brontibay paris

You have to get creative when trying to save pennies these days. If you want something fresh for spring - without blowing the budget on a whole wardrobe - recycle old favorites into a new outfit with costume jewelry or pretty heels. And, a bag is another nice, simple option for updating your staples. Even better, you can carry it every day! The brontibay paris site is stocked full with bright and colorful bags, wallets and clutches. Their new line is all about cheerful silk prints and soft leather totes. I love these. Photos: brontibay paris.

hi there, spring!

It's really here! Although, a little chilly and breezy today. Regardless, I'm so glad for springtime. In honor of pollen dusting the sidewalk and tiny plants peeking through the potting soil, here are some new beth perry DESIGN foldover notes. From top - Hothouse, Barton and Roadside Stand - the last two were commissioned by a client as birthday gifts for her friends. She wanted them to reflect the different personalities of each recipient. I love the grey and pink color combination in the Barton design and the pop of aqua blue with the black flower in Roadside Stand. Flat printed on soft Italian papers, they really turned out beautifully.

the far east

My friend Caroline just got back from a trip to Thailand and Vietnam. I loved the photos, such beautiful places and inspiring images. The first was taken on the Mekong River, second and third were taken at Ha Long Bay.

taking note

A brand new notebook can always help get the creativity flowing. Continuing my theme of school and office supplies from earlier in the week, I bring you my favorite notebooks, lots and lots of them to be exact. Some are new discoveries and others are old, stand-by classics. Pictured above is a new find from etsy: a clean gridline tablet from the Matterial line by Matter.

The Field Notes notebooks, designed by Portland-based Draplin Design, are perfectly nice and simple, with brown covers and clean type.

Like the Field Notes notebooks, Postalco Notebooks are another new find from the lovely and well-edited shop, Canoe (via {frolic!}). The covers are made from starched, pressed water-resistant cotton in several colors.

Rhodia notebooks are always a classic choice and the smooth pages are perfect for any kind of note taking, grocery-list writing or sketching.

My most favorite are the crisp, french-made Clairefontaine notebooks. The bright covers and vellum papers inside are always my go-to place for list and idea keeping.

Last, but certainly not least, are the luxurious Vergé de France writing tablets from G. Lalo. These seem almost too nice for regular note writing, but the beautiful covers and softly colored papers inside might assist in producing some good, solid creative plans.

new obsession: (malin+goetz)

I recently ordered some great travel-size (MALIN+GOETZ) products. Oh my goodness, I am in love with this stuff, particularly the vitamin e face moisturizer and the peppermint shampoo. I'm also a little crazy about the non-fussy packaging, too - clean, crisp, colorful design in simple white containers. According to their website, each (MALIN+GOETZ) product “blends trusted natural ingredients with gentle performance technologies to address skin sensitivities, irritations and allergies resulting from unnecessary products, over-marketed harsh ingredients, and false claims.” These guys put their money where their mouth is, and actually deliver on their promise to customers. I really like the idea behind the products and am liking my travel-sized products (and the free samples that came with them!) even more. I will definitely order some full sizes when I run out. Images from (MALIN+GOETZ).

school supplies

Do you remember getting ready to go back to school as a kid? I loved going with Mom and my sister to pick out school supplies. Fresh packets of graph paper, boxes of felt tip markers, pink pearl erasers, sharpened crayons and spiral notebooks were my favorite things. I think my love of school supplies has translated into a love of office supplies as I’ve gotten older. As a result, one of my online addictions is See Jane Work. This is the grown-up "school supply" mecca. They always have great deals and their selection is incredible. Everything is well-designed and colorful too - just a few of their items can help make even the dreariest of cubes or desks more cheerful. Photo Credits: See Jane Work.

let the wild rumpus begin!

Finally saw the new trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, directed and co-written by Spike Jonze. Based on Maurice Sendak's wonderful book, the movie adaptation looks beautiful. I am loving the handwriting titles and the song in the trailer, too - "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. The film hits theaters in October. (Images: Warner Bros.)

modern baby shower

Well, finally got a chance to enter another design contest at minted – a site that features fun and creative invitation and stationery lines from independent designers. This month, the challenge is to design modern baby shower invitations and beth perry DESIGN has nine (!) entries. Yikes. Kind of couldn’t stop once I got started.

If you have a moment, please vote for mine - winners and runners-up get to have their designs sold on the site! Voting on a design requires that you first sign up for a free account – it takes only a few seconds, just click here to register. (Plus, once you have an account, you get notified about their fantastic sales and discounts.) See the beth perry DESIGN entries by following these links – pictured from top: Belair, Rothko, Victoria and Albert, Amalfi, Marrakesh, Bond Street, Ornithology, Schoolyard, and Wallpaper. Thanks so much for your support! It is so appreciated!

latest lyell

Designer Emma Fletcher always has the most gorgeous campaigns for her line, Lyell. The latest collection, Spring '09, does not disappoint. The photography by Tamara Schlesinger is just beautiful.

eudora!

Look at what just arrived in the mail! Eudora Welty as Photographer, edited by Welty scholar Pearl Amelia McHaney, is hot off the University Press of Mississippi. For me, having grown up in the South, it would be difficult to recall high school and college courses without Welty on the syllabus. In particular, my very first college class at Washington and Lee had Prof. Heather Ross Miller at the helm. We had class in a room normally used for music and learned all about Flannery O’Connor, William Faulkner, Welty and a host of other southern authors while surrounded by pianos, guitars and clarinets resting on stands. Thinking about that class always reminds me that stories can be told in so many ways – whether via prose, musical notes, an artist's canvas or in this case, photography. The photos collected in this new book are fantastic – full of light and patterns – and can almost be seen as tangible extensions of Welty’s novels and short stories. The people and places she captured seem to have a literary quality all their own. It's wonderful.