Flowers Inspired By...Moody

Hi All. OK, so I'm a little moody today. And by moody I mean grouchy. I have a print I love that's super moody, by Hadley Hutton. Dark blues, purples and some creamy whites thrown in. So there's my moody. Tell me yours.

Congrats Wallace and Gromit

It's their 20th anniversary. Google in the U.K. put their images on its homepage to "honour" the occasion. Just looking through these made me grin. The artistry and also the set design in the movies are just phenomenal. Have you seen "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit?" - if so, you'll know how creative and funny the decor was in Wallace's home. All the photos with 3-D eyes and such. And bunnies everywhere. Just perfect.

Harvest Shoot - Details!

I forgot to call out - the green teapot (holding flowers) and yellow sugar bowl (holding the artichoke) are by Fiesta and were gifts from my friend Liz. Thanks Liz! You can see they are in use :)

Deep Sigh of Satisfaction...

My new tote bag. I'm in love!

Flowers Inspired By...Harvest!!!

Hello! I am beyond excited to share the results of "Flowers Inspired By...Harvest." Everyone's submissions focused around leaves, food and farmers markets, so I decided to combine them into one for this week.

I was super inspired by how "harvest" and fall produce seemed to be related. Instead of going to the flower market, I wanted to see how I could decorate with food as much as possible, and I shopped exclusively at the farmer's market to see what I could come up with.

Well, I found quite a bounty! Little purple and white eggplants, lovely in their simplicity of shape and depth of color. Herbs that have tiny yellow flowers on them. Pointy broccoli that looks like a sculpture. Artichokes! Kale! And of course, some lovely flowers from my favorite flower farmer. Today I'm posting the wide pictures of my "Harvest Table," shot in a picnic area of Golden Gate Park. More detailed shots tomorrow.

I also want to thank you all for your submissions. This column is getting more exciting every week, at least for me, and I hope for you as well. I'll post a new theme in the next day or two :) Also, you can blow the pictures up by clicking on them.

Oops, I forgot: the plates and yarn, etc. didn't come from the market! Credits below.

Plates and latte bowls: Anthropologie
Moroccan Tea Glasses, flatware and linens: my own

High Voltage Ranch: Farm Fresh Eggs

This is the last (sniff, sniff) post I'll have on High Voltage Ranch this week. I wanted to show you the roosters who run around the property and the hens. Our friends at the ranch gave us two dozen farm fresh eggs from these hens, so we are tremendously grateful to them all! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Stay tuned for the "harvest" photo results on Monday. We're doing a mini photo shoot tomorrow for it and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Dahlia Dell: Purple and Orange

Here are three photos I had left that I wanted to share. In person, the purple dahlias were almost as big as my head! Completely stunning.

Old Tom Foolery Interview

Today I’m super excited to share an interview with the funny and talented founders of Old Tom Foolery, a San Francisco-based letterpress card company. Lauren Weinblatt and Joel Gryniewski are not only engaged to be married, they are business partners! Read more for insights into the letterpress field and what it takes to start a business.
LPF: Have you always been creative?
Lauren: When I was little I took art and music lessons, but I always thought I would have to find a “legitimate” profession like being a doctor. In college I wound up with an internship at an ad agency and I realized that being creative can be a job.
Joel: I had to work on the perception that I’m a creative person. Everybody’s creative, but it takes courage to call yourself a “creative person.” I was more into sports than art when I was younger, and I was a good student, so I considered going into business or journalism. But ultimately I wanted to do something more creative than that.
LFP: Did you always want to run your own business?
Lauren: I always sold stuff even when I was a kid – clay animals, jewelry – but I never thought it would turn into a career.
Joel: I thought entrepreneurship would mean that I’d have to read the Wall Street Journal every day and that’s not me. But I love running OTF because it doesn’t always feel like work.

LPF: How did you decide to start making cards?
L and J: When we were both in grad school for advertising in Richmond, Virginia, we courted each other with cool cards from an awesome shop called Mongrel. (http://mongrelonline.com) As we bought more and more cards, we got inspired to start learning about the greeting card industry, which seemed to be run by individuals like us. With our advertising background it seemed like something that might be achievable.
LPF: Why letterpress cards?
L and J: We really love and appreciate the craft and tactile nature of letterpress cards. Also, it seemed practical and hands-on: we could buy a press and print cards ourselves, rather than working with a vendor. We found a press on Craigslist and then some learned some printing fundamentals at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Other letterpress companies, like Susie from Carrot & Stick were really helpful too. Then, we used the press to create all our prototype cards.

LPF: How did you start actually selling your cards?
L and J: We launched at the National Stationery Show in NYC in May 2008. We wanted to launch big and treat our business like a real company, since our goal, after all, is to do something we love but still have a successful business. In order to do this, we knew we wouldn’t be able to continue working full-time in advertising. So starting in January 2008, we began focusing on getting ready for the trade show and only worked part-time in advertising.LPF: How did the show go?
L and J: We made some mistakes, like not having the best lighting for our booth, but it was a great learning experience and we went back again this year. Everything needs to be shipped to NY which makes it expensive – local vendors have such an advantage! Regardless, we’ve really enjoyed being part of the show and have made some friends through it.

LPF: Has it been hard to maintain both personal and business relationships?
L and J: Actually, it hasn’t been that challenging, because we met as partners in ad school so in a sense, we’ve always been working together. The hardest part is shutting off at the end of the day, since the company is completely intertwined with our lives and also our apartment, which is the OTF headquarters. We still enjoy working together and in some ways, it helps that we can be brutally honest with each other!

LPF: One parting question: What's your best advice for people starting small businesses in an economy ours?
L and J: Be smart, but go for it. If a business can succeed in a time like this, you know there's only one way it can go from here -- and that's up!

For more about Old Tom Foolery, check out their blog and online shop.

Thanks Lauren and Joel!

Dahlia Dell: Yellow

I've never seen the lemon and white dahlias before. I kind of want to eat them. Yum!

High Voltage Ranch: Leonardo and Paco

Leonardo is a barbados sheep who was rejected by his mom and then bottle-fed / raised by the owners of High Voltage. He is beyond adorable, and has some serious identity issues. He thinks he is a dog or even a person, and is never more than 6 inches away from his human "dad." He never even hangs out with all the other barnyard animals! He is the cutest, I am dying to have my own barbados sheep now.

Paco is a cool horse and when I walked across the pasture, walked behind me and nudged my back for attention. Prosh!

Dahlia Dell: Pink

There is a plethora of pink dahlias. This is just a smattering of what nature has to offer!

High Voltage Ranch: Out to Pasture

Every day the goats, sheep and cows go out to pasture. They group together and wait by the gate. Then they march, in a very focused way, towards the fields. It is really funny to see how orderly they are, and it makes me pretend they hear a little drumbeat that I couldn't. I posted the pictures in sequential order so all you city folk can experience the animals heading to pasture just like I did. Any pasture stories on your end?