Elegantissima

Hey Audrey!

What a treat! I'm referring to designer Louise Fili's book "Elegantissima" which features her beautifully crafted and often vintage-inspired identity and packaging designs over the years. My favourite pages so far are the ones showing the development of the Tiffany and Co logo, and the stunning chocolate box for the School of Visual Arts, containing their annual catalogue/brochure, disguised as a box of chocolates. I wish my design college sold me as a praline, but as far as I remember I was sold as a sharp pencil (that was the theme for our showcase the year I graduated). The foreword to the book is written by her husband Steven Heller. What a designer power couple! Somehow I think they wear paisley pajamas to bed, bought at Bloomingdales of course.

In the Limelight

Hey Audrey!

Didn't you just love the 1950's? I was delighted when I was asked to design this poster advertising a ballet performance in a 1950's style. I loved researching the exact colour schemes and typefaces. The typeface used for Limelight is a favourite of mine: 'Ed Script', a face designed by famous American type designer Ed Benguiat and House Industries. The photo used is by Warren Williams Photography.

Opposites attract

Hey Audrey!

I know a lovely couple, he is an accountant, and she is an art and music therapist. Actually they both used to be musicians, but that is not the point. I designed an identity for both of their businesses. His logo is about the precise business of ticking and turning, her flowing note logo was placed on four business card variations, and apparently even the process of picking one can be therapeutic! The only thing I insisted the two identities have in common was to be printed on environmentally sound paper. I also helped lovely Diane with her website, and used the site Weebly to do it, I was very impressed by how easy it was to use their templates (except that I couldn't control paragraph lengths) and with their good customer service. Well done over there in the USA! In the end I'm happy that they're happy.

My mom made more...

Hey Audrey!

As you know, my mother has a thing for sewing handbags, but only for people she really really likes. These three handbags she made for a a friends and her two daughters, she has never met them, but they feed me and my cat regularly, therefore she likes them. She tried a new pattern for the green and brown one, she says it was really difficult to make those three-dimensional side pockets. Personally I like the denim sling bag most because she used embroidered strips from my favourite skirt when I was small on it.

For friends

Hey Audrey!

It was so special to be able to design my friends Candy and Stan's wedding stationery. Lucky for me, the groom, (even though a doctor) has an artistic flair. His beautiful piece of calligraphy of their names became the focal point on both the 'save the date' and the printed invitation. He also hand illustrated the map to the venue, and it is his beautiful calligraphy on the outside of the envelopes. We used The Letterpress Company for printing, and Candy, her mom and myself spent a happy afternoon with them selecting paper, debossing stamps, and the exact right tissue lining for the inside of the envelopes. We were thrilled with the end result. The wedding day was absolute perfection, and I wish them both a long and happy life journey together.

Photographs courtesy of the happy couple.

My cup of tea

Hey Audrey!

A long time ago my hobby was to collect antique tea cups. I loved the quaint designs and sizes, the gold edges, the various detailed patterns. It started off with some old pieces of crockery that I inherited from my two grandmothers, together with a dresser to display them all in. Soon my family and friends were gifting me cups and saucers on special occasions, until I had a precious collection of crockery and memories. Recently I moved into a much smaller place, and re-gifted my collection to the marvelous Meagan. I didn't share the story of each and every cup with her, but I hope she has many happy tea times and creates memories of her own.

Gifts from distant lands

Hey Audrey!

My friend Lizelle brought me these gorgeous little gifts from faraway countries. Beautiful water colour cat postcards from Japan, and his and her panda peppermints from Korea. And thanks to my oriental cellphone decoration, I can now find it in the depths of my handbag! Thank you Lizelle.

Shades of blue

Hey Audrey!

I recently had the privilege of working with renowned artist Virginia MacKenny on the catalogue for her Waymarker exhibition at David Krut. She had painted an exquisite set of blue-toned watercolours, painted during her Camino pilgrimage on France. Each postcard was painted at a different stage of the pilgrimage, and to emphasize the waymarker idea, she wanted the catalogue to be in the form of an old-fashioned postcard flipbook. The postcard flipbook was printed on 100% recycled Reviva paper.

Hey Audrey!

Today my friend Karin took me to very beautiful exhibition at A Word of Art gallery in Woodstock, Cape Town.  The exhibition is entitled "Postcards from Molotia" and the work is by The Blackheart Gang, which consists of two very talented artists called Ree Treweek and Markus Wormstrom. The work consisted of amazingly detailed and sensitive etchings, and beautifully carved and painted wooden sculptures of fantastical creatures. The work was so skilled and imaginative it took my breath away. I would buy one of those etchings in a second of I could!