Zara Illustrates

The Mr and I have been earnestly working our way through Mad Men (we're up to season 4!), so I was immediately excited when I saw the work of Bristol-based illustrator Zara Picken over the weekend. Her work has a fantastic mid-century retro feel, and has no doubt been likened to the television series on more than one occassion.

Zara graduated from an illustration degree at the University of West England in 2008 and has since been working for an impressive list of clients including Waitrose, The Guardian, The National Trust and Macmillan. And it's easy to see why. Zara's work combines digital techniques with handmade elements - textured blocks of colour being a key feature throughout - and there is a little touch of humour in her wokr as well. Unsurprisingly, Zara's work is influenced by mid-century design and old paper-based ephemera.

Pop over to Zara's website to view her full portfolio, and to her online shop to purchase digital prints of her work. Zara also has a blog here.

enormouschampion

Hello lovely readers, I'm so excited that it's finally Friday afternoon! We've been working hard all week, so it's time to treat ourselves to an evening of dumplings and live music... or is that just me? Whatever way you choose to spend your Friday night, I hope that you enjoy it. I want to round this week off with a virtual shopping trip to Brooklyn, New York, to visit enormouschampion. enourmouschampion started as a creative collaboration between couple Jordon Provost (a photographer and letterpress printer) and Jason Wong (a graphic designer) in 2008, and the result is a gorgeous line of notecards, prints, tea towels and wooden figures.Jordon and Jason draw inspiration for their range from childhood memories, nature, their three cute cats, ephemera and the places they go and the people they meet. Each item is thoughtfully considered in terms of the markeplace and environment, so they use recycled paper, sustainably harvested wood and minimally treated fabrics. Everything in the enormouschampion range is designed and illustrated by Jordon and Jason, with the odd collaboration thrown in for good measure.

I really like the diverse enormouschampion range. There is so much to choose from - even a wooden kangaroo!

You can shop the enormouschampion range over at their website and view their blog here. And, unsurprisingly, Jordon and Jason have an uber cool Brooklyn apartment, which has given me home envy and (for the second time this week) the desire to hop on a plane and get myself to NYC. Sigh. You can check it out for yourself over at Design*Sponge. And on that dreamy note, have a lovely weekend and see you back here on Monday!

Matt Sewell's Birds: Revisted

Last year I posted about British illustrator and designer Matt Sewell's Bird of the Week project, and I thought it was about time to revisit the project. And sure enough, there have been some lovely new additions to the pack, including the Waxwing, Bullfinch, Great Tit and Wren.

I really love Matt's bird illustrations, and the little stories that accompany them. I know I said this last time, but I think the birds would make a great British birds chart print - I know I'd buy one! Visit Matt's site and Caught by the River to see the whole collection.

lovelydesign

I love this wooden address card box by Vancouver-based designer Sharilyn Wright of lovelydesign. I have been really drawn to wood items lately, and the mix of the wood and brightly coloured address cards are just lovely.

Sharilyn has some other lovely items in her online shop, including these fantastic Canadian-themed pinecones and leaves screenprinted posters.

Pop over to Sharilyn's site to purchase and see more, and you can also check out a tour of her lovely home studio over at Apartment Therapy.

Gnome Life

Instead of cooking dinner last night I spent some time distractedly flicking through Gnome Life, a photo blog about a lonely gnome man and his escapades around New York City. The absurdity aside, I really like the atmospheric photographs (and dapper suits). Gnome Life is making me dream about NYC. Seeing as how I don't know when I'll get to visit, I'll to settle with living vicariously through Mr Gnome himself. Check it out for yourself here.

Penguin's Great Food series

One of the reasons that I enjoy working in publishing is that it's perfectly acceptable to get all geeky and nerdy over book cover designs, finishes and treatments. In fact, that sort of behaviour is encouraged. So when I saw this Penguin Great Food series sneak peek over at the Creative Review blog I almost jumped out of my seat in glee. Seriously. These books look devine, and are also affordable (at $9.95 AUS/£6.99 GBR), which for me is another big bonus.

The Penguin Great Food series is made up of 20 paperback titles, each one focussing on food writing from the last 400 years. The books aren't illustrated, but the cover designs, developed by Penguin's senior cover designer Coralie Bickford-Smith (who is also responsible for the lovely Penguin Classics cloth-bound hardcover series), draw on decorative ceramic styles relevant to the period of writing concerned. The covers feature embossed lettering and spot varnishes to pick out the little details.

I've so far only limited myself to a small collection of orange Popular Penguins, but may just have to add some Great Food titles to my bookshelf as well. The books will be released in Australia in May (and in the UK in April). Visit the Penguin site for further details (enter 'great food' into the search engine), and pop over to the CR blog for a photo preview.

Kate Pugsley

Hello and happy Friday! I'm rounding things off this week with the work of Kate Pugsley, a Chicago-based artist/illustrator/printmaker. Kate grew up in Ohio and went to university at the famed Rhode Island School of design, where she graduated with a BFA in illustration.

Kate prints the work available in her Esty shop using a gocco printer, and then adds watercolour details by hand, making each print unique. She also offers custom pet portrait oil paintings!

Visit Kate's Etsy shop, website and blog for more. And I hope that you have a lovely weekend while you're at it!

Pannikin

Pannikin is the handmade accessories label from Brisbane-based Holly Leonardson. Holly created her label through a desire to help people show off their playful side and revisit their childhood through wearable treasures and trinkets. The range so far includes screenprinted tote bags, illustrated postcards and badges as well as other fun jewellery pieces that are inspired by animals, vintage children's books and knick-knacks, sweets and all things crafty and kitsch.

I think I need one of Holly's too-cute brooches to add to my collection (and to feed my slightly unhealthy brooch habit).

Holly has a online shops over at Etsy and MadeIt, so go check 'em out if you'd like to see more.

Little Red Owl

Little Red Owl is the label from Melbourne-based designer and illustrator Natalie Marshall. Natalie graduated with an honours degree in graphic design and went on to work as a corporate designer in London and New York before returning to her home town of Melbourne, where she now works freelance for a range of clients as well as illustrating children's books, designing her own illustrated range of printed products and being mum to two daughters. I was given a Little Red Owl card recently and can attest to the quality and attention to detail in Natalie's greeting card range. Natalie's cards are for sale over at her Etsy shop, which also contains original Little Red Owl art prints - they're perfect for a child's bedroom, but are also suitable for adults that love a little bit of cuteness and colour.For more on Natalie check out her lovely website.