Some beautiful work by London-based designer, Joe Stephenson. The system was designed to promote and highlight the abundant “flavors” of the Fedrigoni specialty paper showroom. With Gelato as the teaser, guests could enjoy a cool treat while collecting paper samples and getting familiar with the showroom.

I love the simplicity of the work and the playful connection between the gelato flavors and the delicious paper colors. Yumm indeed!

Hello Twig & Thistle readers! I am SO excited to be guest blogging this week! It is truly an honor to be here. Thank you to Kathleen for this opportunity to share (what I hope will be!) some interesting and inspirational projects. I will try hard not to disappoint!

The first project I wanted to share is Part I of a birthday party I recently designed. My niece turned the 1 this past July 4th, and I was lucky enough to design everything for the big day! She LOVES animals, so I thought it would be fun to create a circus theme for the party.

I printed the invites myself, saving a little bit of money by printing part of the invite (the blue) on my home inkjet printer and then letterpressing over the top (the purple). It was bit tricky lining everything up, but it all came together perfectly! I paired the invite with a simple purple envelope which I lined with coordinating striped paper.

Along with the invites I created decorations, party favors and even party hats! Be sure to check back tomorrow; I’ll be sharing more photos and even one of the birthday girl!

Speaking of sweet, how delightful is this bussiness card and web design for the Short & Sweet Co.?! Short & Sweet is a specialty pastry company in Toronto, with a focus on “small (short) 2-3 bite pastries (sweet)”. Sporting the complete menu on the inside of the folded business card; I’d say it’s a pretty charming and useful piece.

Designed and photographed by Trish Papadakos. Via ffffound

Well I hope you all had a beautiful and relaxing weekend! We finally had two sunny days here in Seattle and it actually felt like Spring! I tried to soak up every drop of sun that for safe keeping when the clouds return. Sadly, that’s been the trend aroud here lately, but I’m feeling optimistic for the coming weeks.

So speaking of rain, I think I found a fun project to do when it returns. These amazing fabric posters were created by Gergana Plummer, a designer based out of London. Gergana used old type specimen books and an x-acto knife to cut out the letterforms then traced them onto the canvas with a pencil. Once traced, each letter was embroidered by hand with a needle and thread. Beautifully simple and analog in the execution, makes one appreciate the craft of design and beauty of type. Well done Gergana!

Heidi Chisholm of Extra Fancy continues to amaze me with her versatility. Her work is both original and breathtaking. Take this annual report for example. Designed for Investec, an investment company, and created to show how one’s money will grow with their help. Notice the flocked cover along with the delicate use of color within the illustrations. The beautiful embellishments highlight the exquisite qualities of the printed bill and the craft behind it. Also the use of the fold out cover to reveal the companies story is pure perfection! Well done Heidi and thank so much for letting me share!

I am completely enamored with the identity and design of Easy Bistro  & Bar, a French and New Orleans restaurant in Chattanooga Tennessee. The project was a collaboration between Widgets & Stone and Maycreate Idea Group and the result is simply spectacular. The translation of the graphic elements to the environment is just impeccably executed and solidifies the impact of the brand.

Images by Jason Connel via ffffound

A few weeks ago, I shared these beautiful baby shower invites that my friend Tara Lee designed and letterpressed and today I get to share some of the details from the event. Tara did an amazing job of coordintaing all the pices and creating a stunning environment. Pale yellow tulips along with custom posters with elements from the invitation were displayed throughout which were later given to the mom-to-be to decorate the babies room.

To test their knowledge, each guest got a nursery rhyme quiz where they had to fill-in-the-blank to complete the line of the song. The nursery rhyme game was adorned with a yellow pencil and attached with glue dots. The other game was simply guess the mom’s baby belly size. Each guest received a small bag with ribbon which they cut to the size they thought would fit around her belly bump. And to take home, each person received a sweet bag of cookies embellished with a blue ribbon. All totally and perfectly coordinated with all the other details!

Congratulations to Tara for a job well done and to Lindsey, the mom-to-be, for the little guy on the way!

If you follow me on twitter you may have already seen a sneak peek of this but in case you missed it here are a few more images. This illustrated invitation was inspired by all things baby. My friend Tara Lee designed this adorable little note and I had the pleasure of helping her letterpress them.

We used the large Heidelberg letterpress at my office to print these and I think they turned out beautifully. The details held up really well and the impression is impeccable. Tara used the Eames painting vellum 120lb. cover in white and coordinating teal envelopes from Paper Zone.

Knowing Tara like I do, the shower will be equally as amazing and I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with! If you’d like to get in touch with Tara regarding freelance and/or custom work feel free to contact her through email at hello.tara.lee[@]gmail.com. Thanks so much for letting me share Tara!

More pics after the break! (more…)

I love coming across a package design that compels me to look it up and read about every detail. Maybe it’s just the nerdy designer in me but when a brand draws me in like that I get giddy. Lily’s Kitchen evokes such a friendly feeling while picking up on the playful characteristics of pups. Why be so serious when dogs themselves are such joyful creatures?

This brilliant work was created by the talented team at Albion in London. Besides being completely adorable, the brand is definitely worth barking about. Made in small batches and comprised of only whole, natural and organic ingredients; it’s a product any dog owner would be proud to serve their little loved one. Now if only I could get it in the states…

Not sure what is about us designers and our infatuation with Pantone. You can pretty much take anything, slap a Pantone swatch on it and I’m hooked! Bait, line and sinker; I’ll take it all! The latest is this concept for Pantone paints on spotted on Lovely Package the other day and I felt compelled to round up some of my other Pantone branded favorites. What’s not to love; simple, colorful and plenty of white space!

1. Pantone Matryoshka Dolls by Yar Rassadin 2. Pantone Paint by Samy Halim 3. Pantone Cosmetics Concept by Renata Veiga via Lovely Package 4. Panettone by Purpose via Lovely Package 5. Pantone Mug from Exit 6. Pantone Chips on Canvas by AppleBlueSeaGreen