Vintage Matchbox Labels: Striking!

Matches? We don't need no stinking matches! Oh my! If you need some inspiration, or your daily dose of AWE, check out Patricia's exteeeeeensive collection of vintage matchbox labels from India. The images below are just thumbnails--you can see all of them up close and larger than life via her Flickr photostream. Would you say she has a plethora of matchbox labels?

Richard Scarry Is Golden

I found this Rabbit and His Friends Little Golden Book while thrifting recently, and bought it not only because it was written and illustrated by Richard Scarry (1953), but because my son is obsessed with platypuses (platypi?), thanks to Perry the Platypus from "Phineas and Ferb". Anyway, I thought I would share with you a couple of my favorite pages: the title page, with some chalk lettering (!), and the last page, which features a poster set in several kinds of wood type.

Pattern Inspiration: Security Envelopes

From Kindra: A fantastic assortment of opened security envelopes and their patterns, which themselves make a pattern. I think they look like quilts, don't you?

The Fabric8 Finals Are Here: Get Your Geek On!

After a couple stressful weeks of designing more patterns for my Fabric8 Finals entry, and then the even more agonizing process of choosing the final three coordinates (thanks to the couple wonderful fellow designers/sewists/confidants for your critiques), voting has finally begun for the competition!

What exactly is "Geek Chic" anyway? To me, "Geek Chic" could be defined as "dorky and cool at the same time." And it seems kind of dorky-yet-cool to go back to using analog cameras now when digital cameras and apps for processing and sharing are the mainstream, and so easy to use. For the final collection (pictured below), I chose to digitally create coordinates that would both contrast and complement the hand-illustrated "Make It Snappy!" design. You will find both camera-related imagery and geeky elements, brought together with an underlying retro/vintage theme, with references to the 1950s through the '80s.

So if you like my collection, please take a few moments to vote for it using this link. I know, I know--the semi-final round had you searching for my entry among an amazing group of 100 designs. Well, this time there are only eight, count 'em 8, designers' collections to choose from. Competition is fierce at this point, and my fate is now in your hands (feel the power?). I thank you whole-heartedly in advance for your support!

Pattern Inspiration: The Ceramic Geometric

Get lost in a few of the beautiful ceramic tile compositions designed by Lubna Chowdhary.

A Kaleidoscopic Wonderland of Hi-Fidelity Vibrancy

Okay, so check out the amazing stack of vintage record album banners I shuffled up on the Stereo Stack website, developed by my favorite local Seattle record shop, Jive Time Records. Shuffle the stack if you want, and purchase coordinating prints and tees. Bold, graphic, and retro. I love it!