criterion covers

a selection of some of my favorite Criterion Collection covers...

images via Criterion

lora lamm

via Display

luke best

illustrations by Luke Best

via here.

matte stephens

I always love me some Matte Stephens...

anna emilia laitinen

illustrations by Finnish artist Anna Emilia Laitenen. So beautiful & delicate.

prints available in her shop.

vintage cigarette labels

a random image search about hand-painted signs in Mexico (there are such amazing signs all over the country) led me to these beautiful vintage cigarette labels. I love the typography and illustrated elements (they have a bit of an unrefined/folk art element to them).

more here.

rené gruau

LOVE these works by fashion illustrator René Gruau... especially the color palette in the top right image.

via here & here 

alex steinweiss

alex steinweiss. the inventor of the album cover (no really). before him, albums came in plain brown wrappers.

genius! can you imagine creating something so innovative & influential?

more covers (& images via) here. AIGA write-up here.

vanessa bell covers

I love these first edition Virginia Woolf covers hand-painted by Vanessa Bell (Virginia's sister).

sign painting

Hand-painted signs are one of my biggest weaknesses in life. I love them and unfortunately it doesn't seem as though there are many people left who devote themselves to the craft (especially here in Central Florida). I'm intent on trying to hand-paint lettering & signage on our storefront windows so I've been doing some research for inspiration..

Here are a few things that I found and thought I would share.

Below are a few samples from the portfolio of sign painter Wilhelm Arrenbrecht (c. 1890) to showcase lettering options to clients (via here).

below are a couple samples of gold leaf lettering by New Bohemia Signs based in San Francisco (view more samples from their portfolio here). They still hand-paint all of their signs and their work looks incredible.. If they were local I'd hire them in a second.

check out this short video with sign painter Damon Styer of New Bohemia Signs to get a glimse into the process and how he got started:

 (video via Font Feed)

AND (if you're not bombarded enough) here is a blog chronicling the process of creating a documentary on sign painting across America. There's loads of great images and inspiration.

enjoy!

because it's a colorful kind of day.

I've posted about these hand-printed textiles before but they just seem so appropriate for this hot summer day in Florida..

via here.

vintage constellation cards

Ever since i researched inspiration for this invitation design I've been in love with vintage illustrated astronomy charts. These are from a book of 32 hand-colored postcards published around 1825 in London. You can read more about their history and view the full set of cards here.

images via here.

Jim Tierney

lovely storybook style illustrations by Philly illustrator Jim Tierney.

images via Jim's portfolio site

inspired by: laura carlin

illustrations by laura carlin.

via heart agency.

Inspired by: Jay Ryan

I began designing show posters after I moved to Orlando and met Nathan (for his band and a few venues in the area). I fell in love with it and it became one of the first ways that I really began experimenting with combining my illustrations with graphic design. Jay Ryan was (and still his) a huge inspiration.. I'm mesmerized at how he can make a screen printed poster look so detailed.. and having that freshly sketched look.  ..not to mention his amazing hand drawn type.

And... seeing that screen printed wedding poster (2nd in on the bottom row) was the first time I realized wedding invitations could be awesome. So, thank you Jay. 

images via here.