Anthropologie birthday card

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So in my birth month, August, I received a curious envelope from Anthropologie - inside contained a card with a perforated cupcake, plastic candle and a birthday discount. Turned out that the candle is part of a necklace! The front read:

"Happy Birthday! Make a wish. And treat yourself to something special..." and the back read "Your candle necklace is for you to keep. This little gift is for you and only you. And cannot be turned into chocolate, flowers or cash. It's a one-time treat...."

I love the detail this store goes in to - it gets me every time! The discount came in handy as I also received a gift card in the cutest gift card holder I've ever seen - a little monster! I don't know who created this little monster, but Lizania Cruz (who I blogged about on 3rd April 2010) created the 2009 birthday gift for Anthro - also very lovely.

Images from 2Sisters and Effortless Anthropologie.

If You Could - Exhibition

If you are in London this weekend then go and check out the If You Could...Collaborate exhibition at the A Foundation Gallery, Rochelle School, London E2 from 15th — 23rd January 2010.

If you could is the brain child of art directors Will Hudson and Alex Bec and this is their 4th annual exhibition. There are some amazing and hugely talented designer/illustrator partnerships and I'm absolutely gutted to be missing it, especially as Craig's work is being exhibited. Here are some of the great collaborations (there are about 33 in total):
Craig Ward, Sean Freeman & Alison Carmichael / Oliver Jeffers & Aaron Ruff / Fontaine Anderson & Deanne Cheuk / Mario Hugo & Micah Lidberg / Anthony Burrill & John Griffiths / Marion Deuchars & Margaret Calvert / George Hardie & Leonardo Sonnoli & Sara Fanelli / Rob Ryan & Michael Marriott / Jim Stoten & Andy Rementer...to mention a few!

The exhibition is a chance for creatives from all four corners of the world to partner (with a person of their choosing, regardless of their discipline) and get out of their comfort zones. It has no doubt challenged the way the artists usually work. There was no brief for this project, except to design something a little unexpected. I can't wait to see photos but here are a few tasters of the Ward, Freeman & Carmichael collabration - a type triptych of laser cut wood...

Check out the If You Could website for more photos.

Hoot-enanny!

Top row (l-r): Accessorize necklace; Owl Party paper art by Helen Musselwhite; Fingerless gloves by Manic Knitter; Thank You card by Kate Sutton.

2nd row (l-r): Cupcakes; clock by Decoylab; Paperchase stationery range; Where the Wilds things are cushion from Urban Outfitters.

3rd row (l-r): Mr Owl by Matte Stephens; Charley Harper's Twowls; Sweater by
Kate Davies (also includes free pattern); Wall vinyl by One Up Design's.

Bottom row (l-r): The Little Owl restaurant NYC; Cast-iron trivet from Three Potato Four; Door stop by Rose & Grey.

Happy New Year! and farewell 2009: the year of owls or so it seems...they kept appearing everywhere. Above is a small collection of owl things that I have spotted throughout 2009 and I wanted to share it with you, being that I am the intrepid owl.

I've always liked owls but it wasn't until I cleared out my mum's loft (attic) of my childhood memorabilia that I realised how far back it went...I actually owned a fair amount of owl ephemera. The list of owl 'things' included: 3 stuffed owl toys - ascending in height- from the 1970s (a hand me down from my mum), a photo of me with a tawny owl from when the owl man came to my primary school, a small stained glass window disc, pencil tops, a bag, a t-shirt, a small ceramic owl and the list just went on. I also found one of my favourite childhood books up there: The Owl Who Was a Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson - I still love the cover of this book!

I really liked owls and I guess I still do, hope 2010 is good for you.

Through the Looking Glass - Bergdorf Goodman window displays

Every Christmas it's traditional for the 5th Ave stores to compete against each other via their window displays, and the Bergdorf Goodman A Compendium of Curiosities holiday window displays are a spectacle to be seen.

The theme is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Of course it's no coincidence that Bergdorf have chosen this theme as the hugely anticipated Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland is due out early next year.

This years window display was created by Bergdorf’s Senior Director of Visual Presentation, David Hoey, and his team of artists. The windows are spectacular; complete decadence, nods to Carroll's characters and not and inch of empty space. The team at BG have perfectly captured fantasy through their looking glass displays and they submerge you into imaginary worlds of dreams, luxury fashion and products. Curiouser and Curiouser...

My personal favourite is the paper/stationery window.

Bullet Buddies

While I don't condone gun crime at all I am however in favour of recycling. I stumbled on Rachel Pfeffer's very cute personalised recycled bullets and felt they were way too cute to keep to myself!