New Year’s Round Up of my Favourite Illustrations

I am a sucker for patterns.  I find there is something so calming about a colourful, repeating pattern.  I came across Orange You Lucky, an illustrator from Ottawa (yeah-yeah Canada!), which is my source of inspiration for this post.

Although today we had sun in Prague, in addition to high-level winds, to brighten your day if you have grey skies where you live, I wanted to share a handful of my favourite illustrations.  The first set, are shots from Orange You Lucky.  I love her use of colour and her patterns are adorable!  I think any of the shots below would look terrific, framed on the wall of a kitchen, living room or in a kid’s room.  I know I have some empty, white walls in my front hall that could use a DIY project and some colour. One of the reasons I was drawn to Orange You Lucky’s illustrations because they remind me of some of my other favourite pattern designers such as Orla Kiely (below) and Marimekko.  Don’t you agree?

Orla Kiely’s “Living” patterns.

Down With Tissue Paper Pom Poms; Up With Confetti System

I am not deliberately trying to be hard on myself when I say “I suck at making tissue paper pom-poms. ” Last year, I was inspired by the tissue paper pom-pom to the extent that I even wrote a post about it “Tissue Paper Pom Pom” in excitement for my upcoming craft project.   Since I wrote the post, I must have made dozens of pom-poms to accessorize parties and brighten up rooms, but to be honest with you, I find that every time I make them, they tear or I can’t get the tissue paper to separate back to the centre.  In the end, my pom-poms look like pom-poms but they are a far cry from the beauties seen in Martha Stewart’s how-to.

So I’ve come up with a solution for all the people out there who tear their tissue paper pom-poms or can’t be bothered with the undertaking: Tissue paper flowers by Confetti System offered at store, Creatures of Comfort, in New York.  Confetti System’s tissue paper flowers, the creation of Nicholas Anderson and Julie Ho, are delicate, colourful and funky looking. If they don’t scream par-tay, I don’t know what does!  Thank you NY Mag Best Bets.  You never fail to fill my life with awesome items and ideas!

via comfort creations

via NY Mag

Exchange Hotel

If you have a preference to stay in boutique hotels when you travel and like avant-garde art, have I found the hotel for you.  I was in Amsterdam last week working on the wedding plans and toured several hotels around the city.  One of the most interesting hotels I visited was the newly opened Exchange Hotel .

Located down the street from Central Station, the Exchange Hotel is the sister hotel to Amsterdam’s Lloyd Hotel and replicates the room system of offering guests the choice between 1 – 5 star hotel rooms in the same building.  On a design front, the hotel teamed up in a creative partnership with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and commissioned the school’s students to design the hotel rooms.  The result is that no two rooms are the same and I can confirm, having toured five or six of them, the rooms are spectacular works of art.  Examples of themes include a pinhole camera, the Marie Antoinette room, the mattress room and a room that looks like a hooped petticoat structure.  I will share with you that my only disappointment in this innovative property, is their lack of AC in rooms.  I think AC is a necessity in this day and age, however I am sure there are loads of people out there willing to forego AC in the summer for cool digs.

Another great feature of the Exchange Hotel is its cafe and contemporary department store, Stock and Options.  Their cafe, Stock, is a much-needed retreat on a strip of fast food, touristy junk.  Stock has your typical cafe roundup of items such as smoothies, yogurt, muesli, coffee, tea, croissants and some sweets but really stands out from the crowd due to its beautiful interior design.

Options, their contemporary department store, is the third gem tied to the hotel.  Options is a showcase for all things design.  It is a terrific store for both local and international design brands and will quickly become a favourite of locals and tourist alike looking for something special.

via another travel guide

via style sight

via trend land

via petite passport

via kleur inspiratie

Love This: Holiday Gifts

Raw Materials

I am heading back to Amsterdam next week to continue planning the details of the wedding.  I have a list of vendors to check out and I think, by the time spring rolls around, I will be an Amsterdam event planning expert.  Researching and interviewing vendors is a fun process and I am looking forward to my task.

One store, non-wedding related, that I look forward to returning to, is a shop I found on my last visit called Raw Materials.  Raw Materials is recycled, reclaimed and reused materials at its best- in furniture format.  The store, almost museum-esque, merchandises its products over three floors.  Walking around inside is truly a sensory overload to those interested in recycled, natural products like myself.  Raw Materials carries a broad range of items from lighting, and chairs, to dishes, tables, floor rugs, ceramics and textiles.   One could easily outfit an entire house with the products they offer or, at the very least, walk away with a unique accessory to decorate a room.    I hope these pictures are a bit of a tease, but really, you have to check out the store yourself next time you find yourself in Amsterdam!

via style made simple

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via vosges paris

European Vegetarian Hotspots

As the count down to the holiday season begins, I find myself craving vegetables more and more.  I think my body knows it needs greens, like part of some sort of pre-holiday-season detox before the impending sugar high of December.  It is certainly not impossible to find vegetarian, organic or vegan food while dining out in Europe, but after travelling with a vegetarian, not to mention my own preference toward a low-meat regime, I will say this: certain countries and cities do it better than others.  Two restaurants that I think should receive attention for their cool vegetarian/vegan concepts that should expand their brand and concept around the continent are:  Juicebar from Milan and Mangolds from Graz.

Originating from two countries that tend to be more meat and carb heavy than vegetable focused in its cuisine, both Juicebar and Mangolds offer veggie-craving customers, fresh, healthy vegetarian and/or vegan options but in two very different ways.

Juicebar is more like a fast food concept and reminds me of a place I used to frequent in Hong Kong (whose name escapes me right now) that was part cafe part fast food, and focused on healthy, vegetarian take away items, and snacks.  At Juicebar in Milan, I had a super juice, a salad with tuna and barley and grabbed a pack of dried fruit and nuts for the road.

via Juicebar

Mangolds on the other hand is like Ikea, meets Whole Foods, mixed with some great typography and branding in a smaller scale format.  I found Mangolds while staying over in Graz because the carpark for Hotel Wiesler was conveniently located across the street from the cafe.  Mangolds is a self-serve salad bar with plates and take away containers where food is charged by weight, with a couple of food stations as well as a coffee bar and desserts.  It is a full sit down restaurant, with a play area for kids, a mini retail section and changing tables for babies in the men’s and women’s washroom (I know this because my male friend confirmed it for me).  The interior is Scandinavian minimalist, with soft lighting, whites and neutrals and light wood.

via Mangolds

vegan pistachio cherry cake

While travelling, I am perpetually on the hunt for interesting retail and restaurant concepts to blog about.  When these concepts happen to be vegetarian or highlight healthy, local, organic or vegetarian food, that is a double bonus for me!