Inspiration Everywhere

Incredible finds in a beautiful nod to absolute trust in humanity – Bart's Books Ojai, CA.

Nestled just slightly off the beaten path is a gorgeous little gem. Bart's Books is a treasure trove of well worn books with a unusual home – an outdoor book mart. How it's possible, I have no idea.

I loved getting lost in all of the rooms and could easily have spent hours photographing spines of books, flipping pages to reveal incredible illustrations, and breathing in the nostalgic smell of old books. In awe, I moved from shelf to shelf examining the old typography – type used to have such a place of honor and respect in book design, it's so rare to see that attention to detail now. The well worn spines beckoned to me and begged to be gently pulled down and flipped through. I can't begin to explain the spell I was under.

Book lovers, typographers, photographers – I urge you to visit.

Plum Ducky

I have a huge fondness for creating marks & logos. I find them challenging, intriguing and a pure delight to work on. Lately, the demand for a wide range of marks has kept me on my toes. I've painted plum after plum in the attempt to find the right combination of texture and shape to communicate a certain elegance. My favorite is the middle bottom – just enough information to get the point across but little enough to challenge your imagination. What do you like?

HOW Conference

I have the most exciting opportunity to attend the HOW Design Conference in Austin this year.

Day one of pre-conference workshops started bright and early Wednesday morning followed by two full days of inspiration and learning – all wrapped up on Saturday with a great Color session and closing speaker. I loved every minute of it!

I can't wait to incorporate into what I do.

Excitement in the air

…over a ruling pen!

I've been challenged to create two unique, distinctly different from one another, marks for my friend's company. I've done some experimenting with brushes and calligraphy pens both of which have yielded great results but don't quite have the personality I'm trying to achieve.

When in doubt, do a little research right? In case you were wondering, the world of hand lettering is – well – endless and impressing and maybe, perhaps slightly overwhelming. All of which I am prepared to embrace and forge through.

I had the opportunity in October to take a calligraphy class from a fabulously talented, wonderfully patient teacher – Bonnie – at McManus Morgan* courtesy of my boss. She opened my eyes to so many different styles and practices of lettering. We only learned two hands in our month long class – barely scratching the surface of possibility. I'd pour through Bonnie's books whenever we had the chance to look through them. I was amazed, intrigued, and delighted by what I saw. I wanted (still want) to do it all, learn it all, to simply play.

I'm going to try to letter my friend's marks with the following:

ruling pen
charcoal
sumi brush
watercolor brush
calligraphy pens
paper plate
soda can
…and anything else I might come across in additional research.

Wish me luck!

*McManus Morgan is a downtown LA treasure and a must see.

Delight

Every so often, I'm given the opportunity to delight in my work. Even less often I'm given complete creative freedom with simply a hint of direction. Today, I was given both. And I can't wait to play. Thanks Kat!

Grilled Cheese Invitational

Who knew people would show up in droves for the most classic of sammich grilling competitions?



Certainly not me. I had no idea when I woke up to a beautiful Southern California Saturday morning that I would be standing in line for hours simply for the chance to vote on the best Grilled Cheese sammich ever. I stood among thousands of Angelenos willing to walk into the cage of toasty cheese, butter and bread – to revel in the fanatics striving for the perfect toast-iness, the right combination of chees-iness, and the complete satisfaction of watching people enjoy their sumptuous feast – all to win the coveted cheesy trophy.





I walked away from this fabulous event in awe of the many chefs and their amazing concoctions, and a little more crispy (having outlasted my sunscreen).

Spring!

I love it! I absolutely love it!

Recently I came across these incredible cloth napkins at Pottery Barn. I'm always searching for inspiration – photographs, graffiti, art, people, music, movies – anything, everything, I'm always looking at the world around me. I catalog what I find deep in my subconscious to pull from when I'm in need of a little something different. A couple of days ago I fell in love with a couple of napkins!

Let's just suffice it to say I have a futon/sofa that looks as if it was flipped end-over-end through the one puddle that could be found in LA (moving, while hilarious, was rough on the futon/sofa)– it was in desperate need of a new cover. Sounds easy enough right? Here's the thing, I have a ton of color in my house. I have a huge floor rug that is made of some of the brightest most brilliant colors and a large focal painting that's lime green – that's just scratching the surface. Finding a cover for the futon/sofa is something I've been working on since "The Great Move" in October.

The style and colors of the napkins inspired my new sofa fabric and colors. A vintage feel with a modern flair defines my "new" living room.

Happy People

Have you noticed, every so often, someone comes into your life who completely changes your outlook? You know what I'm talking about – that one person who views life just a little differently than the rest of us? Maybe it's a little brighter, a little more open, a little more humorous?

Over the past couple of months, I've been challenged to see things differently and I am incredibly thankful. My view of the world has been brighter, my inclination to laugh more often, my ability to accept things as they are has been nudged aside for wonder in what could be. I've stopped trying to do "what's right" or "what's expected" and started doing what feels right and often challenges expectations.

When did we stop wondering and questioning what we were told?

When did we stop viewing the world through the eyes of a child? Asking endless questions and delighting in the answers?

When did we shelve our imagination and let the dust begin to collect?

Thank you just doesn't express the depth of my gratitude or the magnitude of the impact on my life – but those are the only words I can find.

Thank you…

I'm going to go break out the crayons now.

a name + a start

Welcome to Sesame+Poppy.

Why, you might ask? Well, have you ever thought about the word sesame? I realized last weekend on a family trip that I love the word sesame. Something about it reminds me of being a child. Perhaps it sounds somewhat quirky or seems to inspire magic – it's just a great word. And I love poppies. Poppies embody delicacy in bright bold demanding colors. They exude elegance and are amazingly approachable. I love them both so why not put them together?

What's this blog about? I don't know, we'll all have to wait and see.