Susan O’Connor of Pretty Petal Studio is a photographer from the Washington, D.C. area who takes some of the most beautiful botanical images I’ve seen in quite a while. I love the way common flowers become the most interesting abstractions because of the way she captures them. Her use of depth of field and light creates a great atmosphere — the perfect cure for the winter blues!
To Nervous System, who is etsy’s featured seller today. Check out the interview here. How much do I love their new work? A lot.
Clear Mountain Craft is a beautiful union between Andre, a master glass artist, and Kristin, a phenomenal ceramicist. Creating work that is both functional and beautiful, she creates a variety of ready made and custom pieces. I particularly love her glaze work because it is exactly what I always used to strive for when I was working with clay in college but could never achieve — letting the glaze move and mix and do all the beautiful things melting glass can do while staying where it was put.
Since it’s raining and all the snow is turning to gray slush in southern Wisconsin today, I needed something beautiful to cheer me up. The top photo did the trick!
A very, very lucky photographer, Patrick of French Landscapes does a wonderful job of capturing the beauty that surrounds him at his home in Provence. The colors in his work are so stunningly beautiful they seem almost unreal. What an incredible talent to be able to capture such beauty and share it with the world!
I’m sitting in a room at the Sheraton in the middle of downtown Iowa City, and I think I’m falling in love. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all sappy on you, I’ve just spent the last two days exploring this fantastic city!
Surrounding our hotel is block after block of adorable boutiques and restaurants.I particularly love the Capanna coffee and gelato shop which shares its location with The Wedge Pizzeria. Our first night in town, we grabbed a quick slice at The Wedge — which was nothing special — but the next morning, I got a latte from Capanna (not bad!) and some of the best eggs benedict I’ve ever had from The Wedge. In place of a heavy hollandaise, they top off a perfectly poached egg with a lovely lemon herb cream sauce — so good!
I spent the rest of the morning shopping and made sure to stop by RSVP — an amazing stationery and paper shop. The clerk was incredibly friendly and we got to talking about letterpress and all the wonderful pieces they have. I also stopped by Iowa Artisans Gallery, which sells pieces by local and national artists, including one of my favorite Madison ceramicists. On the way back, I swung by the mall which houses a nice variety of stores for being so small — University book store, a cute imports shop where I got some great handmade scarves, Express which has the cutest New Years’ dresses, and a giant Dick Blick that I spent almost an hour in!
Anyway, if you happen to be in the area, take a half a day at the very least to walk around Iowa City’s downtown and enjoy the great things it offers!
622 press | LETTERPRESS GOODS MADE BY HAND 