A few weeks ago my instagram feed was flooded with photos from a fabulous party announcing the grand opening of Oh, Hello Friend‘s brick & mortar store in Fullerton. On more than one occasion I was one of the gaggle gathered around their booth at craft fairs cooing over the well-curated vintage-style wares that were always displayed with originality and effortless flair. I knew their store would have the same flair and well-curated product with the only difference being I won’t have to wait until the next craft fair to pay them a visit!

Flash forward to the monthly Potluck Dinner/Craft Night that I do with a few friends who I met when I worked at Paper Source. When it was suggested to swap the craft portion of our March meet-up for a field trip to Oh, Hello Friend’s store — to say I was excited is an understatement!! Here are some photos from our field trip:

Gorgeous, big channel letters are lit up and welcome you into the store. Something about the style of this sign says “Bob Fosse” to me… anyone with me?

The store is set up in such a way that you feel this sense of discovery as you peek at every nook and cranny full of vintage finds. Needless to say, this feast for the eyes took quite awhile for our field trip crew to devour!

Not only is the merchandise impeccably curated, but the displays are effortless and sweet. I love how simple everyday things — clipboards, loafpans, berry baskets, muffin tins, etc. — are repurposed to display product.

The mini cupcake stands (left image, 2nd row, 2nd from left) kept taunting me! I picked them up and put it down about 20 times. I may have to go back and get them! These adorable handmade dolls by Imaginary Friend (right image) were displayed on a daybed surrounded by pillows and handmade tassel garland.

1. Heart-shaped sparklers — I’m thinking this might be part of a fun photo op at some point this (wedding!) year!

2. Mesh wire baskets popped up in several places around the store. With a few sizes to choose from, it was difficult to decide! I ended up with this one measuring approximately 9″ x 5-1/2″ x 3″.

3. A dala horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden horse that originates from Sweden. It reminds me of Solvang, a small town near where I’m getting married later this year. This dala horse is a magnet, perhaps we will get a real one when we are up there for our wedding weekend.

Here is our field trip crew posing with the incredibly sweet shop owner, Danni! From left to right: Ji of Blooms in the Air, Robert of Mahar Craft, Danni of Oh, Hello Friend, Me, and Rebecca of RebeccaBraverman.com.

Whether you hail from the O.C. or you make a field trip out of it like we did, here are the stats:
Oh, Hello Friend
122 North Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton, California

As the saying goes: “A picture is worth 1,000 words”. I will explain my picture in less!

1. I purchased this Murano vase on sale. It was a great find. Each week I make a different flower arrangement to complement the colors in the vase.

2. Brunello wine — smells as good as it tastes!!

3. This wine glass is one in a set of 6 each a different colors — a gift from me to me for my birthday.

4. Parmigiano reggiano cheese is such a strong taste, the grapes & the figs are a fantastic offset to it…of course the vino also helps!!

Mangia!

photo: MamamiaRita via iPad

I have a confession to make: My name is Rachel and I am addicted to ampersands. I get a rush if I throw one into a sentence in lieu of “and”. It’s not the proper way to write prose, I know that. But it just feels so damn good! So succinct. One character. But email fonts rarely give me the true high that I seek. The ampersand for Helvetica or Times New Roman are good and all, but sometimes I just need that fix. You know… the good stuff.

A “good” ampersand may be comprised of any combination of characteristics. Some are very simple with well balanced thick and thin lines while others are quite ornate with big swoops and swirls. I will say this — if I go too long without a good ampersand, I develop a case of the cold sweats. So, the fact that “Lupa & Pepi” has an ampersand in it may or may not be a coincidence. When I sat down to draw logo sketches for Lupa & Pepi I began to sift through my mental card catalog file of ampersands and pick one to design with. I didn’t get too far as once I got to Hera Big, my heart skipped a beat. I knew I had found my fix. The abundance of options (above) in the weight and that fantastic cross-bar swath with big circles on either side feels casual, effortless and approachable yet polished and considered with a hint of style.

With the ampersand font selected, I wanted to incorporate a graphic element to give a subtle sweet touch. I began experimenting with ways in which I could incorporate a heart into the design of the ampersand. The digital sketches (above) illustrate my thought process. The “winning” ampersand (far right) feels well-balanced in that the heart is the same scale as the other circles on the ampersand and the small space between the bottom of the heart and the cross-bar creates an implied connection without literally touching. I won’t get cheesy and bore you with the metaphors that I felt this represented when it comes to my papergood designs rather let’s just skip to the final logo design:

The words “Lupa” and “Pepi” are typeset in Hera Big Extra Light while the ampersand (a.k.a. the pièce de resistance) is based upon Hera Big Light Italic with the small addition of the heart. And that’s how I got my ampersand fix!

Many Italians have an obsession with figs — including me.

When I lived on Georgia Avenue in “Ducktown” our entire back yard was cement except for this 3 feet by 6 feet piece that was cut out. We filled it with dirt and planted a fig tree. It produced dozens of figs every summer. It was cut back after the season, then covered with burlap during the winter.

me & my good friend, Joe, planing a fig tree in my backyard

Figs are good for you & can be prepared in many different ways:
* Wrapped in prosciutto
* Cut in half & stuffed with your favorite cheese (gorgonzola is great!)
* Melt dark chocolate, dip figs then chill
* Chop figs, sprinkle with honey and put on top of vanilla ice cream
* Cut in half, sprinkle with brown sugar and broil a few minutes. A wonderful topping for yogurt or custard.
* Chop figs and mix into a salad. They taste delicious with balsamic vinegar.

These are only a few ways to prepare figs. Just use your imagination.

Last summer I thought my fig tree had died. The weather was warm but the branches had no leaves let alone figs. I cut it way back in an effort to pull it out of the ground easier. I never got around to removing it. My laziness was rewarded by the tree sprouting leaves & giving me the best crop of figs ever. It is now twice the size. Go Figure!!

Mangia!

Ciao Amici!

It’s a big year! Not only am I starting this blog… I am also getting married in June! (So excited!!) Between all of the gown shopping, venue hunting and cake tastings, I am designing all of the papergoods for the entire affair. And by “all” I mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! First up? Our Jack & Jill shower invitations. A few weekends ago my fiancé, Jason, and I were lucky enough have a Jack & Jill shower thrown for us at Mozza here in LA. Because the party was scheduled for a Friday evening and both guys and girls were invited, I wanted to design something that would evoke the convivial spirit of the evening while not getting too “girly”.

The first design element that popped into my head was the font Birmingham. I downloaded this font (for free!) months ago and have been eager for the opportunity to design with it. This quirky serif font with extra wide W’s, M’s and A’s embodies a sweet, handwritten quality that fit the vibe of the evening: casual elegance with a bit of personality. Complementary to the font, a hand drawn frame and illustrations of hearts and arrows are integrated with the typography to define the space. Lastly, to make sure everyone knew who the “Mr. & Mrs. to be” was, Jason and I did silhouette drawings that I then scanned and placed into the layout. As for the color palette — a pop of persimmon on an otherwise monochromatic invitation is carried over to the envelope color and punctuated with the heart and arrow strategically placed on the envelope liner.

And so begins the parade of papergoods that I will be creating in the upcoming months for our wedding…