Urban Mercantile

Wedding invitations: book two

Another joyous occasion to announce. The second book of custom wedding invitations has arrived. Working on these books with local printers was a little like having a baby (from what I've heard). Months of gestation go by, attending to the creative needs of the un-hatched, and then it arrives. Even cuter than you imagined. The second book, created by Melissa of Finelife Press is just as cute as a button. Melissa, just as pleasant as she could be, worked tirelessly on this book while still churning out rush orders for custom clients. I'm thrilled with her efforts.

This book, too, has a modern touch. Which is just what we're going after. Designs range from new-traditional paisleys and caligraphic typefaces to bold and crisp stripes and hip fonts. A few thematic devices are thrown in, too. A mountain wedding? A winery wedding? We got it. The palette is inviting and striking, fitting perfectly with today's stylish weddings. With several designs to choose from and personalization with color and ensemble, I'm sure a bevy of brides-to-be will find the perfect invitations to announce their special day.

Graphic paper tableware

Finally, someone took casual dining seriously. Paradoxical, but true. I mean, how many times have you planned a picnic or a party only to find the most dullsville paper dinnerware? And, sure there's a time for porcelain--you have to show your friends you've grown up and "got some class"--but when there are kids involved or those aforementioned friends have a penchant for heavy drinking, be safe and serve on paper.

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD, not a pretty acronym) started an operation a few years ago, that we've enthusiastically supported since the beginning, launching the designs by its students into production and out into the real world. Working Class Studio, this spin-off from SCAD, brings income to otherwise under appreciated artists and creates marketing and visibility for this talent pool before they even get a chance to call themselves starving artists.

Designed by Brad Baker, and appropriately named "Brad" (a name I'm quite fond of), the collection includes paper plates in two sizes and napkins in two sizes. Thus, making a great conversation starter for any birthday buffet or outdoor feast. Dinner and desert plates come in packs of 12 ($6.50 and $4.50 respectively). And dinner and cocktail napkins come in packs of 24 ($4.50 and 3.50 respectively).

Hot off the press: Printing by Hand and Zakka Sewing

More super-cute books came in the other day. These two, published by Stewart Tabori & Chang, are particularly appropriate for their scandinasian appeal. Printing by Hand (hardcover $27.50) by Lena Corwin illustrates a multitude of printing techniques, like stencils, stamps, and silk screens, for textiles and other surfaces. The projects (see middle photo) seem relatively easy (but remember, I'm a bit crafty), and the patterns range from botanical to abstract. The general style of many of the designs reminds me of mid-last-century Scandinavian motifs. A pocket full of Corwin's full-size designs are included (so no art skills are necessary). Materials, tools, and directions are clearly outlined and the photography and artwork won't leave you confused.

If you're the type sit at your sewing machine workstation on a rainy day, then Zakka Sewing (softcover $24.95) could fill a winter's worth of projects for you. Authors Therese Laskey and Chika Mori carefully plan out 25 Japanese sewing projects "for the household." Zakka means "household goods" in Japanese. On a side note, there's a great magazine in Japan called Zakka Catalogue (in which our store has been featured) that if you're ever able to pick up at some well-stocked newsstand, you'll be endlessly inspired. Hand-making gifts and adornments for the home has become very popular in the States, thanks to influences from Japan. The projects detailed here range from an easy tote to more complicated house shoes (channel your inner cobbler). The photographs will inspire you, but the illustrations might leave the novice scratching her/his head. Have no fear, though. Make yourself a cup of tea and release your impatient mind, soon enough your efforts will pay off and you'll have yourself a darling apron.

Back again. I-scream for Joanna Mendicino

  Okay. Just so you know, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and nothing tragic has happened. I've been busy, I thought I lost my camera, and I've been on a buying trip to New York. Lame excuses, but that's the best I can muster. If you can believe it, we're already ramping up for the holidays. We'll have a sale starting September 7th and then it's headlong into the holiday season. I'm always excited when all the fun fall stuff comes in. As it arrives, I'll keep you posted and introduce you to some great stuff.

Joanna Mendicino came in today to deliver a fresh batch of her ceramics. These new pieces debuted at the San Francisco Gift Show.They're so pretty I just want to eat them. Glossy-glazed like sculptures of vanilla soft-serve ice cream. Is today's heatwave, approaching 90 degrees in the City, causing me to make the unlikely comparison of pottery and ice cream? Perhaps.

Check out these beauties. Each design comes in three sizes; small $35.00, medium $45.00, and large $55.00. There's the cute bird family, the birds in the trees, the pebble cutouts, and the cobblestone designs. For cutes, yeah?

What's in the window this week?

It's another installment of "What's in the Window" for today's post. I'm calling this creation Logger's Delight.

The other day I was inspired by the color brown. No snickering, please. I know that might sound a little strange, but it's not, really. So many other colors look great with brown. And yet, it stands alone. So that got me thinking.

While poking around the store for a new window display idea, I remembered how popular the tree ring melamine plates have been this summer. And I start to fantasize about outdoor entertaining. Then I see we have these amazing wooden bowls and servers, then I see placemats so appropriate for rich brown table-scapes, and then, and then, and then a window display was born. That's how it works people. No divine intervention here. The melamine plates are obviously no threat to any forest. And the bowls and servers are harvested from fallen trees. So, no animals or trees were harmed during construction of this display. Nor were any loggers enlisted to help.

Bowls, servers, and round placemats are produced by Pacific Merchants. Rectangular silicone mats are by Modern Twist. Plates are by Jill Fenichell (of Brooklynn). Rounding out the arrangement are beautiful ceramic pieces by Whitney Smith (of Oakland) and Maria White Mebane (of Hollywood), and Dana Brandwein Oates (of Connecticut). Also shown are Iittala tea-lights, Dwell Studio napkins, and Fog linen aprons.

Custom and tasty : Keith Brymer Jones

Another lovely customer became so enamored with Keith Brymer Jones pottery that she dreamed up her own personal pasta bowls. To augment her collection at home, she decided what was missing was a customized bowl perfect for pasta and the like. The word she keenly chose for such an enlisted piece of tableware was "tasty." When they arrived, albeit after several months in production and a few fits of frustration, they looked fantastic. The potter and his distributor assured me that despite the trials of customization, the delays and frustrations were things of the past. . . I wholeheartedly believe that.

And, although they were a bit smaller than we specified--I can only hope it was the potter's conversion from inches to centimeters--our customer loved them just the same. And, in fact, they inspired another bowl, deeper and wider, for hearty soups and big, fresh salads. The soon-to-be-produced bowls, with the very possessive "mine" stamp, are due to arrive in a month or so.

Keith Brymer Jones is a London-based potter. He remains one of the few potters we work with outside of the state of California. We've sold his work for several years and it continues to be perfectly suited to our customers' gift-giving tendencies and personal collections of fine, hand-thrown pottery. The other thing that impresses me is that his shipments arrive all the way from the UK (by FedEx), wherein each item is wrapped in little more than the pages of the London Times and nary a chip occurs. Pieces start at $13.50. 

Old School Stationers : summer camp

Summer isn't quite over, so for you camping fans you can still get your camp-on. If you can't make an excursion into the great outdoors you could settle for a couple gentle and artistic reminders of camping in a bygone era. These letter-pressed wall plaques (top, 6.5in x 9.5in, $46.00) are perfectly rendered and produced by Old School Stationers of Portland, Oregon. Old School has been one of our favorite printers over that last several years. Our customers enjoy their unique flavor of whimsical illustrative style. Rich, pulpy paper provides for deep impressions leaving behind an extraordinary palette of inks. Also available are journals (below, 4.25in x 6.25in, $22.00); which offer a couple more images to reminisce over. Are the days of Polaroid cameras and pop-up campers gone forever? I, for one, hope not.

Artist: Raymond Difley

For several years now at the store we've featured the art of Raymond Difley, and it's high time I blog about him. His work is both vibrant and stark, rich and quiet. Although Raymond creates in a variety of formats, in the store we show only his smaller works. In our little space these seem more appropriate than larger pieces. He is quite comfortable doing commission work, for which he is highly sought after. I'm sure in part because beyond his amazing talent he is also a down-to-earth, easy-going person.

Raymond's paintings on mulberry paper (on wood panels) are abstract and echo light, structure, and color from the intangible intelligence of our visual world. To me, the imagery is almost fantastical and physiological. Like the flashes of shape and color when you look into a bright light and quickly look away or, in a weird way, what you see when you're eyes are closed. They are like space if it could be portrayed and the architecture of dreamscapes. The texture Raymond employs by layers of paint and strokes provide dimension. It is deliberate and effective.

I thoroughly enjoy working with Raymond. He is patient with me as I attempt to curate his work for the store. We have several pieces on display at the store including those pictured here.

Wedding invitations: book one

The day is finally approaching when a fantasy I've had for years finally morphs into reality. It's the day we offer custom wedding announcements at the store! We have such great cards on our shelves (if I do say so myself), that we are often asked about custom work.  We've  done some in the past, but I wanted to create an easy and fun process for the most common request, wedding invitations.

So Book One arrived a little bit ago, from my girls at Chewing the Cud, Viola and Joy. This sweet and talented team and I have been working together for months to hatch a plan to offer custom wedding invitations exclusively at Egg & the Urban Merc and showcase samples in real-life ensembles. I'm thrilled with what they've created and can't wait to start taking orders.

The Cud cards are letter-pressed with exquisite designs ranging from thematic to whimsical to traditional. And each have a modern slant so appropriate for our customers. A series of styles are ready to pick from and a palette of delish colors add a personal touch, thus creating a made-to-order invite ensemble.

In the coming months, I'll post about Book Two, Three, and maybe even Four. Stay tuned. I'm working with only San Francisco-based presses, because I want to keep it local. Plus, they're just cool.

Bound goods

We've expanded our stationery lines to include other paper and bound goods like journals, photo frames, address books, and albums. The stationery segment of our business has grown every year since opening. Not only are our customers falling in love with paper again, these products also make great gifts. And thanks to a terrific company from Canada we've been able to source these high quality goods at a reasonable price. Quebec's Pierre Belvedere manufactures the line designed by Semi Colon. The color assortment is vast, but I've selected the juicy colors that sell well for us, like lime, orange, hot pink, and sky blue. The neutral shades are handsome and consistently sell well (great for guys), like black, brown, grey, and sand. The linen covers are exquisitely bound and the papers inside are rich and creamy. Prices start at just $10.00. I "stole" a few journals and albums from the store to keep on hand at home for those last minute thank-you or birthday gifts I'd otherwise be running around frantically for, just in case. . .