Awesome Austin Part 2 -

A month and a half later, here is the follow-up post on Austin, Texas. While we were there, we did a lot of shopping on South Congress. Of the many fine retail establishments we visited, my favorite was Uncommon Objects. I had run across this amazing shop when Secret Leaves was still selling wholesale and fell in love with it immediately, so I was excited to visit in person. The unusual antiques and curios they stock are right up my alley:

 

  

Vintage clothing, cowboy boots, antiques, gifts and curios from Mexico and around the world, handmade jewelry, home goods — there were many, many other great shops along South Congress, none of which I can remember the names of now. But no matter, just step out onto the sidewalk and start walking — they’re everywhere!

Next up, County Line Barbecue. After all, you can’t go to Texas and not eat some barbecue, right?

The food at County Line was good, no doubt, but the best thing about it was the Texas Hill Country location with its stunning views:

They have a beautiful patio to enjoy it from:

I loved all the Texas memorabilia on display:

Finally, in one of the highlights of the trip, I met Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips in the airport:

He couldn’t have been a lovelier guy.

There is so much more to do and see than we had time for. I loved Austin and can’t wait to go back again.

If you’re so inclined, leave a comment about some of your favorite places in Austin.

Sharon

Anna Wili-Highfield

paper sculpture, paper artist, bird sculpture, paper art

I have been meaning to post about this artist’s work for a long time.

From the Sundance Channel, here is a lovely interview with Anna:

You can read more about Anna and see more of her beautiful work here.

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

Closed chapters and fresh starts

Hello all. I want to let you know about some changes to Secret Leaves and to this blog. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but 8 months ago I took a full-time job. I am working in the Office of Public Affairs at Washington University in St. Louis (which also happens to be my alma mater) and I love it. The downside has been that I am finding it far more difficult that I anticipated to continue operating Secret Leaves as a business. I sent an email earlier this week to friends, customers and supporters to let them know I will no longer be selling wholesale and plan to limit the number of custom projects I take on as well.

I will, however, still be selling items in my Etsy shop and maintaining this blog. Until now, one of the main reasons for the blog, frankly, has been to promote Secret Leaves. But since Secret Leaves is no longer a business and is now more of a hobby and personal pleasure, I want to change the focus here.

In the coming months, I plan to feature more how-tos related to bookbinding and paper arts; useful resources; artists whose work I admire, and the people, places and things that provide inspiration to me and, hopefully, to you.

I hope you will come back often, become a follower if it suits you, and tell others if you think they might be interested. The images below are a preview of what you can expect to see moving forward.

  
  Artists / Blogs / Websites - Robin paper sculpture by Anna-Wili Highfield


  
How tos / Tools - the simple, versatile, wonderful pamphlet stitch



  Resources / Materials - Linen ric rac from Papier Valise



 Stuff I've made / Etsy - Mini notebooks in muslin gift bag



 Inspiration - Hydrangea petals



Personal / Travel - Montmartre, Paris, France

Stay tuned...

-Sharon

An Etsy treasury or two

I have been featured in a few Etsy treasuries lately, which inspired me to create a couple myself. Here is my second treasury, Inkadinkadoo, which I like quite a bit. The theme is, of course, ink.

Here are a few highlights:


Pen and ink drawing from Nan Larson

 Vintage ink bottles from Sushipotparts


Vintage ink bottle from TwoVintageAvenue
Here's a look at my first treasury, titled, appropriately enough, Secret Leaves:
I paid a lot of attention to the color palette of this one.

Some highlights:


Fern leaf halter from Inleaf. This toddler tog was a collaboration between Inleaf and periwinklebloom.


Vintage leaf buttons from The Rusty Pig


Embroidered leather business card holder from Bees'Netta
I keep seeing such wonderful items while doing this post, that I am going to sign off now and do some shopping on Etsy.
Happy autumn to you,
Sharon

Missouri Botanical Garden - one of my favorite places

Last weekend, we had company visiting from out of town. As I always do when I have out-of-town visitors, I took them to the Missouri Botanical Garden. And why wouldn't I? Within walking distance of our house, it is one of my favorite places not only in St. Louis, but one of my favorite places, period. I didn't take many photos this trip, but I did get kind of fixated on dragonflies in the lily pond facing the Climatron. Here are a few of the shots. As always, click for larger view:

Black lily pond, which faces the Climatron at one end and a beautiful little glassed-in pavilion at the other.


Dragonfly perched on a tropical water lily




Dragonfly with what I think is the ecto-skeleton of one of his comrades.



Elsewhere in the Garden:

The peaceful and meditative Chinese Garden. One of my favorite spots.


Green bud festooned with a spider web


Scarlet-red coneflower

If you are ever in St. Louis...
Sharon