Snow Day!

The Elements studio is closed today due to snow. We're heading to the parking lot to try to make these snow portraits! You can check out more on this blog. And if I don't have a chance to post again before this evening, have a wonderful New Year (and happy anniversary to my honey! love you!). ~Amy

2009 is Thursday, Kids.

If you didn't pay attention to the handy reminder in your 2008 day planner or calendar - check out some of these unusual and creatively designed 2009 beauties on Toxel.com. (We have the Stendig 2009 hanging in our conference room) - for about 2 months now, I might add!

ConnCreatives: What We REALLY Wanted for Christmas

Check out ConnCreatives.com to read the latest and greatest from Rich Hollant of Co:Lab and Amy Graver (of us!) presenting the top 10 wishes from eight design firms in Connecticut.

Uplifting Story...

This story from ESPN.com isn't particularly relevant to design or marketing, but it's a great story of kindness - which is wonderful to see this time of the year. Here's to hope in 2009 and beyond.

Alternative Tree...

From ApartmentTherapy.com....

Jane of All the Luck in the World was kind enough to let us share her unique Christmas tree alternative, composed of "useless but pretty objects" she had collected over the years and arranged into something that is one part art and one part decor.

Here's a closeup...

New Year, New Calendar!

Shopping for a new calendar for 2009? Instead of getting your usual calendar featuring puppies & kittens wearing costumes (you have one...admit it!) -- check out this beautiful letterpress calendar from Black Pearl Press.


From Black Pearl...this calendar is "designed entirely from simple shapes cut from construction paper. Printed on grey cotton 300 gsm paper, each page of the calendar was fed by hand through the press four times: once to print the grey, for the date blocks, once with a thick layer of opaque white, to create the backgrounds, followed by printing two more hand-mixed colors to complete each month. Measuring 3.25 x 6", the sets are looped with an imported green cotton ribbon for hanging and packaged in a letterpress printed reusable cotton pouch."

Cupcakes!!

At Elements...well, we love desserts of all kinds. This is clear from our blog's proud display of birthday confections throughout the year.

Not surprisingly, these just really tickle our fancy.



The intricate designs on these cupcakes by Cupcake Envy - featured on the blog All Things Cupcake - are so carefully crafted, they almost (almost, I say) inspire us to close up shop and open a bakery!

Official Disclaimer: Elements has no intentions of closing in order to sell cupcakes. At least not in the near future.

Ice Ice, Baby

Ice can be strikingly beautiful - but also very dangerous and debilitating, which is exactly what it was in my home state over the weekend. Upwards of 1 million New Hampshire homes and businesses were without power for several days - my family making up a good amount of that count! The storm left both New Hampshire and Massachusetts in a state of emergency.

Here are some beautiful photographs that show just how amazing Mother Nature can be.

Reduce, Reuse...

Trying to find ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle this holiday season? No need to regift that ugly singing, dancing Santa Claus you got from Aunt Millie last year - just make these nifty gift tags from Katie Chamber's Ink and Post that reuse Trader Joe's shopping bags. Simply cut cardstock and bags to fit, attach with doublestick tape, punch a hole in the top and you're on your way!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland...

The weather outside is indeed frightful today - unfortunately, it's rain instead of snow. However, Saks Fifth Avenue, it's a winter wonderland.

Saks has commissioned Canadian designer, illustrator, typographer, writer and professor (phew!) Marian Bantjes to draw 25 individual snowflakes for their 2008 holiday season.

And - just like real snowflakes - each design is unique, taking its inspiration from elements of the holiday season including antlers, people, houses, feathers, ribbons, lights and more. The snowflakes are so beautiful that Saks incorporated them into all of their holiday collateral - gift cards, shopping bags, and even some of their products (jewelry, hats) feature these stunningly intricate designs.

Check out Bantje's website for a complete overview of the project and to see the creative ways in which Saks utilized the snowflakes.

From the Bookshelf: Scared of Santa

This is the debut post of Elements' new blog series "From the Bookshelf". Every Wednesday we will feature a book here at Hello, Elements for your viewing pleasure.

Today's From the Bookshelf pick is Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland.

From HarperCollins.com...

He's huge and hairy and hulking. He dresses in strange furry clothing. He sneaks into people's homes at night. Who wouldn't be afraid of . . . Santa Claus?!? Nothing says Christmas quite like innocent children shrieking with terror as a stranger dressed in red drags them kicking and screaming onto his lap. Now this time-honored rite of passage is celebrated with a hilarious collection of more than two hundred and fifty priceless photos of kids' traumatic trips to Santa's workship. Scared of Santa offers a cornucopia of photographic funnies - from sixty-year old family heirlooms to last year's howlers - along with delightful commentary on those unforgettable childhood visits to scary ol' Saint Nick. Available at Amazon.com or think local and help support your neighborhood bookstore. Harper Collins, $10

To browse through the pages of Scared of Santa, click here.

Tree lighting in Newtown

I went to the Newtown tree lighting last week. The luminaria are set up and lit all along Main Street and around the pond at Ram's Pasture. The reflections were beautiful.



After I arrived, the gals with the donuts and cider began to set up, and were set upon by hordes of hungry holiday revelers. Here they are "taste-testing".

Shortly thereafter we were treated to singing and dancing by local choral and dance groups, and then had a whole-crowd sing-along. And then, the finale. The firetrucks were asked to turn off the lighting they had provided, and on the count of 10 the small tree was lit. Another countdown, and the large tree was lit.



My husband and I then swung by the Blue Colony Diner for some hot dinner, and so we began our holiday season once again.

Tasty holiday treats...

From StarTribune.com

Look appetizing?? Hardly. This fruitcake, circa 1911 (yes, making this confection almost exactly 97 years old) belongs to Golden Valley, Minnesota resident Pierre Girard.

Friends brought the fruitcake to Girard's Christmas party this year as a gag gift. The fruitcake was found on a St. Louis Park closet shelf during an estate-sale assessment in 1992. The elderly resident had died with no heirs, and Girard never learned her name.

How did they discover the age of the cake? It came in a box with cryptic inscriptions: "Xmas cake Baked in dec. 1911" on top, "Xmas Cake baked by my mother's brother Alex died Dec. 27. Was operated on Xmas day" on the bottom.

Girards says of the cake and its long history, ""I got to thinking, there's a story here. This is somebody's life, and she valued this."

Holiday Ad Inspiration

Holiday ads, they're not all bad.

To Give and To Get...

Here it is - Elements' gift guide for 2008!


Artist Stephen Kitras' Enchanted Forest globes are handblown from 100% recycled glass. The globes are beautiful, each representing a different value: (L-R family, peace, joy, love). Kitras believes that beautiful things enhance the enjoyment of everday life, and that because they uplift the spirit, should be affordable to everyone. $45 each from Uncommon Goods.


Renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz has released what the New York Times suggests is "among her most personal books". In this volume, Leibovitz tells the stories behind the most famous photographs ever taken. And, she's a fellow Connecticut resident, born in Waterbury. Available at Amazon.com or think local and help support your neighborhood bookstore. Random House, $40



For the eco-conscious shopper - stone or seaglass business card or photo holder. Great way to display small items on your desk. Available at Stepping Stones shop at Etsy.com.

This Bonde sideboard from Ikea is designed by Tord Bjorklund. A beautiful addition to any office - particularly in those who already have matching Ikea pieces. :-). Ikea, $400
For the very, very nice designer on your list...this Wacom Intuos3 pen tablet hooks up through a UBS port - simple enough, and gives the graphic artist endless possibilities. The tablet functions both as a digital sketchbook and mouse alternative. From Amazon, "It's easy to use a pen tablet because every point on the tablet has a matching point on the screen. When you move your pen over the tablet the cursor moves in precisely the same way on the screen. Where you touch your pen tip to the tablet is where you click." Amazon.com, $449.


Jessica Helfand, partner at Winterhouse has released Scrapbooks, touted the best gift book of 2008 by the New York Times. Take a sneak peek at The Daily Scrapbook, the book's web counterpart. From the site, Scrapbook is "a gorgeous visual history of American scrapbooks and their evolution over two hundred years." 242 pages, 425 photographys printed in full color. Available at Amazon.com or think local and help support your neighborhood bookstore. Yale University Press/Winterhouse Editions, $45



Inexpensive, yet eminently usable, these little moleskin notebooks are available in a variety of styles. You also have the choice of lined or unlined interior pages. They make a great stocking stuffer! Available at Shoofly's shop at Etsy.com.

Logo of the Day

After a good traipse through the Internet yesterday, I came across the newly launched Logo of the Day site - which is exactly what it sounds like -> a gallery of logos to peruse for daily inspiration.

The logos featured on the site are judged on:

• The Design
• Creativity
• Scalability
• Usability
• Memorability

From the site...

Logo Of The Day is a high-profile logo design award scheme that rewards the best professional logos and trademarks designed throughout the world. All suggested logos are screened by our two judges Jacob Cass & Jeff Fisher to ensure this.

Logo Of The Day is also a place to go for logo design inspiration… daily!

• Logo Of The Day promotes excellence in logo design around the world.
• All logos suggested (or chosen) are screened by two professional, practicing logo designers
  
• All winners will be showcased on the Logo Of The Day website and are eligible for the Logo Of The Day Award of which they can use on their CV or however they wish.
• Logo Of The Day is a powerful marketing tool to promote yourself and / or your design firm.
• Participants are entitled to use the LOTD Badge for display on their website or where ever they wish.

So if logo inspiration is what you need, check out Logo of the Day any day of the week!

Pizza + Cake!

Happy Birthday, Dear Kerry...Happy Birthday to You!

Yes it's true...in a little more than 2 months, the staff Elements has consumed three birthday cakes. This time, it was in honor of Kerry's "birthday week" - since we postponed her birthday from its original date Dec. 1 until today, so that Amy could be here to celebrate.

Hope it was a great one, Kerry!

Design By the Book

Design by the Book is a cool collaborative project between design*sponge (one of my favorite blogs) and the New York Public Library.

The premise is five Brooklyn artists (a glass blower, graphic designer, letterpress printer and textile designer) are invited to go to the New York Public Library to find inspiration. Their journey from exploration and discovery through final project will be documented.

The above video is the debut video in the series where we meet the artists. More to come. Cool concept. Looking forward to the results!

The 5 Brooklyn artists are:

Rebecca Kutys of Moontree Letterpress
John Pomp of John Pomp Studios
Julia Rothman, textile designer
Mike Perry, graphic designer
Lorena Barrezueta, jewelry and ceramic artist

Awards and Accolades...

Elements is proud to announce our newest award to add to the collection: a gold MarCom award won for our postcard series "Share Our Vision" written and designed for Stamford based Icon International. Icon International is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Omnicon Group, the world’s largest family of advertising, marketing communications and related firms.



MarCom Awards is an international competition for marketing and communication professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs and print, visual and audio materials. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops, production companies and freelancers.