Oh how I love Valentine’s Day! Such a great excuse to pause for a moment, remember the ones we love, and create something… a note, a card, a piece of art…. to express our feelings and appreciation. This Valentine’s I thought I’d post about a sweet menu that I created for Chez Panisse Restaurant. Alice, the owner, created a wonderful tradition of giving each couple, dining on Valentine’s Day, the most perfect bouquet of violets (one of Alice’s favorite flowers). So it seemed fitting to create a menu featuring an old botanical image of violets, I painted each menu with watercolor and gouache. I hand-lettered the menu in a style inspired by one of my hero’s, Ludovico delgi Arrighi, an Italian master from the 16th century.
Here’s a photo of one of those sweet bouquets! So romantic!
Beautiful cases of violets delivered to the restaurant.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. I hope you all take a moment to express your love to those close to your heart.

I took a walk this morning with my dog, Lola, and was astounded by the cherry/plum blossom trees in my neighborhood! They were full of blooms and the scent in the air was so fresh and alive, it made me think of the wedding suite I designed for Bridget & Peter.
Bridget wanted to do an early spring theme for her wedding. She told me “…springtime in New York… the plum and cherry blossoms start to bloom and grass begins to peak up from the ground which is charming. I also like the concept of a new marriage and new beginnings that are represented in spring.” She wanted a soft “Easter palette” of buttery yellows, pale purples, plum colored ink and “tea stained paper“.
I had never tea stained paper before but the idea sounded beautiful… I was curious to give it a try!
The results were beautiful, each invitation a slightly different shade… however, I must admit it was very labor intensive… not sure if I would challenge it again. I ended up having to steam iron each card by hand to get it to lay flat before I could silkscreen and letterpress print them!
I was able to find gorgeous Italian envelopes in the perfect colors. Below is the response card and envelope. I’m so happy Spring, once again, is in the air!

I’ve always loved Chinese New Year… the vivid colors, the artwork, the ceremonies, and all the gorgeous paper! This year is year of the Water Dragon, the most powerful energy of all the zodiac signs. Last Sunday I was fortunate enough to attend a fascinating talk on Chinese Astrology and what lays ahead in 2012.
In short, this is the year of limitless expansion…. anything is possible!
I feel excited and inspired this year and I thought it a perfect excuse to send out a fun ‘Happy New Year’ promotional piece. I loved going treasure hunting in San Francisco’s Chinatown. I found beautiful paper, rubber stamps, and these fantastic paper dragons (the head and tail are each mounted on a stick with a tissue paper accordion body in between).
I lined each box, 40 all together, with canary yellow paper and stamped the dragon
‘paper cut’ image in hot red ink. I filled each box with a paper dragon, a personal note,
and 2 custom fortune cookies! (I ordered fortune cookies with my own personal messages at goodfortunecookies.com and was very happy)
I even had fun making protective packing material out of all the beautiful papers I collected.
I used this golden dragon paper as a top cover sheet and wrapped each box with a brilliant red and gold paper (below).

Here are my ‘custom fortunes’…. so fun.
May this year be happy, healthy, prosperous, productive, and FULL of creative projects!!!
Gung Hay Fat Choy!

I have been dying to post about my first appearance in Martha Stewart Weddings!
I was one of the lucky designers that was contacted to create a wedding suite inspired by pattern. I was assigned stripes!  Instead of sticking to the classic crisp lines we know so well, I created stencils and hand-painted watercolor washes onto each and every piece.
Labor intensive, yes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way ; )
The results are so soft and romantic.
Here is my full page feature! Beautifully photographed by the Martha Stewart team.
I love the way they styled the photograph with the background fabric and hand-painted cookies…. can you believe they found the fabric for the background after I created the suite?! It’s perfect! So exciting to see my work on the page of such a well known and respected publication!

Today I have a very special project to share that comes in the form of an animated announcement! I worked very closely with Lois, the owner of Lola Home, to create this beautiful piece. I designed the page layouts and created the text and hand-lettering. The animator, Jan Heiman, did an exquisite job bringing our concept to life. She illustrated the shopfront and little houses and made our dreams come true! She blended the soundtrack perfectly as well. Please check it out by clicking on the image below.

Although I did not get the opportunity to create the 40th birthday menu for Chez Panisse, I did get to play a small part in the celebration and history. In honor of the 40th year the walls of the Café and Restaurant were wallpapered with hundreds of custom printed menus from the past!!! And I am pleased to say, several of them were mine.
This gorgeous photograph is courtesy of Grub Street San Francisco,
check out their slideshow of the Café…. it’s looks amazing!!
It’s thrilling to have my work intermingled with the work of so many talented artists, many who are my friends, mentors and heroes! A very special memory indeed.

Chez Panisse Restaurant & Alice Waters have been on my mind a lot lately. Last Sunday, August 28th, the restaurant turned 40 years old! I’ve been feeling very nostalgic as the restaurant and Alice have significantly influenced who I am today… not to mention, it is my 40th year as well… which makes it even more special. I’ve been reminiscing through old flat file drawers full of various projects and menus that I have done over the years.
I came across this birthday menu that I created in 2007. There was a full moon that night and the restaurant created a feast celebrating fresh herbs. I found the full moon image in an old book of mine, the style of my calligraphy was inspired by French hand-written menus from the early 1900′s. I letterpress printed the menus and hand-painted each one!
Happy Birthday Chez Panisse…. and may there be many more ahead!

Today I delivered these hand-painted signs to Cafe Rouge Restaurant. I can’t believe that I have been creating various signs and invitations for this event for TEN years now! Think Pink is a festive night put together by the chefs at Cafe Rouge and Kermit Lynch wines… an evening with a special menu celebrating, and complementing, rosé wines!
August 11th – Think Pink!

I’ve grown to love July 14th, Bastille Day, as it is such a magical night at Chez Panisse Restaurant. Over the years I have created many Bastille Day menus for Chez Panisse, the above 2002 menu was my first. At Chez Panisse, Bastille Day is also a celebration of the garlic harvest. The decorations that can be found all around the restaurant are breathtaking… beautiful garlic garlands, olive branches, and French flag ribbons as far as the eye can see! The menu items are absolutely delicious and celebrate traditional rustic French fare, and lots of garlic! I feel nostalgic looking back at my design from 9 years ago. It’s simple execution still holds strong.

Today seems like the perfect day to share a wonderful project that I did for Lola Home Store. It is pouring rain and I feel inspired to make myself a pot of tea, which I always serve in my cherished cups and bowls by Molly Hatch!
Lola Home Store is a gorgeous local shop offering unique and beautifully designed items for the home and personal use. The store also hosts inspiring shows featuring various artist’s work. I have been very fortunate to work with Lois, the owner, on creating invitations, announcements, and posters for these events.
The image above is a tea pot shaped poster that I created to announce an opening reception for ceramic artist, Molly Hatch. I loved studying and recreating Molly’s illustrated floral motifs. Her designs are amazing!
Here is a picture of my coveted tea cup and cafe bowls by Molly… I love that her designs are playfully placed inside, around, and even on the bottom of her pieces…
true works of art!
This particular project was very special to me because, not only, did I get to meet the lovely & talented Ms. Molly Hatch, I also got the opportunity to work with Matt Pavlovcic on creating my first animated invitation! Matt, also lovely and talented, animated my illustrations and hand lettering to create a charming “e-vite”. Please click here to check it out. Stay warm and dry!