Sparrow Nest Script

More lovely stationery design today, this time from North Carolina-based calligrapher Emily Poe of Sparrow Nest Script. Emily majored in English at university (and also completed a Master's degree in English), and becoming a calligrapher evolved from her love of the written word. Emily's craft centres on the visually pleasing arrangement of words on a page, and combines her love of words as tools of communication with her love of words as beautiful works of art in themselves. Emily also takes her inspiration from nature, especially the autumnal colours found in the Carolina mountains.

All of the greeting cards, notecards, notebooks, bookmarks and stationery sets in Emily's online shop are drawn by hand using her signature cursive script. It sort of takes handmade to another level when you know that someone has hand lettered so delicately. Emily aims to be as environmentally coscious as possible, and uses recycled, recyclable and responsibly-sourced papers as often as possible.

I really love Emily's range, and her style is ever so elegant. I also really like Emily's witty sentiments - although I'm not sure my boyfriend would agree with the card below, ha!

To see more from the gorgeous Sparrow Nest Script range (and to request custom wedding stationery), check out Emily's online shop.

Banquet Atelier & Workshop

Banquet Atelier & Workshop is a Vancouver-based studio run by designers Sarah Edmonds and Tammy Lawrence. Their range of stationery items - including cards, prints, gift wrap and notebooks - celebrate nature, and feature a range of water birds, northern wildlife and forest and sea creatures. Their imagery is bold, bright and playful, and I'm loving all of the pink (especially the fluoro pink) - very Valentine's Day!

All Banquet Atelier & Workshop products are printed and produced in Vancouver with attention to quality and design. If you'd like to see more from the lovely Atelier & Workshop range, check out Sarah and Tammy's website and blog.

Brighton on Film

The other day I was browsing through some of my old photographs (thinking about how I really should organise them properly), and I came across the first roll of film I ever took on my Diana+. I can remember the excitement of loading the film and going for a walk around my local neighbourhood, shooting away, and then the curiosity of getting the film developed. Sometimes film can bring dissapointment, but even if you get just one nice shot it's totally worth it. Thankfully, this roll offered a few delights.

Looking through these photos of my old neighbourhood (Brighton & Hove, UK) makes me feel a bit nostalgic, but in a good way. It's such a charasmatic place, and I do miss it so. It also makes me think that I should pick up my analogue cameras more often - am I the only one who's far too slack about getting film processed? Let's make a goal to fix that!

Well, I hope these photographs help to ease you into the weekend. I kind of like doing dreamy, relaxed posts like this on a Friday. Maybe I'll make it some sort of permanent thing? Have a good weekend everyone, and see you back here next week. x

Scout's Honor Co.

I've been spotting a few pieces of work by Scout's Honor Co. around the place recently and just had to find out more. Scout's Honor Co. is a stationery studio based in Burlington, Vermont, and foundeed by Annemarie Buckley. Annemarie specialises in illustration, handmade type and custom design for weddings and events. Aside from her custom work, Annemarie also has a range of products available in her online shop - greeting cards, gift tags, prints and rubber stamps - all of which are super cute and printed locally to her in Vermont.

I really like the overall Scout's Honor Co. design aesthetic, but it's the handmade type products that I like the best. Simple, but very effective. Let's hope that Annemarie decides to expand this area of her product line and develop more great stationery items in the future!

To find out more, visit the Scout's Honor Co. website, online shop and blog.

Scandi Obsession by Ella Leach Designs

I love this Scandi Obsession greeting card collection from Ella Leach Designs, a boutique stationery company based in Sydney. A self-confessed neat freak, owner and designer Ella is inspired by the simple, structured beauty of Scandinavian design and folk art, as well as a love for colour and pattern. This clearly comes through in her range of greeting cards, art prints and calendars, all of which are designed and printed in Australia.

The Scandi Obsession collection includes six greeting cards featuring bike, bird, tree, flower and teapot motifs - celebrations of the simple things in life. I really like Ella's simple colour palette and the styling used to photograph these cards. They remind me of a dreamy children's birthday party, especially with all of those yummy treats. Chocolate freckles, anyone?!

Ella Leach Designs is another fine example of the great stationery design that's being produced in Australia at the moment. If you'd like to see more, you can check out the Scandi Obsession cards here, and visit Ella's website to see her full collection.

Ian Coyle's 73 Letterpress Project

Hello there, and welcome to another week! I spotted this project over the weekend and immediately loved it, so just had to share it with you. It's by Ian Coyle, a designer and creative director who lives in Portland, Oregan. In the summer of 2009, Ian printed a daily thought (some random; some pertinent) for 73 days straight using his 1950s letterpress and 16 x 24 inch newsprint with 2.5 inch wood type. Here are some of the results...

Don't they make such a great collection? As I flicked through, some of Ian's thoughts made me think, some made me nod in agreement and some made me laugh. If you'd like to take a look through all 73, head over here, and if you'd like to see more of Ian's work, visit his website.

The Grampians

Over the New Year break we spent a couple of nights with some friends at the Grampians, a series of sandstone mountain ranges west of Melbourne. It was pretty hot (40 degrees anyone?!), so we got up early to do some walks and then spent the rest of the day lounging around in the air conditioning at our townhouse until it was cool enough to fire up the barbecue. The field behind our house was filled with birds and kangaroos, and at night the country sky delivered a sea of stars. It was such a lovely stay, so I thought I'd share a few photographs from the trip to help you ease into the weekend.

Lots of rocks, shrubbery, trees, waterfalls and, of course, an obligatory stop at the Giant Koala on the way home! You just haven't experienced Australia until you've stopped at a big thing!
Well, that's all from me for the week - I hope you have a lovely weekend filled with lots of joy (and perhaps a road trip to a big thing?).

[All photographs by me]

Ryan Todd

Today, I'm loving the work of Ryan Todd. Ryan is a London-based artist and designer who works on a range of personal and commercial projects. Much of Ryan's work is focussed on producing ideas-led images that exercise forms of creative thinking and wit. Aside from his own work, Ryan also co-runs independent publishing collective Duke Press and is a member of OPEN, a studio space that was established as a framework for support and creative dialogue.

I stumbled across Ryan's work via the below lettepress coasters, which were made in collaboration with online shop New Found Original as part of their introductory collection. Aren't they lovely? I am such a sucker for anything bird-related, and letterpress birds are especially nice.

If you'd like to see more from Ryan's portfolio, check out the website. Some of Ryan's work is also available for sale in his online shop.

Daniel Ray Cole

These camera illustrations by Daniel Ray Cole are great! Originally from Alabama, Daniel is now based in Richmond, Virginia, and works in the visual communications MFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Daniel's portfolio includes a series of great work for various clients, but it's these camera illustrations that I love the most.

The black and white cameras were originally intended as T-shirt graphics, and the brown cameras were created for a wedding photography studio. For the project, Daniel illustrated seven analogue cameras that were used for the studio's branding and indentity work. I think they'd also work really well as a series of prints, don't you?

If you'd like to see more, check out Daniel's website.