A little gift guide for the explorer in all of us!
*I own the bottom two, and they'd be perfect gifts!
Check out some other gift guides!
Spaces // Anastasia Marie
Monday, November 26, 2012
As you may have noticed, I've tried to share a weekly peak into various designers + illustrators workspaces, but lately it's not quite weekly. Have no fear -- I'm doing my best to share some really great creatives with you! With that said, I'm excited to introduce, Anastasia Marie to you, for today's Spaces feature! Anastasia, is a paper queen. And as you'll see her studio is FULL of everything you'd need for crafting. It's beautiful -- check it out!
Tell us about yourself as a creative.
My name is Anastasia (but I usually go by Stacey) and I'm a full-time stationery designer in the Portland, Oregon area. I focus mainly on layered papercut cards which I assemble by hand.
Describe your creative journey.
As a kid, I wanted to be a nurse. That backfired when I took a graphic design class in high school just to fulfill an electives credit. I was hooked. I already had an artistic bug since I had been hand-making cards for my friends and family as a hobby for years, so it all flowed together so perfectly.
I pursued graphic design in college and eventually became a freelance graphic designer -- still maintaining my little hobby of hand-making cards. When I got engaged, it was a no-brainer that I'd design my own wedding invitations. I embellished them with layered flowers and gold ribbon, and had a blast, believe it or not. When my friend asked me to help her with hers some months later, it dawned on me that I could actually do this for years and years and years. I began focusing more on that side of my creative world, but really wasn't getting anywhere.
A year later, someone quite brilliant stumbled upon my cards, became my mentor, and helped me turn my hobby into a real business. He taught me about the business world, the importance of having a solid brand, and so on. I still occasionally work on a business card or letterhead here and there, but for the most part, you'll find me working away on just cards and wedding stationery.
Share a little bit about your space.
My space is the second bedroom in the condo my husband and I rent. I just recently redecorated it too so it could actually become a creative space for me. I dreamed of having white furniture, but since it is so hard to keep white spotless (at least for me), I opted for a mix of raw wood and metal. My husband and I repainted the walls, replaced my old corner desk with raw wood tables and cabinets, and spent way too much time at World Market and TJ Maxx looking for cute organizational pieces. And yes, the raw wood smells absolutely divine. Waking up every morning and walking into this room has become something that I look forward to rather than groan about.
What's your favorite thing about your space?
I pretty much live in this room. Choosing one thing that I love most was actually harder than I thought it'd be, but I'd have to go with my ribbon-tied jute string filled with pieces from other artists and some of my own work to keep inspiring me.
What's one thing you think every creative needs in their space?
Great lighting! It's a big mood booster. Also, bits and pieces of things that inspire are a must. I'm constantly shifting things around in my space to fit my creative mood -- and if something starts bothering me, I hide it in the closet until my mood shifts and I bring it out again. And I guess little things like having a constant supply of snacks and hot tea don't hurt either.
Gift Guide : Designers
Monday, November 19, 2012
Perfect gifts for the designers in your life -- or maybe yourself!
Recent Work : Lucends
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Take a peek into a recent website launch & branding for Lucends! Lucinda Snyder, the creative mind behind Lucends, creates beautifully hand made sewn pieces and wanted a website to reflect her work. I teamed up with Zoe Rooney again on this site and once again she brought the site to life, perfectly.
Check it out!
Brook&Lyn
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
I'm a big fan of textiles, and these beautiful weavings by Brook&Lyn. All the textures, colors, and patterns are so perfect. Wouldn't mind having one of these hanging on a wall in our place!
Holiday Gift Guides | For Her : Neutral
Monday, November 12, 2012
In lieu of the Holiday season coming up I thought it would be fun to make some weekly gift guides, sharing some favorite things to give to the ones closest to you. So I'm kicking off the feature with a gift guide for her, featuring a few perfect neutral items!
Stay tuned for more guides for her, him, designers, home and more!
Recent Work : Blogshop Website
Monday, November 5, 2012
Here's a peek into the new Blogshop website that just launched today! I worked with Bri and Angela to design a website that would perfectly represent the fun and colorful class, but would appeal to both potential male and female students. Zoe Rooney did the development for the site, and let me tell you, that woman knows how to code. She is crazy talented. It's always amazing to see your design go from a static file to a a dynamic, website.
Jump over to the site and check it out!
Spaces // John + Alex Choura
I'm excited to share this week's Spaces with you guys because it's the workspace of two of my friends from the days of our undergrad design program and the best part of it all, they got married. John and Alex Choura have the perfect apartment nearly right on the beach ( jealous ). I think the perfect thing about this design pair is that they both have their own styles and they're both crazy talented in what they do. John is always dribbbling really amazing shots from work, and Alex is either baking amazing treats ( I tell her she's giving Martha Stewart a run for her money ) or illustrating type for her new paper shop, Golden Pines. Check 'em out!
Tell us about yourself as a creative.
[Alex] I am a full time freelance graphic designer. I graduated from Biola thinking I was going to go work for a design firm or company of some sort and ended up pursuing my own business instead. Along with doing freelance I recently started a paper goods shop with one of my illustrator friends. It's been so great being able to design and create paper goods as I see beautiful.
[John] I'm a graphic designer, who works full time at Biola University, and dabbles in freelance form time to time. I really love working with typography and illustration, and i get a strange sense of satisfaction when i work with developing grid systems and making creative connections within those constraints.
Describe your creative journey.
[Alex] I've always been the 'creative type' you could say. I was constantly changing the styles of my rooms as a child, I still to this day love to bake and make yummy beautiful treats and in high school I was always the girl with the 'good handwriting' in my art classes. I always knew I loved to be creative but it wasn't until my senior year in high school when I realized it was designing. I graduated from Biola University with a BFA in graphic design a little over a year ago and have been designing ever since.
[John] For as long as I can remember, I've had a longing to design well. Even when I was a young boy I remember analyzing how I thought objects could be built or designed better. The Biola Art dept. helped defined me and gave me the means with which to go forth and make my work. My wife Alex helps challenge me everyday as a designer, we help each other grow.
Share a little bit about your space.
Neither one of us wouldn't claim this space as just one of ours. Before we got married, we always knew we wanted to share a creative workspace. [Alex speaking] Our desk was hand made by John to fit the both of us, and we decorated the space together. [John Speaking] Alex's side definitely sees more use than mine, she works here full time during the day when I'm off at my job, so her side has more personality as well as daily function. Our apartment is small, so our office is in the the middle of our living room, but luckily we have the beach right outside for when we get cabin fever. It's a humble little place, but we love it.
What's your favorite thing about your space?
[Alex] I love that the desk is against a huge white wall full of fun pieces of art and then I can turn around and see the beautiful beach. It is the best of both worlds!
[John] With a cup of coffee, my Wacom tablet, and my Wife and Chai (our cat) sitting close by, i can typically bust through design problems in my projects.
What's one thing you think every creative needs in their space?
[Alex] A window! I think every creative needs to be able to take there eyes off a screen or whatever else they have been staring at all day and look at something natural. Wether that window looks out onto the beach or a busy city it is worth it.
[John] Bright light; Natural wood; and a comfortable environment that isn't too boring or distracting.
Thanks John + Alex for sharing!
Check them out:
