Egg Press 2011 Calendar

I've been meaning to post about this lovely 2011 letterpress desk calendar from Portland-based studio Egg Press since I spotted it a couple of weeks ago. I'm not quite sure why I waited so long to share it, as 2011 will be on our doorsteps before we know it! Anyway, each month in the Egg Press calendar is printed on a separate card on both the front and back, with a different version of the design or theme. The entire calendar has been printed on recycled content paper using soy-based inks and comes with a jewel case stand. You can take a look at the full design and purchase copies over at the Egg Press website.

So aside from it being the summer/winter solstice (depending on where you are the world) and just four sleeps until Santa shows his jolly face, today also happens to be my birthday, so I'm off to hide in a dark corner and eat cake (which I feel is a perfectly reasonable reaction to growing older). See you on the other side tomorrow.

ISAK Advent Calendar

Hello there, I hope you had a lovely weekend. This post comes to you a little late in the day, but better late than never, right? I don't know about you, but things are a little on the hectic side at the moment, yet all I want to do is start winding down. And I'm finding it a little hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. So, to get in the spirit of things I've been taking a look at Sandra Isakkson's advent calendar. Sandra has been counting down the days over at the ISAK blog, and each day posts a new illustration of a little house. If you reply to Sandra's posts or send her a friendly email you go in the draw to win a box of ISAK goodies. What a sweet idea!

Head over to the ISAK blog to view the countdown so far and to take part.

Alice Potter Illustration

Happy Friday! I'm so glad that the end of the week is almost here. I don't know what is with this time of year, but things have been a tad hectic in my little corner of the world, so I plan on spending this weekend trying to get organised. How about you? For now though, let's forget all our worries and take a look at the lovely work of Alice Potter, an illustrator based in London, UK.

Alice has a background in textile design and a love of all things hand drawn. Her work tends to focus around nature - birds, animals and landscapes - with plenty of geometric patterns also thrown into the mix. Alice has an Etsy shop where she sells some of her designs as prints, pendants, brooches and pocket mirrors, and you can find more of Alice's work on her website, blog and Society6 shop.

In all of the madness I forgot to wish my lovely boy a happy birthday in yesterday's post! We spent his birthday evening eating his favourite dumplings and spring onion pancakes and drinking beer. What more could you want? And on that note, I hope you have a lovely (stress-free) weekend. See you back here on Monday!

Fine Little Day

Fine Little Day is a multidisciplinary design platform and brand run by Elisabeth Dunker, who is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Elisabeth holds a MFA from HDK, School of Design and Crafts in Sweden, and when she isn't designing lovely things, also works as a photographer. Taltented much? Elisabeth likes to combine illustration, photography and set design into her work, with a list of clients that includes Urban Outfitters, Kosta Boda, Die Gestalten and Kappahl.

The pear illustration in the photo above is so cute! Elisabeth's Fine Little Day label includes prints, posters, pillow cases, postcards, cutting boards and wallpaper, and each one is simply charming (especially the wallpaper range, which was illustrated by Elisabeth's young son Otto!).

Check out Elisabeth's online shop and blog for more.

Beci Orpin's New Site

Melbourne illustration superstar Beci Orpin recently relaunched her website with an all-new, bright and colourful design. Beci worked with web designer Sam Morgan to put it all together, and Beci's blog has been adapted to match the new site design. Nice work! Pop over there now for a dose of creative inspiration.

Jamie Mills Illustration

Here is a little bit of illustration inspiration for today, care of Jamie Mills (often known as Jamie Milk), an illustrator based in Cheltenham, UK. Jamie is currently studying illustration at the University of Gloucestershire and his work generally focusses on nature, animals and mountains, and features textured pencil work mixed with colourful shapes.

I really like the balance between Jamie's intricate drawings and the big, bold, gemoetric shapes. If you'd like to see more, Jamie has a range of his illustrations available as prints in his Etsy shop, and also has a website (although it's currently under construction), a blog, a Flickr page and a profile on Society6, so go and check them out.

ShePinTea

I love these little handbound notebooks created by Adelaide-based designer, artist and craftsperson Stephanie of ShePinTea. Stephanie is inspired by texture, pattern, fabric and traditional crafts, and is passionate about creating well crafted objects that embody the handmade ethos.

These cute little notebooks are handmade using a mixture of papers including brown, white, graph and lined, and have been stitched with thread and finished with beveled edges. They are available with both plain and printed covers featuring Stephanie's original ink illustrations. I like that they're an ideal size to keep in your bag for jotting down notes, and would also made ideal stocking stuffers. Visit the ShePinTea Etsy shop to view Stephanie's full collection.

A Bespoke Press Christmas

I'm a bit of a Bespoke Press fan (in case you hadn't noticed!), so in true fan girl fashion I thought I would round things off this week with the new Christmas collection of tags and cards from the lovely Brisbane letterpress studio. First up are these gift tags, which come in packs of 12 and are available on white 100% cotton card stock (printed in red, apple, turquoise and lemon inks) or brown recycled kraft board (printed in red ink).

Also available are these premium large gift tags that come with bakers twine. The tags have been printed in two colours on kraft board and heavyweight 600gsm stocks.

Finally, these Christmas card packs have been letterpress printed on an antique printing press using 100% cotton rag archival paper. There are two designs available ('The loveliest moments are shared at Christmas' and 'The sweetest of joys are those found at Christmas'), and there are three of each design per pack.

I was lucky enough to see an old Heidelberg letterpress in action this week and it truly is a fascinating printing method, so I love that Bespoke Press are keeping this tradition alive. To check out all of the Bespoke Press items pop over to their online shop (with free shipping before December 15). I have a thrilling weekend of work ahead of me (boo hoo!), but I hope you have a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

Lemon Tree Lane

Today’s Christmas designs come from Amanda Fuller of Sydney-based stationery label Lemon Tree Lane. Amanda’s designs have a modern, contemporary look that focuses on typography and fun colours, and all items are printed on eco-friendly paper. Amanda’s Christmas collection includes a range of stylish cards and tags, each with a little touch of retro flavour.

Aside from her Christmas/Holiday collection, Amanda also has a range of general greeting cards, note cards and prints available in her Etsy shop, so pop by if you’d like to see more. You can also check out Amanda’s website and blog for further information.

Little Beehive

For the rest of the week I thought I would focus on some Australian Christmas designs, and to kick things off are these retro-themed cards from Melbourne-based illustrator Belinda Strong (Bee) of Little Beehive. There are four sweet designs to choose from, and they are available individually or in packs of 8 or 12.

Over the years Belinda has worked as an in-house illustrator/designer for a greeting card company and also as freelance illustrator. She has a slight obsession with all things mid-century, which really comes across in her lively and colourful designs.

These cards are just so cute and lovely. You can purchase Belinda's cards via her online shop and Etsy shop. Belinda also has a lovely range of general greeting cards, invitations, notepads and textiles available (I particularly love her owl cushion design), so do check out her website if you'd like to see more, and while you're at it, why not pop over to Belinda's blog.

Corkellis House

One of my most favourite television shows is Grand Designs, and I was too impatient to wait and see whether the new series would be shown in Australia so decided to take matters into my own hands. And I'm glad I did, because the last episode I watched featured the most lovely house. I honestly don't think I've ever seen a house (and interior space) that resonates with me quite like this one does. The Corkellis House was created by young Falmouth-based interior designer Kathryn Tyler of Linea Studio, and Kathryn was driven by her love of Scandinavian design. And rather than having to work to a client's brief, building her own house allowed Kathryn to combine all of the small details that she loves together in one space.

Kathryn is clearly a talented designer and has achieved a lot in her short career. She originally studied graphic design at university and then took up an internship assisting the Interiors Editor at Wallpaper* magazine (dream job!). Following her internship, Kathryn went on to establish the interior department at Absolute Design, where she found her niche and style direction, and this led her to set up her own interior design consultancy. I find Kathyrn's career progression so inspiring.

There is so much attention to detail in this house, from the white painted brick walls to the wooden staircase, parquet flooring and vintage furniture and ceramics (yes, that is a Cathrineholm teapot on the fireplace!). If you like these pictures, head over to Kathryn's own website to view the rest of her lovely house.