Katie Vernon Prints

Gemstones print by Katie Vernon, 11x14, $30, etsy.com

Happy Monday everyone! Wow, it's been awhile since I've had time to write a few sentences, let alone blog. But I'm happy to be back and writing about things I love always inspires me. As I was stumbling around Etsy this weekend looking for art for a nursery, I happened upon Katie Vernon's print shop. Full of texture, color and all things found in our natural world, they are some of the best I've seen lately. Here are a few of my favorites.  

Sea Botanicals by Katie Vernon, 11x14, $30, etsy.com. 

Colorful Botanicals by Katie Vernon, 8x10, $20, etsy.com. 

Rabbit and Fern by Katie Vernon, 8x10, $20, etsy.com. 

Black and White Botanicals, 11x14, $30, etsy.com. 

Shop This Shop: Marcade Vintage Prints On Etsy

How sweet would this be in a little girl's bedroom?!! Antique Nursery Rhyme Print (1870), $10.15, 

Although I used to love combing through wooden milk crates full of vintage prints at my local flea markets, Etsy has changed the print game forever and made finding and buying vintage prints a chinch. I wanted to share one of my absolute favorite sellers - Marcade Vintage Prints. Based in the U.K., Marcade sells just about every type of vintage print and ephemera you could dream up. I'm always partial to botanicals, which they have in abundance, but I've also found great child themed pieces as well as beautiful architectural prints. You name it, Marcade has it (and at fantastic prices!). Here's a sampling of current offerings. Have a great weekend everyone! 

Antique Fern Print, $35.12, Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy.com. 

1950's Fish Print, $13.27, Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy.com. 

Peter Pan Vintage Print (1931), $28.88, Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy.com. 

Vintage Butterfly Print (1964), $13.50, Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy.com. 

Vintage Rose Print, $11.94, Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy.com. 

Antique Architectural Engraving (1829), $22.64,  Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy.com. 

I'M LOVING: GARANCE DORE PRINTS

Blogger, photographer and illustrator Garance Dore. 

One of the first bloggers I started following religiously and still one of my favorites 5 years later, Garance Dore is known for many things - beautiful street photography, a charming video series called Pardon My French (where she interviews gals like Jenna Lyons and Stella McCartney), her personal style, and the beautiful illustrations that she regularly shares on the blog. I visit her blog for daily doses of inspiration, so I was excited to discover that she recently launched the Garance Dore boutique, featuring limited edition prints (editions of 75) and posters of her most popular illustrations. Here are a few of my favorite pieces, including "My Cape," which reminds me of my friend Meredith, who is effortlessly stylish and chic, just like the girl in the print! 

My Cape by Garance Dore, shopgarancedore.fr.

Early Winter by Garance Dore, shopgarancedore.fr

The Last Smoke by Garance Dore, shopgarancedore.fr

Anthony Burrill Prints

An exhibition of work developed by Burrill from a six day workshop held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Kemistry Gallery, London (2012) 

I'm always looking for great typography prints and recently discovered British artist Anthony Burrill's wonderfully short, but poignant art. His "Work Hard and Be Nice To People" piece really resonated with me - it's the perfect mantra to look at every morning before I start my day. 

Work Hard And Be Nice To People, woodblock poster signed in pencil, $62, anthonyburrill.com. 

A graphic artist, printmaker and designer, Burrill's work is in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert museum in London and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. He recently curated an exhibition entitled Made In L.A. in London and some of his clients include Wallpaper magazine and The Economist. All of his prints are made using traditional woodblock techniques. 

Woodblocking for one of Burrill's pieces. 

You Know More Than You Think You Do, woodblock poster signed in pencil, $62, anthonyburrill.com. 

Think Of Your Own Ideas, woodblock poster signed in pencil, $62, anthonyburrill.com. 

In 2010, Burrill designed a poster to help raise money for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana after the Gulf of Mexico disaster. He also made a video entitled "Oil and Water Do Not Mix" to show the print-making process (he actually used oil from the spill!!). Check it out here:

Every Day Beautiful, woodblock poster signed in pencil, $62, anthonyburrill.com. 

I'd also suggest you start following him on Instagram for a daily dose of beautiful photographs of his travels and his work. 

GROWN UP ART FOR KID'S ROOMS

Stylist and designer Estee Stanley's Los Angeles nursery. Photograph by Laure Joliet, courtesy of Remodelista. 

Over the last several months, I've been working on designing a nursery for a dear friend, which includes rounding up things to fill the walls.  I've always found that sometimes the most challenging part of decorating a room is finding artwork and ephemera to finish the space. When it comes to kid's rooms, I'm a big believer in taking child-like subjects and reinventing them with grown-up design. From original drawings to 100 year-old vintage prints, here are a few favorites I've uncovered over the last several months. Some of them would feel just as much at home in your master bedroom as they would in the playroom. 

Tinou Oiseaux Bird Poster, $30, oeufnyc.com.

This is one of the prints I ended up buying for the nursery. Not only did I fall in love with the illustrations, all the birds' names are written in French! J'adore! 

Rapunzel Poster, $99.00, landofnod.com. 

I'm always on the hunt for vintage movie posters and this reminded me of just that. 

1918 California Flora Botanical Book Illustration, $30, etsy.com. For similar prints, check out Marcade Vintage Prints on etsy. 

I also bought this print for the nursery (my friend lives in here in California). Botanical prints are some of my favorite things to collect and frame.  Ebay, etsy, and your local flea market are the best sources and because flowers come in just above every color of the rainbow, its usually a chinch to find a print that goes with your decor. 

Manhattan, NY print 16x20 (other sizes and cities available), $45 from Albiedesigns on etsy.com. 

I've got 3 city prints (Paris, London and Los Angeles) from Albie Designs hanging in my daughter's playroom. She is such a talented artist and her prints strike the perfect balance between whimsy and modernity. Check her shop regularly for seasonal releases of different cities around the globe. 

Amethyst Print, $19.95, landofnod.com. 

I think it's always important to have a few striking design elements in any room and this print would be fab in a little girl's room. 

1894 Antique Print of Baroque-style fashion, $17, AntinquePrintsOnly on etsy.com. 

While in the midst of re-doing my daughter's bedroom to look like a Parisian apartment, I've been on the hunt for vintage fashion prints from Europe. You might be surprised to learn they are very easy to find and almost always affordable. The rich colors and opulent costumes make this one particularly lovely.  

Stripe Girl 8x10 Print, $18, HelloSmallWorld on etsy.com.

When I saw this the first thing I thought was - I just wore that outfit last weekend! Seriously, the scale and simplicity of this drawing immediately caught my eye and I had to order it. 

1910 Vintage Map of San Francisco, purchased for $25 from Holcroft on etsy.com. 

My husband lived in San Francisco when we met and it will always be his favorite city in the U.S. I bought this vintage map for him, but ended up hanging it in my daughter's room.

Abstract Art Print, 11x11, $32, AeropagitaPrints on etsy.com. 

Although buying an original painting is often out of reach, high-quality prints are always affordable and can add the same wow factor. I was immediately drawn to the bright colors of this print and I think it may be the perfect piece to round-out the nursery I'm working on. 

Wrapping Paper Fit To Be Framed

Reproduction of vintage Paris city guide, circa 1921, $3.95, paper-source.com. 

A few days ago, I was walking by the window display at my local Paper Source, when a vintage map of Paris caught my eye (If you know me or have been reading this blog, you know I heart many, many things French, especially Paris!).  Closer inspection and a quick chat with the salesgirl revealed a happy surprise - the map was actually a single sheet of wrapping paper, and was only $3.95! (Urban Outfitters has the exact same print for $24.95.) I'm not sure how long they've had them, but Paper Source currently has a treasure trove of Cavallini & Co. prints - reproductions of everything from 18th century engravings to prints found in vintage French encyclopedias.  Measuring 20 x 28, they are the perfect size to double as wall art.  Here are a few of my favorites: 

Cavallini World Map 4 Wrapping Paper, $3.95, paper-source.com. 

Cavallini Animals Wrapping Paper, $3.95, paper-source.com. 

I picked up this animal print for my daughter's playroom - colorful, whimsical, but still sophisticated. Child-like, without being childish. 

Cavallini Butterflies Wrapping  Paper, $3.95, paper-source.com. 

Cavallini ABC Wrapping Paper, $3.95, paper-source.com.

Cavallini Plumes Wrapping Paper, $3.95, paper-source.com. 

A few minutes on Google and I found this sweet little office with the Cavallini Paris Map. It definitely cleans up nicely, don't you think?

Image here. 

Hope you are all having a great week! 

Nurture The Kids In Your Life - Kiwi Crate

A sample crate from Kiwi Crate.

Growing up with a first grade teacher for a mom meant a lot of things for me -  weekends spent helping  put up bulletin boards, monthly trips to the educational supply stores in downtown L.A., a great personal collection of scratch n'sniff stickers, an A+ in first grade handwriting and an endless supply of number 2 pencils. But my favorite thing about having an educator for a mom was definitely the crafts - clay dinosaur dioramas, kiln-fired pottery, origami mobiles, homemade Christmas ornaments, construction paper costumes, mop-head horses, laminated story-books..should I keep going? Whether it was materials left over from a class project or the summers we spent as guinea pigs for her newest DIY craft ideas, my childhood was filled with painting, pasting, molding and glue gunning something almost every week. It wasn't a coincidence that the first two businesses I ever started were Jen's Jewelry (6th grade) and Jen's Friendship Bracelets (7th grade)(both of which were marginally successful thanks to several of my great-aunts and a few good friends). 

Window gardening materials from the Gardening crate.

Although I plan on continuing the tradition of crafting with my daughter, squeezing in Internet research for new craft ideas with trips to Michael's or the art supply store has proved really tough for me lately. So when I happened upon Kiwi Crate over the weekend, it was an idea that really appealed to me.  Based in Mountain View, CA, this start-up has a simple mission statement: to develop creative, hands-on activities that busy parents can do with their young children (ages 3-7). Subscribers receive a crate each month filled with materials and inspiration centered around a theme, like space, wind, gardening, colors, and safari. The crate contains everything you need to make several different projects with your child as well as access to additional projects and games with the same theme on their website. 



Sample materials sheet from the Color crate.



All the projects are designed by a creative Design Team, reviewed by an impressive expert advisory board (including several Stanford professors!), and tested by a great test-crew of kids. The cost: only $19.99 a month (includes shipping and you can cancel at any time)! So whether you have children at home or are looking for a great gift idea for the little one in your life, think about a subscription to Kiwicrate. It just might be the best $20 you've spent in awhile. Here's to the start of another great week!

Make-your-own dinosaur feet from the Dinosaur Crate.




Nuture Your Home - The Incredible Gallery Of Saatchi Online

London Street by Richard Ryan, 8x10, $60, saatchionline.com. 

Back in 2000, when I attended my first art auctions in New York, art dealer Charles Saatchi was ever present, often scooping up the most sought after work by contemporary artists for tens of millions of dollars. As I sat there with friends who were actually bidding, I remember thinking: 1) how happy it would make me to have a home filled with arresting and inventive art I loved and 2) the chances of me ever being able to afford the pieces I saw auctioned were slim to none. Fast forward ten years later and I'm slowly building a collection I'm truly in love with, thanks in part to the many online resources that make great art to available to us all and not just the monied elite.

Drive by Hans-Gerhard Meyer, 14x14, $50, saatchionline.com. 

Charles Saatchi launched Saatchi Online in 2006 with an intention to give artists a platform to exhibit their work to an international audience. Today, it contains over 1 million pieces of original artwork from artists all over the world. With prices starting as low as $17, Saatchi Online makes it possible for any and every art lover to start their own collection of prints or buy original pieces. Whether you love Pop Art, Abstract Paintings or Photography, this site is an internet gem where you will find your next piece from tomorrow's art stars. Here is a small collection of some incredibly talented artists I'm considering adding to my walls. 

Untitled by Clara Hastrup, 8x10, $47, saatchionline.com. 

La Tour by Roberto Manetta, 14x21, $74, saatchionline.com.

Ballerina by Michael Foulkrod, 8x10 print, $20, saatchionline.com.

American Dream by Skip Hunt, 12x16, $105, saatchionline.com.

Bare Feet, Blue Dress by Thomas Saliot, 14x21, $59, saatchionline.com. 

Defragmented Circus by Irene de Buffieres, 11x14, $41, saatchionline.com.

Kaleidoscope #1, by Theodore Bogdanov, 12x16, $48, saatchionline.com. 

Pea by Jelena Kostic, 18x24, $59, saatchionline.com.

Dorothy's Fix by Skip Hunt, 14x21, $147, saatchionline.com. 

Footnote: Charles Saatchi was also one of Damien Hirst's original champions and hosted the first show of the YBA's (Young British Artists) in 1992 at his namesake gallery in London (which included works by Hirst). In case you missed it, you can read my January post about Hirst here.  For even more great prints, art books, jewelry and housewares, visit the Saatchi Gallery Store.  Also, the notoriously reclusive Saatchi wrote a thought provoking article for the U.K.'s Guardian in December about the state of the art market as seen through his eyes - you can read it here.