What Are You Doing New Year's Eve

I'm not a New Year's Eve fan really. The evenings just never live up to the hype. There was that one year I saw Nirvana in SF with a friend and a little known band called Pearl Jam opened for them but I think all the NYEves went downhill from there.




 I prefer to rent a few movies have a nice meal. Friends might come over / they might not - that's fine too. I'll wear my PJs, open a bottle of Champagne sip and toast with my hubby, play on the iPad and fall asleep by 11 – Just how I like it.

I hope you have a safe and lovely night - however you like to spend it.

today

I let go of something big today. It sort of feels like I'm still free falling with that feeling you have when your stomach moves in your body. I'll tell you more soon. It's exciting and scary and  I've nick named it my mid-life crisis.

holiday sale

It's small business Saturday! I hope that if you are shopping today you're supporting a local business. If you're in need of a stock up on items I'm also offering a little holiday treat for everyone. 
Sorry, Not valid for custom orders. Visit the Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/richiedesign

A little holiday treat for all of my peeps. 30% off your online orders. Hurry! sale ends Dec 3rd. 

Give Thanks To The Bacon

Looking forward to Thanksgiving with friends next week! Also lets GIVE THANKS to bacon shall we? it makes everything better, so do you so don't you forget it!

available here

Sassy Pants

in case you had any doubt about me - it's official just call me sassy pants 

image here

disco is the answer

dunno why but I've been all about the disco balls, sparkles and gold lately. It's not really ME per se but I  like it! I find it showing up in my cards and upcoming promo pieces for my wholesale greeting card accounts. I'm going to go with that my insides feel sparkily lately so it's showing up on the outside.

now lets boogie.

photo from here

Sister Corita Kent

I have no idea how I've never seen Sister Corita Kent's work. I feel like someone has been hiding it from me all this time. It's both a thrill to find new / old art that I love and also sadness that I have been without it for so long. It's a little bit of a feeling of being kept from the cool kids. Her hand drawn type feels so modern to me and notably her splashy colors. I'm in art love. I was also thrilled to learn she attended Otis college of art and design where I've done some of my studies.

Sister Mary Corita Kent, was born Frances Elizabeth Kent in Fort Dodge, Iowa.^[1] Kent was an artist and an educator who worked in Los Angeles and Boston. She worked almost exclusively with silkscreen and serigraphy, helping to establish it as a fine art medium. Her artwork, with its messages of love and peace, was particularly popular during the social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s.^[2] Kent designed the 1985 United States Postal Service annual "love" stamp.^[3]

After high school, Upon entering the Roman Catholic order of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles in 1936 Kent took the name Sister Mary Corita.^[4] She took classes at Otis (now Otis College of Art and Design) and Chouinard Art Institute and earned her BA from Immaculate Heart College in 1941.^[5] She earned her MA at the University of Southern California in Art History in 1951.^[6] Between 1938 and 1968 Kent lived and worked in the Immaculate Heart Community.^[7] She taught in the Immaculate Heart College and was the chairman of its art department. She left the order in 1968 and moved to Boston, where she devoted herself to making art. She died of cancer in 1986

tiny gardner

we planted tomatoes late this season and here are the fruits of our labor. Just call me the tiny gardner.

#citylivin'

New In The Studio - That New Baby Smell

I can't tell you how much I love kissing neck creases. Let me squeeze on your little person and I'll go straight there.

new in the shop - the perfect new baby card

available here

New In The Studio

I needed a card for an upcoming wedding we're going to. I love when I can create something for my own needs, I feel like it has an authentic use then I guess.

baby shower, wedding, engagement, new job. Hand drawn script, letterpresses with bright yellow ink.

available in the shop

Shark Week

gear geared up for Shark Week over at the store!

RIP David Weidman

I'm sad to report that Artist David Weidman passed away. I feel so privileaged that I had the opportunity to meet such an amazing print maker last summer. He was a very good flirt! I had him autograph his out of print book and I bought one of his abstract prints. 

He's had a number of his prints featured on Mad Men in the past few seasons [office art]

and a resurgence from the mid century modern fans. 

If you're interested in some of the last prints available you can find them here in Long Beach at Inretrospect on 4th street. I believe they are only one of two stores to sell his work.

His little bird series always made me giggle but his abstracts are where my heart is.

My husband says, I have no idea what it is, but she loves it so there ya go.

xo

Alive Inside

We saw the preview for this last weekend and it brought me to tears. The power of music!

Fun new stamps at the post office

Hot Rod Stamps - perfect for a boy's birthday party, baby announcement

or your husband!

available at the USPS 

It's a zoo around here

Last week I was working on a fun project which of course I can't fully tell you about. Some of the props were centered around a kid's birthday. I decided to go BRIGHT and luckily the client loved the idea.

Zoo animals and paper boxes spray painted in brights. Wouldn't this make the most fun kids party?

You would have to be a crazy mom to do this though. Painting the animals took a long time.

ombre bags that matched the animals were my favorite. I had to grab a really quick photo on the ground at the studio since I couldn't photo it in it's real home. 

Super snazzy sprinkle cake by Sweet & Saucy in Long Beach.

Love You More - New in the shop

Love You More 

available in the shop today!

Congrats - new in the shop today

I'm not sure if you've figured it out yet but I hate a card that only can be applied for one event. I think they should all cross over at least 2 different ways. Take this fab neon Congrats card - perfect for a baby shower, wedding, new job, engagement or congrats on divorcing that $%&* [tell the truth you never liked that dude anyway] 

ships with a bright sunny yellow envelope

available in the shop

I'm out this week

I'm out of town later this week but a lot of stuff has to get done before then.

have a lovely one!

a self promo photo

 so this happened.

I fought the urge to airbrush the shit out of my 45 year-old-self. 

thanks to eric hameister photography

being authentic

I work really hard to develop card concepts and it's really not flattering AT ALL to see someone change a few words around and pass it as their own. I thought I would post MY card today and remind shop owners that are headed to The National Stationery Show in NY about my original – Since this person will be at the show and I am not.

We are all inspired by one another. Be inspired but be authentic.

available here and nationwide at Urban Outfitters - Interested in wholesale? email me: richele[at]richiedesigns.com

#sad #nss #nationalstationeryshow #glutenfree 

Cos Stores

Today my prayers for affordable nun chic may have come true.

Cos Stores [the sleek sister to H&M] opened their online shop in the US today

before their NY and LA stores open for business. I may have gone kinda crazy

buying a few things. [I'm explaining it by saying it's an early bday gift to myself]

a perfect collar 

I think if Jil Sander and The Row had an affordable baby this would be it. Also, if you're not keeping track. The Row opened their first store today in LA. I've thought about applying for a job just so I can fondle the clothing and alligator bags [kind of not joking]. I couldn't afford the clothing even to work there so not sure how that all works for the sales staff.

perfect nun chic skirt

I'll report back when things arrive. I'm expecting to return a few things but would kind of be jazzed if it all fit perfectly. Beware if you're ordering they have a 14 day return policy. 14 days? not even sure how that is suppose to work but I'll abide.

the sheath [they were sold out of my size]

and a cute grandma shirt

so good

Andy Warhol poster 

This. Monday.

it sort of feels like this today.

via Pinterest. Sadly, I couldn't find the original source.

looking for the lemonade

I'm looking for the lemonade in the situation but I had my bag stolen last week from my office

[involved my boss running after the guy and helicopters / police] it was a lot I'm not going to lie

so today I spent 3 hrs at the DMV [the great equalizer / humbler], 2 hours at my bank and another 2 hours at the phone store trying to put my life back together. When it's all done I'll write a post titled "what to do if your purse is stolen" so you can reference it if the situation ever arises for you. {I truly hope it does not} 

meanwhile how lovely is this piece of art? artist Kazuaki Yamauchi

overwhelmed

when life gets overwhelming. I come back to black and white. It's all I want right now. Like a mug of soup on a cold day – It's comforting. Life is overwhelming sometimes don't you think?

managing a business, hiring new people, saying good bye to others as they move on to new things. Taking on projects that are out of your comfort zone. All good things, just a lot.

The good news is that the weather is beautiful here and I walked over to get a Slurpee today after an afternoon meeting. It's the little things.

 Also, I can recommend a house cleaner. She makes life very, very nice!

images from here

that's just SUUUUper

new color way available on this all purpose card: available here

Neon Pink Mother's Day

on press today with a fun little neon mom's day card.

available here.

I would say follow along on Instagram today for more fun, but it seems to have crashed today.

wah wah.

S'Mores

I'm burned out, in need of a business change so I decided I need to hit the refresh button. 

I'm headed to CAMP

I have no idea if this will be the most awful thing ever [I don't do games and karakoe] but I'm so tired that 4 days without my cellphone sounds like a dream.

All I have to say is that there had better be a s'more involved and a stiff drink.

NEW IN THE SHOP: MOM WOW!

mom's are pretty much Superheros without the capes. Who else can do a load of laundry while getting a kid out of a underwear accident and see from the back of her head that the other kid is sneaking a cookie. designed so that you can use it for Mother's Day, birthdays, or just the normal tuesday when your mom is rocking the house down.

available here

SOME THINGS I'VE BEEN DIGGING LATELY

I'm in full color, full production mode with the revamp of my biz identity and the shoots I've been on lately. Lets jazz it up people!

ALL FROM HERE

LEND ME A HAND

I've been on a kids shoot over the past week or so. A few days in-between lifestyle and studio.

It's the most fun, most tiring of jobs. Our biggest shot: 5 kids under the age of 6, with all of the sugar they could shove in their little mouths. We had an hour before it imploded – I can't say who did first the adults or the kids? It was a draw.

Can't wait to show you images. This sad little hand was on the ground outside the house we used. It sort of spoke to what I really need and that's a hand or two to help out. 

a new look

most folks who do this whole blog thing roll it out properly, everything it all tidy and redesigned at once. Yep, not me… it's going to be a slow go over here getting everything changed but ya gotta start somewhere. I'm excited for a new look and feel hope you enjoy it as well.

-the lazy designer

Slim Aarons

shhh… don't tell my husband but I couldn't not buy it. I've been thinking about it for weeks and the sale is almost over.

One Kings Lane

a first kiss

Butterflies - a little shy - a little sexy. What a first kiss feels like.

)

what a fun and amazing video.

YES

VIA SWISSMISS

Angela Adams - new Spike Rug

Chris and I have been redecorating. It's been a bit challenging because I honestly expected him to just say 'go for it' since he likes what I do most of the time. So I was surprised when he had some pretty serious opinions. Like - I don't want that brand new boring sofa, I want our room to be funky and cool. Umm ok, I had only picked out the boring new sofa so he would stop complaining about the the "uncomfortable" stylish one we have now.

He wanted to add the craziest fabric to the new sofa I had picked out. Thank you rational sales guy at Room and Board for helping me talk him out of it. [I would have had a very expensive headache for years to come]. So we still have our old sofa still but got rid of a couple of things, found a few more cool vintage items on Craigslist [how amaze balls is Craigslist for stuff like that?] But now we need a good rug. Something jazzy and not boring as he puts it. Something that ties in all of our colors. We've got a lot of red going on, some lighter greens and neutrals. 

I haven't liked anything till I saw this upcoming rug from Angela Adams.

 Made of Plush, New Zealand Wool I think it might be the one. 

Available May 1st [ahhg I have to waitttt]

PS. I also just discovered this section of her site with floor models of furniture and discounted rugs! 

there is some pretty spiffy things happening there too.

New in the shop: Tattoo Mother's Day Card

I'm not sure about where you live, but here in Long Beach [LA for that matter] Ink is big. I can't commit to art that permanent and my mom is so happy to have the ultimate in art damaged kids [that I can't decide]. I thought I would spoof all this fun body art around here this year with a Mother's Day card.

Funny enough, I was at the market the other day and the fella checking me out had a lovely very colorful robot tattoo on the inside of his forearm. He and I were chatting about it and he said, well I never PLANNED to get a tattoo. My best friend is a tattoo artist and we got to drinking one night and I woke up with it. I said well, that's the best dang drunk tattoo I've ever seen! He said his mom was going to be so bummed and I told him about this card. Violá. perfect in every way.

available here