graphic designer olga krigman recently teamed up with her husband to create o plus d. her husband designs furniture and she produces a humorous (and rather saucy) line of greeting cards. the furniture is lovely but i was really taken with the cards. most of them are pretty racy (lots of four letter words) but in the right situation they would be perfect. so, if you like a little edge to your greeting cards click here to check out o plus d’s greeting card line. [designs shown are part of the “f*ck” line]

angelune sent over a great link to her coverage of the holidays one of a kind show. with over 700 exhibitors showing truly unique goods it’s a must-visit. and if you’re in chicago stop by because the show is coming to the merchandise mart from dec 8-10 (click here for details). happy show-ing!

[say hi to emily at orange beautiful when you’re there!]

sophia at spotted flats sent over a link to her lovely christmas cards. available through her etsy shop, sophia’s holiday card sets are screenprinted and perfect for the minimalist in you life. each snowflake pattern is clean and modern with just a little hint of color or shimmer. available right here for $10.

rose at tennis, anyone? sent over a link to their cute holiday etsy shop. they’re selling some fun holiday cards and this fun owl calendar ($12). not a bad idea for an affordable holiday gift…

every year the california college of the arts churns out some of the most fantastic designers around. and this year they’re having a holiday fair on december 9 where students, alumni, faculty and staff will sell their work. there’s nothing better than supporting student and independent work so if you’re in the san francisco area please please stop by. click here for more info. [thanks, hannah!]

corbett just emailed after some techinical difficulties with etsy. they just added some gorgeous embroidered butterfly designs to the site. i was immediately drawn to the handmade feel and the goregous colors. each one is one-of-a-kind and available in two sizes for $60 and $90. more details: each piece features a butterfly hand silkscreened on natural linen and embroidered in random patterns and colors to create truly original one of a kind pieces of art; each piece is mounted in a simple black wooden frame without glass. (small is 8″ x 10″ and large is 11″ x 14″) click here to shop.

a month or so ago i hopped a train to hudson, ny to visit jim and corbett of variegated inc. beyond sharing a southern past (all three of us love a good biscuit) all of us could (and do) talk home design till we’re blue in the face. beyond preparing to release a fantastic holiday collection they happen to own what has to be one of the cutest (and most colorful) apartments around. corbett and i used to trade paint ideas (we both have a love of benjamin moore’s tawny day lily) but now we’re trading online shop talk because variegated has now launched a holiday 2006 shop full of new designs. the shop carries a lovely set of pillow cases, cards (a joint effort with maria of port2port) tea towels, holiday cards, sachets, handmade cloth ribbon and, my favorite, a “grab bag” of fabric with buttons ($20). i’m a big fan of any gift that encourages creativity so the grab bag is a fun way for the recipient to get crafty and for variegated to recycle leftover fabric scraps. so click here to shop their full holiday collection online at etsy. but, now to the fun part…

the variegated apartment tour! i have a mild obsession with poking into talented people’s homes to see how they decorate their most intimate spaces. nothing is more personal than a person’s home and i find that creative people often have some of the most inspiring and dramatic homes around. corbett and jim certainly didn’t dissapoint- their home was a study in bold color and modern collecting. the boys of variegated have everything from collections of sea shells to slightly kitschy religious paintings. the pictures are wonderfully inspirational and i highly suggest flipping through the whole set if you’re in need of help with your apartment. their use of color and pattern is really fantastic. click here to view the full collection. enjoy!