Need something to go with all those great Valentine's gifts you're handing out? Egg Press has some really fantastic letterpress cards, including a few 'sculpture cards' that are die-cut so you can punch them out and reassemble them into little 3D objects! Very cool.
Know of any other awesome stationers? Please share!
Valentine's Day cards from Egg Press - $4.50 - $6
Thank you to GRM reader Jen of GreetQ for the heads up on the new sculpture cards!
Here are 30 great Valentine's Day gift ideas - all for $50 or less! Which one would you want to a) give and b) receive?
Top Row, left to right: Josh Jakus Wine Pocket, Fauna Pico Pillow, 2d:3d Letter Holder, Hybrid-Home Print, Heath Ceramics Bud Vase
Bottom Row, left to right: Giclee Print by Jenn Ski, Cupcake Canisters, Clocky, QUEUE 2-tone Stick Lighter, Hug Salt + Pepper Shakers
Top Row, left to right: Bud - Mavis Vase, Around Clock, Diamond Ring, Loop Candelabra, Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface
Bottom Row, left to right: CAKE Profile Votive, Thomas Paul Coral Dinner Plates, I Love You text bowl, Juggling, Fauna Mini Animal Pillow
Top Row, left to right: Norman Copenhagen Swing Vase, Big Love Spoon by Alessi, Love Print, Hearty Mug, Objects of Design Book
Bottom Row, left to right: Simple Ring, iittala - Alvar Aalto Small White Vase, QUEUE Perfume Atomizer, i valentini figurine Alessi, Heartbreak print
While I tend to lean towards the plain white minimalist look, there is definitely a time and a place for a splash of color. If you happen to have a bunch of Ikea furniture that you are looking to spice up, Grippiks just might be the thing. Based out of Australia Grippiks they have custom sized decorative film for some of IKEA’s most popular items – BILLY, BENNO, EXPEDIT, and EFFEKTIV storage solutions, LACK tables, and MALM drawers. The stickers aren't really sticky at all but use "micro suction" to stick on, which means they are easy to take off and rearrange. At around $30 to do a three drawer MALM dresser it's not the cheapest sticker out there, but you have to admit it's pretty handy that they are all pre-cut to just the right size.
Available from Grippiks from $1 - $12 plus shipping.
More pictures after the jump.
A whimsical take on a modern aesthetic, Three Sisters Ink features the collaborative work of, well, three sisters. Based out of Boston, this trio creates fun, graphic prints for your home (or office). Their designs are printed on 11"x 17", 100% cotton, Moab archival paper "which yields exceptional depth of color and a velvety fine art texture." Having printed on this paper myself, I can attest to this fact! What's more, these prints dance to the tune of $15. So, if you've been looking for a little somethin' somethin' to add to your walls, check out Three Sisters Ink - they may just have what you're looking for.
I ran across Jim Ward Morris' work the other day - a pleasant mix of mid-century and post modern design elements, or as he describes it: "imagery inspired by advertising from the 1950's & 1960's...certainly Joan Holloway and the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency from the TV show Mad Men would absolutely love this work." Whether the big boys of Madison Avenue would love it or not we'll never really know, but I am certainly enchanted with the sizzling colors and retro graphics in these pieces. To see more of his work, check out his website www.jimwardmorris.com.
Interested in owning your very own Jim Ward Morris print? Stop by his shop, where prints are available for $25.
I absolutely love Etsy. It seems to have an almost never ending supply of great letterpress prints. My newest favorite of the bunch are these from ModernPOP. They have a great selection with everything from calendars and cards to prints to hang on your walls. The style of the whole collection is as the name would imply a combination of modern and pop art. All the illustrations are printed on 140 lb weight cold pressed watercolor paper and printed with archival pigment ink.
Looking for a little modern twist to your stationery? Check out Modern Printed Matter, a paper goods shop featuring the designs of owner/artist Anna Cote. While many of her designs are inspired by nature, I am particularly fond of the classic furniture series, including this pregnancy journal featuring an Eames rocker. So if you're looking for fun, modern stationery, stop by the Modern Printed Matter Etsy shop or click here for a list of retail locations that carry MPM designs.
Hip notebooks, notecards, calendars and prints from Modern Printed Matter from $3.50 - $20.00.
Finding good art has always been a challenge for me. I really like the idea of having a unique original piece, but I never want to pay the prices for original artwork. Luckily for me, Wall Blank sent me an email telling me about their awesome original, and affordable artwork. Wall Blank puts a new limited edition print (sometimes photo, sometimes screenprint, sometimes another type) up every weekday. They're only available for one week. On non-profit Fridays, the artist donates their work and 100% of the proceeds from their print go to a non-profit cause of their choice. It doesn't get much better than that. My favorite piece this week is the "Original Paisley" shown here by Lauren Lenartowski. It's screen printed on french paper. Size is 11" x 22" and the price is an amazing $14.
I was looking around Etsy for some good art the other day when I stumbled across Four Crows Art. Robin, the artist behind Four Crows actually has four different etsy shops, each one filled with all sorts of great art. Following with the company name (and perhaps her own name) almost all of the prints involve a bird in one way or another. The colors are rich and dramatic, and the prices are fairly reasonable for an original print.
Available from Four Crows Art Etsy shop, prices start at $16.
See Robins Blog "Sneaking out at Midnight"
I love wooden toys and puzzles. They are generally either very simple, and in many cases very ingenious. The 3d wooden sphere puzzle falls into the later category. The puzzle has three separate planes connecting four chambers filled with colored wooden balls. It works much like a rubiks cube, in that if you make a change in one chamber, it will effect another. Besides being a great mind bending puzzler, it is also good looking and affordable.
My love for Balsa airplanes goes back a long time. When I was a kid, every time my Grandfather was in town he would take me down to the toy store to buy one. The best ones were the ones that were self powered via a rubberband. They proved to be cheap and provide hours of fun. I don't however remember them ever looking this good. These Yoshida airplane designs date back to late 1800's and they still look great today. They come in a single and double propeller version, both of which cost $19. They would be a perfect gift for any kid 10 yrs and up, or great as a mobile for the little one. For the big kid (read adult) check out the expensive, but amazing Carbon Butterfly indoor flyer.Yoshida Plane Kits available at Build It Play It for $19.
It's been fun watching Avalisa's offerings grow. She started out with a couple of nice prints and now has expanded to offer cards, rugs, and her latest, memory games. Memory is one of those classic games that is entertaining for any age group. These 3 x 4 cards feature all the great Avalisa designs you already know printed on a sturdy little card. They come in a lead free metal box to make sure that they don't get bent up while traveling. The price is a very reasonable $15, and as always you can choose to donate to Cure International.
Available from Avalisa for $15.
If you liked Jargonboy's Modern Alphabet flash cards, chances are you will like Blue Ant Studio. They have all sorts of great posters, including an Alphabet of Design Classics poster that features a different design classic for each letter of the alphabet. New to their line of great posters is this museum series, which highlights some of the greats of furniture design. The posters are 11" x 17" and are printed on a real 1200dpi digital paper in matte finish and then glued to a heavy stock black mat cardboard. The price is $35 per poster and includes shipping within the US. They are currently having a 2 for 1 sale so you could get 2 great posters for only $35. Thats a great deal!
We got a taste of spring this Saturday. It actually got above 60 degrees for a little while and was absolutely beautiful until it stated snowing a couple hours later.For those of you that are eagerly anticipating the warmer weather and budding leaves we may have to wait a little longer. Luckily even though we can't have spring right now, we can have this great Spring print by 12 fifteen. Printed on archival canvas paper this lovely 8.5" x 11" orange print will be there for you even through the coldest winter months.
I have featured quite a few different sites that sell vinyl wall art before. Most of them are pretty similar on pricing, and the biggest difference is the selection of designs. DVider is no different in that aspect. They do have a nice selection of wall stickers (I especially like the nature series) and prices start at around $25 which is typical. What I was impressed with was their room dividers. They sell modular kits that are available in different configurations. They are basic pole mounted white canvas sections, but the hardware makes for a very clean installation. When combined with some of their wall art, they make for an impressive little wall divider. Prices start at around $363 for a small 4x6 divider, and while that's not cheap it's a lot easier than building a wall and looks better than hanging an old sheet.
Available from DVider.
If you haven't heard of the Black Apple yet, you are missing out. These wonderful prints created by the talented Emily Martin are quickly becoming one of my favorite Etsy finds. With well over 6,000 sales on Etsy, the Black Apple is not exactly new. But even if you have know about the Black Apple for a long time, you can still find new things there as Emily is always updating the inventory. Besides original prints, you can sometimes find dolls and other soft goods, photographs, pins etc. To top it all off, the prices are very reasonable. The 6.5" x 7.5" prints shown above go for $13.
When my wife was a kid she had a little red bird watching book that she carried around with her everywhere. This book might be blank inside, but it's so good looking that you might want to carry it around with you, or at least put it on a shelf where everyone can see it. Available in either ash or walnut and these 4 x 6 homemade books feature a wooden cover with a screenprinted image protected by a clear varnish. Inside you'll find 72 blank pages just waiting to be filled.
Available from Veronicapress Etsy shop for $28
I received a lot of great gifts this year, but perhaps the one that captures the Christmas spirit the best was this shirt from Rosaloves.com. If you haven't heard of Rosa Loves before, you should definitely check it out. Not only do they have some great designs printed on American Apparel t-shirts, but by buying a shirt from them, you are actually doing some good. The idea behind Rosa Loves is that everyone has a story. They find someone who is in need for whatever reason, design a shirt for them, and then donate all the proceeds of that shirt to support and help them. So in a way it really is a gift that keeps on giving.
Fitted Tee's are $25 and proceeds always go to a good cause.
In keeping with the holiday spirit I thought I would finish the week off with one more Christmas post. This one comes via treehugger. Designed by Australian Designer Buro North, the "X-Mas Tree" is the first contemporary artificial Christmas tree I have ever seen. Instead of trying to make it look like a real tree, Buro focused on making it look good. What a novel idea. This mod little tree is made of plywood and CNC routed. Not only does it look good, but it's good for the environment as well. Buro has done an entire LCA analysis and states that his tree is 80% more green than a traditional Christmas tree. This flat packed beauty is available in three sizes and prices.
Small $69 AUS - 400mm ($60 USD 16")
Med $229 AUS - 930mm ($201 USD 36")
Large $1619 AUS - 2300mm ($1425 USD 90")
Making your Christmas tree look just as modern as the rest of your house just got a little bit easier. CB2 has some great modern Christmas tree ornaments this year at a great price. Most of them are priced between $2-$4 with the one big exception being the 8" disco ball looking one which is $20. For the price of that one ugly disco ball you could get ten tasteful little decorations to spread around your tree. I think my personal favorite is clear peace dove priced at $4. We have about 10 small glass globes that we put on our tree every year, and we love them.
Available from CB2 from $2 - $4.