I am about to become an Auntie in a few weeks, so babies have been on my mind!
And while I’m on the subject, I’d like to share a lovely “logo refresh” project that I did for Odile, a luxury children’s boutique in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.
Camille Cozzini, the owner, already had her wordmark designed but felt it needed an illustrated element to reflect the kind of items she sold and to add some whimsy. We explored several different ideas from bunnies to caterpillars… to mushrooms! I’m thrilled that Camille decided on the mushrooms. There is something so playful and friendly about poke-a-dotted mushrooms! I feel it appeals to little boys and girls…. and adults alike : ) The existing typography of “Odile” seemed to come alive with the new addition, they seem to complement each other very well.
Here is a lovely view of the interior of the store, it looks so warm, light and airy with a very European flair. I hope to visit in person someday!
And here is a photograph of the newly refreshed logo embroidered on a darling pillow!
I think I know what I need to get my little “soon-to-be” nephew!
Along with custom designed birth announcements of course!!!

Lately I seem to have Pizzaiolo, and their delicious food, on my mind…
I think I need to go and visit!
Above is one of the best gifts I can think of, a gift certificate that feeds you! I designed and hand-lettered this gift certificate several years ago and I still love it’s simplicity and old world charm. I found the wood oven engraving in a book of mine and I think the image is just perfect. I letterpress print them in black and warm red. The image seems to glow very much like the restaurant itself… and the man at the oven even looks like Charlie!

Pizzaiolo Restaurant just had it’s sixth year anniversary! I have worked with Charlie, the owner, quite a bit on various projects. My favorite projects being the commemorative Anniversary Posters!
Sadly, I did not create this year’s poster due to my crazy schedule and timing. But I thought it was timely to share the poster I designed  for last year’s 5th anniversary. Please forgive the slightly warped image, this is a photograph of the poster on a stainless steel refrigerator in my kitchen. The Italian title translates to “Make Pizza, Not War!” and the tagline roughly translates to “Solving problems, one pie at a time” with subtle references to “manual labor” and “unloading ovens” as well. I love the bold simplicity of the image and how the pizza cutter cuts a diagonal line across the page to create a peace sign… and a pizza! Charlie wanted the “Pizzaiolo” to bleed off the top of the page, which I thought was a great suggestion. The posters were silkscreen printed by an incredible local artist, Natt Swope of Bloom Press. The gorgeous quality of silkscreen ink and vibrancy of the warm red really made the poster very special. Natt is a dream to work and I was so excited to get the opportunity.
Here is an alternate menu header that I designed, using beautiful hand-set type. I love the dimension of the 2-color “Pizzaiolo”.
I sure hope I get to collaborate on Year 7!

I always have fun working with Marsha McBride, the owner and chef at Cafe Rouge Restaurant (& Meat Market). She has a fantastic sense of humor so each project is guaranteed to make me smile. Here are two of the pig characters that I created for Cafe Rouge’s house wine label some years ago. Over time we’ve been able to adapt these funny illustrations for all sorts of things; ad posters, signs, even holiday cards… and now Valentine’s Day!
Here is the Valentine poster I created, hung on the front door of the restaurant.
I never tire of these funny little pig characters!
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, don’t forget to make a reservation!

I just finished creating this project for Cafe Rouge Meat Market (and Restaurant). It couldn’t have been a more perfect project for this time of year… a Meat Roast-Timer! Marsha McBride the chef/owner of Cafe Rouge had found an old promotional piece (circa 1950′s) from Little City Meats, a traditional butcher shop in San Francisco, and wanted me to create something similar. I had so much fun creating the vintage inspired illustrations, lettering, and color palette… and the shocking/hilarious quote at the bottom of the Roast-Timer “Two Pounds of Meat a Day Will Help Prevent Disease and Insure Perfect Health from Infancy to Old Age” was truly printed on the Little City Meats promotional piece! So unbelievable that we had to include it, just for fun! Below is the front side of the Roast-Timer. It’s a great size to hang on your kitchen wall… hence the butcher twine. I learned a lot about eyelets and applying just enough pressure when setting them so that the wheel can still turn freely. Having all of the information line up correctly was a challenge as well, but so rewarding to have it all work out in the end.

And here is the backside… I loved creating the juggling cow, various meat cuts, and a fun 50′s style logo for myself… so playful.

These little babies just hit the shelves at Cafe Rouge Meat Market and are being sold, along with a meat thermometer if desired. Truly the perfect little gift for yourself, your kitchen, or a creative stocking stuffer for all the Meat Lovers in your life!

Okay, please forgive my enthusiastic sales pitch!
Wishing you a delicious and joyful Thanksgiving holiday! Happy Roasting!

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.