housemartin

soft + natural

I love these ceramics by gleena on etsy. The colors are so subtle and delicate. The designer, Asya Palatova, makes all gleena tableware porcelain pieces are porcelain in her studio in Pawtucket, RI. "Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Asya spent her early childhood summers at her family dacha, a Russian country house. A gathering place for friends and family and surrounded by her grandmother's carefully tended gardens and apple trees, the dacha is a source of endless inspiration for Asya's organic shapes". So lovely and organic. You can also visit her website here.

 

on the road

I am going to be headed down to the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend. Headed for some sun and family time (yes, it's still 55 degrees and rainy in Portland - hello, Summer, are you there????). Does anyone have any fab new shops or lunch places I should go see in SF or Berkeley? I always love shopping tips! Thanks in advance!

graphic

I am so excited to get this line in to ink & peat very soon. It is called SusyJack* and is created by New York designer Susan Connor. The patterns are bold, modern, and fresh. I can never have enough notebooks to fill up with lots of ideas, can you? All of Susy*s products are printed and hand-assembled in the USA with recycled products. Can't wait to doodle and jot! She also does an amazing wall calendar with nature inspired images.

warmth and light

Coming very soon to ink & peat - Votivo candles! I know you are all familiar with the classic - red current candle...but have you smelled these delicious additions? Here are some of my favs. Close your eyes, you are 9 years old playing in your neighborhood in the middle of summer with your friends. You come upon an overgrown honeysuckle bush and each kid sneaks a few blossoms to taste the sweet nectar...Yes, I am telling you that is just what the honeysuckle candles smells like! Also the Moroccan fig is vanilla laden and divine, the deep clover like a breeze in a grassy field, and the vanilla bergamot so lush and dreamy. These intense scents fill the room. Ahhhhh!

flower bliss

I found this lovely lady  - Simone of Miss Pickering - as a commenter on my blog. What a charming shop she has in the stone-built market town  of Stamford, which is 100 miles north of London. The shop is late 15th Century, and is in a street of equally Medieval buildings. She does gardeny and lush floral arrangements and the shop looks so sweet. You can read more about her on her blog here. Take a deep breath, ahhhhh!

appliqué charm

I love this project Portland designer Anna Joyce did. We sell her charming pillows in the shop. She lovingly appliqués adorable patterns onto solid linen. In this case, she has recovered a mid-century chair seat. Those lollipop flowers would look so sweet in any dining room! Below are some pics of her working in her studio as well. You can read her blog here. Also locals take note - Anna will be teaching an applique class this summer at Portland's own Modern Domestic! All kinds of stitchy goodness! Happy weekend friends!

(all photos by Greg DeBoer)

baby style

Having been a textile designer, I always appreciate a line that is driven by great patterns. And I love seeing kids in little kurtas and white cotton with ethnic prints in the summer. Look at these adorable outfits by Rikshaw Design. You can read more about founder and designer Catherine Fitzsimmons on her blog here.

(found in Lonny Magazine)

 

color + mood

I always forget how much I love Bhavna's blog An Indian Summer. It's always good in blogland to venture back and see some old favs - they become new favs! Her posts are a site for sore eyes. Last week she posted about Elle Decor India. Here are some fab pics of the interiors shown in the collector's edition magazine.

mod

I have been a fan of San Francisco artist Kelly Tunstall's work for quite a few years now. Every once in a while I go to her site to check out what she has been up to lately. I never tire of these mod and etherial females.

 

ink & peat on facebook

Did anyone see that hilarious 30 Rock show where they talked about the social media group "YoufFace"? Well, folks about a month ago I finally bit the bullet and setup a fan page on "YouFace" - errr I mean Facebook for ink & peat. So you facebookers can catch up on all our housemartin blog posts (and happenings with ink & peat the store) which feed directly there as well! Go check it out! Oh, and while you're there - we would love to have you as a fan of ink & peat, pretty please with sugar on top??? Just don't "finger-tag" us!