weblog by angel robinson

This morning I woke up thinking about a conversation I had yesterday about colors. It was a discussion about what color is mushroom. Is it brown? Is it grey? Is it something in between or a combination of the two.  This discussion led me to thinking about other colors, specifically eggplant. We all think of purple when we hear the color eggplant even though the vegetable got it’s name because it was originally white and literally looked like an egg hanging from the plant.  Even eggs though, as seen in my previous post, come in a myriad of colors. Nature is so beautiful and wonderful. Perhaps we need to rethink what our assumptions are when it comes to ascribing color.

This topic comes up a lot for me as a stationery designer because you have to be able to interpret what a client says. You have to know that truffle means chocolate brown, that gravel means medium grey and charcoal means dark grey and not black like coal. And of course you have to be able to know the subtle differences between cranberry and pomegranate, and persimmon and carrot!

 When you think of eggplant, do you think white or purple?

Find any brown or grey mushrooms in this bunch? I love the bright blue on the milky white stems. The red ones are nothing short of AMAZING! And the delicate blush of the pink and yellow stems with white caps just make me happy.

 We all think of carrots as orange, but did you know they were originally purple? Growers created the orange variety common to us now by mixing strands of purple, white, and yellow carrots.

{photos courtesy of Fatfreevegan.com, Steve Axford Photography, and TodayIFoundOut.com, and Verbswish.com}  

I’m an admitted magazine junkie and one of my favorites for images and content is Martha Stewart Living. Yesterday, I was flipping through an old issue on the iPad and came across this photo of eggs.

I found myself transfixed by how beautiful it is and how perfect nature is. It also made me think of how these shades of eggs from the bright white to dark brown correlated to shades of people. From there I began flipping through other magazines to just notice and appreciate the beauty of people and our different shades. I hope that one day we can truly see the beauty of humanity, especially in light of the tragedy in Japan today. Different colors, different shades, all good.

{photos courtesy of O Magazine and vintage Elle Magazine cover}

Have a great weekend!

There are times when Amazon.com gets it 100% right. A few weeks ago I went to the site and as usual it said, “Hey Angel, based upon everything else you’ve looked at, we think you might like this.” Normally, I glance at whatever the suggestion is, but this time I clicked through and I’m so incredibly glad I did. Amazon.com introduced me to the work of the supremely talented Isabelle de Borchgrave.

Ms. de Borchgrave is a Belgian born artist who creates spectacular works of fashion out of paper. Yes, you read that correctly: PAPER! The moment the book arrived, I poured over each image marveling over the craftsmanship and talent it takes to create these works of art. If you have any experience sewing with actual fabric, you know how hard it is to get fabrics to drape correctly and to form the proper silhouette. To make that happen out paper in such a realistic way is nothing short of amazing. The word genius is thrown around a lot, but in the case of Isabelle de Borchgrave, it is earned, deserved, and apropo.

She handpaints all the patterns for her designs. These kimonos feel like they could be artifacts.

 I love her combinations of rich color and traditional folk patterns.

The pieces are stunning! I could absolutely see the blue dress on a classic Elizabeth Taylor!

The little girl’s dress makes me want to be a kid again. I would have worn that in a heartbeat! And the details of the red dress are genius. This draping is difficult to get right in fabric, let alone paper!

Are you just as amazed by these works of art as I am?

{images courtesy of Isabelle de Borchgrave’s website. And you can find the book, Paper Illusions: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave by Barbara Stoeltie, Rene Stoeltie and Hubert de Givenchy on Amazon.com.

I know Honeysuckle has been ordained the color of the year. Lately, however, I’ve been obsessed with yellow. I’ve never been a fan of yellow. I can appreciate it. I have appreciated it. But, I can’t say I’ve ever gravitated towards it for any reason. Styles change and people change. Maybe it’s the passing of seasons, but yellow is on my mind. It’s such a happy color and as I recall from my design classes in grad school (urban design, not graphic design), yellow is the closest color to white.  As I flipped through magazines on the iPad this weekend, yellow just called out to me.

How gorgeous is this cake?

I want everything on this table, the bottles, the tags, the straws, and the recipe!

Arent these dresses fun and lady-like? The yellow color is divine!

I know it’s corny but the yellow balloons just seem like joy bubbles behind this happy couple.

The pink and yellow combination makes me happy.

Of course, no story about yellow would be complete without the gorgeous simplicity of lemons!

(photos from Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine and Whole Living Magazine)

What’s your yellow story?

I am not an interior designer. I don’t even pretend to be even though I’d like to think I have style. Thanks to twitter, I have lots of interior design friends now and I absolutely love to see them in the process of their work as they create mood boards and inspiration pieces to curate a room. Often, the mood boards can be as beautiful as the finished space. Inspired by them, I decided to give you all a glimpse into how I curate my stationery collections. I begin by thinking about the mood I’m in, the feelings I would like to share, and the experience I want the collection to convey. It is not lost on me that stationery is a tactile object so I care about the texture of the papers I work with. Finally, I believe that stationery should represent the time in which it was created and yet be timeless, so I select patterns that resonate with me in a current, classic sense.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I’ll share more of my process as I go along. Consider this my behind the scenes reality show!

{Marcia Baldwin and Iwona Jankowski paintings hanging above my desk. Yes, I know they’re crooked. :)}

{one of my favorites by Marcia Baldwin}

{this is what I wake up looking at every morning, a beauty by Marcia Baldwin}

Many years ago, I went to an art exhibit at my alma mater Wesleyan College.  I was a sophomore in college and fell in love with a painting called Gluttony which was part of a series called The Seven Deadly Sins.  I don’t know why I became so attracted to this painting.  I just know that I wanted it. And I know it cost $199.  I debated and debated about buying this painting.  I vividly remember asking Dr. Carole Brown (does anyone know whatever happened to her?), who was Dean of the College at the time, for her opinion. She told me a story about she and her husband. When they were first married, their first purchase together was a piece of art. They didn’t have furniture, but they had a painting on the mantel. She said that she loved that painting more than anything. The moral of her story was, if you love it, buy it.

Eventually, I succumbed to my frugal upbringing and didn’t buy the painting, even though I had the money in the bank. To this day, of all the decisions I’ve made both personally and professionally, I still rank that one as a part of my biggest mistakes.  I’ve never forgotten that painting. Never forgotten how much I loved it.  Never forgot that my only reason for not getting it was that I thought it cost too much and that it would be irresponsible of me to spend that much money on myself for something to just look at.

I learned my lesson.  Since then, I have not denied myself a piece of art if I truly loved it.  I have an extensive collection photorealistic oil paintings by Louisiana-based artist Marcia Baldwin. I discovered Ms. Baldwin years ago through her ebay store.  When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I prayed for two things: that my family got out safely (they did) and that my paintings, Lladro ballerina collection, and family photos were safe.  My prayers were answered on all three even though I couldn’t salvage much beyond that. I am grateful, forever grateful.

My entire collection isn’t hung yet because I haven’t figured out places to hang them since I’ve moved back to New Orleans. And the ones that are hung aren’t exactly straight. But, I don’t care. I love them. I love looking at them. I love the joy they bring me.  I love that I bought some of them even when it meant I wouldn’t have lunch money for two weeks until my next payday. I love them.  I learned the lesson Dr. Brown was trying to tell me. Art fills your heart and soul. It’s not a decision I ever plan to make merely based upon what I think I shouldn’t have or deserve.

My art collection is so dear to my heart. I don’t say no to a painting if I see it, really love it, and have the money. Art isn’t disposable. You can’t come back the next week and find another one or shop around to see who has a cheaper version.  I wish I’d learned that lesson when I was 19 years old because then I’d be staring at Gluttony in addition to my field of flowers.

Learn more about Marcia Baldwin here and purchase her work here.

I love words. Always have. Always will.  Recently, I used one of my blog posts to create this wordle. I love it! I’ve been wanting to create one for awhile that I could frame. I think I may start with this one.

{photo is the cover of the first digital edition of the Martha Stewart Living Ipad app which is stunning and amazing}

I adore Martha Stewart. I have watched her show and read her magazines for all of my adult life.  She has been an inspiration to me as a crafter, homemaker, and businesswoman.  Martha reminds me of my grandmother, Isabella Robinson, who was the person in my life who cooked and sewed and gardened and created beauty out of the mundane.  She passed away when I was ten years old; but in that short time, she taught me how to crochet and craft and raise chickens and how to make a mean pot of red beans and rice, which to this day is the best thing I can cook.

 Martha Stewart reminds me of that time in my life when I sat at my grandma’s feet and just learned. I learned by watching what she was doing and by asking questions. I’ll never know what else she had to teach me. But I do have Martha.

The Martha Stewart Living brand has been about elevating the art of the everyday. I get that. She gets me. I aspire to live the way Martha does and even if I never have my own Skylands or Turkey Hill, I do have my own place in the world to create beauty in my life.  I know my grandma is happy that I can still appreciate all of the things she tried to teach me and all the things she never got the chance to teach me. And that is why I adore Martha Stewart.

 {photos courtesy of Mrs. Alonda Morehead} 

Recently, a high school friend of mine circulated some gorgeous pictures of her son. It goes without saying that he is absolutely adorable. However, what I immediately zoomed in on was the monogram on his shirt collar. This is a fantastic way to modernize a classic button-down shirt in an unexpected way as monograms are usually on the cuff.  Also, I love that the typography is fresh and modern and in a non-traditional configuration.  I am totally inspired to add to my monogram collection. I’m also totally inspired to embellish my collars!

After the extremely positive feedback from my first inspiration board, I decided to do more. Here’s the second in the series which will become postcards available soon.  I believe everyone needs to have words on encouragement around everyday.  Life can get overwhelming and it helps to know that everything, eventually, will be alright.