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Weekly Roundup 31 January

Happy Friday everyone! Well what a week - my partner and I have two new kitties (poor Jack has a horrible tummy bug!), I've designed up branding for a few companies, and we signed up for our first 2014 market! You can find us at the Beach Front Festival on Saturday, 8 February in Tauranga. We are currently in the process of creating new designs and products for the March gift fair so if you have any requests please do let us know! This weekly roundup is full of beautiful design with a light, natural feel.

1. Loving this storage / display unit by Lydia Cambron.
2. A great example of student design work in rebranding.
3. Beautiful logo.
4. Chia Seed Breakfast Bowl.
5. Love the story behind this brand.
6. Picnic-For-Two Basket

Weekly Roundup 9 August

Last week I received a very lovely gift in the post that had so much thought into the wrapping - it reinvigorated me and brought an enormous smile to my face! Receiving a gift is always welcomed, but when the giver puts so much thought and effort into wrapping it - it takes the gift up to a whole other level! It goes to show that the giver put in a lot of thought and time into picking that gift for YOU. With that in mind and the fact that I'm gearing up for the Holiday Season (yes, can you believe it?!) and my next expo I've done some searching for fun gift wrapping ideas. It's all about creating a smile at the end of the day, and if that can be accomplished by putting a cookie into a little brown bag with some ribbon instead of on a serviette I'm all for it! Happy Friday everyone and have a fantastic weekend full of smiles!

1. Little Ink based in Auckland have a fantastic array of gift wrap and baking accessories.
2. Knot & Bow, located in New York, are known for their fun stickers and bakers twine.
3. [Shameless plug] Toodles Noodles gift wrap off-set printed in New Zealand on kraft paper.
4. Ink Kit have an amazing collection ranging from glittered pencils to sequinned ribbon!
5. Studio Carta, located in Boston originally from Rome, have the most exquisite ribbon collection.
6. Olive Manna have a great collection of packaging and home-ware products.
7. Anastasia Marie is one clever cookie, make sure to follow her instagram.

Weekly Roundup 2 August

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you've all had a good week as we head into the month of August. This week has been a big one for us behind the scenes. We met with some amazing people, had a sample of an exciting new product arrive, had an stellar Once'it sale, and started to plan our stand for the NZ Gift Fair! With so much planning and the to do lists growing, stress levels have gotten a bit high. And when stress rolls around, the comforts come out. This week's round up is influenced by things that represent comfort to me - as you can see, I rely a lot on cooking and wine in times like these! Have a great weekend everyone - I'm personally super excited to attend the Auckland Food Show on Saturday and eat way too many tasters.

1. Linen Striped Paonia Tablecloth from Portugal.
2. Beautiful wine packaging designed by Australian company Picturelab.
3. Comfort and cheese platters go hand and hand.
4. Fun metric ceramic crocks - currently on sale!
5. One can never have too many nesting serving bowls.
6. Roasted beetroot and goat cheese tart - yum!

Weekly Roundup 1 February

What a beautiful summer New Zealand has been experiencing these past few weeks! I don't think I've had this kind of heat and clear blue skies in years - and am loving it! One of the great things about living in Auckland compared to Wellington is that people love to wear colour - it reminds me of when I moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. You go from an all black wardrobe to an assortment of brights and patterns - something this designer loves! One can't help but feel vibrant and happy when surrounded by brights! A lot of new things have been buzzing in the studio this past week!  We released our latest addition to the shop: baking decorations! Here you can find cake and cupcake toppers in all our designs. And don't forget, just like with any of our work - have something in mind but don't see it online - let us know and we can custom make it! We're also working furisouly away getting ready for the New Zealand Gift and Homeware Fair - our first trade show! Not to mention working on two new products to be released soon and a few markets coming up as well!  All to be released in detail soon..! Now enough talking and onto link sharing:

1.  Vibrant streamers and pom poms light up this barn in a heart felt Main wedding.
2. Loving the typography treatment on this poster by Luke Williams.
3. Gluten free has never looked so good - beautiful packaging by Nancy Hope.
4. In love with this hand painted flower garland cake topper - what attention to detail!
5. We found this shop earlier this week on Etsy and fell in LOVE - everything is just amazing!
6. Rhubarb Ice Cream with Oatmeal Shortbread, don't mind if we do.
7. J.Crew has come out with a new line of boat shoes - I'll take one in every colour and pattern please.

I hope you all have a great weekend and stay tuned for more announcements and February's wallpapers! x

Bees Blessing

I have a soft spot for products made locally. When you combine that soft spot with cooking and beautiful packaging - things get can get a bit crazy! Over the past year, I've been lucky enough to meet Jo from Bees Blessing. And I can guarantee she is as delightful as all their products! Tonight I made an absolutely delicious marinade for our chicken made with their latest treasure: Lemon & Thyme.  I've never tasted anything so tender and full of flavour - it was absolutely fantastic. The chicken tenderloins were only marinaded for 30 minutes before being grilled. Here is what I made this evening (give or take). 1/4 cup Bees Blessing 3 Tbs soy sauce 2 tsp fresh ginger 2 Tbs fresh garlic 1 tsp chili flakes 1 tsp dried coriander The chicken was served along side a large green salad made out of: baby spinach basil sundried tomato feta sundried tomatoes pine nuts sunflower seeds Look for Bees Blessing in a cafe or store near you and make sure to pick it up on your next shop!  I guarantee you won't regret it!

Weekly Roundup 11 January

Well, we did it everyone - a big high five for surviving the first week back to work after the holidays!  I'm not sure about you, but man was that challenging....email correspondance slow with some people still being away, work slowly trickling, the weather teasing - but we did it! And for those of you still not back yet, well we'll just call you lucky ducks. This Sunday, I'm having a birthday - a biggy actually! No big plans have been made for the weekend. My partner and I are going to dinner on Saturday night but apart from that I look forward to sunshine, coffee, wine, and relaxation. With that in mind - I came up with this week's roundup! I hope you do enjoy and have a fantastic weekend as well. x

1. Lovely Baby’s Breath typeface formed with Gypsophila/Baby’s Breath. The meaning of Gypsophila is to miss, to adore, and to give. Gypsophila often serves a supporting role, but its existence is significant.
2. I sure wouldn't mind spending most of my birthday weekend under this marvelous tree!
3. Loving this coffee branding by Alex Westgate for the Coffee Shop.
4. Yup, this cute kitty has the right idea!
5. Crumble has always had a soft spot in my heart - rhubarb mulberry crumble you say? Now that sounds like a must!
6. Thinking this lovely banner needs to hang in my office...
7. And what's a birthday without balloons!?

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and good luck easing back into work life! x

Weekly Roundup 28 December

To all my readers in the southern hemisphere - Happy Summer everyone! As you may have read from my previous post - the weather here in Auckland has been a bit pants but as of tomorrow we're supposed to experience sun for a whole week! I'm getting quite excited about the prospect of going to the beach, exploring waterfalls, going on walks - oh the possibilities! Yesterday we went strawberry picking - my first time berry picking! I had such a blast even though it was a bit drizzly out and we left the fields with 4.2kg worth of delicious, ruby red strawberries! In hindsight that may have been a bit of overkill but we had a blast doing it and now have heaps of berries for our morning smoothies - win win! So with all this excitement of summer I decided to make this weekly roundup a bright and colourful one! I hope you're all having a great holiday!

1. Stunning single Marbella Hammock from Citta Design - want.
2. Beautiful packaging done by Curious Design for Phoenix Organic beverages - it just looks so refreshing!
3. I'll take two margaritas please!
4. Protection from the sun is important down here - this stylish hat is available at Witchery.
5. You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream! This beautifully packaged organic ice cream picked up a silver award at the Best Awards this year.
6. You can't beat a good beach towel - Country Road has a great range on sale now!

I sure do hope you are all enjoying some delicious sun and enjoying the holidays with those close to you! x

Besotted Brand

Happy Tuesday everyone, I hope everyone has had a really lovely weekend. I had a nice relaxing weekend catching my breath and catching up with lots of very lovely ladies before the Christmas madness strikes. I’d love to hear what you got up to this very lovely sunny weekend, I hope it’s something wonderful and very relaxing! This week, I present you with a fantastic stationery treat: Besotted Brand. Based out of Los Angeles, these folks know the true meaning of traditional letter writing and joy receiving a parcel in the post brings. Their shop is positively lovely full of stamps, packaging ideas and absolute wonderment. Enjoy! x

Weekly Roundup – 11 November

Oh my goodness!  Where has this week gone - preparing this week's weekly roundup I just couldn't believe Friday has come again so quickly!  It feels like we were just down in Wellington meeting some very lovely people at Craft2.o and the Wellington City Market.  I hope you all have had a fantastic week filled with sunshine!  Mine's been busy with filling orders, creating our new notepad (sneak peek here!) design and printing our first wedding invitation request! Now without further ado here's this weeks roundup:

1. Now I'm not one to condone drinking but the packaging of Death's Door Spirits by Grip Design Inc would look quite splendid on a home bar.
2. Alyssa Nassner is an illustrator based in Minneapolis, who uses beautiful colours and strokes in her work. This illustration is part of her "life advice" series.
3. These pillows are made with metalic paint, handprinted and on hemp pillow covers - perfect! Found on {me}longings studio Etsy's store along with more beautiful products.
4. This cute tank comes in multiple styles and colours - what a great gift idea by designer MNKR.
5. These little cuties are handmade in the USA...am I the only one wishing they came in adult size?
6. As a big fan of coffee and of design this product is a winner in my eyes! Designed by Boheem in Sydney for One Tree Coffee Co, a boutique Espresso Bar in Newcastle NSW who sell their freshly made ice coffee on their premises.
7. Last but not least a sweet treat!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend wherever you are! And just think we're just about 6 weeks away from the holiday season kicking off - wowie! x

Weekly Roundup - 28 September

1. These neon pillows from Ferm Living will add that extra pop into any room. 2. I just fell in love with this beautiful tote bag back in stock by Ilana McMorran, from See me Everywhere. 3. Who can resist an ice cream sandwich when they come in flavours like Brown Sugar Sour Cream and Mexican Hot Chocolate. These pictures are by Photographer / Blogger Jade M. Sheldon, for the real deal visit Ruby Jewel. 4. I must have a weak spot for soaps and their packaging: this week Barr-Co, available at Anthropologie. 5. These bracelets are perfect little gifts for the next family / friend birthday! Visit Hello Berry's Etsy store to see all they're amazing goodies. 6. Supply Ltd won this year's Best Awards Gold award in packaging for Saxton Cider - and it's no wonder why! Their website, might just make you thirsty on this Friday! That's it for this week - happy weekend everyone! x