Monday, February 28, 2011

A new week and new look!

 I'm back, renewed and refreshed!  I have a lot of new things happening in my life, and I can't wait to share them with you!
 
The most obvious change is happening here on this very blog... this beau-ti-ful facelift is courtesy of the very talented, patient, and hardworking Alaina Kaczmarki of Live Creating Yourself and LCY Graphics.  Alaina was able to take all the jumbled thoughts and inspiration pictures I sent her, and create exactly what I was envisioning for my blog and logo.  She's equal parts amazing blogger, talented designer, and patient mind-reader/magicianista extraordinaire!

I'm clicking my heels with the new look and logo design.  More exciting things to come!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Taking the Long Way, Taking the Long Way Around...

The crickets have been a'churping on the SLP for the past few weeks.  Just takin' the long way around...  coming back in the next few days, recharged and revived.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Loft Lovely

I don't know where I found this picture, but I love this cafe..  The vibe is totally low key, creative, with just a hint of the industrial loft feel.  Love it!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Happy Friday

Just an interesting perspective to think about over the weekend.  Happy Friday!
 

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

What I Want Wednesday: A Summer in Paris

Dreaming of a summer in Paris...


where I would eat these...

while drinking this...



after admiring this...
 

and waking up here...

 I can't wait!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Packaging Crush: Theurel & Thomas

 I bring to you today one of my biggest design crushes ever.  Theurel & Thomas is a french macaroon company that has done for macaroons what I am doing with spices: created a new, clean, elegant, and modern design for an old world treat.

Macaroons are a classic french meringue cookie, enjoyed by many today but coveted by the French kings and queens for centuries.  Similar to my homeland's amaretti cookies, macaroons are made using mostly whipped egg-whites and coconut or ground almonds.  Today, the colorful cookies have made a resurgence in popularity within bakeries across the world.

While I was perusing some pictures of these sweet treats online the other day, I came across Identity Designed,  a forum for creatives involved in the design of brand identities.  That's where I learned about Theurel & Thomas.  This company is impressive, and their products absolutely gorgeous.

The design is smart and keeps the elegant heritage of the macaroon in mind.  From one of the designers at Anagrama:
"For this project it was very important to create an imposing brand that would emphasize the unique value, elegance and detail of this delicate dessert."



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"White was our primary tool for design. As a result of this, the attention was fully oriented to the colourful macarons. We placed two lines in our design in cyan and magenta, as a relation with a modern French flag to inject a vanguard vision to the identity. We selected Didot (created by Firmin and Pierre Didot), a French typography that would present the brand with sophistication."
 I'm not a creative, but I admire the designer's commitment to keeping the design simple so the colorful macaroons could take center stage.









 And the storefront (in Mexico!) is just as beautiful:






 {all images via Theurel & Thomas}

Monday, January 10, 2011

Mari's of New York

One of the things that I'm most looking forward to when I actually have the storefront is the opportunity to customize basket and gift orders for my clients.  I'm excited to put together packages for clients looking to stock a new bride's first spice cabinet with the essential basic spices, for the athletic clients looking to boost their metabolism while eating low calorie/high flavor meals, for a man or woman who loves to barbecue and wants to create their own spice blends, and to the aspiring chef who wants a million different salts and spice infused sugars, to name just a few.  Wedding favors, however, will be one of the most fun for me to create, and hopefully one of the best customized products to sell!

I was inspired to write about favors after I read about Mari's of New York customized brownie favors.  Personally speaking, I think these are one of the classiest and thoughtful (because who doesn't love a brownie?) wedding favors I've seen in a while.

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And here are a few other of my favorite favors! 

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Check out c(oi)n:purse's homemade vanilla extract here!