A Roman Wrap Up

Big news. I have finished all design matter for the stationary show. Cards, Note Pads (oh yes there are going to be very pretty note pads coming your way... I'm such a list maker), Calendars, Prints, Order Forms, Postcards, Business Cards, Line Sheets = in the bag. Now I just wait for Eric from UPS to drop it all off. Now I also need to bribe friends over here to help me stuff hundreds and hundreds of buyer kits... any takers? I'll supply Champagne I swear.
It's nice to see 5 months of Stationary Show planning come to an end... though now I need to start planning something else, a wedding. Which has been anything but fun up to this point, except the dress part. That has been fun :)
So I had bought this funny little book which is a guide to all the gelato in Italy. It was hard to get my hands on cause it was out of print, but it really does have quite a lot of info about Gelato in it and is written in a very cute way. I was going to do a whole list of the top places to get Gelato in Rome but... I'm too burnt out. I am, however, launching a new pattern and part of the new line on the website tomorrow. Loire Valley - she is very pretty. I leave you with a glimpse at my display and Mr. Man The Buyer here.
PS. How good was Gossip Girl last night? Sooooooooooo good.

Mmmmm.... Gelato!

Since this month's pattern is about the gelato of Rome, I thought that was the perfect excuse to do a little taste testing of the gelato of the River St. Whole Foods. Of course I used my favorite gelato (see previous post) Ciao Bella for the tasting. I was so pleased to see that WF had 5 kinds of CB gelato and 4 of their equally great Sorbettos. I picked 4, got sasso at work and we headed home to indulge.
I threw my acupuncturist's rule of "no dairy" to the wind and decided to just eat straight from the container. It was just me and Sasso and there was no need for the pleasantries of bowls.
So here is what we ate:
Pistachio: Hands down my favorite. Each little nut is like a little crunchy surprise swathed in creamy goodness. I remember my great Aunt Glady ate pistachio ice cream when I was little and it was BRIGHT green, I'm happy to say that CB's pistachio gelato is not.
Cholocate Hazelnut: Mmmmmm. I'm not a huge hazelnut fan (probably from od-ing on Nutella in college) but the hazelnut in this is nice and subtle. I thought it was delicious.
Vanilla: The vanilla gelato was so soft it was like eating marshmallows. I loved it, it has that great vanilla bean taste. For years my favorite ice cream was vanilla with chocolate sprinkles, i just realized that I have chocolate sprinkles in the pantry. Now I can relive my childhood while watching American Idol tonight.
Espresso: I almost didn't get this one because a few weeks ago Sasso gave up coffee because his addiction had taken over and he couldn't sleep. I didn't want to have to relive those few days again (it wasn't as bad as when he gave up bread for a bit, but it was close) and thought maybe I shouldn't tempt him. But then I said "screw it" and bought it anyways. I don't drink coffee either and I blame this ice cream for keeping me up til 1am. But that is what a no-caffeine-girl gets for eating (quite a bit) espresso gelato at 10:30pm. You know what, it was totally worth it and I'm sure I'll do it again this week.
All in all Pistachio was my favorite. Besides the gelato tasting like heaven Ciao Bella has the best packaging ever. Being a designer I will buy just about anything that is in good packaging, it just sucks me in. Luckily this product happens to be killer as opposed to some other good-package-crappy-product things I've bought.

On another note today I'm sending all the new cards to print. Yesterday all the 2009 calendars went to print. Yeah that is right, I'm going to have a closet full of 2009 calendars in about a week. If that sounds crazy try this, I'm working on patterns for 2010 now. Today I got the delivery of the brand new Cheers! card from the printer. I can't wait to photograph them and put them online. They are sooooooooooooo pretty. I just couldn't hand silkscreen the cards anymore... Also we've bought all the Ikea furniture we need for our booth, the line sheets and order forms are almost ready to print and the schematic for my wall of our booth is done so I am allllllllmost there.

So... what's this gelato stuff?

So sorry for my lack of gelato posting. I've been el swampo putting together schematics for the stationary show. Not to mention working my *ss off to pay for the samples I need to print. Oh boy... I'm trying to keep my Amex from catching on fire from all the swiping. But it is all coming together and looking very nice so it's all good.
So above you'll see April's gelato print (I've got a few wall calendars left and they are on sale here for $18.00 btw) which was inspired by Leees's gelato picture (also above). I mean have you ever seen anything more fun and delicious looking? Look at all the sparkles and umbrellas and fruit pieces. I guess I'm just a sucker for brightly colored sweet things stuck full with sparkly accoutrements.
So what is Gelato? Accoring to Wiki it is "Italian ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The gelato ingredients (after an optional pasteurization) are frozen while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Like high-end ice cream, gelato generally has less than 35% air, resulting in a dense and extremely flavourful product". All true I'm sure, but I just prefer a simpler definition: delicious.
Funny thing: I went to Italy on a back-packing tour in college and I remember in Venice my friend Sarah was obsessed with gelato and would get it at every chance. I was all "what's the big deal, it is just ice cream..." and I DIDN'T HAVE ANY! I went to Italy and didn't eat gelato. Stupid, I know. Regrets....
I didn't really get into gelato until I was out in San Francisco visiting JBatt + Picy. We went to Ciao Bella at the market building. I've always been a huge huge fan of their packaging and their gelato was just as wonderful. Especially their Champagne Apricot. MMmmmm. We went there twice. Luckily I can buy this deliciousness at my local Whole Foods. Which is exactly what I plan to do tonight so we can test it and give a little report to you.

Ooooooooh... Rome!

Rome, Rome, Roma!! It is April and the sun is shining into the studio (finally). I was so happy to flip over my wall calendar and see happy April smiling back at me. This pattern was all about gelato. My dear Leeees took a great picture of gelato on one of her Italy trips a while back and it got me all sorts of inspired. I can't wait to do a gelato taste test this week, and I'm sure Sasso will be looking forward to that as well.
It is a momentous day. I finished ALL 12 new patterns. I honestly feel like running up city hall's steps a la Rocky and doing a little dance. The first ones to be released will be Loire Valley (next week), Chester, England and Austin, Texas. The whole line is just about finished :), I'm just working on the new holiday cards. One exciting thing is that I'm switching most of the line's printing to an eco-friendly process. They will be printed with soy + vegetable based inks on 100% recycled, 50% post-consumer, non-bleached paper. It is very nice. Hopefully I'll be able to switch the calendars and the new notepads over once I can order, like thousands of them (it's all about the quantity).

A Little Ferro Battuto

The pattern overlapping the swaths of green in the Tuscany Pattern was inspired by Frances Mayes' description of the Tuscan wrought iron gates in Under the Tuscan Sun on page 59:
"Ferro battu, wrought iron, is an ancient craft in Tuscany. Every town has intricate locks on medieval doors, curly lanterns, holders for standards, garden gates, even fanciful iron animals and serpents shaped into rings for tying horses to the wall. Like other artisian traditions, this one is fast disappearing and it's easy to see why. The key word in blacksmith is black. His shop is charred, soot covers him, the antiquated equipment, and the forges that seem to have chnaged very little since Hephaestus lit the fire in Aphrodite's stove. Even teh air seems hung with a fine weil of soot." Sounds pretty romantic to me. Below is a pic of the Tuscany pattern in it's entirety.
So I mentioned that I'm working on new patterns for the Stationary Show. Yes, 4 down... 8 to go. Not as much progress as I hoped for by the end of February, I've been letting my procrastination get the best of me. But I am in love with the pattern I just finished for Sun Valley Idaho... I can't wait to show it to you. Luckily stress about the Stationary Show has been replaced by stress about planning a wedding, so I'm not really sweating it. Yet.
The above lovely photos (top left to right) are via flickr by XianRex & saltybullfrog.

I want to be Under the Tuscan Sun

So back to Tuscany after all the surprise hub-bub of Big Sur and engagements.
I'm not really a big "girl movie" lady, but every once and awhile I'll indulge. I'm not embarrassed to say a few favorites are Sweet Home Alabama and Friends with Money and of course Under the Tuscan Sun. I think I've watched it at least 10 times. It portrays Italy in this wonderful way...
• there is all this warm warm sunlight
• people eat gelato a lot
• actually, people are just eating all the time. which i love
• there are many beautiful Italian men + women with beautiful Italian accents
• i heart Diane Lane
• the trees, the olives, the greenery!
• the fact that this house is falling apart, and if it was in Boston I wouldn't touch it, but because it is in Tuscany I'd buy it in a second.
• we can't talk about my obsession with the scene when she goes to find her lover in Positano. she gets that white dress and walks near the crashing waves and the music is just...! Well, there is a pattern coming up for Positano in the Spring so we won't go any further on that.
Sasso FINALLY comes back from CA tomorrow. He was supposed to be back this a.m. but there was an incident involving a wallet left in a cab and me racing to Logan's FedEx Saturday evening passport in hand... so he had to take a later flight. In the last 2 out of 3 vacations Sasso has lost his wallet + atm card. He is now going to be required to wear a money belt / fanny pack on all trips that I do not accompany him. Yes Sasso, that is right... you are going to be wearing this.

Sabra Field's Tuscany

I remember sitting in the Boston Public Library on a hot hot hot day in July a few years ago. (When I first started freelancing I would go there to work because the BPL had killer a/c and my studio did not). I was in a "what-am-i-doing-with-my-work" phase and looking for some inspiration. I stumbled upon one of Sabra Field's books and boy was I inspired. I loved how she broke down what she saw into fields of color.
Sasso's parents happened to have a BEAUTIFUL set of her prints, a series of 4 that show an apple on a branch throughout the seasons. I've seen it so many times and still I'll gaze it at dinner and think "how did she print that gradient so well?"
Every year Sabra holds a printmaking workshop in Tuscany. Everyone works and stays at Spannocchia, "an educational center located at an organic agricultural estate near Siena, Italy." There are day trips around the area and plenty of time to appreciate the art of Italy while making your own. I think it sounds fantastic and hope to join in one day.
The pieces above are some examples of the woodcut prints that Sabra has done in Italy. You should check out her site here to check out more of her beautiful work.

Ooooooh... Tuscany!

Why did I choose Tuscany... there is just something so dreamy about the name. Years ago I saw Diane Lane trucking around her villa in "Under the Tuscan Sun" and I became infatuated. The thing that kept popping into my head is this: "Is all of Tuscany green rolling hills?" Cause I truly feel like it must be. Just rolling green hills sprinkled with blossoming, yellow sunflowers and streams flowing with delicious wine. Mmmmmmm.... If my husband cheated on me and Sandra Oh and Kate Walsh bought me a ticket to go Tuscany I to heal I would totally go to (well, that is what happened in the movie at least).

What else inspired my Tuscany print? I of course had to read the book "Under the Tuscan Sun" after seeing the movie. Then there is the print workshop that one of my favorite printmakers, Sabra Field, holds there each year. I hope that one day I get to join her.
I may not be going to Tuscany soon, but I am going to San Francisco on Friday! Sasso is going to be there for like 10 days for a video game conference (i know... tough job). I wanted to go, but since we just got back from Cabo and are saving for Morocco (do you know how much it costs to fly from Boston to Morocco in July? don't look - the price will blind you) I just couldn't swing it. Then I got an early Valentine's Day surprise - a round trip ticket for a 4 day trip! So nice... we are going to be in SF for one night and then off to Big Sur for the rest of the weekend. I'm awfully excited. To be honest, I'm even excited about watching 5 hours of cable on Jetblue.