1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse

I am excited to announce that Secret Leaves' work has been published in a design book. And not just any design book. The book, 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse is one in a series of my favorite design books, the 1000 series from Rockport Publishers. In my opinion, Rockport is one of the best, if not the best publisher of books on graphic design. I already have 1000 Graphic Elements and 1000 Greetings in my personal design library.

 
The Scrap Journal, a perennial Secret Leaves favorite, scored a full page (page 19) in the book, which features all manner of quirky, beautiful, useful and ingenious recycled products and art.

  
1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and other fine bookstores.

Sharon

New products, discontinued products and Secret Leaves' name in lights

I have a few pieces of news to share and thought I would share them here. First, I am excited to announce that handmade stationery products from Secret Leaves paperworks have been selected as movie props for upcoming Screen Gems feature film The Roommate, starring Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl, Minka Kelly from Friday Night Lights and Cam Gigandet of Twilight fame. Recycled paper journals, handmade recycled stationery, 100% post-consumer recycled gift enclosures and handmade greeting cards were among the items selected as set dressing for the suspense thriller, which is currently in production.

As a result of the Screen Gems news, Secret Leaves has been getting some good local press as well. We were featured in Sauce magazine's Daily Sauce and also in the St. Louis Business Journal. The story is also circulating the web. Kind of a fun little tidbit, no?

Secondly, I am dropping some items from the line and have added some others. I have three Cigar Box album kits left and once they are gone, I won't be offering them anymore. This is largely because when I first introduced them, there wasn't much of anything like them out there, but now I am seeing all kinds of items packed in cigar boxes for much cheaper than I can afford to offer them. The good news is that the three I have left are on sale, marked down from $85 to $45! Email me if you are interested in them.

Kit #1 - Maduro SOLD

Kit #2 - Partagas SOLD

Kit #3 - La Gloria Cubana SOLD

There are also some new blank note cards added to the line, which are not on the web site yet.





They are quite lovely, multi-purpose, have across-the-board appeal and are reasonably priced at $3.95 each, retail. (If you are a shop owner, email me for wholesale prices. For those of you who haven't ordered in awhile, there are several other new products you may not have seen.)

If you have any questions or would like to purchase something, you can contact me here.

Sharon

It's nice to be appreciated

Our good friend Tyler at Periwinklebloom did a wonderful blog post on us recently. Tyler designs a line of toddler clothing using domestically grown organic cotton and bits of vintage fabric and notions, encouraging the idea of "lovely little hand-me-downs." And soon she will be launching a line of letterpressed greetings. Her wares are absolutely lovely and I will be posting about her here soon.

Visit her blog--she has a highly refined aesthetic, is a gifted writer and finds the most interesting and beautiful things to share.

Thanks for the props Tyler...it's nice to be appreciated!

Sharon

Secret Leaves is big in Bulgaria!

We are featured in two magazines right now--one of them, interestingly, is a Bulgarian publication called Intro. As nearly as I can tell, it is a cross between Vanity Fair, People and InStyle. So there we are, four full pages of color photos, wedged right between Snoop Dogg, Metallica and a bunch of pretty Bulgarian boys wearing the latest edgy fashions.

Sadly, as it is in Cyrillic (or some other language that we can't read), we have no idea what it says. No matter...the spread looks great and we are very grateful to Tanya at Intro for featuring us and for sending us a copy of the mag all the way from Bulgaria.

We are also featured in the September/October issue of St. Louis At Home magazine. It is a gorgeous issue and we are thrilled to be included.

A big thanks to editor Christy Marshall, writer Stefene Russell and photographer Whitney Curtis of At Home for the wonderful job they did on the feature.

Love to all,
Sharon and Ann

A Shout out to Kariann

"There is not a particle of life that does not carry poetry within it."

- Gustave Flaubert

Bonjour Mon Coussin on Daily Poetics

Steve Wiman on Daily Poetics

A thank you to Kariann of Daily Poetics for posting about our Stamp Notes and Femme Fatale mini-notebooks on her lovely blog. I introduced you to Daily Poetics' Flickr photostream here. Now I would like to encourage you to visit her blog. She features intriguing, beautifully designed things you are not likely to stumble across elsewhere, and each post is accompanied by a snippet of poetry or a beguiling quote. Visit often...there is always something delightful to discover.

Sharon

Two great blogs

John Malkovich animated short film on Not the Kinda Cool You're Looking For

ABC in physics diagrams on Notebookism

We are so pleased to have been featured on two excellent blogs recently. Curtis James featured our Scrap Journal on his blog, Not the Kinda Cool You're Looking For. From an amazing animated film by John Malkovich to a heartbreaking documentary about hoarders (scroll down the post to the film Possessed) to all kinds of oddities, peculiarities and trifles, we beg to differ--this is exactly the kind of cool we are looking for.

Also, thanks to Notebookism for their nod to our Scrap Journals. Here is a quote from their About Us page:

"We all share a pleasant affliction - the urge to create on paper.

The smell of smooth creamy paper sends our hearts aflutter. The delicate tinkling of nib against inkwell accelerates our pulse rate. We stare endlessly at the first blank page.

Welcome to Notebookism. This is the place to indulge yourself with kindred spirits."

Sounds like our kind of people!

Visit these two cool blogs. You will thank yourself.

Sharon

Interview with Secret Leaves on Worsted Witch blog

Hey everyone. A few weeks ago our Secret Leaves scrap journals were featured on the Worsted Witch blog. The Worsted Witch is a wonderfully written and worthwhile blog for the green-minded crafter. Owner/blogger Jasmin Chua highlights her latest indie sustainable finds every few days for us all to enjoy. After we learned she blogged about us we wrote to tell her thank you and she wrote back requesting an interview. Of course, we agreed.

She asked great questions and we were thrilled with the way it turned out. Please visit and read the interview with Ann. Leave a comment--and tell Jasmin Secret Leaves sent you! : )

If you are in the mood for more eco-reading check out Treehugger, another fun and informative site.

Ann and Sharon