanda: New York, NY
Mary Anne's: Bronx, NY
Chrison & Bellina: Oyster Bay, NY
Acacia: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Joshua's Corner: Essex, MA
A Green Horizon: Welmette, IL

redefine home

Found this great home decor and furniture source, Redefine Home, on the ad banner roll over at Creature Comforts. Because, yeah, I click on those guys...especially when I've had a relaxing weekend at home and have gone through almost my entire google reader (yes, this is what I do with my free time). I think that table above would make a really, really cool kitchen island and the burlap bag rug would make a fantastic replacement for the fuzzy white-ish (all of the dirt that's impossible to get out takes away a bit of the crystal clean white quality) number we have in our living room.

snow & graham calendar

Y'all, it is hard to find a traditional-format calendar that I wouldn't be embarrassed to put up in our home. I absolutely love all of the beautifully designed pieces that only have the numbers. Really, I do. But a girl's also got to have a place to put plans that a certain Cute Husband can refer to when he needs to know what's on the books, you know? Until I walked into O'Suz in c'ville last weekend and saw this awesome number by Snow & Graham, I thought traditional-format calendars were only available in the small kitty, puppy and maybe a few unicorn varieties that Barnes & Noble seems to insist upon.

weekend no. 102310

Success of a weekend, friends! Success! Costume painted and fun had at Halloween party? Check. Apartment deep-cleaned and smelling fresh for the family visit on Sunday? Check. Fun and relaxing visit with the family on Sunday afternoon? Check check check! Enough time to sit and relax and regroup after a really crazy work week? Double check. I finished one of my new favorite books, Expecting Adam by Martha Beck. You guys. You guys! It was so good. So absolutely very, very good. It's just basically a must read. Like, right this second a must read. So go on ahead and order it and get on that task I've just assigned. We also finally got to eat at Sal's Caffe Italia on Sunday night - the pizza was delicious! I mean, not Hoboken delicious (oh how I miss that pizza), but a very close second! So, overall, a truly wonderful weekend spent in c'ville that I'm sad to see go, to tell you the truth.

what to wear no. 102210

If you'd told me that today was Tuesday when I woke up this morning, I would have believed you. Time literally flew by behind my back while I wasn't looking this week. So the news that today is not in fact a Tuesday, but a Friday, is an extra pleasure on top of what it would normally be. Do those confusing sentences make sense? I'm not sure. Blame it on the fact that today is a Tuesday/Friday. So, anyway, yay for weekends (even though I will likely sit my bum at this computer or my production table most of the time). Cute Husband and I have a super fun costume party we get to go to on Saturday night. I'm excited about our costume idea, but we'll see if I can pull off the paint job that has to happen tonight during Halloween arts & crafts night. Our family is coming into town on Sunday for a surprise visit to watch some football while my soon-to-be-sister and I will start packaging her wedding invitations. I do believe this sparkly outfit above is just the ticket for a laid back and fun weekend at home.

sparkly sweatshirt | leggings | stripe tank | toms shoes | laurel denise glass live necklace

studio tour no. 102110

I feel like when I reach the 20's of any month, I start to think "wait, seriously, but where did the beginning of this month go??" and, right now this morning as I wrote "102110" in that yonder subject line up there, I sort of thought "wait...october 21st...but where did the spring and summer go??" It's been that kind of month (months?) I guess. The flying by kind of months (life?). Is it possible to live in the moment and still not remember what you did a week ago? I sure hope so because that seems to be my situation. So, in the depths of my memory, I can remember that I got my newly design pieces back from the laser cutter this week and, well, I'm smitten, y'all. I feel like I fall in love all over again each time I get my new collection back, but this time it really really feels that way. (For the record, I always say that, too.) None of these will be available online until 2011 (have to launch them wholesale first), but I will have them at the ready at my retail shows this winter. Those events are listed on the homepage and on the laurel denise facebook page. So very excited. Oh! And! And, I made some cute little 5x7 prints of some of my favorite laurel denise sayings. Those will be online and ready very, very soon. I hope.

stores shipped this week...
Healing Waters: Wichita, KS
Zero Minus Plus (Fred Segal): Santa Monica, CA
Grant's Pals: Bend, OR
Bless Your Heart: Blowing Rock, NC
Ruby Begonias: Morris, IL
ABC Carpet & Home: New York, NY
Ellen's on Elm: Winnetka, IL
The Gallery at Lizitech: East Stroudsburg, PA
Room 6: Vancouver, Canada

niki jones

These vintage kantha quilts and other amazing goods by Niki Jones made me choke on my peanut butter toast this weekend when I was spending some time with my google reader (thanks Eat, Drink, Chic for finding them first). Aren't they just about the most gorgeous things ever? They are enough to make a girl rethink her gray and beige and white and the apparently-afraid-of-color scheme she has going on in the homeland.

mikel robinson

Do you all know I'm the worst gift-buyer ever for my dear husband? Worst. I'm not sure that he's gotten a Christmas present on time (or period) in years. That's partly due to the fact that Christmas closely trumps August/September as my craziest business time of the year (what the multiple outdoor weeks-in-a-row-freezing-cold laurel denise shows and all), but still...inexcusable. So we decided to purchase a piece of art together for each anniversary instead of buying another gift that I would lame out on and he would be fabulous on. I walked into Mikel Robinson's booth at the Fall Foliage Festival a few weekends ago and, well, kind of geeked/freaked out. I instantly loved every piece very, very much and seriously needed to leave the booth before scaring the other customers. Didn't leave for long though. Once I got the Cute Husband stamp of approval, I went in to purchase our fave. The website doesn't show a ton of the work he was selling at the show, but his Etsy shop has prints of some of the work he was selling.

weekend no. 101610

Apple "picking" this weekend was a blast. I'm quoting that word because, well, I guess we missed the memo, but the actual apples that were available for picking were quite high and completely unreachable. I think the rest of the town must have gotten there first and we were left sipping hot apple cider and eating apple cider donuts instead. Not a bad trade off if you ask me. Not a bad trade off at all. It was one of the most beautiful days ever and I felt so happy to live in a place where I get to see views like that by just barely driving ten minutes outside of town. We purchased some apples that the professionals picked and I intend to attempt Amanda's "easy" pie recipe (quotes that because, well, the word "easy" doesn't really apply to me when we're talking baking...) with the granny smith purchases on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes. Happy Monday, friends. Hope it's a great one.

what to wear no. 101510

Holy moly what a beautiful weekend of weather we C'ville folks have in store. Seriously, seriously...does it get any better? Perfect Fall weather equals perfect Fall activities - think I will head on up to Carter Mountain tomorrow with some friends and Cute Husband (haven't been there since I was a little kiddie and I used to hike there with my dad) to enjoy some apple cider and apple cider donuts (heaven). But that won't happen before we head on over to Continental Divide this evening for some delicious margaritas and Tex Mex food with the lovely Marcy. Maybe today she and I can have a giggle-fest without being in the middle of yoga class (tragic). I might attempt my first chili of the season this Sunday. Feels right, don't you think? That's the big plan of the weekend, friends, and I couldn't be happier. Pretty sure I'm the luckiest gal in the world.

long sweater | sequin shirt | giant scarf | toothpick cords | shoes | laurel denise butterfly necklace

studio tour no. 101410

This has been a weird week where I feel like maybe everything and also nothing happened? Let's see, what to report. Oh, have I told you guys that I designed my new pieces for January? I'm so very excited about them. So very. They are just plain cool, and I can't wait to get the photos taken of them and get them into stores. I'll give you all sneak peaks when they are ready, for sure. In the meantime, those little cute bottle toppers up there? Those are a small glimpse into a new bracelet product. I hope.

stores shipped this week...
Wink SF: San Francisco, CA
Garden Argosy: Sarastora, FL
Cindy's Nest: Eastsound, WA

nightstand situation

Our nightstand situation is kind of the worst, you guys. And the fact that everyone can see our sleeping area just by turning their head to the left when they walk in the door makes it even worse. Or embarrassing or something? Which is silly (who gets embarrassed by a nightstand situation?), but when you have one antique number that doesn't at all go with the modern look you've decided to take over since you last purchased that twenty dollar nightstand ten years ago and one number from Target meant to live in Cute Husband's unmarried man bedroom days...well, then, a gal can get a little sheepish when glancing over at the nightstand situation. So we bought these. And I'm absolutely thrilled!

weekend no. 100910

What a weekend (a day late)! I was too sleepy to take many pictures after spending such long days outside at the Fall Foliage festival selling laurel denise goods, but here are a few from the show that I hope you'll enjoy. It was a fun show with the most perfect weather ever for a weekend outdoor show and, I mean, I won a sweet Judge's Choice award which pretty much is one of the coolest things ever to happen to me. For real. Also? This show had the best kettle corn I've ever had in my life. And I'm a tough judge. If I were the one giving out purple ribbons, I would have stopped by that food stand and given them a few.

what to wear no. 100810

Friends! This weekend I go to my first two-day weekend outdoor craft show since last December when I sat shivering in the winter cold (and blizzard) with Carrie as we sold our jewelry to the fine people of Washington, DC. This time it's in Waynesboro, Va and it's called the Fall Foliage (a word I still can't manage to say correctly) festival. No snow. No freezing temps. Count me in! Here's a link to some information about the show. I'm in a booth across from the Waynesboro City Hall and the "event headquarters". I hear it's a really great show and I'm really excited to go selling with my cute momma by my side! If you're at the show, there will be a special raffle in my booth just for the fine folks who stop by. Because, you know, I heart ya and all.

jeans | shirt | shoes | laurel denise shine necklace

ps: I really, really, really want those shoes. Like, really really.

studio tour no. 100710

Behold, a select few of the photos for the new laurel denise catalog. Oh the unbelievable talent of a gal named Marcy who knows how to capture light just so. Heart.

stores shipped...
Romance Etc (Long Beach, CA)
Just Be (Greensboro, NC)
The Gypsy Wagon (Dallas, TX)
Blackberry Farm: Walland, TN
889 Yonge: Toronto, ON
A to Zoom: Summit, NJ
National Archives Shop: Washington, DC
Art for the Soul: Newport Beach, CA
Artisan Center: Denver, CO
Workshop: Jackson, WY
Claypot: Brooklyn, NY
The Gypsy Wagon: Dallas, TX
New Twist: Eugene, OR

gleena ceramics

When I walked by Gleena's booth at the NY Gift Show (yeah...I'm still going through all of the amazing cards I took at that show...), I'm pretty sure a gasped. I mean, seriously, she had me at the color organization in her display. Also? Her products are amazing. I think maybe I was supposed to be a ceramic artist or something...just couldn't ever master that darn pottery wheel. Everything toppled and turned and wiggled until, well, it just plain old flopped on the spinning surface. Tragic, friends. So I guess that makes me extra in love with artist's that can really get the simple design and shape and perfection done just right. Gleena is so one of those artists.

tea forte love

Y'all...seriously? Tea Forte is amazing. These teas? Delicious. These cookies? Melt in your mouth. And I can't wait to try the cocktail infusions soon. That's right, your favorite cocktail drink including tea. It's what dreams are made of, friends.

weekend no. 100210

So, the most special thing that I wasn't allowed to talk about on Friday (and the biggest part of my weekend) was the surprise birthday bash that my sisters and I planned for my Mom on Saturday! That "followed by lunch" little plan was replaced by a shouted "surprise!" and a house filled with people who love my fabulous Mom and got to tell her just that all afternoon. Seriously the best ever! Can't believe we got through it without anyone (especially me) spilling the beans. Sunday afternoon was filled with part two of the photo session with Marcy and, you guys....seriously, you guys...I can't wait to show you these photographs. They are to die for. I literally had chills all last night when I got the dvd. So happy about these shots! Then I took a last minute trip to the Fall Fiber Festival at Montpelier (well, kind of at Montpelier) in the afternoon with some lovely creative and beautiful gals. The yarn all started to look the same to me by the end, but I remember from my fiber art class days (when I would come home with blue hands that would remain that way all weekend) how hard it is to get good saturation when you're dying yarn, so I could definitely appreciate the talent! There were also some rather large bunnies in attendance...I can't decide whether or not I was terrified of them or if they were the cutest things ever. No, really, never seen anything bigger called a rabbit. Ever. And that, my friends, was my weekend in a nutshell.

ps - Happy anniversary to my favorite person. Best two years ever in the history of years.

what to wear no. 100110

All I can really think about right now is about how my beloved Blackberry (truly my "Crackberry," as some call it) is blaring "JVM Error 102" right now and has been doing that since 5am this morning...when the bright screen woke me up. Poor Blackberry. Poor me who likely has to go through the entire weekend without it while Sprint attempts a fix. How did I get so addicted to this little guy? Also, yes, I know, I know...why don't I have an i-Phone already? I hear you. I really do. Loud. And. Clear.

Anyway, this silly little error message is slightly clouding the fact that I have the best weekend ever planned! Tonight, my sweet 16-year old niece is coming to spend the evening with Cute Husband and I. We're going to be fancy and check out some of the first Friday art show openings on the downtown mall (my talented part timer gal Rachel is going to be featured at a 2nd Street Gallery show - amazing!) and then we're heading to dinner. Tomorrow my sisters and I are taking my fabulous momma out for some good-old-fashioned gal indulgence (iced coffe and mani/pedi followed by a delicious lunch, of course) and then it's off to church for the beginning of a new series (can't wait) followed by photog shoot number two with Marcy! Then! There's more! Then, Cute Husband and I get to make our marriage year number two celebration yearbook filled with photos and memories of our second year of marriage. Our anniversary is on Monday and we've decided to start the celebrations on Sunday. I mean, seriously, so fun, right? Stupid error message, you aren't going to get me down. Bah!

jeans | yellow cardigan | graphic top | flip flops (while the weather is still warm enough!) | laurel denise laugh necklace