Posts from November 2009

I have some very exciting news to share. For years I've admired the amazing style of my friend, Colleen Locke (remember her home, pictured below? I blogged it here and here). Well, Colleen's dream has always been to launch her own shop, filled to the brim with her vintage and "rehabilitated" finds - and she has realized her vision with the opening of Trot Home. The boutique is so breathtakingly-beautiful that I actually had tears in my eyes the first time I walked in; it perfectly embodies Colleen's eye for eclectic, lovely, and one-of-a-kind treasures.

Located in Peninsula, Ohio (near Akron) in a historic building that once was a mill (it still has the windmill on the side!), Trot Home's collection includes restored found furnishings and objects, as well as a custom furniture design service; wall decor and art by local artists; a wide range of tableware; handcrafted accessories and lighting. The pieces are lovingly displayed in gorgeous tableaux throughout the space, a technique Collen employs in her own home.

Trot Home patrons are invited to browse, sip coffee and tea, indulge in the shop's extensive library of design books, and get inspired by the creative process. Colleen envisions the boutique as an idea space where designers, shoppers and friends can collaborate on decorating projects and find perfect pieces to incorporate into their spaces. Online shopping will soon be available, providing immediate access to Colleen's unique finds.

Trot Home is offering a "Black Friday" discount today, (Friday, November 27) - 10% off purchases of $50 or more. And when the shop celebrates its "official" Grand Opening on Saturday, December 5, the same discount will be offered once again. Attention Northeast Ohioans: if you love design, you will adore Trot Home - so visit as soon as you can! (Click here for store hours, location and contact info.)

***Correction! I had originally posted the Grand Opening date as Monday, December 7. The corrected date is Saturday, December 5.***

My mom and I had such a fun time putting together my sister's bridal shower - with some excellent helpers, Christine, Kate and Bethany. Here are some projects that we did for the event - unfortunately I don't have any shots of the lovely and delicous lunch that my mom prepared, because I was too busy eating to snap pics!

In keeping with our color scheme of gold, white, peach and pale pink, we decided to re-create these centerpieces. It was fairly simple to spray-paint sprigs of faux leaves gold; I had a 2 x 4 piece of wood cut into 36" lengths at Lowes, then I painted each with some translucent coats of silvery-gold acrylic paint. Each board was drilled in 8 spots to hold the branches.

The shower "game" was inspired (pretty much verbatim) by this adorable gamepiece/pencil set spotted at Made Sweet (which is a new-to-me, really pretty blog). I loved how the questions were answered by circling a silhouette of "him" or "her" - so I did the same, and gave Kristen framed, enlarged versions of the his-and-hers portraits as a gift. I covered the mini-pencils with gold on natural marbled paper (which I also wrapped around the rolled-up napkins) using this tutorial.

The party included lots of sweet company - even some long-distance guests! - and concluded with an at-home "s'mores kit" sendoff as favors: two chocolate-covered marshmallows, meant to be quickly microwaved and sandwiched between two graham cracker squares, tied up in a box with a gold cord and "many thanks" tag.

It is still hard to believe my little sister will soon be a bride, but now that her showers are done we are excited to begin the next wedding project - her invitations! Picture a "makeup" palette that incorporates several different handmade, marbelized and silkscreened papers with bright calligraphy...stay tuned!

I love these prints by Ryan Feerer and Citizen Scholar... the full series of prints, entitled Let's Face It, includes four designs that use adorable cartoon face-parts to spell out (even more adorable) messages.

I especially love the Beautiful print (above), and it's message of "You Are Beautiful". (+Plus, I love the color combination and that striking yellow background!)

The three other prints in the series include (from left to right) :: Face and Heart ("I Like Your Face And Your Heart") // Smile ("You Make Me Smile") // and Forever ("I Need You Forever").

Each 24x36" print is available for $40.00 on Citizen Scholar's Supermarket Shop and 20% of CS's sales go to supporting poverty-ending business development through Kiva micro-loans. (Read more about that here.)

oh, and be sure to check out more of Ryan Feerer's (awesome) work here...

images c/o Citizen Scholar.

Stash Style has added beautiful, vintage holiday decorations and giftwrap accessories to its shop. The glitter bells remind me of those pictured on one of the "covers" inside the December issue of Martha Stewart Living.

The reflective, jewel-toned flower gift toppers look like something straight out of a Kate Spade ad. And the silver feather would perfectly adorn a minimalist gift and double as an ornament for the tree. Everything feels so fifties-glam and very modern.

Images from Stash Style.

Since I know that all of you Chicago folks are already planning on coming to the DIY Trunk Show this Saturday, I don't need to even mention it, right? ;) Well, just in case you weren't planning on getting all of your INDIE holiday shopping done all in one day, the show is this Saturday, from 10am 'til 5pm at Pulaski Park Auditorium (1419 W Blackhawk, east of Ashland & north of Division).

Both OrangeBeautiful and Sidedown Audio (aka Jw) will have tables at the show, so come see us both!

And, despite the fact that my posts have been less frequent these past few weeks while I prepare for all of these shows, I wanted to quickly share something that Erika (from Kim Box Photography) sent over earlier today... a lovely shot of our Eat, Drink & Be Married print in the latest issue of Southern Weddings Magazine! How awesome!

Thanks to all of you for continuing to check in on us here at the SCOOP during this busy, busy holiday season. Trust me, I've not run out of things to post - and I'll be back on track in a couple of weeks!

(More pics of last weekend's LILL Holiday Market still to come - stay tuned!)

collage image of the Trunk Show by jima's Flickr photostream.

Finally, Loeffler Randall style can be achieved on a DIY shoestring, as this tutorial from Teen Vogue demonstrates. The basic project involves cutting a pull-on pair of boots short, then hand-sewing leggings to the top, and folding them over - the final look resembles the Wendy knit slouch bootie.

DIY version...

Though I would choose a slightly lower platform, I think the DIY version bears striking similarity to the (gorgeous) inspiration piece (below). Check out the step-by-step here. (By the way: I learned about this story because I befriended Loeffler Randall on Facebook. I am such a geek!)

Loeffler Randall Wendy knit slouch bootie

Top two images from Teen Vogue. Bottom image from Loeffler Randall.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the LILL Holiday Market this past Saturday... and an extra thanks to the awesome, awesome folks who work at LILL. Every single person working the show was sweet, helpful, friendly and genuinely excited about each and every vendor that they asked to participate.

And it was really great seeing some familiar faces in vendors I'd met before - as well as finally meeting some amazing people I've been fans of for a while (Hi, Veronica!) - I think we all finished the show with the feeling that we'd love to come back and do it all over again. I'll, of course, keep you posted on the next event at LILL's amazing space!

If you couldn't make it this past weekend, definitely mark your calendars for this Saturday - it's the DIY Trunk Show! and many of the same vendors who were at the Market will have tables at that show, as well!

I've got a ton more pictures from the show, so stayed tuned for more posts in the next few days...

1. Seriously 6pk, $14.00 from OrangeBeautiful // 2. Red Kukui Nut Necklace, $54.00 from Veronica Riley Martens // 3. Peacock Earrings, $18.00 from Isette // 4. Untitled matted print, $45.00 from Ariyama Studio // 5. Opal Aline Skirt, $75.00 from orangyporangy // 6. Flight Pattern Onesie, $17.00 from Earth Cadets.

If you're in the Chicago area this weekend, you should definitely check out the 1st Annual Holiday Market, held by one of my absolutely favorite businesses, 1154 LILL -

The market is a collection of 20 local vendors (including OrangeBeautiful!) and was inspired by the brilliant The 3/50 Project... so here's your chance to pick your three (or twenty) independent businesses to buy from this month - all in one place!

And, the best part (for me, anyway), is that the market is being held at LILL's headquarters (1511 W 38th Street)... heck, I'd go just to see their digs!!!

oh, and cause I love you crazy SCOOP readers, here's * A COUPON FOR YOU * to print out and bring with you to the show... this'll get you 10% off your entire OrangeBeautiful purchase at the market ONLY - so I'd better see you there!!!

Get more information (and directions) about the market RIGHT HERE
- and I'll see you tomorrow!

My mom and I are throwing a bridal shower this weekend for my sister. The week has included flurry of shower-related projects, including replicating versions of the centerpiece pictured above (from Martha Stewart Weddings); gifts; a game; placecards; favors; decorations, etc. And of course when you host an event at your house, inevitably you decide to tackle home-related projects that have sat on the backburner. So I'm utilizing this tutorial to create pelmet boxes for a couple windows...we'll see how that turns out (this will be my first experience with upholstery - yikes!). I'll post photos of the event next week. Until then...I have to go cover pencils with paper and Mod Podge...

Image from Martha Stewart.

Wouldn't it be nice to be Marni Golden? The sister of designer Nate Berkus might live in a small space, but it feels grand thanks to the talents of her older sibling, as shown in Glamour (read and see the story here).

Nate is particularly known for personalizing the spaces he designs, employing favorite objects in elegant vignettes that tell a story about their owner. In the photo at the top of this post, a grouping of five objects includes a personal photo and one of Marni's necklaces draped over a lamp (from his HSN collection).

While browsing some of his new collection items I happened upon the pieces below - LOVE the throw particularly - and I've never seen such a well-priced hexagonal ottoman before. Both are going into my inspiration file.

First three images from Glamour. Last two images from HSN.

Shops are full right now of fun shorter-length necklaces, but it seems long necklaces made of interesting materials are harder to come by. So I was quite taken with these angles and braids necklaces by designer Lauren Haupt.

The necklaces, available in either blonde or brown polished wood, are paired with extended, braided faux-leather cords. I love how it's shown styled with a plain tee, but the piece is also simple enough to work with contrasting patterns and colors.

Images from Lauren Haupt Jewelry.

...but I really like shoes.

1. Mono Lo Flat // 2. Helix Hi // 3. Sharpei Hi Boot // 4. Eamz Ankle Bootie // 5. Pocket Hi // 6. Lo Res.

Shoe brand United Nude opened its flagship store in Amsterdam at the end of October... and it looks amazing. I mean, UN shoes could pretty much be in a pile in a dumpster and I'd still want to own every single pair, but wow this shop looks like an art installation ::

It's no surprise that the sleek lines and "dark-shop" concept come from the mind of United Nude Creative Director & Co-Founder, Rem D Koolhaas. He is, after all, an award-winning Dutch architect, and the nephew of world-renowned architect, Rem L Koolhaas.

I'd love to visit this shop in person, but more than anything, I want to try on a pair of those Pocket Hi boots!

images c/o United Nude.

Illume Aurora Tin (candles), $18.00/ea. Available in four scents: Roasting Chestnuts, Snow on Cedar, Pumpkin Pie & Fireside, at Anthropologie.

I'm not ready for the change to full-on winter weather just yet, but the latest Anthropologie catalog does have me feeling strangely excited for the upcoming holiday season...

I'd love to have Illume Aurora Tins (above) filling my house (and studio!) with holiday scents, like roasting chestnuts, all year round... and the details on the Arikamedu Satchel (below) remind me of those beaded zipper pouches I had when I was little, and the bag just seems like it could "holiday-up" pretty much any outfit.

Arikamedu Satchel, $258.00 at Anthropologie.

left: Wayward Cardigan, $168.00; and right: Tinseled Links Necklace, $298.00.

The Wayward Cardigan (left) has lovely, sophisticated details, but also looks like something I could wear while cooking Thanksgiving dinner... and honestly, the Tinseled Links Necklace stood out to me as something Laura would look great wearing with, well... anything!

images c/o Anthropologie.

November is the month that always seems to come out of nowhere for me... There's always so much going on, and this year is no exception ::

- OrangeBeautiful is among a select group of 20 vendors at 1154 LILL's 1st 1154 LILL Holiday Market on Saturday, November 14th...

- This will be our 3rd time participating in the DIY Trunk Show on Saturday, November 22nd...

- We'll be spending this month getting ready for our 5th year exhibiting at the One of a Kind Show, from December 3rd through 6th.

- Oh, don't forget Thanksgiving!!!...

Whew!... I'm tired already -
What's going on for you during the month of November?

November Print design is part of OB's Twelve Months of Prints set.