Yes, it is 102 degrees here in Austin, but in the stationery world, summertime means beginning preparations for the upcoming holiday season. I'm very excited to be offering flat Christmas gift tags this season. They are sold as boxes of 10, and, as a bonus, come with red and white bakers twine! I have a few more surprises up my sleeve for the holidays that I'll be sharing soon. Here's a photo I snapped while assembling tags for a wholesale order.
I recently ordered some new stamps from the USPS and love seeing them on envelopes! I've mentioned before how the Postal Service has really upped its game when it comes to well-designed, eye-catching stamps. Here's my new favorites:
Ferns stamp // Songbirds stamp
I'm very excited about the newest retailers stocking Happy Cactus Designs products!
First up, the beautiful shop Lilify in Monterey, California. Not only do they have a brick and mortar shop, but they also do amazing floral arrangements.
Next, Love Ding, a fabulous new shop in South Austin (pictured above). This gem of a shop is chock full of beautiful modern furniture, tabletop accessories, paper goods, art prints, and more. I was really impressed with the well-curated selection of items.
Finally, you can find our merchandise at paper & i in Marshall, Michigan. They stocked up on a lot of cactus and floral designs so their customers can add some blooms and cheer to their homes when the chilly winter sets in.
You can see a list of all of our retailers here.
1. A sweet Tory Burch's wristlet featuring an all over botanical pattern.
2. I love the burnished look of this J. Crew wildflower necklace.
3. Fun and funky dahlia earrings from Bauble Bar.
4. Dolce & Gabbana's stunning floral brocade dress.
5. Happy Cactus' Thanks card features layers of hand-drawn floral blooms.
I had been longing to take a ceramics class for quite some time and finally had the opportunity to take a wheelthrowing class at Laguna Gloria here in Austin this past spring. I had hardly any experience with wheelthrowing - I think I took a class in high school. It was a really tremendous experience to learn how to throw pots on the wheel, to improve my technique week after week with a lot of practice, and to get to push the boundaries of how I express myself creatively. Here's a few pictures I took of some pieces of work in various stages.
I'm back in my studio after spending July on an epic road trip all across Colorado. It was an amazing adventure and afforded me a lot of time to gather inspiration for future collections and to think about new directions I want to take Happy Cactus Designs.
In the coming months I hope to share new work inspired by alpine hikes, scenic drives through mountain passes, and the colors of wildflowers in full bloom. Here's a few favorite snaps from the trip.
1. What's a better gift for a new baby boy than a personalized towel from Pottery Barn?
2. I love this little wooden boat. Would be great for nursery decoration!
3. The perfect welcome baby card for an August baby.
4. I think this large tote from Sea Bags would be great as a diaper bag for now and as a beach bag when baby grows up.
I am beyond excited to share that Happy Cactus Designs cards are featured on the COVER of the summer 2014 issue of Stationery Trends.
Stationery Trends is the leading trade show magazine for the stationery industry and is read by paper and gift boutique owners, designers, event planners, and members of the press/blogosphere.
The cards shown on the cover are my flat cactus note cards. They are sold as an assorted set of 8 and really stand out because I hand-finish each card with gold paint. You can find them in the shop here.
I have been working hard to improve my product photography (I take all of my own product photos - learn more about my process in this post) so it is quite validating to see my work on the cover of a magazine!
If you don't subscribe to Stationery Trends, you can check out a digital preview of the summer issue here.
Cover image credit: Stationery Trends
1. Beautifully hand-crafted wood veneer sunglasses from Tumbleweeds.
2. Turquoise chandelier earrings perfect for any fiesta.
3. How awesome are these cactus embroidered cocktail napkins from Lettermade? I think I need a set asap.
4. A thank you note inspired by the colors of the desert sunset.
5. The perfect planter for succulents.
Heads up! The online shop will be closed June 27 to July. While you will still be able to place orders, these orders will not ship until the week of July 21. Thanks for your understanding!
This past spring I introduced new flat note sets that are perfect for thank you notes or quick letters. It was really fun to create designs for this collection.The Orange Tree design is one of my favorite motifs that I created.
It is sold as a set of 10 cards. You can find it in the shop here.