looking lovely: Cyndi + Zooey

I think every girl of my generation grew up loving Cyndi Lauper. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, True Colors, and Time After Time are still such great songs...and judging from this recent photo, Cyndi's still got kooky + amazing style.

I was pretty excited to hear that she was at the MTV Woodie Awards, because it means that she got one of the goodie bags...which also means she is now the owner of a Sycamore Street Press greeting card! Death Cab also got goodie bags, so I'm really hoping that one of them found its way into the hands of Zooey Deschanel. I know it's just silly. Who cares if a celebrity has one of our cards, right? But if there's a possibility that an awesome and talented celebrity like Miss Lauper or Miss Deschanel has one, I'll admit that I'm pretty stoked.

If you want to try and win one of these goodie bags, click here. The deadline is at midnight tonight, so you'll have to hurry.

Happy New Year everyone!

image credits: top photo, cyndilauper.com. bottom photo, woodchipped.blogspot.com

sound + vision / sycamore street press: Telling Stories

Sycamore Street Press from Timothy Koide on Vimeo.

Tim Koide and Rob Nyland post videos of people sharing everyday stories on their blog, Anecdotes and Artifacts. A couple of my favorites are Leah's First Trip to Disney World and What We Miss From Our Childhood.

Tim shot this little video of me explaining our letterpress process at the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco. He did a great job of capturing Renegade's craziness... and my own long windedness. (My New Year's goal: Be more clear and concise.)

giveaway: Mio Culture Grid Wall Pocket

Have you heard about how a lot of bloggers get offered free merch in return for writing positive product reviews? This seems pretty sketchy to me unless the blogger is completely transparent about the whole process to their readers. Many big name bloggers like Grace from Design*Sponge are against the whole thing and refuse to accept any free products or be influenced by their sponsors. I respect that.

This week I had my first encounter with the allure of freebies. I got an email from someone at CSN Stores (which I had ever heard of) offering me a free product of my choice (worth up to $100). They said I could either keep it for myself in return for writing a product review, or that I could use it in a giveaway on my blog. My initial thought was that I couldn't accept anything for myself, but if I found something I genuinely liked on their site, I could offer it in a giveaway to my readers. So I took a look. And I saw several things that I really liked. Like this, this, and this.

But when I saw the felt wall pocket that I had been coveting ever since spotting it in a magazine a couple of years ago, my resolve began to weaken. I mean, this organizer would be the perfect thing to help with my New Year's goal of tidying up my workspace! And it would look so nice doing it.


In the end, though, I decided that I had to stick with my initial decision. Plus, I was pretty excited to do a giveaway on my blog that, for once, wasn't a Sycamore Street Press item.

So, please comment away. And thanks to living room furniture and www.allmodern.com for sponsoring the giveaway. I'll chose a winner at random next Monday, January 4th. The lucky one will be able to choose a color (red, blue, or orange), and then the sponsor will ship directly to them.

p.s. If I ever get any more offers for blog freebies like this, I promise to stick to my blogging policy of full and complete disclosure. I'm not saying that I'll never keep something for myself...but I'll let you all know if I do!

sound + vision: When I get Older, I Will be Stronger...

Although I haven't missed many posts, I feel like I've been neglecting this blog. I posted most of the content over the past month way in advance before I left on our trip...and I usually only checked in about once or twice a week for about two minutes.

No more of that. I'm back!

This song by K'Naan sums up my feeling for the new year. It's also the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Awesome.

looking lovely : Red Scandinavian Houses: Bed & Bath

This is the final installment of my Red Scandinavian Houses series...all courtesy of Hus & Hem. Red is just a happy color, isn't it? And how about that hand painted alphabet at the top of the wall in the kid's room above? When Kirk and I have a baby, I may just have to copy that idea.



I would love to make a padded patchwork headboard like this.

Red exteriors, living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. It's been fun.

image credits: Hus & Hem

Merry Christmas!

Kirk and I recently watched A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Charles M. Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, California. We were amazed at how great this little holiday special still is. Here are a couple of my favorite clips. Enjoy.



I'll be back with photos from our trip and more next week!

the sycamore q+a {no. 48}: Stacey Winters

Stacey Winters takes gorgeous photos. That alone would be enough, but the girl also has quite a knack for crafting and styling. She is able to evoke 1950's nostalgia while still keeping the image fresh and contemporary. Her work is so vivid, warm, and inviting....it seemed like the perfect thing to show during this Christmas week.


1) How did you become a photographer?

Art has been something I have enjoyed my entire life, I don't remember a time when I wasn't creating things, whether it was with beads, yarn, crayons, paper bags, or photographing my little sister. My parents encouraged my sisters and me to make handmade creations from an early age. A handmade gift is revered rather than the amount spent on a gift on Christmas morning. I was looking back on a junior high questionnaire I had completed many years ago, it was supposed to help us narrow down our future careers, mine pointed to photographer...but it took me years at Kinko's and teaching elementary school to get here. I'm grateful for the journey, I appreciate this experience so much more as the person I am today.


2) Where do you find inspiration?

Lately I have been very inspired by vintage cookbooks and parcels arriving in the mail. The cookbooks for their drawings, early published photographs and clever whimsical recipe names. Packages in the mail arrive having gone through so many hands...stamped, wrinkled, stickered, addresses carefully written, it is quite charming to send and receive an item.

Lately I have been craving long afternoons of baking, but instead have been packaging and shipping items, hence, spending bits of each day at the post office.

3) Tell us about a recent project.

A recent project I just completed was preparing some of my vintage images for a gallery showing in Seattle at the Gossamer Collective. I chose a group from my vintage collection and mounted the metallic images onto archival wood panels. I have an extensive amount of deer images, so that was the main focus along with a bird, skunk and squirrel thrown in.


4) What else would we be interested to know about you?

You may be interested to know that my original deer photograph (Oh Deer) which was the beginning of my etsy shop, that then led to more images, which inspired me to start my daily photo blog experiment for one year, and has continued for several...all started with a 25¢ vintage glittered deer my mom brought home from an estate sale and suggested I photograph.

or

4. You may be interested to know that one of my images will be the cover of a book being published in January 2010, I haven't even mentioned it on my blog yet, I think I'm waiting to see it in real life. It was beyond a dream come true, I hadn't even dreamed that yet, and I got an email one day...

Thanks Stacey!

Her links:

WEBSITE: http://www.staceywinters.com/
ETSY SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/shop/staceywinters
FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceywinters/
BLOG: http://staceywinters.blogspot.com/
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/staceywinters

the sycamore q + a {no. 47}: Gregory Beauchamp of Beauchamping

Like me, you've probably seen some of Gregory Beauchamp's xylene prints around the blogosphere. His designs have bloggers everywhere standing at attention. But his printing method is every bit as impressive as his design know-how. Did you know that each one of his prints is painstakingly transferred inch by inch? That's how he achieves that beautiful, mottled effect.

Did I mention that Beauchamping is yet another of my favorite Etsy shops?

1) How did you get into art and xylene printing?

ever since i saw the show thirty-something as a kid, the idea of creating something for a living seemed to be a wonderful way to grow up. in college i majored in advertising and minored in art. it's here that a friend of mine introduced me to the practice of transferring using solvents on large pieces of paper (back then we used lacquer thinner...today it's easier to use xylene). it makes you think in black and white, and as a result, you're forced to simplify and reduce and come up with solutions that may not be obvious at the beginning.

after school i took the ad route and ended up as the design director of a los angeles agency called Ground Zero (it was formed in 1994, pre 2001) and stayed there for 8 years. after i left, i formed a small partnership with a friend which allowed me the luxury of having time to create some of the things i had written down and kept in a book of silly ideas. i suppose those silly ideas are now being turned into art.

2) What's been inspiring you lately?

all the stuff around me. when you see the same headline 3 times over the course of a month ("world's oldest person dies") and it makes you think of all the other stories that will always be present in our lives - or - read a misspell on cnn.com ("witnesses say the assailant was man. beyond that details are sketchy") and you think how by not saying "A man" the story suddenly becomes a lot more profound. or a joke that a child tells that makes them laugh so hard they fall down and all you could understand was the word "pants". for me the inspiration lately is coming from seeing things connecting to each other not in the sameness of their presentation or message, but in the similarity of their reason for existing.

3) Tell us about a recent project.

Art&Copy. it's a documentary about creativity told through the eyes of advertising. at the time i was working under the name Granite Pass (with my friend Kirk Souder) and we were asked to create a small piece of video for an awards show, we proposed something much larger and after 4 years of work, it's finally being shown around the country in small arthouse theaters. it was directed by Doug Pray (scratch, hype, surfwise) and it's really an inspiring piece of film that was a joy to make and made me a better creative person as a result. the part that i took away the most from it is the idea of intimacy. how if you allow yourself to be vulnerable and not be afraid to fail and let yourself into your work, the more universal your message will become.

Note: the animals' shadows spell out a message. Click on the above image to enlarge and read it.

4) What else would we be interested to know about you?

i'm left-handed and hold the pencil like a 3 year old holds the pencil. the word GODOT is tattooed on my right forearm. one of my next pieces of work is going to be called Perception and have an elephant in it. i leave a four-toed footprint even though i have five toes...the pinky rides on top of the other one. my favorite place to camp is in the middle of the mojave desert, 87 miles from the nearest anything. and my favorite food is pizza.

Thanks Gregory!

His links:

SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/shop/beauchamping
FILM: http://artandcopyfilm.com/

looking lovely : Red Scandinavian Houses: Kitchens

Here's part 3 of my obsession with red Swedish homes.
I can't decide which of these kitchens I like best!



Find red house exteriors here...
and living rooms here.

I'll post the final round next Monday.

image credits: Hus & Hem

Friday Favorites

+ These photos from atop the Golden Gate Bridge by Telstar Logistics
+ All of our gracious hosts/friends on this trip
+ In-N-Out
+ Seeing Kirk's elementary school in the farm fields outside of Petaluma
+ Visiting Bodega Bay
+ Hanging out in our favorite American city (San Francisco)
+ Homemade pasta at Cucina Paradiso
+ Spending a day and a half packaging up and shipping out orders from a cramped hotel room. (Okay...this part of it wasn't a favorite, but having enough sheer dumb luck to be a featured Etsy seller and blogged about by Cup of Joe all in one week was:)
+ My gift wish list
+ The Renegade Holiday Craft Show tomorrow at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

the sycamore q + a {no. 46}: Lorena of Marañón

Marañón is another of my favorite Etsy shops. The embroidered jewelry that Lorena creates are so unique, and their colors and shapes are just gorgeous! I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with next.


1) How did you get into jewelry design?

Six months ago, before I began doing what I do now, I never once thought of jewelry-making as something interesting, or something I'd want to ever try. It's somewhat surprising-- especially when my past retail jobs were focused mostly on jewelry. It wasn't until I figured out I could put almost anything I embroidered on a chain and wear it.


2) Where do you find inspiration?

The same things that always inspire me: shapes (in their relation to perspective), colors (color theory's always been my favorite subject), fashion and other people's art. And the constant addiction to making pretty things out of scratch.


3) Tell us about a current project.

I'm developing entire embroidered collars which can be worn around a shirt or by themselves. I'm also thinking about making embroidered shoulder pads that can clip/slip on to any article of clothing. These will be my biggest "research and development" pieces thus far.


4) Is there anything else we would like to know about you?

Thirteen years ago I left Cuba, and a family which raised me believing that our purpose in life was to make the world a prettier place. I'm a simple person with too many ideas, and not enough time in the day. I wasn't planning on finding a line of work I loved so dearly so soon in life. However, I'm totally stoked I did. I want to move to Colorado next year with my boyfriend and two dogs. But we know we'll end up in Miami again one day. Tropical weather's always triumphant. Oh, and the name marañón is the name of a colorful fruit I was in love with as a kid.


Thanks Lorena!

Her links:

SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/shop/spinthread
FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spinthread/

the sycamore q+a {no.45}: Anna Beckman

Although I love doing hand lettering, I am lousy at calligraphy. Kirk bought me a book and supplies for my birthday last year, and try as I might, I have a really hard time controlling the flow of ink. Maybe I'm just too impatient. In any case, my little experience with this medium has only made me that much more impressed with the talented calligraphers of the world such as Anna Beckman. Keep reading to learn more about her work.


1) How did you become a calligrapher?

I have always enjoyed handwriting and typography. Several years ago I decided to pursue my fondness for the written word by taking a class at the Society of Scribes in NYC. I loved the process: the pens, nibs, inks, and the beauty of what could be achieved with some practice! The history of fine writing extends from medieval manuscripts to nineteenth century “business writing” up to the wedding calligraphy of today. There’s always something beautiful to look into and admire. I have started up a little lettering business. I want to distinguish myself from other calligraphers by deliberately creating an “offbeat” style – not a traditional look for my work.

I worked as a craft editor at Martha Stewart’s Kids magazine for 5 years. My projects there had a graphic but whimsical feel with elements like postage stamps and papier-mâché. I’ve been trying to mix up these two parts – the practiced calligraphy and a bolder, looser illustrative technique.

2) Where do you find inspiration?

I have 3 walls in my studio devoted entirely to inspiration boards. I collect all kinds of ephemera and clippings – text from magazines, old business cards I found in Mexico, etc… I am also a devotee of the picture collection at the New York Public Library. They have a room full of files of images – anything you can imagine – they have pictures of it. In the past months I’ve taken out images of handmade toys, unicorns, pastries, lions, airplanes, and children’s book illustrations. I color copy my favorites and pin them up.

There is an album cover I can’t stop looking at – it’s the cover to New Order’s Power, Corruption, and Lies. It’s a close-up of a beautiful romantic painting called a “Basket of Roses” by Henri Fantin-Latour combined with a bar of computer-age color-coded typography (designed by art director Peter Saville).

3) Tell us about a recent project.

I’ve been working for years as a freelance prop stylist – but I’m trying to concentrate on making art and developing my illustration and lettering. The most recent project was for the holidays – I designed 3 postcards mixing calligraphy and collage (see below).

4) Is there anything else we should know about you?

I have a bit of an obsession with English village life – you know: tea, vicars, gardens, and murder mysterys. I can’t stop watching Agatha Christie mysteries on Netflix. Everyone always seems to be drinking sherry – which I have never had - but I mean to get my hands on some soon. Cheers! Happy Holidays!

Thanks Anna!

Her links:

ANNA'S WEBSITE: www.annabeckman.com
HER AGENCY'S WEBSITE: http://www.patbatesandassociates.com/

looking lovely : Red Scandinavian Houses: Living Rooms

I'm seeing red again:)
This time it's in living areas.



Most of these rooms are mainly white, with little pops of red. I love it. Those red bits are the difference between blah and beautiful, in my opinion.


Once again, all images are from the Swedish magazine Hus & Hem's website.

I'm not finished with red, so stay tuned for more...

Friday Favorites

+ Hanging out with old + new friends in Seattle, Vancouver, and San Francisco, who recommended most of the things below.
+ Fish and chips eaten from a shack right on the water.
+ Chinese chives and fried tofu.
+ Twin Peaks
+ Breakfast at the 5-Spot.
+ Oreo truffles
+ Lunch at Little Nest
+ Pizza at Madame K's
+ La Carta de Oaxaca (It's a restaurant...if you haven't caught on, we like to eat.)
+ Walking along the waterfront on Granville Island
+ Chatting until late at night
+ Sleeping in...but not this weekend, because we'll be working at Bazaar Bizaare. We'd love for you to stop by our booth and say hi if you are in the Bay Area. ( Fyi: lots of our goods will be on sale.)


image credits: La Carta de Oaxaca

Giveaway winner!

Random.org chose #27 for me, so "Ugly Girl", you are the winner!
Please email me at eva{at}sycamorestreetpress{dot}com with your address, so we can mail the Soapbox Derby letterpress print off to you.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I wish I could give you all a print.




p.s. We worked our way down the coast today from Vancouver to the Oregon/California border. We listened to a bunch of music, but the musicians sticking out in my mind as I look back on the day are Billy Bragg and the Gaslight Anthem.

images via the great southern brain fart and today fm

the sycamore q + a {no.44}: Liane of Enhabiten

Enhabiten is one of my favorite Etsy shops. Liane makes beautiful pillows, ornaments, and other sewn objects with vintage or eco friendly fabrics. She stencils or appliques many of them by hand, and stuffs them all with natural fillings. Wouldn't they make great gifts?


1) How did you get into sewing and design?

I have been sewing clothes most of my adult life. When my kids were little (15 yrs ago or so) I liked to sew and knit for all of us. I also liked to dress us in vintage/goodwill. It wasn't so hip back then. As far as designing, my college degree is in studio art and making things is in my blood. I love surface design and vintage textiles.


2) Where do you find inspiration?

Lately inspiration has been coming from early American folk art. I have been studying wall and floor stenciling from the 1800s. I'm currently in love with something called "frakturs" which is Pennsylvania German folk art.


3) Tell us about something you've made or done lately.

Right now I am working on a series of stencils using some of the imagery and lettering found in frakturs. I have no problem thinking of projects I want to work on but I am just busy enough filling orders and doing production work for enhabiten that it can be hard to sit down to bring my new ideas to life.

I'm also cleaning and deconstructing a 1924 crazy quilt which has seen better days in order to make pillows and pouches. It has some great embroidery and it's signed and dated. I love shopping antique/vintage and when I find something which took such time and care, but which is now in a heap in a corner at a flea market, I feel like I was meant to take care of it. It can be hard to decide whether to repurpose it but I usually end of feeling like I am giving it new life and spreading the love around.


4) Is there anything else we would like to know about you?

What else about me? I have a tattoo of a popular historic stencil design on my shoulder. I love taking pictures and keep my camera with me most of the time. I am a big reader. I don't watch TV so I'm always in the dark about new shows. I did just watch "The Big Lebowski" which is hysterical and I keep remembering scenes and snickering to myself. I'm pretty funny. Is that vain to say? But it's true. I like to entertain people. And yet, I'm a Gemini so when I don't want to entertain you I want you to leave me alone! Ha. The whole two personality thing. I dream about wild animals like bears and wolves. I read a book about falconing (is that a word?) one time and have wanted to be a falconer ever since.


Thanks Liane!

Her links:

SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/shop/enhabiten
BLOG: http://www.enhabiten.blogspot.com
FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enhabiten/
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/enhabiten