trend i love: chevrons

I just can’t get enough of the zig-zag o-riffic CHEVRON trend. I am counting down the days and saving my pennies for the Missoni for Target collection next month. I call dibs on any tote bags at the Encinitas store!

DETAILS: //1//Blue Chevron wedding invitation by Delphine for Wedding Paper Divas    //2//Gray chevron bedding from Urban Outfitters    //3//Blue herringbone glass from Artedona    //4//M Missoni chrochet knit dress    //5//”This Side of Paradise,” by Fitzgerald    //6//Missoni tote bag    //7// Customizable yellow chevron iPhone case    //8// Yellow herringbone glass from Artedona    //9// Yellow Chevron wedding invitation by Delphine for Wedding Paper Divas.

artist: jesse lefkowitz

Illustration by Jesse Lefkowitz for Washington Post

Because I occasionally outsource illustration (for Delphine stationery and for graphic design projects for clients) I am on a bunch of illustrators’ eblast lists. I consider it one of the best perks of being a graphic designer! Lots of interesting pieces of art end up in my in box each week. It’s super inspiring, and a welcome break from pharma spam and “you’ve just won one billion euros from the Italian lotto” notices.

I just have to share these awesome illustrations Jesse Lefkowitz sent me; he illustrated the chipmunk/turtle/toad one for a story about how and why animals hibernate for the Washington Post, and the money pyramid illustration for Money Magazine.

Illustration by Jesse Lefkowitz for Money Magazine/Making Money in 2011

Sidenote: I love Jesse’s bio. You should read it. And then you should hire him. Clipart: booooooo. Real illustrations by real people: yaaaaaay! 

color palette: bright and bejeweled inspired by gwyneth paltrow's oscar 2011 look

I missed most of the Academy Awards this year because I was working on a deadline. But I did manage to catch a glimpse here and there, and I loved Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress and brooch. The stark silvery white background, with an unexpected pop of bright color is such a happy color palette. 

No. 1 Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress at the Oscars 2011 inspired this colorful palette (photo by Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com)    No. 2. I love using the Kendra Scott color bar — I created these colorful earrings to mimic the look of Gwyneth’s jeweled brooch   No. 3 A fun fondue set from Crate & Barrel — would be fun for a screening party   No. 4 White couch with bright chairs by Roche Bobois   No. 5 Gwyneth Paltrow’s brooch at the Oscars 2011   No. 6. Delphine’s Ava and Amelie wedding invitations — our most popular invitation designs have been printed in just about any color combo you can imagine. I especially like them in bright colors like yellow and pink   No. 7 Alice in Wonderland — love the colors in this Walt Disney cartoon classic  No. 8 Pink and Orange china by William Yeoward from Michael C. Fina — I think they’d look fabulous as a mix and match set. 

At the Pantone color trend seminar I attended last month, “black and white with pops of bright colors” was one of the color palettes discussed as being important for 2011 and 2012 product design. I like what I see so far!

invitation color palette: mimosa yellow and sky blue

Early 2011 wedding invitation color combination trend report: blue and yellow! Yay!

In 2010 we printed purple wedding invitation after lavender wedding invitation after aubergine wedding invitation after lilac wedding invitation … I am the first to admit that purple is not my favorite color, so I have to say that I am thrilled to see this purple color trend starting to die down.

Last year we printed a ton of purple for wedding, like this Meeting Street invitation.

So what is replacing it, you may ask? Well, I think it’s a little too early to identify a sure wedding color trend, but we getting more than a few sample kit requests for yellow and blue combos. I love this combination — it’s just so HAPPY and perfect for a summer wedding.

Our HIBISCUS wedding invitation, letterpressed in blue and mimosa inks.

Yellow also looks great paired with charcoal grey, doesn’t it? This is our Etienne save the date with a freesia yellow background.

We’re also seeing lots of light pink and muted metallic sample requests, which I think is just the dreamiest, most romantic color combo for a wedding. We’re working on getting a photo shoot together, so I promise more photos of these new trends in wedding invitation color combos very soon!

nice package: japanese fish snacks

Sometimes when I’m seeking a quick, “sure thing” jolt of design inspiration I head to Ranch 99, our local Asian food market. It’s full of visual treats like the restrained packaging of these fish strips. (So restrained, they held off on using a “s” in the word Fishnacks).

Some of my other go-to spots for inspiration are the beach, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, my back yard, indie boutiques shops, and my local park. I just noticed that none of these spots are plugged in. Where do you go to get a quick fix of inspiration?

haute off the press: chrysanthemums stickers

Our CHRYSANTHEMUMS stickers were designed to work great either as return address stickers or as party favor stickers. I really like how they look in our “bleu” ink.

haute off the letterpress: custom moroccon invitation

One of our lovely clients, fresh from a trip to Morocco, asked us to design a birthday party invitation inspired by photos from her trip. We worked together to come up with the perfect palette: peacock and marine blue, paired with bright white 100 percent cotton paper. We toyed around with graphics of Fez hats, moroccon slippers and lamps, but decided upon the pitcher as it was the most festive looking. My favorite touch is the patterned liners.

photos ©delphine

color i love: electric blue

J'adore the electric blue color that Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing on the cover of the latest Vogue (August 2010). Personally, I think electric blue is the only great thing about the "new wave" revival. How does she manage to always always look oh so chic: polished but not stuffy; on trend but not, you know, trendy; classic and fashion forward at the same time?!?!! Also, I'm in love with her kitchen:

You can read the article about Gwyneth Paltrow on Vogue.com. Photos by Mario Testino

real wedding: hibiscus letterpress invitations

Read the inside scoop on these fun mimosa yellow and blue letterpress Hibiscus invitations we printed for Jennie and Jeremy on Oh So Beautiful Paper. Jennie and Jeremy were contest winners about a year ago; their wedding is in a few days and I'm so excited for them!

logo crush: blue marble ice cream

I have yet another logo crush. Don't you just love the simplicity of the Blue Marble Ice Cream logo? I think the bright blue color is awesome -- crisp and refreshing and totally different from all the pink and reds that are usually associated with ice cream brands. I spotted one of their ice cream carts at the Brooklyn Flea Market and had to sneak a shot of the scene. 

real wedding: westport save the date

Here at Delphine we love it when brides (and grooms) make our designs their own. Altagracia and Casey customized our Westport design to create this western-themed save the date for their upcoming nuptials in Jackson, Wyoming. Using our fun customizer (preview in real time! instant gratification! yahoo!), they chose the Rope and Rose fonts and Chocolate and Blue inks. We digitally printed it, for super fast turnaround. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Can't wait to see what they order for their invites.

behind the scenes: the press room

photo by delphine

I snapped this shot at the press room last night as we were printing the new Baby Animals Collection. I love these colors best of our entire palette: ciel bleu, citron green, limonade, and celadon green.

32,000 blow ins

Last month we had the honor of designing and printing The Strathmore Show's call to entries. This month we spent many (many, many, many) more hours on press printing 32,000 new cards for them. That's right, 32,000. These will be inserted in the next issue of my very favorite trade publication, Stationery Trends magazine. This time around we went with a blue, steel grey and silver color scheme. You can read more about the first postcards here on delphine-ephemera and here on Mohawk's fabulous new blog, Felt & Wire.

baby elephant

(1) Coming soon to Cardstore.com: new baby elephant birth announcement photo cards by delphine! (2) Super soft blue baby blanket with little elephants by Dwell for Target. (3) Adorable baby elephant (love those ears!) sculpture from West Elm. (4) Elephant (and hippo and snail) ceramic banks by Dwell, available at Velocity.

mimosa and blue iris

I'm a long time fan of Pantone's 2008 color of the year: Mimosa. And last year's color of the year, Blue Iris, is starting to grow on me. I've been looking for a tote bag large enough for my laptop (most laptop bags are so ugly! why is that?) and think this mimosa yellow tote from Target might do the trick. I'm also loving the sweet yellow t-shirt from Anthropologie. And I picked up this blue iris cardigan over the weekend to match our upcoming NSS booth ... can you guess the color scheme for the new collection???