The 2010-2011 brochure (cover), originally uploaded by nac-cna.

My working world before the NAC was virtually paperless. Three years ago, my proud marketing moments would have been related to email campaigns, website launches, new product awards, giant tradeshow booths.

I would never have guessed that my latest proud moments would involve yanking packing tape off of box tops to inhale the sickly-sweet smell of straight-from-the-press brochures, having conversations with subscribers who keep the annual catalog as a coffee table book, or making happy the musician who just can’t believe that a photo of themselves could be so lovely. But now I have many. Including this one, my very last.

Hello, 10-11 NAC Orchestra season. I hope you are a great one.

(For the print junkies: 56-pages, bilingual tumble, bonus front cover flap, and more fact-checking than one might care to think about).

[Photo: Dwayne Brown; Fantastic Design Ideas, Execution and Keeping Me Sane: Banfield Seguin]

journal cover, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

I am a collector of notebooks. You name the size, or the brand, and I probably have a full or an empty one kicking around my house somewhere. When we move, there’s at least one giant box always labeled “notebooks”, so it’s likely no surprise to anyone that my fabric stash would eventually come to this – notebook covers!

Using this fab tutorial from Kirin Notebook, I pulled some favourites from my stash (I love this bird print by Erin McMorris), and made me to-do @ work book just a little bit more fun!

The tutorial is easy, and requires just a sewing machine, a half-yard of fabric (or two fat quarters of one print each, depending on the size of the notebook you are covering), and a little bit of patience for turning things inside out.

Enjoy!

I have to admit (in case you haven’t figured it out yet), that I am a bit of a design junkie. I especially like screen printed goodies from the likes of seripop and others.

I was instantly taken with Eleanor Grosch when I first started seeing her dreamy screenprinted works (like this toothy walrus death cab poster and this pretty iron and wine horsey poster and well…gosh…all of the rest of them too) kicking around band tours and her beautiful tshirts (I heart this octopus and his umbrella shirt) showing up on the chests of people I know and well – I could go on and on about all the stuff she does that I love.

So when I saw these limited edition Eleanor Grosch keds I *had* to have them. And they’re not (or at least hardly) available here in Canada. So I had to wait for the US mail (and first find a place that would actually ship to the US’s freakish northern neighbours). But I did! And they get here today! And they are awesome.

So awesome, in fact, that I am almost too awed by them to actually put them on. I think I should have ordered two pairs.