I met Rebecca Trawick of Bluebird Studios about 8 years ago when I used to own a wedding invitation company. If anyone knows how to send a well-crafted, attention-getting package through the mail–it’s Rebecca. To this day, I still have the cigar box she sent filled with mini collages and her beautiful, unique writing samples. Upon getting her package, I immediately made her my company’s official calligrapher. Though I don’t have that company anymore, we still keep in touch and share some lovely bride experiences. (Remember the lady that licked the calligraphy on her envelopes to see if it would smear?)

Rebecca created the above collage using paper doilies, vintage handwritten letters, and magazine imagery for an upcoming group exhibition called “Old School” at Uppercase Gallery in Calgary, Canada.

What’s on Rebecca’s desk (in her words):

1) wooden dipping pens with nibs; 2) paint swatches from Home Depot - I love getting inspiration for inks or collage compositions from the swatches. I often try to mix inks using those colors as guides; 3) hand-mixed inks, dipping inks and gouache paints to create the inks–more often than not I hand-mix colors for projects to match color swatches or to create the right hue. I also have a very small inventory of the most amazing Swiss inks by Abraxas; 4) decorative papers - I work on the smallest desk in history, I swear. I cover it with decorative papers to create a colorful and inspiring space and to hide the scars and marks; 5) ribbon jars; 6) Fiskars scissors and 12″ portable desktop trimmer; 6) Pilot Precise V5 pens; 7) cigar boxes where I organize tools and materials; 8) vintage office supplies; 9) old Life magazines; 10) duct tape - I love colored duct tape! Red and turquoise are my favorites right now, so I’m using them quite often.

About Rebecca Trawick:

Rebecca Trawick has been working as a collage artist/illustrator and hand-lettering artist since her days as a art student in Minneapolis in the mid-90’s. Vintage ephemera have become an obsession for her - finding the perfect piece of paper, a photo, a map, a button or image is her goal. She is also obsessed with letter-writing, the art of handwriting and correspondence, vintage photographs, and mail art. She has shown her collages at Tangent Lab, Wichita, KS, phd Gallery, St. Louis, Treehouse Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, among others. Her lettering and illustration have been featured in ME’s Home Companion, Bust magazine and many others. Rebecca also works with brides all over the country hand-lettering invitations and wedding reception ephemera. See her work online at www.bluebirdstudios.com

From the Desk of…Rebecca Turbow

Creating fashion that appeals to my inner mod girl, this desk belongs to another Rebecca: New York City-based designer, Rebecca Turbow. The above image shows a selection from her most recent Spring 2008 collection. You can also view the entire collection by watching this video. It’s totally fun to watch this girl try on all the clothes!

What’s on Rebecca’s desk: (1) Pattern making rulers, (2) Scotch tape for adding onto a pattern, (3) Sewing thread, (4) Measuring tape, (5) Tracing wheel used with tracing paper for marking lines, (6) Sewing machine tool box from her mother’s 30 year old sewing machine, (7) Pattern-making pencils and pens, (8) Pattern weights (one her favorite things used for weighing down pattern on your fabric), (9) Chalk wheel and tailor’s pencil to draw on the garment, (10) Hand-sewing needles for buttons and delicate finishing, (11) Sewing machine needles, (12) Seam rippers, (13) Fabric cutting scissors, (14) Snippers for snipping threads, (15) Pincushion, and (16) Pattern paper for drafting patterns, of course.

About Rebecca Turbow:

Rebecca Turbow’s Safe Clothes came from an idea to create durable and elegant handcrafted clothing based on the concept of safety and protection. The idea originated while she was studying fashion and textile design at the Massachusetts College of Art. In the months that followed her move to New York, Turbow quickly became a public persona by exclusively wearing her own turquoise and white creations during her frequent social outings-making her Safe Clothes’ sole designer, model and press officer all at once. Before long, chatter amongst downtown hipsters and word of the “teal girl’s” mod-influenced designs turned into feature stories and profiles in local and national publications such as New York Magazine, The Fader, and Bust.

By contrasting soft and sturdy fabrics with clean, geometric patterns and detailed craftsmanship, Turbow marries comfort with high design to create pieces that please not only the viewer, but the wearer as well. Through exaggerated collars and hoods, quilted padding constructed by hand and her meticulous eye for color and texture, Turbow’s work uses whimsy to express Safe Clothes’ mission of providing protection from the dangers and perils of everyday modern living.

(Desk image by Gavin Doyle.)

I’m a sucker for a good business revival story–especially ones that include elements of serendipity and happenstance (those are the best kind). One of my favorites is the Heath Ceramics story where design consultants Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey just happened to pass the factory for the ceramics company (founded by pioneer ceramicist Edith Heath) while wandering through their new neighborhood. (They had just bought a house in Sausalito.) They decided to walk into the factory and learned that the company was in need of attention, mainly because Edith Heath was ill. They formed this fantastic dream to buy the company. And they did in 2003.

Another one of my favorites is the Ohio Knitting Mills story. A couple years ago, while sculptor Steven Tatar was looking for scrap metal near his studio (in an industrial area of Cleveland), he stumbled across the recently closed Ohio Knitting Mills factory, one of largest producers of knitwear in the US. By accident, he met the factory-owner’s son and discovered that the factory still had thousands of never-worn samples of sweaters, capes, vests, shirts, skirts, dresses, and jackets (produced from 1947 to 1974). With access to the vault of virgin vintage and a mission to honor the legacy of the mill, Tatar opened a shop in Brooklyn in 2006.

So I was pleased when my friend Susan Harkavy (a PR consultant) introduced me to her client’s product called the Teco Art Pottery Collection. Husband/wife partners Bryan and Lisa Kelly, along with Lisa’s brother Eric O’Malley, founded Prairie Arts in 2005 (in Wheaton, Illinois). After Eric had duplicated a Wright light grille for use in his home, it later occurred to the trio that they could create a business reviving decorative accessories designed by Wright. Starting with art screens, they soon added Teco pottery to their offerings in 2007. Teco was a line of vases produced by the American Terra Cotta & Ceramics Company from 1899-1920. The designers for the vases included Fritz Albert, William Mundie, and, of course, Frank Lloyd Wright.

It just goes to show that sometimes the best business ideas are literally in your hands or just around the corner. (Though I must note that the Ohio Knitting Mills store closed earlier this year…but hey, it did make a good story, right?)

And now for someone who’s probably got a better handle on the whole motherhood thing: Sara Hicks Malone (right). She was an art director in NYC for Martha Stewart Baby and Kids magazines before moving to Nashville to be with her fiance in 2003. She developed Hicks Paper Goods later that year, and debuted her collection of invitations the following year at the National Stationery Show. The Whitney English company acquired HPG in 2007, but Sara continues to design exclusively for them. She is also enjoying her latest venture as a new mom and blogger on The Party Perfect. She’s pictured here with Genifer Goodman Sohr (left) who will be writing a monthly post on the blog featuring her party styling and entertaining secrets. Keep an eye out for this duo. They are so uber stylish, they narrowly missed being on the Domino 10 (Top ten up-and-coming decorators) last year. Just check out a post I did on my blog last year showing Sara’s place.

What’s on her desk (according to Sara):

Because I work from home, my personal and work life often get intertwined. My desk is a reflection of that! My brain usually feels as cluttered as my desk, so I try to keep things orderly.

1) a bird/bamboo container to keep some of my more unsightly items out of the way, 2) a pile of blank cds to remind me to back up my work…but as I said, they’re blank, 3) a video monitor so I can keep an eye on my 7-month old, Gram, 4) a glass container with a chestnut because my grandmother (who passed away last year at the age of 102) always kept a chestnut in her purse for good luck, 5) icy hot for a nagging back injury, 6) a pile of birth announcements I designed waiting to get stuffed and in the mail, and 7) a blue planter from Ikea that contains the essentials like my favorite pens (Pilot Precise rolling ball pen in black/fine point), white-handled scissors from Martha Stewart Michael’s line, bone folder, Exacto knives and blades.

What I’ve discerned from the esteemed and reliable news source called Us Weekly is that kids are the center of the universe these days. So I wasn’t too surprised when one of my friends started handing out wallet-size pictures of her unborn child’s face flanked by mystery fleshy material (from those 4D fetal imaging centers) or when another friend sent me an invitation to her daughter’s one-month birthday party at the Ritz Carlton.

Well, as for myself, I’m hardly June Cleaver. And I have to admit the whole parenting thing gets a little stickier when you’re running your own business. In our house, I am the parent that is more “available” since my boss (aka me) allows me to leave whenever I want, thereby giving off the impression sometimes that I could be a stay-at-home mom or a part-time working mom with free time galore. In actuality, I have less time than most folks since my work requires me to work pretty much around the clock. So when other moms start asking me what my kids are involved in, I start to feel guilty that they aren’t “scheduled” enough, you know, with school, playdates, italian language classes, and early ninja training.

On that note, here are a few kid-related products I’ve been loving lately. Trust me, my under-scheduled children love them.

5-Year Diary by Tamara Shopsin. I recently bought this diary to write little notes about my children every day. They really do and say some of the funniest and amazing things. It’ll be fun to look back on this one day.

Boiled egg molds. Provided your kid doesn’t have an egg allergy, your kids will love these and think you are a dang wizard to boot! These molds shape hard boiled eggs into little cars, fish, bunnies, and bears.

My Friends by Taro Gomi. My daughter loves this book because it’s very easy to read. And I love it for the beautiful illustrations.

Cupcake Deck by Elinor Klivans. I’ve never baked cupcakes from scratch until I used this deck. The recipes are pretty easy to make and tasty too! And it made me feel like June Cleaver.

Toypography Wooden Blocks. Well, we don’t actually own this, but it would be a cool educational toy. The same wooden blocks can be used to spell “fish” in English, Japanese, and in illustrated form. Ah, Japanese folks make the coolest things!

The next jewelry designer is someone I know quite well: Carolina Graber of Blue Wild Indigo. Ever since I started sharing a studio with her and observing her operation (and not in a creepy way), it’s made me wish I had the manual dexterity to be a jewelry designer and it’s also made me slightly obsessed with jewelry design as a business. Here are my top five reasons why a jewelry design business is so awesome:

1. It’s relatively easy to make a variety of prototypes to test market and bring to shows.
2. You don’t need a big warehouse to store your inventory.
3. It doesn’t cost much to ship your orders to clients. The packages are so light and compact!
4. You can create a really nice profit margin with jewelry.
5. It’s a pretty reliable, steady market. I mean, who doesn’t love accessories, especially jewelry?

As you can see in the above image, Carolina’s craftsmanship, inventiveness, and attention to detail is apparent in every piece she creates. I’m also fascinated at how quickly she designs new and often intricate pieces. I’ll be gone for an afternoon and when I return she’s got ten new prototype designs with hand-sewn chain and all! Most of her new line may not be available on her website just yet, but you can send her an email if you’re interested! (FYI: The earrings are called “Erosion” and the necklace is called “Amulet” in the Kelp design.)

What’s on her desk: 1) Dapping block for metalworking, 2) Tray with jewelry in progress for orders, 3) Ruler for measuring chains, 4) Lined pad work surface, 5) Ceramic egg cup from Anthropologie (which holds her drill bits), 6) Hanging vessels from Ikea, 7) Towel bar where she keeps various gauges of silver wire and a jeweler’s saw, 8) Peacock ring holder where she keeps her engagement ring while working, and 9) Storage box for screws, charms, clasps, and incidentals.

About Blue Wild Indigo:

With a penchant for combining unexpected materials and pushing the envelope of traditional techniques, Carolina Graber’s jewelry puts reinvention at premium. Growing up in rural Kansas, Carolina was no stranger to challenging small town convention. She carries that sensibility in her jewelry design, challenging herself to create unique and novel pieces. Carolina began designing jewelry while studying costuming and fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago. Starting initially as hobby, her creative propulsion and independent streak transformed it into a full-blown business. In 2003, she named her business Blue Wild Indigo, a native Kansas flower, as way of honoring her roots.

To satisfy my curiosity about the process and materials that other designers employ, I’ll have some posts this week exploring the desks/workspaces of some of my favorite designers and artists. Today’s focus is on jewelry designers.

Because I have this ongoing love affair with finding beauty in the mundane, (especially when mundane materials are used in unexpected or gentrified ways), I instantly became a fan of Jane D’Arensbourg’s jewelry made with her signature material: Pyrex glass. Long typecast as a sturdy material simply for baking dishes and scientific beakers, Jane uses it to create forms that are so delicate and elegant.

Check out the image of her work bench. My favorite materials are the glass rods and those didinium glasses (and I thought those were aviators!).

About Jane D’Arensbourg:

Jane D’Arensbourg studied sculpture and glass blowing at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Able to transform many of her ideas in sculpture into something wearable, Jane D’Arenbourg started making glass jewelry in 2001. The glass chain link she once used in her installations easily became necklaces and earrings. Jane uses borosilicate glass, also commonly known as “Pyrex” glass, along with a primarily scientific glass technique called “flame-working” to make glass jewelry. Jane stretches and bends Pyrex glass rods freeform using a torch and then fuses each piece individually. Jane currently resides in New York City.

In a convention center filled with sparkling pink Hannah Montana accessories and lace-patterned gift wrap, Laurel and I were startled to find an outpost of pure unadulterated hostility lurking in the aisles of this year’s National Stationery Show. One minute we were admiring letterpressed greeting cards, the next minute we found ourselves locking eyes with Angry Tradeshow Man, a curmudgeonly fella unable to grasp the concept of discretion. There he sat in his booth, up front and center, arms crossed with a creepy, frightening scowl. (I’m sure if we got close enough, we would’ve heard a low-decibel snarl escaping his lips). I felt bad for him because, obviously, he was having a bad show. But I felt worse for his neighbors because everyone was scurrying past him, I assume, to avoid being turned to stone.

As was only prudent, I returned an hour later to nonchalantly walk past Angry Tradeshow Man’s booth. And as reliable as plastic food in the window of a sushi restaurant, he remained in the same spot with the same menacing grimace shellacked on his face. I walked by another hour later (hey, I was on my way to the bathroom!), again, as was only prudent. And again, the same plastic sushi face. Naturally, I took no joy in doing any of this.

Okay, so this guy was an extreme case, but there are many poignant lessons we can learn from him–the most powerful is that attitude is everything when you’re hawking your goods. Giving off the faintest whiff of disappointment, anger, or boredom is the fastest way for your booth to contract a virulent strain of cooties. So channel your inner surfer (mine’s named E.Z.) and adopt a healthy sense of humor and a laidback attitude. (Get a Magic Tan if it helps you get in “the role”.) Luck can strike at any time, so keep your attitude upbeat because sometimes all it takes is one account or one press bite to make your entire show worthwhile.

Thank you Grace for inviting me to guest blog this week. I’m Meg Mateo Ilasco and I am probably best known for producing the Modern Economy sample sales and for writing Craft, Inc.

A question I often get is “How do you do it all?” So to give you a sense of my profound thought process, here’s a summary of my business-related thoughts during any given week:

I need to grow my business.
I need a regular paycheck and steady job.
I need to grow my business.
I need a regular paycheck and steady job.
I need to grow my business.
I wish I had a pimpwad of cash in my pocket.
Where are my f’n keys?

Hey, life on the other side of the etsy storefront (not that I have one) isn’t always so glamorous! But honestly, I love what I do.

So I thought long and hard about what wisdom I should impart on you this week–spending three whole minutes gazing through a window slowly stroking my invisible cat (with a gloved hand, of course) overcome with malicious thoughts of taking over the guest blogging world….before falling asleep. Anyway, I’ll just be sharing some random musings (perhaps on business and design related stuff) as well as some posts called “From the Desk of…” which features the desktops/workspaces of some indie designer and artists.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my posts this week.

Meg

As I mentioned before I love boutiques and this love for them keeps me thinking about opening up a space of my own one day. All the images I shared this week were collected for me to not only admire, but to also provide inspiration for the boutique space I hope to have in the near future. I enjoy speaking with people who have journeyed down a path I plan on taking myself, which is why I interviewed Elisa Buratto, the owner of Sugarcube, an amazing boutique in Philly.

I admire Elisa’s eye for vintage clothing as well as the new pieces she picks for the store. The layout of Sugarcube is gorgeous!

The design is woodsy and rustic which gives the space a cozy cabin feel and provides a funky contrast to the hip and colorful textures throughout the store. (Check out the interview and more pictures with Elisa on Fly http://flygirls.typepad.com/fly/boutiques/).

I hope this week’s posts inspired you in some way. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my D*S guest blogging. Thanks, Grace, for allowing me to share my stories and inspirations with D*S, it’s been such a pleasure connecting with you and your readers.