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We found out that Lisa Yee was going to follow up her American Girl signing with a signing of her latest book at The Blue Bunny. I have been wanting to check out this store for quite a while, so it was the perfect excuse to head up to cute, old town center in Dedham Mass.

The Blue Bunny is the brainchild of author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. I have a lot of respect for his philosophies and work, so I expected that the store would be a great blend of toys, books, art, and fun. And it was!

Here we are with our friends the Sheas, who came up from CT for the signing.

Seriously, for me as a toy designer and a children’s book creator, it doesn’t get much better than this! The children and adults who were there that day seemed to agree- it’s a grand place to explore.

According to Lisa, ours was the very first copy of her new book, Warp Speed, to be signed. WooHoo! The book is about a Star Trek geek (there might be a couple… a few…OK, FIVE Star Trek fans in our house), so it was a must-have addition to our nearly complete Lisa Yee library. She’s such a great writer- and just the kind of role model that you want your kids looking up to.

I got to hold Peepy! She’s clearly a girl. And we both were rockin’ the stripes.

Lisa’s back in sunny California now, but we are glad to have seen her here on the East coast. We will certainly be back to The Blue Bunny- and if you live in these parts, check it out. You won’t be disappointed!

Do you like paper dolls? I loved them as a kid, as well as any kind of cut-out craft like “build your own town/diorama” books like that. My daughters seem to have inherited that gene (the gene for wanting to cut and assemble stuff). I recently found this odd vintage set on Ebay:

OK, so it’s a set based on the 1968 movie version of “Finian’s Rainbow”, which starred Fred Astaire as Finian and Petula Clark as Sharon. It also starred one of my movie favorites, Tommy Steele as Og, the leprechaun. Yes, there’s a leprechaun in it. Needless to say, this is one weird movie. It’s got a very fun musical score, and a very bizarre story line. But in 1968, you could get paper dolls based on it! And wow, only 29¢. What a deal!

I wouldn’t cut such a lovely thing up, but I WOULD scan it and print it onto card stock so my girl could cut it up!

I particularly like how the characters each have outfits from the movie, and also extra outfits that are just stylin’ sixties garb- vests and scarves, oh yeah!

I miss the times when paper dolls were seen as legitimate entertainment. Well, they still are around here.

I found this fab Bjørn Wiinblad tile at Savers the other day:

He was a Danish artist who cranked out a great amount of decorative ceramics and art. What’s not to love?? He had such a charming style, very distinct. His ceramics are sometimes printed with his line work and sometimes rendered in 3-D:

He also illustrated posters and prints like these:

He lived a good, long life, apparently- born in 1918, he only died in 2006 after creating decades of design. What do you think about his art?

I am adding this new category to my blog merely to have an excuse to post things that I find and love.

I LOVE these.

They are pages from a French ladies magazine, circa 1957, hawking L’Alsacienne Biscuits. The artist is Hervé Morvan.

Seriously, what’s not to love??

As I said, I picked up a few things at the Brimfield show last week, because you can’t go there and NOT find anything, that would be impossible.
For me, anyhow!
Old stuff is aesthetically more interesting than most new stuff.
Again, for me, anyhow!

Some of the things I am a sucker for are vintage children’s books:

This coloring book is from 1934, and was never used. Why is that a little sad?

These are from 1950- I especially love the alphabet one!

These are teeny- about 3″ each. Wee stuff is always extra cute!

A little salute to Belgium and Holland:

That’s a wine label, I think…plus some sweet wooden shoes.

I always manage to find at least a few “new” old fabrics…

New-old stock Easter candy box= LOVE!

Another mysterious love- old, unused stickers, preferably the gummed paper kind, and especially if they’re in their original package!

Also an unused decal from one of our favorite meccas…Santa’s Village in NH!

And a little something more medieval, too:

Rampant unicorns! Huzzah!

That’s most of what I picked up. I guess I am generally an ephemera lover!

… can you smell it? Fall, Autumn, the wind whistling, a few leaves blowing by…and miles of antiques!

September is when one of the three yearly Brimfield shows occurs, and I snuck away for the day with my mom to partake in the hunt. It turns out that I collect pictures just as much as real stuff (no, more), so herewith are some photos of things I thought were cool, and some of the stuff I got while there. Really, I think the fun is just in the poking around, looking through decades past.

‘Twas a brisk fall day, cloudy for the most part, but with sun poking through occasionally.

Every season is Christmas at Brimfield:

These are some mighty fine paper candy containers:

Here’s something you don’t see anymore, not even in Scotland!

I love the naive painting on this set o’ dwarves…

Here’s a good way to get ahead!

Cute horse ride-on…

This set of cut-out house from the turn-of-the-century was SO beautiful:

I wish they still gave out Green Stamps!

Nifty Halloween stuff:

That’s a lotta bling in one place!

Rachael Ray, you’re the tops. Once again, one of my designs has turned up in her monthly magazine, specifically April 2010!
The item is called Budget Cuts, and it’s a piggy bank with various budget-related “cuts” outlined on it. Get it?? Haha! So you, too, can save your pennies for lottery tickets and donuts. Mmmmm, donuts.

Here’s how it looks all by itself, from the FRED site:

OK, I had never been to a Bar Mitzvah before last weekend. I didn’t know what to expect, really.
My good friend Barb’s son Ben was the guy of the day- and what a great job he did! The actual ceremony was beautiful. Luckily for us, it was explained along the way, full of music, and very joyful. Then, after that….

BAR MITZVAH BLOWOUT!
The party portion took place in a grand ballroom that was decked out like Fenway Park:

The kids had their own head table and buffet of kid-approved foods:

No detail was left to chance! As far as I could see, everything was perfectly themed.

The kids (mainly 13-year old boys, of course, but with a smattering of girls, too) were able to take instant pictures in a photo booth, get into Red Sox gear and have their photos put into banners, and visit their own ice cream bar. There was a kid-friendly concession stand:

And guys on hand to airbrush custom t-shirts (the kids could choose the design):

There was a beautiful cake that had a lot of tall candles on it- each candle represented an important person in Ben’s life.

The Nook was well-represented that night. Here’s Monica, MB, and Janet, wearing their Bar Mitzvah best!

There’s Ben in the middle of the dancers (yes, dancers!):

‘Twas a night that brought out the best in everyone. It was impossible not to have a great time. Thanks to Barb and Phil and Ben for letting us share this amazing experience!

Yes! I finally managed to get up to Brimfield for the fall show. If you’re not from these parts, it’s a simply gigantic antique show that sets up 3 times a year. Sprawling. Hundreds and hundreds of dealers. If you’re into vintage, retro, etc. you WILL find something interesting here. I did not come home empty-handed!

I saw this cute guy on patrol in his owner’s booth at the beginning of the day. Sure enough, he was still there when we headed to our car at the end of the day!

First thing I found was this wooden/paper litho target game. LOVE it. Vintage games from this era are a big favorite of mine.

More litho- but this time on tin. What a great little snippet of the 50’s- the turkey in the oven, the Dutch girl on the shelf, the gingham curtains! June Cleaver should be showing up any time now.

I have a big collection of wooden shoes from the WWII era…souvenirs brought home by soldiers after the war. Even though they vary a lot in decoration, I don’t usually find any that are vastly different from ones I already have. But I found a pair at Brimfield:

Here are a few fabrics destined to be made into Recycle Rabbit stuff. Well, at least the 70’s prints will be. I was originally going to hack up the German tablecloth and use it for parts, too- but it’s TOO COOL as is. Guess I’ll use it as a tablecloth!

“I like you America”…haha! Must be from the Bicentennial!

This gingerbread guy is an exact duplicate of one I had as a wee child in the 70’s. He had a tragic “accident” when my friend and I tried to give him a bath in some collected rainwater outside. I remember my mom hanging him on the clothesline to dry, but then he “disappeared”. Well, HE’S BAAAACK!

(with the original tag, no less!)

One more: this painted tray is just the perfect shade of red, and has just the right sense of joie de vivre.

Inspiring? I think so. Mind-numbing quantities of things to look at? Totally.
The next Brimfield show is in the spring!

I love seeing where my designs turn up. Here are some neat new places to find a couple of my items!

Crazy Books, the Food edition is coming out in October in Germany from Edition Braus. The publisher is debuting it at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year. My Calf and Half creamer is in it- keep your eyes open when in Germany (drat, I was just there a few weeks ago)!

Here is the current Fall ‘09 MOMA (Metropolitan Museum of Art) catalog, with another of my glass items, the Half-Pint Creamer. Every purchase made thru the catalog supports the museum. Sweet!

I’m loving the line quality and colors found on these cute little tray/dishes from Norway.
They are marked “Stavangerflint” on the back.
Graphic happiness!

We were lucky enough to do some traveling this summer, both visiting with far-flung family and your usual sightseeing. We spent 5 days in Alsace, the grapey part of France bordering Germany, then went for 6 days to the Black Forest in Germany, then another 6 days in Bavaria. Needless to say these are visually stunning areas, and I took waaaay too many pictures. But hey, the blog has been ignored for quite a while, so here we go!

First things first. We flew into Frankfurt and stayed there for a night before driving to Alsace. You should know something about Germany. In Germany, the eggs wear hats!

Driving down to Alsace, we stopped in the town of Wissembourg. They have an unfinished cathedral there.

Complete with delightfully macabre medieval graves.

Alsatian towns are unbelievably beautiful. Nearly every town we passes through was picturesque.

We stayed in this nice old building in Kaysersberg, overlooking the mountains and vines.

Believe me, there were mountains of vines!

Half-timbered houses everywhere contribute to the fairy-tale feeling.

Every town is full of candy and pastry. I love these big picture windows full of delights.

Self portrait with sweets. It was not possible to eat everything, so I took pictures instead!

There are also tons of pottery makers in the area. OH, if I could only fit 500 breakable pounds of ceramics into my suitcase, I would. I so would.

They make them on the spot. This lady was painting traditional blue designs on grey clay.

I am obsessed with dangly signs. There were lots to see!

More windows! Look at the cool pewter ornaments- they make them for every occupation.

Another great sign, complete with the requisite multitude of grape vines growing up the hills.

I wish I had a pastry shop at the end of my street. Maybe I can convince one of my neighbors to open a shop?

No matter how far you travel, you’re never far from gnome. Sorry, bad pun. But great gnomes! I really liked the tidy-but-natural gardens found throughout the area. That’s my style.

Pedestrian friendly towns-

with plenty of hand-carved details.

Oh, yes. Could there also be a charcuterie at the end of my street? That would be swell.

Kugelhopf! The official cake-like substance of Alsace!

Alsatian kitty!

Alsace is also famous for it’s nesting storks. They are encouraged to nest on the tops of the steep roofs. So beautiful!

This is Colmar.

I really wish someone would open up a European bakery at the end of my street.
I know, I said that already. But if I keep saying it, maybe it will happen!

Here is the best stone carving ever! It greets you as you enter the town of Bergheim, which is still surrounded by the medieval city walls. I forgot exactly what he is supposed to signify! But let your mind fill in that blank.

The castle at Haut-Koenigsburg:

Fabulous double-tailed mermaid decor! Who says they only have one tail, anyway?

Another obsession of mine- stained glass, medieval style!
I might have a few too many obsessions.
Nah.

And here’s the view from the top of the castle, juuuust before the incapacitating rainstorm!

Here are some lovely sign from the town of Rosheim, which happens to be where the French half of Eric’s family can trace it’s root back to. Homecoming!

Alas, we had to miss the Fete de’ l Escargot. Quel dommage!

Next up… scenes from the Black Forest…

Where else but New York City! I just got back from a whirlwind 4-day stay in the Large Apple with some of my most excellent illustrating gal pals. Two of the aforementioned pals had their own booths at Surtex for the first time, and the rest of us went to cheer them on, help out, and walk the shows. Barb’s booth was bursting with licensing goodness:

And Monica’s was all a-flutter with fun freshness:

Barb and Monica did an AMAZING job of putting these booths together, they truly looked excellent! Surtex (or any show like this) can be grueling in terms of setup/breakdown, and manning the booth for the whole time. Way to go, girls, for managing this. We also got to see a bunch of other blog buddies and other illustrators, like Jannie Ho and Holli Conger. Very fun to see everyone converging in one place!

Laura and I also got to check out the ICFF/International Contemporary Furniture Fair.
Despite the name, there is no cotton candy or pig racing at this fair. You will, instead find things like this:

Lots of furniture, lighting concepts, and home fixtures of all kinds. I always like to check this show out since some of my Fred work falls into this genre of design. Speaking of design, here’s Laura in the fabulous Japanese pavillion:

Here’s one of Mary Beth’s two Louie-nominated greeting cards at the Stationery Show:

And OH! Look! Here’s Mary Beth with the actual Louie Award that she won! WooHoo! The Louies are given to the the best greeting cards of the previous year. MB’s cards were designed for the Museum of Modern Art, NYC.

Our hotel had excellent views of about a hundred water tanks!

And look at this ridiculously green rooftop garden amongst the grey. I never once saw anyone up there enjoying it!

As usual, you can never predict what you’ll see in New York.
Maybe you’ll see:

A ginormous button and needle. We couldn’t figure out the weird configuration of button holes on that button. Then we decided it was “art”.

I love this homage to the city’s immigrant garment workers!

Weeniemobiles…times three!

Giant rotating lobsta! And a chick in a bathing suit looking on. Weird.

Serious M&Ming going on at the 3-level M&M store…

Or, if you prefer your chocolate to be Hershey’s, just go across the street.

My hero George M. Cohan will gladly show you the way to any of the freaky sights in Times Square. Just be glad I didn’t take a picture of The Naked Cowboy.

One of my must-go-to-places in NYC…the giant Toys R Us, complete with Ferris wheel inside!

Life-size functional Tyrannosaurus? This is always amusing no matter how many times I’ve seen it.

Likewise insanely large things made out of Legos.

Speaking of which, look at these cool Harry Potter Lego guys in the FAO Schwarz:

To cap off the Surtex/NY experience, we went to Angelo’s in Little Italy for an amazing dinner. It was sort of like Federal Hill, but, um…more so!

We’ll be back next year to do it all again!