Keeping a good friend in my thoughts

Assemblage, curiosities, wood box, cigar box

A treasure box of curiosities I mailed to my friend Pam. Nothing precious, or even particularly meaningful. A little handmade envelope, a kraft paper jotter, a tiny card, some seashells, a polka dot feather I found on a summer walk, some vintage buttons, scraps of French lace, a starfish, vintage jam labels. Just to let her know I’m thinking of her.









I hope you’re in someone’s thoughts right now, too.

Sharon

Awesome Austin Part 1 – Hotel San Jose

Austin, Hotel San Jose, Jo’s Coffee, Home Slice, Woodland, South Congress

Earlier this month, my husband Michael and I spent the weekend in Austin with three other couples, celebrating his sister Vicki's birthday. It was the first time I'd been to Austin and I liked it a lot. Because we didn't have a car, we weren't the masters of our own destiny, so there were some things we might have done otherwise that we didn't – visit our friend Marcia, or go hear some live music, for example. Still, it's a cool city with lots to see, do and eat. We stayed at the San Jose, a fabulous boutique hotel on South Congress, smack dab in the middle of all the action:


 

The rooms were super-cool and funky -- modern and retro at the same time. Rock posters served as the artwork throughout the hotel.





The patio was filled every night with people drinking and socializing. 

The outdoor spaces were beautiful too: 
Jo’s Coffee is right next door to the hotel:
While we were there, we had some tasty pizza at Home Slice, awesome shrimp & grits at The Snack Bar and a transcendent chocolate bread pudding at Woodland.
More later…
Sharon

I heart vintage cigar boxes

vintage cigar boxes, vintage typography, packaging, lettering, graphic design, design inspiration

Look what my wonderful co-worker and friend Gerry gave me!

This is not all of them. Oh no. This is a just a fraction of the bounty. Go get yourself a 
cup of coffee. This is going to take awhile.

   
Cremo. 5 cents straight. 3 for 10 cents.

I love the excise stamps. I successfully soaked one off of one of the boxes, along with 
some of the labels. They are so cool. It destroyed the box, though.

The graphics on this one are much more delicate and beautiful than they look in the
picture. As with all of the images, click on it for a larger view.

 
Beautiful graphics on this one. The signature alone is a stunner. Click for larger view.

The boxes came from an uncle of Gerry's. He was an electrical engineer and stored  
various parts, etc., in them.

 

  Aren't they beautiful? I hope you've enjoyed this tour of my major score. Thanks Gerry!

Sharon

Iain and Rachael's big day

travel theme, ideas for a vintage wedding, guestbook, wedding pictures

Since Spring has sprung (sort of) and love is in the air, I thought I would post about a beautiful Scottish wedding I had the pleasure of being a (very small) part of. Rachel Boyce (now Mrs. Iain McCallum) contacted me last summer about doing a map-covered guest book for her wedding, which was to have a vintage travel theme. We worked together, long-distance via email, to come up with something custom and very personal to her and Iain. Here are a couple of photos of the guest book.


 
  Rachael requested a map of North America for the cover, since she and Iain 
  have traveled here several times. This map is from a 1920s atlas.




The date on the passport stamp is their wedding day. Travel images illustrated each
page and there was space for guests to write their best wishes for the couple.



And now for the big event! They deftly carried the vintage travel theme through all the details of the wedding:





 

 
 Handsome Iain 


Beautiful bride Rachael










Happy day! Congratulations to a lovely couple.

All wedding photographs by Craig & Eva Sanders Photography.

Accidental Mysteries

vintage photographs, vernacular photography, John Foster, Teenuh Foster, Accidental Mysteries

John and Teenuh Foster have amassed a fascinating collection of vernacular photography, which can be viewed here. Following are a few examples from their collection:




And here are a few from my collection:




John Foster also has an excellent blog. Until next time...
Sharon

My Hipsta studio

My friend Ria, of My Mommy Manual, visited the studio last week with her little ones. The kids and I made books while Ria took Hipstamatic photos of the studio. Here are a few of them:









Pretty cool, huh? For more information on the Hipstamatic iPhone app, click here.

Sharon