Hello, Friday.

Eiffel Tower on the left, the Sun on the right.

Enough said.

Mesmerizing

Very creative music video, "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie

Give Love, Do Good

Here is a way you can send your love this Valentine's Day AND help a very good cause at the same time.

One of our favorite non-profit organizations, Save The Children (headquartered right here in Connecticut) is offering specially designed Valentine's Day cards for $25 per collection.

The first set of cards (above) were designed by seven different children book illustrators (my favorite is Mo Williams of "Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus" fame!). The second set is artwork created by children ages 11-17 from across the country.

From the Save the Children website: With your donation of $25 or more, you will receive 28 children's cards (4 cards of each design) designed by contemporary artists. Your contribution will help us provide programs that focus on early childhood education, literacy, physical activity and nutrition for children in need who live in remote, rural regions of the U.S.

Below is the video of Julianne Moore, actress and Artist Ambassador for Save the Children, on the Today show this morning with the Valentine's Day cards:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What We Can Learn About Business From A Paris Runway

Straight from Paris, here is a first peek at the Chanel Fall 09 Collection which hit the runway today (as reported by Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director in Paris. What a job she has!).

This collection, in Karl Lagerfeld's own words, "is about thinking differently and going in another direction". Sound like a (now) familiar speech we heard on January 23rd? The part of President Obama's speech which is still ringing in my ears is this statement: "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

There is work to be done. We must begin again. And when we do, we must think differently. Very differently. We must examine everything. This notion has become my business motto for 2009. It is also one I am happy to see the world is adapting, too. Evidence of this, I have discovered, was in the most unlikely of places. The Chanel runway.

It's true. Here, I see the most important messages concerning moving ourselves, our businesses, and our economies collectively ahead.

Permit to explain.

First, consider this collection. It is striped down of any adornments. The color is 'no color', simply white. The styles are not outlandish, but very much back to Chanel's roots of wearable, stylish, beautiful clothing. It is not often I watch a fashion show and think "I could wear that". But here, I do. And that is the point. Lesson #1: Seek broader audiences. Find new markets. Go back to your original business plan (find it, read it) and focus on what made you successful. Then, do more of that.

Next, the models in this show were not permitted to wear any jewelry of any kind, not even stud earrings. Lesson #2: Do not hide behind adornments. If it's not right, all the bling in the world isn't going to make your customer happy or your product/service sing. You know what to do. Now, go and fix it.

The music - simple and not distracting. The lighting, natural white. Lesson #3: Change what's not working, keep what is and throw open the curtain. Really look at your business in bright, harsh, daylight (for once). Face the difficult tasks and find creative, new solutions every day. It could be the little things, such as how you order supplies, or it could be the really big, scary things. Whichever it is, make a commitment to examine everything. Then, execute it.

The elaborate headdresses, the quality and beauty of the clothes, the paper fantasy in white - it is all stunning, complex and yet so simple - almost obvious. Lesson #4: The most important lesson I have to share with you is this: Heighten your creativity. Don't forget to dream. Stay optimistic. Look for inspiration everywhere.

My friends, if a house of fashion as old as Chanel can learn a new trick, than darn it, so can we. It might be right in front of you, so keep your mind open and look all around. Keep a notepad and pen with you at all times. A digital camera, too.

After all, that is how we got here in the first place. Without our imagination, we're sunk. If that means turning off the bleak news on NPR during your wintery ride into the office to play your Jimmy Buffet loud and proud, then so be it. Do what you've got to do to stay positive, happy and inspired.

This might just be another fashion runway - but what I see revealed is a solid lesson in business planning. Let me know what you see. I'd love to have some feedback after you watch this video:

Typophile art

For those of you like myself who love all things type, there are some fantastic works of art to be found on Etsy.com.



I love items like this that can be displayed in my home or office. This one can even be used outside. I'm thinking that it would be great for unique house numbers.






This piece of alphabet art is small enough to sit on a windowsill or a small wall shelf.

You can get this customized to your tastes as well. I'd love to see one with a yellow background with red and orange shapes.




I love the description on this last item:
1) vin·tage [vin-tij]
representing the high quality of a past time: vintage cars; vintage movies.
old-fashioned or obsolete.

2) con·tem·po·rar·y [kuhn-tem-puh-rer-ee]
of the present time; modern.

Yet they can be:
3) tra·di·tion·al [truh-dish-uh-nl]
observant of tradition; attached to old customs; old-fashioned.

OR:
4) funk·y [fŭng'kē]
characterized by originality and modishness; unconventional.

And Always:
5) per·son·al [pur-suh-nl]
particular to a given individual

A Life Cut Short - Dan Eldon

This is one of my favorite books - for inspirational, artist and emotional reasons.


First, and most importantly, was for how Dan Eldon lived. Second, was for how he died - doing his job, doing what he loved. Third, was for the legacy of his life he left behind for all of us. Fourth, was his mother's love and how she continues to honor him. I can connect with her even more so today than when I first learned of his story - now having my own children. I could go on, but instead, I would encourage you to find out for yourself about Dan Eldon if you have never heard of him until this reading.

The story of Dan Eldon is a poignant, inspirational, beautiful but tragic. His was a life cut much too short. I think of where his life and art would be today had he lived. But, like my own brother who passed away at only 29, the world will never know what his life could have been.


Dan was a photojournalist (as I was in my former life) for Reuters and was stoned to death while on assignment in Somolia in 1993. What he left behind was an account of his amazing journey through life. He did a lot of living in his 22 short years (much more than I have so far in my forty years) and documented most of it into 17 breathtaking journals that are scrapbooks - but so much more than that - because each spread in each book is a work of very personal, very telling works of art.

After his death, his mother sought out to publish his journals. She was rejected nearly everywhere until Chronicle Books finally agreed. "The Journey is the Destination: the Journals of Dan Eldon" has sold over 200,00 copies. There is a movie in the works with Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) slated to portray Dan Eldon. There is a permanent exhibition of his work at the Candela/Decker Gallery in SoHo. Another book of his journals was published in 2001 by Jennifer New entitled "Dan Eldon: The Art of Life" with additional journal pages not seen in the first book put together by his mother Kathy Eldon. His family and friends began an organziation called Creative Visions Foundation to support people like Dan who use their creative talents to bring awareness to issues impacting the world to bring about positive change. And the list rolls on - and will continue to, I'm certain, as the story of Dan Eldon continues to spread.


I pour over his book again and again and revisit it often for inspiration on art, photography, journaling - or just how to live. How to live! This book made an immediate and life-long connection with me -as it has with many others - when I bought it upon first publication in 1997. I keep it near by in my office. I have given this book as a gift to friends and family members. Dan Eldon was someone truly special. Someone we can continue to be inspired by and learn from, even now. I hope you check it out.

Living sculpture

Its worth the click.

www.levivanveluw.nl/video/

Plates for Typography Lovers

If you love typography, as we Elementers clearly do, you will also love these comma plates from CB2, Crate and Barrel's hip little sister. I came across these while trendspotting for a client.

Some pieces of dinnerware just make me feel good - and the form of these simple plates takes no exception. And, at $3.95 each, you can't beat the price!

Supermodeling is Hard Work!

We are wrapping up the design for our 2009 Elements postcard series and we needed one last shot of a young child in a gray coat. So my 17-month old daughter, Adaline, finally agreed to play the role of supermodel after lengthy contract negotiations between lawyers and an agreement on my part to provide a new cashmere sweater (under her adorable Sister Sam coat), bottled water and fresh Elmo diapers on set.


Here is a sneak peek (above) from the photo shoot with the talented Catherine Kiernan of Kiernan Photography.

That image will be part of this yet-to-be-finalized February card design:



Please let us know at studio@elementsdesign.com if you'd like to be on our mailing list and we'll happily send you all six cards - one every other month starting next month.

(This last shot is the coddling I had to provide post a long fifteen minutes of work my now sleepy, overworked supermodel provided. Geesh, those models have it easy!)

Change is now.

The following powerful Obama commentary was created by producer/editor Jonathan Buiel.

My Mimosa Inspiration Board

A Good Read

Obsessive Branding Disorder II article written for Design Observer by my tireless, brilliant friend Debbie Millman, President and Partner of the Design Group at Sterling Brands.

Free Fonts!

Grab 'em at Smeltery. (Above is Megalopolis Extra).

This just in ...

And the color of the year from Pantone is (drumroll, please): Mimosa!


According to the folks at Pantone, Mimosa represents hopefulness and reassurance in a climate of change.

"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

It seems to be catching on. I've been spotting Mimosa colored trends everywhere of late. (I am working on an inspiration trend board using Mimosa and I'll post it when it's complete).

Pixels vs. Vectors

Many of you in the design field have probably experienced trying to work on a rush job for a client, only to be emailed a low-res logo for a print job. Even worse is then asking for an .eps or .ai file and receiving an .eps file which is actually just a placed raster image, and having to go back to the client yet again to tell them that it just won't work.

If you are trying to explain what the difference between a pixel-based file and a vector file, check out this video on MacMerc.com. Rick Yaeger explains the differences by comparing the file types to Legos and a Spirograph. Easy enough for a kid to understand!

Book of the Week

3191, A Year of Mornings began on January 1, 2007 as a daily photo conversation, in blog form, between two artist friends that live 3191 miles apart - one in Portland, Maine and one in Portland, Oregon. It lasted the entire calendar year ending on December 31, 2007.

Without conversation or planning, many of the images are of a similar subject - sometimes even conveying a like mood, color palette, or perspective - all quite accidentally. That's the amazing part! When placed side x side, there is a always an interesting juxtaposition which emerges. Often, the two images surprise us by creating a stunning diptych. (Sneak peek photos below).

The project is now available in a gorgeous book and available at Amazon.

3191, A Year of Evenings, the blog, is ongoing now.

What I love the most about both projects (the mornings, and now the evenings) is that it's a collaborative effort between two distant friends and fills my mind with possibilities.

The daily images are a great boost for the imagination and make me stop and look around at the beauty in all the simple things in life - clouds in the morning sky, a simple cup left on a counter, a sleeping cat.

It is a great creative exercise to get you "seeing" that I think I might try, perhaps for a week, to take a picture and post it. You're welcome to join me!

I'm thinking about Valentine's Day today

We just managed to get Elements holiday cards and gifts out the door - and just like that, Valentine's Day is upon us. As we gear up again to send out notes of love + thanks to our wonderful clients, I happened upon these cute mulling cider pouches. I thought they might make a unique and sweet Valentine's Day gift for kids teachers, friends, or even for your hard-working, often overlooked boss? (One can dream).

Found on Etsy, along with some very cute Valentine's Day cards, all made by "Chewing the Cud".

*Many more Valentine's Day ideas in the coming days.

"Green" Cocktails!

116 Crown is the establishment that ever so generously donated artfully prepared appetizers for AIGA | Connecticut's William Drenttel lecture. Today, we can't help but return the favor and promote their upcoming ever-so-clever event - an eco-friendly cocktail party on Inauguration Day, January 20.

From 116's promotional email...

"On January 20th there is one thing the world will be watching. At 116 we will show video & sound of the broadcast of the Presidential Inauguration. In the spirit of this historical event, TRU organic spirits will be on hand and will planting a tree for every cocktail mixed with a TRU spirit served by us that day. Drinking a cocktail has never felt so good!

We'll also be featuring special cocktails & food complete with the spirit of Americana. Now more than ever we are all in this together and by planting a tree for every cocktail sold, helping to make a change is as easy as lifting your glass."

Hey - it's just that easy! (And much more fun than recycling.) 116 Crown is located just where you'd think - at 116 Crown Street in downtown New Haven, CT.

To recieve email promotions about cool events like this, visit 116Crown.com and enter your email address, or check back at Hello Elements from time to time.

Delurking Day!

It’s national delurking day .. so if you are reading our blog today, don't be shy and say hi. On your mark, get set, go on and post a comment!

Mother Nature strikes again

Last week the Northeast was hit with an ice storm. I was working from home that day, and from the amount of ice starting to build up on the deck and bird feeders outside my back door, I could tell we were in for trouble.



I started to hear loud cracking noises followed by thuds. Branches were breaking off from the weight of the ice and falling in my yard and on my garage roof. The power flicked on and off several times, and then went off for good in the early afternoon. I stepped out onto the deck under the overhang of the roof and snapped off a few photos.














The storm was not nearly as bad as those you see out in the Midwest or Northern areas on the Weather Channel, but it made life in the Danbury area difficult that day, with branches and wires down all over.

When the sun came up the next day, there was a gorgeous rosy sunrise that tinted the frozen treetops pink as I drove to work. That's when I really wished I had my camera with me!

Book of the Week

This week's pick is Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing by Anna Maria Horner, who is an amazingly multi-talented woman (and mother of five)!

This richly photographed book contains step-by-step instructions, patterns, basic terminology, and lots of cool projects that are trendy and involve delicious color palettes and irresistible patterns.

You can purchase Seams to Me online at Amazon.com or find it at your local bookstore.

Fallen Leaves

Though my recent trend research on dinnerware websites for a client of ours, I found these beautiful disposable plates by Verterra. These eco-friendly dinnerware all start with collecting fallen leaves from plantations but without ever cutting down any trees. Normally, these leaves would be burned. Instead, they are brought to the factory, sprayed with high pressure water, steamed and UV sterilized, then finally they are turned into beautiful dinnerware.


From Verterra's website: Each piece is made from 100% renewable and compostable plant matter and water. No chemicals, waxes or dayes like those found in disposable paper and plastic options. No harmful toxins that can leach into your food. No worrying. It's also the most durable and versatile single-use product available - use it to reheat in the microwave, bake in the oven or cool in the fridge.

Their dishes won Best New Green/Environmentally-friendly product award at the Natural Products Expo East.

- - - -

Cool, Chelsea! I love these. Nice find. Let's order a 100 pack 6" hexagon plates for our office (and send back the ones we got from Staples)! ~Amy

Baby's Got Sol - and Marketing Skills, Too!

I promised both my children when they were born that although I may lack true "mommy skills", they will be well dressed.

On that promise, I recently encountered a very chic kids store called Sol Baby. I ordered the pictured tweed jacket for my Adaline (shown) and a very hip guitar t-shirt for my son Cole (which was not available in his size so I ordered up and it doesn't quite fit him yet).

When the items arrived yesterday, I was impressed.

And I'm not easily impressed with mail order items.

The quality was even better than expected. The t-shirt was double layered soft cotton, the tweed jacket so stinkin' cute I couldn't wait to put it on her this morning, and wrapped up with my items, a hand-written thank-you note (handwritten, people!) with a bonus little pouch with two adorable (read: not tacky) hair bows for Addie (in, ironically enough, her signature colors of brown and pale pink).

LESSON #1: Value-added. Take note of this marketing lesson. We are always looking for ways to add value in everything we do for our clients and this is a perfect example of another company doing just that and doing it right. Add a little something extra to everything you do and people will take notice and become loyal customers.

Only two things for a mommy to do when such a thoughtful, quality, cool ordering experience happens. 1). Repeat business (which I did this morning by ordering this t-shirt for my cousin's son); and 2). Spread the word. Done.

Rock on, Sol Baby.

The Backstory

Ever wonder what kind of thinking is involved in the design process? Ikea's website is offering a look at the minds behind their products - a section they call Ikea Madness. Simply click on the designer of your choice and follow the arrows.

Note: Be patient with the animation - each story is an interesting read.

r a e d u n n

Three of these beautiful plates by San Francisco ceramic artist Rae Dunn arrived in the mail today. Each small plate (measuring 5.5" x 5") is unique. I love the imperfections of each plate, and of course, the design. To view more of Rae's beautiful work, take a look at her website. She also has an Etsy shop for purchases.

Rae states of her work: "My work is strongly influenced by the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. Built entirely by hand, no two pieces of my handmade work will every be identical ......this adds to the charm and personality of each piece."

I couldn't agree more.

Thanks, Rae.

Just Beautiful

The Sorapot designed by Joey Roth. I apprecitate the thought that went into designing this teapot, which began with Joey's appreciation of how tea leaves unfurl in water. Some sketches in his college notebook and a few years later, the Sorapot is an actual product. You can read more about his story here, including how much thought he put into the sustainability of his design, materials and packaging.