In Honor of My 101st Post...

I will be re-evaluating my blog and its content.

*I technically should have celebrated my 100th post in my last entry (woohoo!!!!! 100!!) but I was so excited about the uber cool book cover that I just totally bypassed it in my head.*

Right now I post about anything under the sun that catches my attention. That usually falls into a few categories:

-general children's books
-art books for grown-ups
-art books for children
-design
-photography
-illustration
-crafts
-publishing
-sweets
-fashion
-navigating San Diego
-my fabulous personal life!

Too many categories. There are too many on this list. I need to narrow it down, which, I'm hoping, would generate more interesting posts from yours truly.

I will have to consult some very important contacts of mine (like my friends and my cat) before I start writing again. There are some things I need to rethink, like my focus, banner, and style (I can never decide---all caps in the heading? just the first letter in capitals?)

I'll keep you posted--hopefully this blog is going to have a facelift soon!

xoxo

"Pirate Chic" from flux

[Cover of The Dust of 100 Dogs, image from flux; catalog cover from flux via ShelfTalker]

One of my favorite blog reads is Alison Morris' ShelfTalker at publishersweekly.com. Alison is the children's book buyer at Wellesley Booksmith and has an eclectic mix of posts on all things children's books---including design! While I of course love reading the books, I can't get past my background as a graphic designer and picture editor and am constantly evaluating the cover art.

She posted a really fabulous catalog cover from flux, a new imprint for teens. It is a variation on the cover of the book The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King, and is what Alison describes as "pirate chic." I love the mix of visuals---that silhouette is so cliche in "chick-lit" but here it gets an unexpected twist (since it's a book about pirates) by being paired with a skull and a model ship. I like how simple yet bold the graphics are, and very fashionable. Our eyes aren't bombarded by too many elements, and I'm a big fan of books where there isn't a photograph of the main character so that the reader doesn't have an image of her right off the bat.

Check out flux here and Alison Morris' blog here.

Olympic Mascots II

[Images from cardmodel.cn]

I gasped when hyperartpro sent me this link where you can download a pattern of an Olympic mascot, print it, and then cut and paste it to assemble your very own paper Olympic friend! Too friggin' adorable.

Thomas Allen

[Limited Edition print from Aperture Foundation, Suspended by Thomas Allen, 2008]

The newest limited edition print at Aperture is this incredible Thomas Allen print, an amazing photographer that melds his love of pop-up books with vintage pulp fiction novels. I love the playfulness, the drama, the precise and skillful book art. I wonder if his work ever goes on display as book arts and not photography?
Check out Thomas Allen's print here and the book here, both available from Aperture Foundation.

Paper Source. Carlsbad. Next Month.

[Images from: Wicker Park Store by photoq; Georgetown Store by mofo; Fillmore Store by PuglyFeet]

Next month, Paper Source will be opening in Carlsbad at the Forum.

*Drool*

The grand opening in Portland, OR this month promises a day full of demos--oh please let there be demos at the Carlsbad opening! You know where I'll be on that day. ;)

3191: A Year of Mornings

[July 22, 2008; July 30, 2008; August 5, 2008; Cover image from Princeton Architectural Press; all photography by Stephanie Congdon Barnes and Maria Alexandra Vettese]

Mark your calendars for September 3, which is when 3191: A Year of Mornings is available! 3191 was originally a blog which I would regularly visit while checking my work email in 2007. I am so happy it is now available in beautiful book form.

If you are unfamiliar with the story, this is an artist collaboration between Stephanie Congdon Barnes (from Portland) and Maria Alexandra Vettese (from Maine.) They spent an entire year taking photographs of their mornings, before 10 AM, while on separate coasts. They have only met once.

Each photo makes me want to quit my job, move to Portland or Maine, and drink lots of tea while surrounded by mountains of gorgeously illustrated books. Sigh.

The photos above are taken from Stephanie and MAV's venture for 2008, 3191: A Year of Evenings. Totally beautiful, no? Go check out 3191 and escape to Maine or Portland with me. It'll be fun.

Olympic Mascots

[The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic mascots by Meomi; the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic mascots; photo by djnoel; photo by Tama Leaver; photo by Coolmeow]

So, like a lot of the world, I've been following the Olympics. It just seems to be my natural response once I get home--take off shoes, throw keys on table, turn tv on and switch to NBC. When my family returned from Beijing last year, they brought me back some wooden dolls of the Olympic mascots and I've pinned Jingjing to my corkboard ever since. Jingjing's so cute.

I LOVE how the 2008 and 2010 Olympic mascots are cuddly and cute and so much much aesthetically pleasing (in my humble opinion) than previous years. I didn't even know we had mascots for the Olympics until I saw Hello Kitty's cousins.

The Beijing mascots are cute, but the mascots for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver are AMAZING and are designed by the infamous Meomi. The website is also so well designed and fun!! You can even buy plush versions of the mascots to get yourself in the Olympic spirit even more.

To see how the mascot has evolved, check out these mascots from Olympics past, Athens (2004) and Atlanta (1996):

Easy-bake Birthdays

[Easy-bake birthday cakes from CHOW]

There were a lot of late July/early August birthdays in my life, including my Mom, my brother-in-law, my cousin, my uncle, my good friend on the East Coast, my childhood friend in Northern California...so many special people turning one year older!
I unfortunately can't be with any of these people on the big day (boo!), but if I were, I may be inclined to try an easy-bake birthday cake over at CHOW.

In college I was all about the Betty Crocker mixes (don't those taste so good?? Admit it, I know you like them, don't lie to me!) but perhaps I've graduated to an easy-bake cake. The Triple-Malt Chocolate Cake looks pretty yummy. I'll be storing these recipes for more birthdays and celebrations when I have the opportunity to see old friends again.

And, if you've never visited CHOW before, I highly recommend it to anyone who likes food, reading about food, looking at food, thinking about food... it's pretty awesome.