Perfect for the crafty friend or relative on your holiday shopping list: Paper + Craft. Photographed by Johnny Miller (you no doubt recognize his work for Martha Stewart) and styled by Randi Brookman Harris (who’s also from the World of Martha), the book is full of simple + charming projects from favorite designers Minhee and Truman Cho of Paper + Cup. (I think Minhee and Truman’s aesthetic was the gateway to my love for clean, modern design and letterpress.) Templates for the book’s projects are accessible over the internet: a smart detail as it keeps the book uncluttered and lends it an arty/coffee table feel. Available through Chronicle Books, Amazon, and of course, bookstores.
UPDATE: Chronicle Books is offering 35% off and free ground shipping through December 5 as part of its Friends & Family Holiday Sale! Simply enter promo code “FRIENDS” when shopping chroniclebooks.com.
keepsake paper box
mini goodie bag
turtle dove
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! To my US readers, I wish you safe travels, good food shared with family and friends, and a quiet, thoughtful start to the holiday season.
On with the Five:
- reminding me of this day
- untitled
- untitled
- pretty light
- untitled
I’m taking the rest of the week off to unplug (as much as possible) and relax. See you on Monday.
I almost forgot! If you’re near Yaphank, NY this weekend, Tricia Foley’s The New General Store is having a Holiday Sale. Saturday only, 11-6. I knew I should have gone to the Hamptons!!
My heart always skips a beat when Felix Doolittle introduces new product. The latest offerings are ideal for holiday gifting: personalized recipe cards (nice and large at 5×7″, sold in sets of 24 with 3 each of 8 illustrations) and pocket mirrors (with over 30 illustration options they’d make perfect stocking stuffers). Both introductions are 20% off through November 30: click over to the Felix Doolittle website and have a look. But wait, there’s more: Loren & Felix have offered to giveaway two sets of their new personalized recipe cards to simple + pretty readers! To enter, please leave a comment at this post with your favorite Felix Doolittle illustration before Tuesday, November 30 at midnight. (So if it’s December, you’re too late.) I will draw two names from the eligible entries* and announce the winners in Friday, December 3’s Flickr post. Please note: although the personalized notecards will be free, winners must cover all shipping costs. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
a look at the recipe card options
crow pocket mirror
mouse pocket mirror
images from felixdoolittle.com and the felix doolittle facebook page
*entries must have a valid email address
gerrit noordzij
Kat Ran Press has compiled quite the collection of postage stamps by type designers. You can get lost clicking through the online portfolio (designers include Eric Gill, Milton Glaser, and Erik Spiekermann) and there is biographical and typeface information to accompany each designer’s collection. Better yet, there’s more to come: while the collection is already quite impressive 10 years in (over 1000 stamps to date), 600 pages need to be built, and there are stamps to be acquired + catalogued. A $5 donation helps the cause (find out more at the Kat Ran Press website). I wish that more modern stamps were as lovely and memorable as these.
jan van krimpen (amazing body of work)
georg trump
Inspired by this online treasure trove, I’ve added the Puffin Picture Book of Postage Stamps to my Christmas wish list.
excerpt from the book
all images courtesy of michael russem/kat ran press
Happy Friday! It feels like this weekend is the last chance for quiet before the holiday onslaught. I’m hoping to use the time to make my lists, check them twice, and clear out as much stuff as possible before the process of Christmasing takes over. Wish me luck.
On with the Five:
- the good life
- untitled
- Square Mile Coffee Roasters, London E2
- coffice
- Sailing
My photo this week is of a recent framing project. I don’t remember how (or when) I discovered San Francisco photographer Cindy Loughridge‘s Flickr stream, but I’m so glad that I did. First: she’s astoundingly talented, and second/bonus: I know that when I read about a new restaurant, or coffee shop in SF and wish I could go, invariably, Cindy has been there and taken pictures. Seeing places through her lens fills me with glee, and helps close the gap between our yearly trips to the Bay Area. I’m sure you’ve noticed her work popping up frequently in my Five (including this week’s #4/”coffice”), and I’m happy to announce that Cindy has opened a SmugMug shop where you can buy prints of her work, including the peonies shot that’s now hanging next to my bed. I simply adore it. (Thanks, Cindy, for the constant source of inspiration.)
