portland: ink&peat

I just wanted to give a big congrats to Pam, from housemartin, for opening her new floral and homewares shop, Ink&Peat. You can see some stunning images of the space, and all that fills it at housemartin. Image from Ink&Peat portfolio.

photographer: karl blossfeldt

Loving these images of flora by Karl Blossfeldt. (link via SFGirlByBay) All images from here.

jewelry: mani designs by amber mahler

Design*Sponge's guest blogger today, Alena Hennessy, posted about these gorgeous floral-inspired metals by Mani Designs' Amber Mahler. Amber uses the lost-wax process to cast her necklaces, earrings and rings, which are delicate but definitely wearable. Don't miss the colorful enamel pieces on her website. All images from Mani Designs.

nyc designer: adal ortiz

I was walking around the wholesale flower area of NYC last week (mostly on 28th St.) and the lovely Lauren Page at G. Page suggested a few floral shops to visit. I hopped over to Florisity on 19th St. to find a gorgeous display (pictures from that visit in an upcoming post). Adal Ortiz, the designer I talked with, has a blog that's so full of fun and stylish flowers, and he is incredibly nice... All images from his site.

artist & stylist: d'ette cole

I am so happy to discover that my friend D'Ette Cole has a wonderful website showcasing her talents. I love the fresh feeling of the wedding above, showcased on her site. When I worked with D'Ette in my days of being an antiques dealer at Uncommon Objects in Austin many years ago, I was always in awe of her visual abilities. Voila, now she has a stunning portfolio of her styling and artistic abilities. Do check out her website for lots of beautiful surprises.

The weather was gorgeous here in Boston yesterday, and in fact, we went to the beach in RI to really feel the summer vibe (feels a bit fallish today). I'll be putting up some images and stories from NYC and Boston soon... although posting may be spotty the rest of this week due to internet availability (and general fun-havin'). It's summer, yay!

off to the big city

I'll be traveling today, but I thought I'd leave you with this serene scene created by the folks at R. Jack Balthazar. I feel calm already. Photo from their website.

tweedia

I have to admit I don't know much about Tweedia, other than it's a great shade of blue - and blue is hard to find in a fresh cut flower. Luckily, Florists' Review magazine has a quick guide to everything you always wanted to know about Tweedia.

I'll be heading out to NYC and Boston today from Austin, and I plan to visit lots of gorgeous places! Stay tuned for an update in a week and a half... In the mean time I've got a few posts scheduled while I'm away. Oh, yeah, I'll also be attending the Design*Sponge Biz Lady Meetup in Boston, and I am so excited! I've always wanted to meet Grace.