à la mode designs is an ADDY winner!

à la mode designs art & design studio has been honored with two Addy Awards! Package designs for tatine Garden + Forest Infusions and tatine Bistro Cubes {both pictured below} were chosen and both awarded an Addy by the American Advertising Federation. What delight!

be•lov•ed sea•son

I am in love. Autumn is by far my most favorite time of year. I anticipate and so look forward to this season and I am amazed each year how it swoons me. Everything about it captures my heart. Everything.

flea mar•ket score

I admit - I am a bit of a flea market junkie. Well, let's be honest, it's more than a bit! I LOVE waking early, loading up the car with what I'll need for the day for me and Emma (my almost one year old baby girl), swinging by my mom's house to pick her up, and then heading out to the flea market. There is something about it that is just good for the soul.

I'll pass on furniture from a store all shiny with a new varnish. No, thanks. Give me the rough, tumbled, weathered, and used and I will repurpose it for my home or studio. Like these industrial metal crates I scored on my excursion today. I can't wait to put these babies to use!

tatine

We are so thrilled for one of our beloved clients, Tatine, whose amazing handcrafted PURE BEESWAX rustique Tapers & rustique Bistro Cube candles are now being sold in Anthropologie stores nationwide and online. We loved helping create these package designs which are letterpressed on an industrial kraft paper that is created from renewable hydro electric energy and printed with pure vegetable based ink.

Every candle from Tatine is carefully and lovingly made by hand in their ar'tis•an•al Chicago studio. Each candle is truly unique and truly beautiful.

(images: anthropologie)

font frol•ic

I am crazy about fonts. A bit obsessed actually.

I can spot Helvetica from a mile away or swoon in the land of Bickham Script. From sans serif and serif to handwritten and calligraphy to vintage typewriter styles, I lavish in the uniqueness of the glyphs and curvatures. Each stroke of line that forms each solitary shape so purposeful. And don't even get me started about numbers. Oh, how I doth love each digit!

Whether a typeface is used to create an identity and brand a company or form the sentences of the chapters of your favorite novel that you lose yourself in, fonts are such a integral part of design.

And they sure make me happy.

half birth•day

Today, our beloved daughter celebrates her half birthday! Our precious Emma Jane turns 6 months old. She is growing so beautifully and brings so much joy to our lives. Her sweet (ever-giving) smile and sparkly blue eyes capture our hearts.




In celebration of her special day, I baked homemade Coconut Cupcakes. While Emma won't be able to indulge in the mounds of coconut lusciousness just yet, she will be enjoying her first taste of Apple Juice (in her sippy cup, of course!).

fre SH

I love beginnings. There is something exhilarating about the start of something new, something fresh. Like the start of a new year. If feels good to close the chapter on the passing year and look ahead into the new. To remember the beauty in the moments of triumph & destiny and to learn from the moments of hardship.

It is so refreshing to stand before the canvas of 2009 - a blank space that will become filled with a brushwork of another year. Each stroke purposeful, each stroke necessary in creating a reflection of who we are and this path on our journey.

And as I stand before this canvas I invite you to come, just as you are. To bring your uniqueness, your beautiful individuality and stand with me before the canvas of your life, your domain and be inspired to paint a brushwork of color and purpose that reflects who we are and what inspires us.