Off to the USA!

That's right ... today we are hopping on a plane and heading over to the USA. I can hardly contain my excitement. I've never been to North America and am very much in need of some relaxation time, so this holiday couldn't have come at a better time. Our first stop is Chicago, where our very good friends are tying the knot, and then we’re off to San Francisco. I’m hoping there will be much merriment, sightseeing, celebrating, eating, drinking and shopping. Lot of shopping. I have a couple of posts lined up while I'm away but probably won’t be checking in all that much (you know, because of all of that shopping), however if you’d like to follow along with my travels I’ll no doubt be Tweeting and Instagramming (@notestoafurther). And I'll of course be blogging about my adventures when I get back, so stay tuned for that. See y’all real soon! x

Photograph by me

Taylor's Type

My mind is occupied with all things travel at the moment, and these prints from Bristol, UK-based graphic designer Susan Taylor are a cute take on the retro travel poster. Each print incorporates iconic landmarks and themes associated with each city via bold and colourful graphics and typography.


If you'd like to see more of Susan's work, check out her Taylor's Type Etsy shop and blog.

Hello Possum

Hello Possum is the creative label of Paris-based Steffie Brocoli. Steffie is a graphic designer and illustrator who creates a range of handmade limited-edition books, engravings, linocuts, screenprints and brooches, as well as patterns for fabric, collage and prints.


I really like Steffie's cute hand-drawn illustration style and the little characters she has developed, as well as the primary colour palettes she incorporates into her work. I've only shown Steffie's prints here, but she also has some cute brooches available in her online shop. I think I might just need to purchase her Big Aubergine hand-drawn brooch, because it's one of my favourite vegetables! (What a nerd.)


To see more of Steffie's work, check out her Etsy shop and website.

River Luna

How lovely are these feather watercolour prints from River Luna? They immediately caught my attention when Bianca of miki.o put together a lovely treasury on Etsy the other day. River Luna is the work of Marisa Redondo, a California-based artist. Marisa's work is inspired by nature, space, culture and her four-year-old son, who helps her gather feathers, leaves, stones and twigs for her painting table.


Marissa predominantly works with watercolour, and her archival prints are based on original paintings and printed with Epson inks on heavy-weight, textured paper.


 If you'd like to see more of Marissa's work, check out her Etsy shop and blog.

Sister Arrow

Sister Arrow, aka George Mellor, is a London-based artist and illustrator working with drawing, painting and animation. George predominantly works with themes of preservation, display and discovery of hidden iniformation, often ini reference to ethnobotany, and her inspirations include nature, metaphysics,  sci-fi, primitive life, caves and Japan. 


There are also plenty of nature-based and horticultural themes running through George's work, including these fantastic terrarium-style prints made for the V&A Museum and Landfill Editions. I just love the intricate details incorporated into these works and the bright pops of colour. Aside from the aforementioned clients, George has also produced work for Island Records, Dazed & Confuzed, Okido Magazine and Florence & The Machine, among others. She's also had her work exhibited in the UK, Canada, Norway and the USA. Pretty impressive, no? 


If you'd like to see more of George's work, check out the Sister Arrow website. George also has a range of prints and greeting cards available for purchase in her online shop.

Shelley Panton's new online shop

Some of you may remember the Shelley Panton shop tour I posted last year. In case you missed it, Shelley is a Melbourne-based ceramicist and her Middle Park studio also doubles as a homewares and design shop. Shelley's shop is a treasure trove of beautiful items for the home, and there's some good news for those of you are unable to visit in person - after three years in operation, Shelley has just launched a brand new online shop! The online shop stocks Shelley's range of beautiful ceramics along with local artisan wares, artful books, Laguiole cutlery and Redecker brushware. Here's a selection of some of my favourite items from Shelley's site.

Clockwise from l-r: pear blackboard; You're All Sorts of Lovely tea towel by Able & Game; Conversations with Creative Women; Blomster cushion by Designed in Brunswick; napkin by Harvest Workroom; Tinker 'Melbourne' tea towel by Printink; cotton twine; The Sustainable Table; stoneware cup by Shelley Panton.

In her bricks and mortar shop, Shelley is also busy making some renovations, with the room behind the counter becoming her pottery studio space, complete with a viewing window so that customers can see how Shelley's ceramics are made. There will be an open studio on Saturday 18 August in conjunction with Craft Victoria's Craft Cubed festival, so stay tuned to Shelley's blog for info. And in the meantime, make sure to check out Shelley's great range of products in her new online shop.

Curio & Curio's Takin' Shapes

When I visited Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula a few months ago I made sure to pop into cute as a button Curio & Curio, which when I visited was packed full of neon goodies. I was recently reminded of this happy little part of the world when I spotted the Curio & Curio Takin' Shapes collection created by owners Clair Wayman and Nick Young.


Each piece in the collection is printed using a hand cut stencil. The idea behind using paper stencils was to limit the life of the design to however long the stencils last. It also helps to keep things fresh and exciting. I really love these cushions, especially the neon polka dots. What a way to cheer up a room! To see more, check out the Takin' Shapes collection on the Curio & Curio website.


That's all for another week here on Notes to a Further Excuse. Are you up to anything fun on the weekend? I'm getting ridiculously excited planning our upcoming holiday - details to come soon! Have a good one all x

Forest Friends by kikki.K

Australian stationery company kikki.K have just released an adorable new collection called Forest Friends. Inspired by childhood adventures, the collection features cute illustrations and characters including a bear, fox and mushrooms. On offer are notebooks, journals, adhesive notes, ballpoint pens, greeting cards, invitation sets, letter sets, pencil cases, sticker sets and magnet sets.


kikki.K products are always so well designed that they have such a wide reach in terms of appeal. The Forest Friends collection may have been designed with children in mind, but I have no doubt that big kids will love it too.


To see more, check out the Forest Friends collection on the kikki.K website. And also take a look at the kikki.K blog to see some great examples of DIY party styling using products from the Forest Friends collection.

Dee & Lala Letterpress

Dee & Lala is an LA-based letterpress studio run by designers Christen Cutrona (aka Dee) and Mable Lee (Lala). The pair met at a design group in 2007 and knew immediately that a collaboration was on the cards. Shortly after, Dee & Lala was born, and Christen and Mable have gone on to create a fantastic range of beatiful letterpress stationery.


I really love the Dee & Lala range of greeting cards. Lovely illustrations combined with witty sentiments is a winner in my book. All items are printed on tree-free 100% cotton luxe paper in their solar powered studio.


Check out the Dee & Lala website to see more.

Little Studio

Little Studio is a Swedish homewares label run by graphic designers Marit Lissdaniel and Angelica Utterberg. The pair met while studying at college, and the idea for a joint project was born. They launched Little Studio in March 2010 and haven't looked back.


Little Studio offer playful and cheerful design pieces including graphic prints, photo prints, cushions, cutting boards and trays. Marit and Angelica are inspired by children and they way they see things, and their work tries to avoid traditional gender roles, instead focusing on colour and shape. Of course, their range of products has plenty of appeal for adults too (like their Single Apple poster, which has gone straight onto my wants list!).


To see more, check out the Little Studio website.

Ana Albero illustration

I love these cute illustrations from illustrator Ana Albero. Ana is originally from Spain but relocated to Germany to study at university, and is now based in Berlin where she works as a freelace illustrator. So far in her career Ana has won numerous awards and had her work featured in various magazines and exhibitions, and her client list includes the New York Times, Computer Arts magazine and Smith Journal.


Ana's work reminds me a little of UK illustrator Kris Atomic. So cute! If you'd like to see more from Ana, check out her website. She also has a small online shop where she sells some of her prints and wares.


That's all from me for another week. I hope you have a great weekend, and see you back here next week x