It has been a busy week preparing for the move into the new studio – choosing a paint color, finalizing furniture, etc. I can’t wait to share photos! We will be starting the move tonight and so I’ll be sure to snap some “in progress” photos as we work.

Today, though, I had to tear myself away from the studio plans to get some good old-fashioned bookkeeping and office work done. Usually this devolves into me looking online at office and organizational supplies rather than doing actual work. Here are some of the fun things I found that are now on my wish list. Not only are we currently moving into a new studio, but we’re also undertaking a massive home office overhaul, so I think some of these accessories (some functional, some frivolous) are must-haves for the reorganization!

vintage desktop accessories from Hello Victory (LOVE this little shop! Keep up with their newest finds on their blog here)

stylish and functional desktop accessories from russell and hazel

feminine desktop accessories from seejanework.com

functional storage from ikea and cb2

I recently came across Mincing Mockingbird and immediately loved the paintings. I loved the details of the birds, the color palette used, and the sometimes awkward angles of the birds and layouts of the paintings. These birds express some serious personality.

Then I was even more pleasantly surprised when I saw that the artist doesn’t take things too seriously – check out the greeting cards they then create from the paintings. These cards give the birds a voice and make many of their facial expressions come to life – many times in ways you don’t expect, but they end up being the perfect expressions for each bird and its portrayal in the painting.

Check out Mincing Mockingbirds Etsy shop or their BigCartel shop for more images and to buy either a painting or a greeting card.

We have some big news!

This weekend, we will be moving to a new studio! While we’ve loved our location in downtown Kirkland in the Brooks Building, we’re very excited to announce that we’re moving to a new, larger space! We’ll still be in downtown Kirkland – only a block away from our old location. (Literally – old address: 613 Market, new address: 730 Market).

We’re moving to a second floor studio and will be sharing the studio space with the talented ladies of Woodland Flowers. More details to follow, including before and after photos!

The move is exciting, but somewhat bittersweet, since we’ll be leaving the studio we’ve been in for the past 2 years. It has served us well – but we’ve very excited to be moving on to new digs! MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!

Just a quick update to the little challenge to ourselves – and possibly others (if you’re not sure what we are talking about check out this post):

Well, Whitney and I did it. (Personally, I did fall behind with my commenting on Friday, but caught up on Saturday.) Both of us noticed that there were a couple of days that when we went back and thought about it, we ended up commenting more that three times without even realizing it. We’ve also both found new blogs that we suddenly can’t live without – both of our google readers are even more loaded up now than they were before. Up next: week 2!

In the words of our friend Keith – Viva Communication!

Some of you will remember this post about Jim Datz’ Manhattan poster – the first edition sold out quickly, but there’s now a second edition available for purchase! Hurry!

Buy it here.

Can we just say we love blogs – we love reading them, we love writing for ours (and sometimes others) and we love the virtual dialog that happens with each post. This virtual dialog is something we realized we have neglected over the past few months or even more. While we never forget to read the blogs we love, with things like RSS feeds and our iPhones, it makes it so much easier to read the posts and move on. The problem is; no dialog.

We read blog posts and say to ourselves or to each other things we would normally want to say to the writer, but then don’t pass it along because we are out of the habit. No more, we say! No more. We are starting a movement! Well, okay , not really a movement, but for the next two weeks Whitney and I have set the goal to comment on at least 3 blogs we read daily (each of us individually) to help keep dialog going. We hope that after two weeks it will become more habit to comment on some of the blogs we love and not just be 3 comments either – we have numerous blogs we keep up with.

If you too have felt the same we encourage you to start commenting again too. Take up our same challenge and let the writers know how you feel about their post. Tell them that you agree or disagree, you love it or hate it or just that you love reading their blog. Why not start today?

Shoot. Another way to waste time.

all photos from the daily wag

I just discovered Martha’s two frenchies, Sharkey and Francesca, have their own blog: The Daily Wag. How did I not know about this sooner? In any case, the blog is stinking ADORABLE; Sharkey and Francesca share with all of us their love of travel, farm animals, and antiquing, their irritation with Bill O’Reilly and skunk attacks. Each post is accompanied by a gallery of the two bloggers on their adventures- let’s just say it’s a great way to waste time.

What do you think? Should we let Stella be a guest blogger here? She doesn’t have quite as many adventures as Sharkey and Francesca, but I’m sure she has some very important things to say…

I’ve been drawn lately to stark patterns – I’m loving all of the zig zag I’ve been seeing in clothing, stationery, and home decor this year. Some of my favorites:

rubie green bedding

linda and harriett notepad, invitation, and greeting cards

madeline weinrib rug | twinkle living throw pillow

anthropologie dress and skirt

My ‘must have’ book list keeps getting longer. Along with numerous other books (including other typography books) I now must add The Typographic Desk Reference to the list. While it looks as though it may be a bit 101, the layout looks great and a good brushup on terminology. I love the stark white cover and while I know you should never judge a book by it’s cover – how can you go wrong a book dedicated to all the elements that makes up type?

photo via http://typedeskref.com/

I am long overdue for some new glasses – to be perfectly honest, my last eye appointment was so long ago I’m kind of embarrassed to go back to the same doctor. But in any case, I’m really excited to do some shopping for some new specs! So of course, these caught my eye – Pantone Universe eyewear. The arms are interchangeable depending on your mood, wardrobe, maybe even the design project you’re working on that day…