Some Time...

Believe it or not, this shot was taken in the middle of the major metropolitan city of Los Angeles. Well, maybe not smack in the middle, just up the hills in Hollywood to a place called the Hollywood Reservoir. It's a beautiful place. FYI my site has been tagged as having a virus by Google so we are working on cleaning that up and will be back up and running within a week or two. In the meantime, please email mary@sprinklesinvitations.com if you would like to inquire about making an order. Thanks!

Hatch Show Print

I've long been a fan of Nashville based Hatch Show Print, who have been designing and letter pressing concert posters since 1879. Growing up, I used to go to a town called Canton, Texas during their First Monday Trade Days with my mother and with my extra money I would buy discarded letterpress blocks, letters and film images used in the letter press printing process. Little did I realize the beginnings of a graphic design career back then, but I know the different typestyles and wood blocks fascinated me. Nowadays, since letterpress printing has been embraced by many people across the country, it's interesting to see the Hatch Show posters and see the old masters work through time. The poster above is a recent collaboration with Hatch Show Print and the retailer Anthropologie, limited editions of only 300 are available, get 'em while you can!

Wow

I just received an email from the Rice University Gallery about their latest installation by Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira. I think this is so beautiful and amazing how it's all made from nature. Check out the video of the whole installation process, pretty amazing.

Pablo at Gagosian

If you live in NYC or are around that area for this week, the Pablo Picasso exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery is ending on June 6th.
I love Picasso and what a treat to see all of these beautiful, rarely seen pieces in such a beautiful space (designed by Richard Gluckman) all at once. If only I lived in NYC still, alas, I must spread the love to those who do! 

Anna Rocks

She is at the top of her field for a reason, and I wholeheartedly admire her drive, taste and longevity in bringing a consistent and inspiring vision to Vogue month after month. She employs excellent writers and editors who never cease to surprise me. Despite negative press and rumors galore, Anna Wintor is a visionary with a focus that is unwavering. Apparently, it runs in her family!

Shadow Dancing

Love these images by Russ and Reyn, via DesignMilk

Blues

I'm feeling a little Yves Klein today, full of blue in a good, it's beautiful weather I must jump into a pool today way :-)

Jacob Hashimoto

Driving around Hollywood last week, up and down Sunset Blvd. I couldn't help but notice a beautiful sculpture in front of the Andaz Hotel (top photo). It's a series of painted tiles suspended in a multi-dimensional hanging. Turns out, the artist is Jacob Hashimoto and he does these "installations" in many different mediums, weaving strings and paper shapes into a kind of grid. They are full of beautiful patterns and you can really see the attention to detail he has put into each piece... I look forward to seeing more of Jacob's work in the future, belissimo!

Streets in Venice, California

I spent last Sunday in Venice, California wandering the shops and eateries up and down Abbott Kinney. I took these photos of the walls around a school playground, painted with whimsical and colorful designs by Paulin Paris. In the midst of Swine Flu Hysteria (the media crush of the week) was this funny flyer posted on the door basically telling parents to chill out. I love it!

A little DIY Color Study

I apologize I've been slacking quite a bit on my blog postings. My computer died on me and I've been working from a PC which isn't near as fun as my Mac (sorry) so I have been spending minimal time on the computer. I will get a new Mac soon so blogging will resume in full force I promise.

The above photo is of a wooden sculpture I accumulated on the west side of Dallas. I used to drive to that part of town to go to the post office and I would see the above object in the window of an old abandoned building. One day I stopped and asked the building next door who owned it and the woman ended up giving it to me as they were planning on tearing the structure down. The whole thing is a series of long wooden boards or slots that hang one from the other. I thought it was very mid-century and interesting, and I have been sanding it and working on getting new Pantone Papers for the backs of the slots. Stay tuned for progress on my project!

Tools for Living

I can't wait to go to one of the Design Within Reach concept stores, Tools for Living. I love the clean design and creative product ideas... Top photo is a beautiful water filter (water from this mechanism tastes like it came from a mountain spring, so good), Illuminating Globe, Lawn Bowling and of course my favorite Parrot Bottle Opener. So cute!

Rifle Around

In my research for launching a custom invitation section on my site, I came across Anna Melcon Bond, a lovely illustrator who has such a beautiful, distinct style. I don't draw or paint as much as I used to but after seeing her work I'm completely inspired to pick up my brush and gouche paints again...  

Neeling Good

The above combination of paintings are from portrait painter Alice Neel and her grandaughter, Elizabeth Neel. In a way I feel these paintings relate to each other, with color and fluidity they  flow together despite the fact they were painted a generation apart. I think they are beautiful.

Estate Inspiration

I have always loved vintage jewelry. In my humble opinion, I think the bling and baubles created back in the day were so much more interesting than what we have to choose from today. I like to peruse 1stdibs.com and Erie Basin to see their beautiful selections of vintage jewelry and get design ideas from the shapes and stone colors. Added bonus? Estate jewelry more often than not has more character with half the price tag than something brand new :-)

R&R

I'm headed down to Sayulita, Mexico for my annual girl's surf trip tomorrow. Sayulita is a beautiful, sleepy town on the Pacific coast where you can chill out and get away from it all. I'm looking forward to surfing (hopefully no coral injuries) and recharging my mind and spirit. Be back in a week!

Gerda & Jörg

Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger are the installation artists behind the Venice Biennial's "Falling Garden" installation back in 2003.... with tons of string, plastic flowers, berries, bottles, and just about anything else you can possibly think of, they created a floating garden of things, all hanging from the ceiling of a cathedral. I would have loved to have seen it from the bed below.  They do great work and I look forward to experiencing one of their beautiful installations very soon...

A little Henry to enjoy

When I was a little girl, my favorite song was Moon River. I used to listen to Henry Mancini records with my Dad and sing and sing that song over and over again. I recently acquired some Mancini albums and I have re-acquainted myself with his wonderful music. A 20 time Grammy and 4 time Academy Award winner, Henry Mancini was an amazing composer, performer and entertainer. For those days when you don't feel very inspired, listen to Henry and he'll perk up some ideas, I promise.

Yves' Treasure

Constantin Brancusi sculptures made of wood at 46" height, starting bid is $18 million

Pablo Picasso Painting, Instruments de musique sur un gueridon, starting bid $31 million

Beautiful coral branch serving spoons, starting bid $5,000

Henri Matisse painting... Nu Au Bord de la Mer starting at $5 million

The art and furniture collections of Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge are coming up for auction at Christie's in Paris, estimated to bring in over $300 million in sales. Apparently, it's taken the house quite some time to catalog and organize the collection and Christie's has moved it from the owners overstuffed apartment to display at the beautiful Grand Palais building. Of course there are Picassos, Matisses, Fernand Legers, Jean Michel Frank and sculptural LaLanne furniture, TONS of statuettes and vases, urns, boxes, silver and decorative items. Christie's has 16 pages online displaying all of the loot. I can't help but wonder the story behind each piece, if the men ever argued about purchases (like married couples do) and why they didn't start their own foundation to donate this exquisite collection to a museum, so all of the world could see.  (more on the auction)

Chloe's Come Back

I've always been a fan of Chloe but for the past few years, the collections just haven't been up to par to their namesake, just my opinion. But she's back again, with Hannah MacGibbon at the helm (she worked under Phoebe Philo and has been there ever since) the spring collection is exquisite! Chloe is feminine, hip and exudes understated luxury. Belle!

Blu in Londontown

Just spotted my (fav) Blu on the side of the Tate Modern. Where will he show up next?

Music to my Ears

I've been listening to and perusing for records at vintage shops lately. There is nothing quite like the sound of vinyl on my old Decca player... Here are some record covers I think are inspiring for design via the blog Record Envelope.

Photo Fun

A good friend shared a magazine called JPG with me today. It's basically an "entry" magazine showcasing photographs and stories of how the photo was captured. Some photos are by professional photographers and many others are just photographs taken by regular people in interesting situations or places. 

The photo of the Tibetan woman above is by Frank Ward and this is what he writes about taking the shot... "There is a large park behind the Potala in Lhasa. This is where I found this girl resting with a group of pilgrims. I couldn't speak her language, but we shared a moment. Later, she looked under a dark cloth and through my view camera. She smiled."

Lovely!

Hoots of Color

My Grandmother left this pretty needlepoint owl unfinished when she passed away back in '90. My mom just gave it to me and I'd love to finish it out although it's near impossible to find a color match to the hot pink wool yarn background. But isn't the owl so colorful and vibrant? I love it, and will possibly stitch the bottom half in black if I cannot find an exact color match... first I've got to learn how to needlepoint! hahahaa

Eye Candy

The Dallas Art Fair  starts officially tomorrow and after attending the preview party tonight I have to say I am delighted it's here! The participating galleries have brought beautiful, impressive works to show from many famous artists as well as many up-and-coming talents that I'd never seen before. I couldn't be more excited by the venue, the art itself and the diversity of work exhibited, I just wish the evening hadn't been so short! If you are in Dallas this weekend, it's a MUST SEE.  (Mary Ryan Gallery top two images, Pace Prints, Peter Fetterman Gallery and the Thomas Segal Gallery who had the so very cool Joseph Cornell box that they were so kind to show me functions like an hourglass, brilliant!)

Spring is almost here...

As always, Loeffler Randall has the cutest dresses and shoes!  I bought a pair of darling flats from their debut collection and ever since, I've been hooked!