International Inspiration

We're always on the lookout for design inspiration. Take for example the enchanting Village Bar in Kuala Lumpur—a visual wonderland of stacked bottles and arabesque lanterns. We use every opportunity to collect regionally inspired textiles from around the world: in Bangkok we found cheerful printed cottons, in New Orleans, vintage brocade, and in Santa Barbara, CA we found a mass-produced watercolor map which will be used in our compositions.

Each one of our handmade cards tells a story which may cross many continents and many years. And every one melds these disparate influences into a unique piece of art.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine (We couldn't agree more!)

Color and Line

The online artist's community on Etsy is one of our favorite resources for handmade objects and inspiration. These Escher-esque embroidered necklaces by spinthread use color and line so beautifully. We'd like to think these same aesthetics are reflected in our own work. And we'd also like one of these necklaces in every design!

Spinthread's work can be purchased here.

Paper Sculpture

We love the unusual things artist Yvette Hawkins is doing with paper. There are so many beautiful and useful ways to repurpose textiles.

You can see all of Yvette's beautiful creations at her website: yvettehawkins.com

Great Finds in SoHo

To commemorate our trip to New York for the National Stationery Show, we purchased some great paper from a little shop called Pearl River Mart in Soho. Look for bits of these papers to show up in Viridian Press cards soon!

Gorgeous Colors From the Farmers' Market

We find color inspiration everywhere, and the fresh summer produce at LA's farmers' market is no exception. Freshly-made jewel-colored blood orange and Meyer lemon marmalades, bright apricot and strawberry preserves, and crisp refrigerator pickles capture the colors and flavors of summer.