An Enchanted Evening...

This week Lucinda and I are actively preparing for the Fairy Tale Ball in support of the Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut. We are so honored to be a part of such a great event. Designers from across the state come together to design tables in the theme of a fairy tale. We have selected the Frog Prince and can't wait to share with you our table. Our Frog Prince table was inspired by the color, texture, romance, humor and, let’s face it ladies, having met our share of frogs.

It is truly a magical evening for the adults and on Sunday you can bring the kids for a fun filled day of activities all to support the Children's Museum.

Event Details:
Saturday, March 21, 2009
7 pm - Midnight
Ocean Beach, New London
(If you are still interested in attending or supporting the Children's Museum
Make your reservations through a visit or call to the Museum at (860) 691-1111.
$100/person (cash bar) Cash, check, Visa or MasterCard

Sunday, March 22, 2009
Artrageous Kids' Art Fair
Noon - 4
Ocean Beach, New London

An afternoon celebrating the arts filled with activities, crafts and children's performances! Get inspired by the wonderful and whimsical designer-made tablescapes from the Fairy Tale Ball held the night before.
Join area artists and agencies and get ready to create!

$5 per child ages 2 to 15
$2.50 per adult (family maximum of $20)
No reservations required!

For a schedule of events throughout the day

Friday Wine Tasting... Portugal

Wine of the Week
Angelius- Escolha Tinto Bairrada 2005
$7.99


Today as I made my way into Country Roads (Marlborough, CT) I was greeted by a girl doing a St. Patrick's day beer tasting (she was also giving out free pens and buttons if I signed her petition to make St. Patrick's Day a national holiday, which I would have signed without the free pen or button, I LOVE St. Patrick's Day). So while I passed on the opportunity to taste Irish beers, she made me think I really should do a posting for all of the beer drinkers out there but I will save that for next Tuesday.

Today I am featuring a really great red wine from Portugal. It is a blend of traditional local grapes, medium-bodied with good tannins and a spicy, distinctive flavor. Perfect for a Friday Wine Tasting.

Friday Business Cards.....texture & time

Design by Jacky Foucher and Pierre Cahurel for Grrr-creative agency.

Found on Flickr.

Etsy Find... Holey Notecards

It is amazing how simple the concept of poking holes in paper is, but I would never have thought to make it into an art as this Etsy designer has done. Brilliant! I think people have forgotten how special it is to receive a handwritten card for a birthday, special occasion or just because. It is so easy now with e-cards, and always being online to just skip it all together. These cards make me want to send out a note just because... they are so interesting and beautiful and put into a small frame turn into a piece of art.

From the Designer:
"While I love printed cards, they are not my forte. I like to make cards that play with light and dimension, that become interesting objects even without the words inside. So I've cut them. I've woven them. I've glued them. I've dyed them. I've sewn them. I've stamped them. I'm currently poking holes in them. The only things they've had in common is that they all started as plain white cards."

To purchase the cards visit her on Etsy

Thoughts of Spring... Yellow makes me happy

With the change of the clocks this past weekend I am desperately longing for Spring. I found these images and fell totally in love with the bright colors that decorate these houses. Now if only I can convince my husband to let me paint our front door yellow...

For now I will celebrate thoughts of Spring with these images via With a Flourish. What fun it would be to create a wedding board from these images.

Inspiration is everywhere, just take the time to look around.

TRUE & WESSON Philosophy # 7

Found on absolutely beautiful things

GustOrganics... A visit into NYC

Yesterday I had to opportunity to get together with Eyal Amir from GustOrganics. As we sat and talked about collaborating on an exciting project one of the servers greeted me with an absolutely amazing frozen drink, a Strawberry Caipiroska, it was so fresh and absolutely delicious. Everyone in the restaurant had a smile on their face and the energy in the room was infectious. They are not only serving an incredible menu but are committed to a much bigger cause.

GustOrganics is the first and only certified organic restaurant in New York, America’s first restaurant to use 100% USDA certified organic ingredients, and the first and only USDA certified organic bar on the planet. Making it one of the greenest restaurants in the world.

In addition to being 100 percent organic, they are also completely green — Gusto uses solar and wind energy, recycles, composts, conserves water and sends customers home with biodegradable containers, cups and flatware. Even the chairs and walls are constructed from Eco friendly products; the 74 seats are made from recycled Indonesian and Argentinian wood and the walls from sustainable concrete; no detail has been overlooked.

Their philosophy, posted on the wall as your walk into the restaurant is one that they can take great pride in standing behind.

Our Philosophy
Only organic food of the highest quality is served. Passion & truth are in every ingredient.
Respect for each other in our community, other cultures & the environment is true Eco-friendliness.
Gratitude to share our food & beliefs with one another; a thank you is recyclable.
Accommodating you, our guests, to an enjoyable & unique dining experience is our desire.
Nutritious & natural. Organic food nourishes the body.
Integrity & innovation are in every decision we make.
Conserving energy & preserving resources in a green-sensitive way benefits our community & protects our earth.
Sustainability & fairness through cooperation with local organic farmers, investors & you will make organics a way of life for all of us!

Check them out (for a dining experience that will make you feel really good, I promise you will leave with a smile on your face)

www.gustorganics.com
519 Avenue of the Americas @ 14th street
New York, New York 10011.
For reservations, please call 212.242.5800

Monday Typefaces...Daylight Savings

Remember to turn those clocks ahead!

Created by Marina.

Green Advertising

Ok, I know its Mcdonalds, but that's exactly the point. Genius rebranding and being green in the process. Created by the very out-of-the box advertising firm of Leo Burnett, Chicago.  The billboard is located in Wrigley Field and actually grows 16 types of lettuce.  Trying to make the country's largest fast food chain "fresh" is a huge advertising undertaking to say the least. We all may not agree with the words "fresh" and "Mcdonalds" in the same sentence but I think we can all agree on their choice of advertising firms. Enjoy the creative process in the short film below! 

Friday Business Cards.....green

Genius! Green with a sense of humor. This business card was created by Chad Rea. Chad Rea has been known in the design world as one of the most innovative art directors of our generation. His latest project has been the amazing website Ecopop, which successfully covers all areas of our life and how to be more eco-friendly. Bravo!

While we are on the subject of plantable paper, I just wanted to show you how easy it is to work with. My son's school, A Child's Garden Montessori was having its 25th anniversay party to raise money for the school. This is the design of the save the date for the cocktail party and live auction. It is exactly the type of project that I love to be a part of; raising money for a good organization, and doing it on a limited budget. Sounds crazy? Yes, but it brings out a certain creativity and allows me to go back to those late night art school days with Exacto knife in hand and being one with the paper.

I had just created the new logo and had stumbled upon the plantable paper. It was a perfect fit. For me, it is always a perfect fit to be able to design on a play of words. So, by using the inkjet friendly seeded paper, I was able to transform it into a coaster. The design lent itself to be both adult and child friendly. The paper was easy to work with, and printed perfectly on my little ink-jet. The difficult part, was the cutting of the circles. 200 plus!! Fortunately, it brought us all together and made for a lot of laughs.
So a huge thanks to the ladies from A Child's Garden Montessori who allowed me to make this crazy design a reality.
And to all those paper punch companies, when are you going to make a circle hole punch larger than 2.5 inches?!

Here are some amazing sites for the plantable paper:
Bloomin Promotions
Plantable Paper
Favors with Seeds