Oooh! I'm excited. Some new books have just been released by/in collaboration with some of my favourite book makers. This is big news for me. 

You know I love Lawrence Weschler, right? I really adore everything I've ever read of his, and some of his writing has changed my life. For real. His new book Uncanny Valley was just released in September and he's coming to Toronto for a reading at Type books on November 15th. I thought I had missed it, but now it's in my calendar. Phew!

As if that weren't enough, there's a new release of Michael Pollan's Food Rules with illustrations by Maira Kalman. Holy moly. It looks so lovely and funny and thoughtful. As usual.

And lastly, Chris brought my attention to Miranda July's latest book, It Chooses You. The book "recounts July's adventures with a series of strangers she met through the classified ads in the Penny Saver." The New Yorker posted excerpts of the book for a week in October. It'll be released on November 15th.

I had a delightful brunch with my dad yesterday at Smith (oh my god! the scones!), and he delivered a stack of magazines from my mom. I've never seen a Hermes magazine before; I'm not really part of their target audience. But there is some lovely photography and styling in many of the back issues. I thought I'd share some of my favourites.

 

 Spring/Summer 2010: Follies in Faience - Hiroshi Nomura - Cover detail

 Autumn/Winter 2010: Le Chat - Karen Knorr

 
Autumn/Winter 2006: In Paris - Bruno Boudjelal - Richard Dumas - Guillaume Zuili - Lars Tunbjork

Spring Summer 2007: Shall We Dance? - A Second Choreographer

Autumn/Winter 2007: Dance Card - A Secret History of Actions - Willy Ronis - Perfect Days

Spring/Summer 2008: A Moghul Dream - Fresh Capacity - Found Objects - Zenith

 

 Have a happy Sunday!

So classic and lovely. Dang it! I wish I could wear a simple white shirt. I always make such a mess of them.

From Closet Visit.

I am so pleased to have worked with some amazing artists on Alison's invitations for her wedding this summer. Alison (as you may remember) did the flowers for our wedding, and I can't recommend her highly enough. She is such a kind person. There's just no reason not to go to her for flowers.  Unless you don't like flowers that looked like they've just been plucked from the garden and lovingly arranged in a vintage vessel. But who doesn't like that?

I made the little floral illustrations in the photos below.

Her whole wedding looks like it was so special and fun. Visit her blog to see more pictures!

(Oh, and these lovely photos are by Joseph + Jamie)

Just got back from Calgary, where we had two shorts screening at the Calgary International Film Festival. The audiences were amazing and supportive. It's so great to see so many people come to see a shorts program.

While we were there we squeezed in a visit to the Kananaskis for a teeny bit of hiking. It was so incredibly beautiful. We packed a snack of pepperettes, cheese and granola bars. Divine.

Beautiful dresses for a warm fall day. Perfect for brunch and a visit to the art gallery. Which is what I have planned for this weekend. Can you tell that I'm looking forward to it?

Dresses by No. 6

You guys know I love maps, right? Yeah, I thought so.

Naturally, I love this in a very serious way. (Kate Spade)

Chris and I have been meaning to try Smith for a while now - it opened a few months ago and we promised ourselves that we'd try it this summer. There aren't a ton of wonderful restaurants right in our area, and we were pretty excited about the possibility of a great local place. It was wonderful.

The atmosphere is stylish but fun, the service was great and the food was delish. I had the Huevos Rancheros and Chris had eggs with some of the best potatoes I've ever had. Now we'll have to try it out for dinner. They offer a Southern Fried Chicken plate. Just saying.

I was so excited to see some really beautiful older models in Toast's Early Autumn catalogue. They wear the clothes beautifully.  It was such a refreshing surprise!

They've got some work to do with casting diversity, but this is definitely one step in the right direction, I think.

So I finally took a few pictures and I'm happy to share a few new invitations I made for the 2011 Summer Wedding Season! Each of the invitations features handmade illustrations done in consultation with the clients.

 

1. Christina & Peter wanted their invitations to look like a vintage wine label with tasting notes, so I designed a label for them that incorporated their sweet dog, as well as a Maple Leaf and  Silver Fern (to reflect their Canadian and New Zealand homelands). I wrote the tasting notes by hand for a more authentic feeling.

2. Meghan and Yenae got married in the Distillery District, so they asked for an illustration of some of the buildings in black and white, with touched of green. I illustrated a coordinating map for the coordinating information card.

3. Pamela wanted something floral for her afternoon garden wedding, so working with her colours, I painted a floral wreath that adorned all of the paper goods.

4. For her evening reception, Pamela wanted something sexier, so I had part of the original illustration silk-screened onto black paper.

5. Margaret and Philip had a beautiful wedding at Graydon Hall. I hand-painted and designed a modern floral invitation for them based on their colour scheme.


I had such a great time working with these wonderful brides. Congratulations to all of them!