Holiday Ornaments at Poketo!

Anjel and I met up with Ted and Angie of Poketo about a month ago when they were in town. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Kirala (their almond crusted shrimp tempura is to die for) to celebrate Angie's birthday and to catch up on each other's busy lives over the past year or so. Lots of talk about travel, inspiration, food, and all things that make life good :)

Ted mentioned that he enjoyed receiving my valentine's card this year-- a letterpressed heart on coaster board that I made into an ornament with a hand-written note on the back. The act (or art) of receiving (and giving) a special note and sending by normal post is still not lost among us. The fact that it's tangible, purposeful and thoughtful makes that piece of ephemera that much more meaningful--a true keepsake! So with this thought in mind, we all collaborated on a special item for the holidays, Letterpressed Ornament Cards. You can use them as holiday cards, gift tags, or to decorate your tree...

Patterns by Anjel (inspired by her travels), letterpressed by yours truly and can be purchased at Poketo. There's only a very limited run so get them while you can!

Inspiration: Re-imagining Holiday Giving by Making Old Things New Again

by Camille
 
Every time during this time of year, I am inspired by how creative people are. Sometimes, in the hubbub of our busy lives, we are just waiting for an excuse to make things and be creative with our hands, and the holiday season seems to make that possible. Since we are at a time when saving and reusing is very important, I though I would share some inspiration from artists/crafters that really take the art of 're-imagining' to a new level. Something old can really be something new again in the eyes of a designer who sees beyond a piece's functionality and makes it part of something that crosses the line of what it was originally designed for. The best seem to find ways to make something 'useless' into something timeless. I wanted to share some designs that I found especially inspiring for the holiday season; the pieces I found I feel are aesthetically pleasing, charming, and in some cases, really functional as well.

I admit, terrarium fever is running rampant, and I wasn't spared the sickness. I love love love how the possibilities are endless with terrariums. This is a cool little terrarium design by a local SF blogger, Ann of The Hipster Home: the terrarrium in a lightbulb. Here an old lightbulb houses a little bit of life and light again. Terrariums are great gifts because they are all kinds of pretty, they are living but don't require a lot of work to keep them alive, and they make great gifts and centerpieces for the holidays. Also, with a bit of ribbon or string they would make great holiday ornaments, too!

On Press: Holiday patterns!

Holiday printing started yesterday at the shop :) Will keep you posted on what these are for soon!

Grinch is out. Holiday cheer is in!

The holidays are in full-effect! Here are some fun pics of shop happenings as of late. I have to admit that I'm loving the arctic (maybe not quite) temperatures we're experiencing this week. Very unusual for me since I'm such a warm-weather person. But I've caught the holiday bug and decided to de-grinch myself this season! I see snow in the mountains and foothills by my house and on my way to work everyday. Love it!

By far the best and most original holiday card I've received so far--from my quirky and creative friend Catherine. Cute picture of her 2 boys in the middle and a perfect greeting to match :)

Lovely gift!

It's been a stressful couple of days trying to make a deadline right before Thanksgiving. I ran into a few production glitches along the way as well as a fedex issue--but whatever. It's all over now. Project is finished, packaged, shipped, DONE.

Needless to say, I kept my sanity (though barely intact) with the help of my awesome friend Anna! She didn't just help me with work this week, but she also knitted me this lovely scarf just because...If anything, I should be the one gifting her something! This scarf is so warm and cozy and love the buttons and the cute little tags! Can you tell I'm super giddy about this--I told her she should sell them on etsy, don't you??

So I'm gonna start Thanksgiving week off by being grateful for having such a lovely friend as Anna :) Thanks lady!!!

Design + Print: Hitchcock Holiday