Re:collection

Hello and happy Friday! I'm out and about doing more touristy things today, so thought it befitting to share some of the lovely retro design pieces featured on Re:collection, an online archive of Australian graphic design from 1960-1980. This is such a fantastic resource that I'm sure will continue to grow, and it makes me happy to see all of this work gathered together in one place. There are already some real gems in the collection... Re:collection is run by Melbourne-based Hofstede Design, who themselves have a nice folio of work, which you can see here. Head on over to the Re:collection site to take a look through the archives. Enjoy exploring, and have a lovely weekend all!

Everyday Needs

Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Everyday Needs is a lovely online shop run by stylist and interior designer Katie Lockhart. After years of employing a simple, pared-back aesthetic in her work for a range of publications and retailers around the globe, Katie decided to launch Everyday Needs as an online sourcebook for her own lifestyle philosophy. Ever evolving, the personally curated collections present a variety of timeless and classic homewares. I just love this pared-back aesthetic, and had a lot of fun looking through the beautiful objects on Katie's site. There is a lovely mix of raw materials, with items stocked from all around the world. Pop over to the Everyday Needs site to check it out for yourself.

Soma Gallery Prints

Phew, what a busy Easter/Anzac Day break! This business of being tour guide to the in-laws is exhuasting! We've been to Phillip Island to see the penguins (so cute!), as well as to the Mornington Penninsula, Daylesford and the Dandenong Ranges. Tour guide duties aside, I did manage to pop into some lovely shops, including The Vintage Shed in Tyabb, Lark and the Mill Markets in Daylesford, and Heaton & May in Olinda. If you're interested, I might put a little post together once I have some some time to collect my thoughts. For now, though, I wanted to share some of the lovely new prints that the fantastic Soma Gallery have recently added to their online shop. Soma is a gallery based in Bristol, UK, and is dedicated to promoting contemporary art, design and illustration. It specialises in limited edition prints by illustrators and printmakers and has several exhibitions a year.

These prints by London-based illustrator Spencer Wilson (co-founder of Peepshow Collective) caught my eye. They are letterpress planographic prints, and have been printed on 300gsm Somerset satin printing paper. How cute is the Strongman print?!

Ben Javens is a recent addition to Soma's list of artists, and I really love his cute illustration style. He has a range of silkscreen prints in the Soma shop, as well as tote bags, pencil cases, tea towels and badges. Bristol-based illustrator Tom Frost is also a new addition to Soma. Tom uses screenprinting, acrylic paint, bits of wood, gocco machines, pencils, vintage Meccano and paper to create his work, which has a real nostalgic, vintage feel to it. You can see more from Spencer here, Ben here and Tom here. And to see what else Soma Gallery has in store, check out their online shop.

Magpie Press

Oh boy, this week has really got away from me, and now it's time for the extra long Easter break. Yay! I'll be back here on Wednesday, but I didn't want to leave you totally empty-handed, so here are some visual treats for you to enjoy over the break courtesy of New Zealand's Magpie Press. Magpie Press is a letterpress studio based in Aukland, and is run by Shona Gow. Shona started out as an apprentice to an old-school printer, and hadn't been able to shake the letterpress bug, so decided to start up her own studio. Check out the Magpie Press website to see Shona's work, and contact her if you have any enquiries. Shona also has a blog here. Have a good Easter break everyone!

EVRT Studio Tea Towels

I think these new City Towel tea towels from EVRT Studio are lovely. Don't you agree? The urban city scene was drawn by hand by Brian Everett, an industrial designer based in Kansas City and the man behind EVRT Studio. The tea towels are 100% cotton and have been printed with non-toxic water-based inks in two colourways - grey and white and lime green. You can buy one for yourself here.

Japanese Good Wishes Postcards

Hello there, did you have a nice weekend? Things have been a little hectic here at Notes HQ — the in-laws are arriving from England very soon, so I have been running around trying to get everything organised. As a result, posting over the next couple of weeks may become a little sporadic, but I will still pop in a few times a week to share some loveliness with you.

Speaking of all things lovely, these Japanese Good Wishes postcards caught my eye recently. They were created by Julie LaBulle (Guilia Dolci), an Italian illustrator based in London and are being sold through UK-based Our Shop. Each card features a unique Japanese icon that represents courage, strength, good luck, good health and prosperity. Each set comes with five individual cards that have been printed on a risograph, and Our Shop are donating all of the profits to the British Red Cross/Japan Tsunami Appeal. You can purchase the sets here.

It's Nice That's Limited Editions for ASOS

So this is pretty exciting news. The guys behind the awesome It's Nice That blog and magazine have just released a range of limited edition tees in collaboration with UK-based fashion brand ASOS. They worked behind the scenes with ten up-and-coming British-based illustrators and designers to produce ten limited-edition printed T-shirts. To go with the release of the new collection, all orders come with a print of the same design. As you can see, there are some pretty cool designs here. My favourites are from Jean Jullien, Laura Bird, Owen Gatley and Sophie Kern. Check out It's Nice That for more details, and visit the ASOS site to purchase tees (and the good news is that ASOS ship internationally!). Have a lovely weekend all x

New Keep Calm Gallery Prints

I've posted about Keep Calm Gallery a few times previously (here, here and here), but if you haven't heard of it before, Keep Calm is an online print shop that was established in 2007 by Lucas Lepola and Hayley Thwaites. It was born out of their combined passion for typography, poster design, British hertiage and screenprinting. Since then, the site has gone from strength to strength, and it's a place to turn to for quality design. I always like keeping an eye on what they have coming in, and their latest batch of prints is, as expected, quality stuff.

First up is this delightful Time to Brew Up print by Cheltenham-based designer Laura Seaby, and is ideal for any tea-drinking household (like mine!). The print has been printed in two shades of green on white fine art paper. I love it!

Also new is this sweet print titled You are My Sunshine. Created by Hayley and Lucas at Keep Calm, it has been screenprinted by hand using white ink and thick recycled card. The card is rigid enough that it can be propped up on display without needing to be framed.

And this cute Me & You print is by London-based printmaker James Brown, and comes complete with a hidden love heart.

See, I said the Keep Calm prints were quality stuff! You can check out the full range over at the Keep Calm online shop.

Johnny & Stacie

We've had some crazy rain here in Melbourne this morning, so to cheer up the day I'm really enjoying these bright and bold prints and cards from Johnny & Stacie, a husband-and-wife team who are based in Saint Paul, USA.

I think my favourites are the Man's Best Friend and Heart MN prints (below) - how about you? You can check out the Johnny & Stacie range over at their Etsy shop, and while you're at it, why not stop by their website and blog.

Atelier Halo

Hello there, did you have a nice weekend? They always seem to fly by so quickly. I wanted to start the week off with these gorgeous candle holders, cups, dishes and ramekins. They're made by ceramicist Fanny Cavin of Atelier Halo from her studio in the South West of France. Each item is made from porcelain bisque and is enamelled by hand. Some items feature lovely painted details, while others are engraved. Fanny's objective with Atelier Halo is to create items that are simple and useful; something she has successfully achieved. I think the Atelier Halo range is utterly delightful. You can see more and purchase items here...

Habitat Spring/Summer 2011

I don't know why I do it. I know they don't ship to Australia, so I probably shouldn't even look, but browsing the Habitat website is a bit of a guilty pleasure. When I lived in England, escaping the high street crowds by popping into Habitat was a bit of a guilty pleasure too. I realise this might make me sound like a bit of a materialistic, homewares-obsessed freak, but so be it. I surely can't be the only one who feels this way. Right? Help me out here...

So that little Friday afternoon admission brings me onto the subject of the new Habitat Spring/Summer 2011 collection, which features three different ranges - English Coast, Tea Party and The Mediterranean. They all look fabulous, but it's the English Coast collection that's floating my boat the most. Maybe all those years of living on the English coast have had some sort of influence on my aesthetic taste, who knows, but the bright and colourful range, with its focus on blues and greens, is just so appealing.

You can check out the new collection for yourself over at the Habitat website. Happy browsing and weekending all!

Guest Blogging on Lottie Loves and Little Loves

The exciting news for today is that I have a guest post over on one of my favourite blogs, Lottie Loves, as well as a new blog that Charlotte has recently set up called Little Loves, which focuses on lovely things for little people. Yay! I've never done a guest post before, so it's very nice to be asked!

Show some love by heading on over to Lottie Loves and Little Loves.

Dawn Tan with Harvest Textiles

Have you seen the new and totally awesome cookbook and textiles range of silkscreened tea towels, aprons, tote bags, posters and recipe cards from Melbournites Dawn Tan and Lara, Emma and Jess of Harvest Textiles? Each item has been lovingly handmade, and features a scrumptious family recipe illustrated by Dawn. The collection was launched last weekend as a pop-up shop here in Melbourne. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it along, but the good news is that the collection is now available to purchase online. You can check out the full range here.

Aren't they just lovely items? Home Beautiful magazine obviously think so, as they are featuring the girls in the issue that's out in July. Such awesome news!

For more on Dawn visit her website and blog, and for more on Harvest Textiles visit their website and blog.

Fifty and Fifty

Fifty and Fifty is an interesting project that attempts to construct a handsome new way of looking at the USA. Curated by Brooklyn-based designer and illustrator Dan Cassaro, the project sees fifty designers (one per state) illustrating their state motto. Here are some of the results so far.

Some of the US state mottos are pretty bizarre, but I have to admit they're a little more interesting than the ones displayed on our number plates here in Australia (i.e. The Smart State, On the Move, etc.)!

A new piece will be added each week day, so check the Fifty and Fifty site to keep up to date with the progress.