Something to Cherish

In just a few short weeks we will be celebrating a first time event in our home. It is time for our daughter to graduate from high school and it is a bitter sweet time for me. She is a wonderful daughter, which all parents want, but more than that she has become a dear friend. I’ve heard the stories about difficult times with teenage daughters. Well, in this home we have been blessed with quite the opposite. The last four years, those trying teenage years, have been the best years I have ever had with my daughter. I wish for all you moms out there, who do have daughters, the same blessing I have received every day of my sweet daughter’s life.

During the past few months I have had the privilege of working on a project for mothers and daughters. I can’t share all of the secrets yet, but I hope that when the time comes, and the product is available, many of you with daughters will not only be able to get this product, but will be able to share it with her as a memory that only a mother and daughter can have.

Here are some patterns from this collection. I have named it Cherish, as I think it best describes something you hold dear. The designs are soft, they are sweet, they are graceful and a bit playful. They are how I see what I hold dear to my heart, my daughter.

May you always cherish the daughter you have been blessed with, as I have cherished mine.

Beau Nouveau

I am sharing a floral line I deigned that is called Beau Nouveau, or translated, new beauty. I developed this collection from a valentine I sent out a few years back. The meaning, or theme from this card is beauty, but most importantly, beauty within. I used two different quotes in the card that share my sentiment. One is, “beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” The other is, “anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” I do think that seeing beauty in art, nature, your family; anything that warms your heart does keep you young, or at least young at heart.

Here is the valentine that inspired the collection. I designed the card in an different colorway than the Beau Nouveau collection. When you love color, you can’t be limited to just one colorway. :)

RetroDeco

Retro: Imitative of a style, fashion or design from the past.

Deco: Short for Art Deco—the predominant decorative art style of the 1920’s and 1930’s, characterized by precise and boldly delineated geometric shapes and strong colors, and used most notably in household objects and architecture. Shortened from the French to mean decorative art.

Well, I can’t say it better than the dictionary. This is the only collection that I have created entirely with masculine appeal. The colors, the shapes, the mood; all from the inspiration of the Deco period.

Whether it be a McCoy vase or the Chrysler building in New York City, there is almost nothing I can’t appreciate about this period in art. The artists of that time were amazing. Their style and attention to detail was found in fashion, fabrics, home decoratives, furniture, jewelry, perfume bottles, transportation, archetecture; just about anything designed in the 20’s and 30’s. Fortunately, much of it can still be appreciated from a trip into a large city, or a trip to ebay.

Two years ago I displayed this collection at the show in a style I felt most fitting for the mood of these designs. Here are the photos of that display.

If you’re looking for a dapper tie, come on by! If you’d like wall covering for your renovated deco home, I’ve got just the paper. If you need some flair in the air for the upholstery in your 747, the sky’s the limit. If you’re a blog-junky looking for a little eye-candy, try my sweet to the core baby and feminine collections. Pick a post, any post, starting just a few days back. But, if you want a manwich (tell me that doesn’t date me:) you’ve got the meal-deal with this collection.

In just a few short weeks I’ll be headed to the large city and I’ll take a moment out to appreciate that best example of all Deco arts, the Chrysler building.

Bits & Snips

Bits & Snip, the Earthen collection

There are a number of basic patterns that have shown up with slight variations within my collections. Well, in the spirit of recycling I have now compiled them into a collection of their own named Bits & Snips. This basic set of designs can be easily combined with many of the themes I create.

I have designed a multitude of colorways and wanted to share them with you. It’s hard to pick a favorite color palette, as I believe just about any color has beauty when used in the right combination. And it’s hard to say some colors are in, when all colors are in, just in the right way and with the right mixes.

I will be the first to admit that 80’s sea-foam green, mauve and country blue replaced 70’s harvest gold, avocado green and poppy red. However, any color can have its place any given decade, as long as it knows what color-neighbors to live next to and what kind of lighting makes it most lovely. This is how we get to enjoy all the hues whether they are bright, muted, pastel, drab, compliments, tonal and even neutrals. So, enjoy Bits & Snips in all its many colors!

Bits & Snip, the Vineyard collection

Bits & Snip, the Harvest collection

Bits & Snip, the Holiday collection

Bits & Snip, the Soothing collection

Bits & Snip, the Sherbet collection

Bits & Snip, the Essentials collection

Bits & Snip, the Springtime collection

Bits & Snip, the Sunshine collection

Modern Basics Geared for Toddlers

Another collection I have been working on for the show in a few weeks is geared for the parents of babies who prefer a modern style, thus the name ModTod. It’s basic without boring, it’s tech without geek, it’s whimsy without fancy. The colors are so cool, they’re hot. What more could you want? :)

When we had our baby boy almost thirteen years ago I would have loved to find prints out in this style, and I’m not even mod or tech. The gears say it all. Our boy, who is totally tech, inspired this collection. He’s always inventing, always constructing and always gearing up for the next engineering project.

When he was born I found a vintage illustration that I used for his baby announcement. It is of a toddler examining the mechanics of a kitchen egg beater. We thought it the perfect icon for what we imagined our baby boy might be about, at least as he grew older. Funny, that’s just as it seems all these years later.

So, to those who are more contemporary than traditional, more mod than retro, more less than more, I present ModTod.