I’m excited to announce my first printed feature in the September issue of
BRIDES magazine! I had so much fun creating this youthful wedding invitation.

I hand-lettered all of the text inspired by fonts I found in an old grammar book. The illustrations too, are from or inspired by my collection of school books from the 40′s and 50′s. I silkscreen printed the invitation and envelope in red and brown ink, using vintage school paper, old file folders (blue card stock), and manila envelopes. I love how the file folder is the perfect complimentary blue to the ruled lines in the paper. I mounted the paper onto the card stock using grommets and adorned with red and white twine.

Here is the front of the manila envelope. I am always a fan of hand-addressing envelopes but I thought using an old typewriter to address these was more appropriate and fun.
I loved using old labels and address stickers from my collection. This was also a great opportunity to hunt for unused vintage stamps. I found a whole variety of amazing stamps at the United States Stamp Company on Bush Street in San Francisco…
a highly recommended field trip if you get a chance.

And here is the back of the envelope, which is a piece of art in itself. Inspired by the sweetness of “young love” I thought it would be fun to play with that old school song that we all know so well “… then comes marriage”! I think this “School Theme” invitation is so special and adds a nostalgic playfulness to a wedding celebration.

Sometimes the most simple design can be so pleasing. That’s the way I feel about this wedding invitation that I created for my friends Mark & Melissa. They chose a beautiful pale blue paper and we silkscreen printed it together in hot red ink. I hand-lettered the text and created the silhouettes using reference from traditional papel picados.
Their wedding celebration was just as simple… and just as wonderful.
With a gathering of friends in a meadow, festive decorations, fresh flowers,
a taco truck serving delicious food and live Flamenco music!
Now that’s what I call a perfect way to celebrate!

I have always loved old botanical prints. I created this menu cover for a intimate wedding feast. I used a black and white image of tulips from an old book and hand-lettered the bride and groom’s names in the ribbon banner. There were a small number of guests attending this dinner so I was able to hand-paint the tulips on each menu.
The results were beautiful. Each guest receiving their own little painting.

Aya Brackett is a very talented photographer and dear friend. She did the photography for my website and my work has never looked better! I was also lucky enough to work with her on her wedding invitations. She had wonderful ideas and reference material and we had a great time working together. I am a true believer in having bride’s provide inspirational material, stories, photographs, etc. to inform the design of their invitations. The results are so personal, special, and unique. Designing for weddings is the best form of story telling I can think of… it satisfies and inspires the romantic in me.

Aya brought me this gorgeous business card from her favorite Patissier in Paris. We both loved the symbolism in the intertwined branches, the fresh color palette, and the lettering style of “Laduree”. Aya & Corey married in the quaint ‘ghost town’ of North Bloomfield, in the foothills of the Sierra’s. Their ceremony was held in a beautiful meadow surrounded by woodlands and lots of wild blackberry! I loved illustrating the spirited intertwined branches with flowers, berries, and bugs!

A playful return address for the invitation envelope.

The reply card. I love the little reaching caterpillar!

One of my most enjoyable projects that involved a lot of hand-lettering was for 2 Foot Yard’s album, Borrowed Arms. The music is hauntingly beautiful and I feel very privileged to have worked with such talented musicians / artists. I drew inspiration from Natalia Goncharova, a Russian avant-garde artist that I admire very much.

Here are 7 of the 13 track names. It never ceases to amaze me how expressive typography can be.

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Russell Moore & Allison Hopelain, of Camino Restaurant, on creating their identity along with all their printed collateral (business card, menu, letterhead, etc.). The above image is the front of their business card. “Camino” translates to “fireplace” in Italian which is the perfect word to describe this restaurant which centers around it’s magnificent wood-burning fireplace in which many delicious, rustic dishes are cooked. My inspiration for this logo came from the lettering on an old Michelin Poster, the “A” in particular was unusual and reminded me of a fire/flame. The warm yellow outline has such a pleasing and luminous feel.

… and here is the back. I created a general purpose business card as well as personalized ones. I hand-lettered all the information for the business card, letterhead, etc. I looked to my incredible European Deco books for inspiration. The lettering of that era was amazing… the posters, the packaging, the advertising, everything.

Here is the logo painted on the beautiful brick building that is home to Camino Restaurant (photograph by Aya Brackett). I cannot explain how exciting it is to see my design painted on the front of a gorgeous old building! And while I’m on the subject, I must mention my heroes at New Bohemia Signs in San Francisco. They hand-painted the logo and did an amazing job. They are true artists and typographers and I’m so thankful they exist.

I was looking through my archives and came across this very special memorial card.
The daughters provided the tender Walt Whitman poem about lilacs… Margaret’s favorite.
I hand-lettered the poem and added a beautiful botanical engraving of lilacs. After I letterpress printed & delivered the cards the siblings gathered around their table and hand-painted each one while telling stories… and remembering their mother.

If I had to choose I would say that Pizzaiolo is my favorite restaurant. Charlie’s food is delicious, the atmosphere is beautiful & relaxed, the music is great… I can’t say enough good things about it. I have been lucky enough to work with Charlie, the owner, on some great projects. One of which was designing their 4th anniversary poster. I chose to post this in ‘Illustration’ because I don’t think of myself as someone who can draw people, however, I love the way this illustration turned out. If you know the restaurant,  you’ll recognize the character

This was a fun ‘take off’ of a socialist propaganda poster, the Italian headline translates to “Feeding the people for four years!”

Being the Luddite that I am, I have to admit I never dreamed I would become a ‘Blogger’! But here I am… and I have to say it’s quite exciting to have a way to share the great stories & the process behind my projects. The above image is a 3-dimensional ‘Save the Date’ for an amazing Indian themed Birthday Party.
The hand-carved sandalwood boxes were lined with silk and decorative Sari trim.
Each box held a silk envelope with a Save the Date card and a bundle of Nag Champa incense…
when you opened the box the exotic smell transported you to India!

Here is the Save the Date card, letterpress printed on handmade Indian paper and adorned with a bindi.

I created over 100 Save the Dates! Each box with a wrap around label, hand-calligraphy of addresses in hot pink ink (by my dear friend Diva Pyari), custom Indian elephant stamp… and yes, I hand-painted all the shipping boxes bright orange… I am that crazy.

Please stay tuned for the rest of this amazing project.