2014 is here!
And so is a new wall calendar.
This calendar celebrates the wanderer within...and compliments my new Wee Wander fabric shipping out this month!
Measuring 11x17 it's perfect to hang on the wall all year as a lovely art piece.
Now 25% off until they are gone!
Enjoy!
My mom took a day trip to London yesterday (my dad was just admitted into Oxford University, so they were there visiting) which was perfect timing to see the Ralph Lauren windows at Bond Street in London! Gosh. I wish so bad I could be there in person. It's such a gorgeous building!
(I asked my mom for a souvenir but all she could find were outfits more expensive than my stroller:) So fancy Schmancy. I love it.)
What a fancy little trip, and I just love seeing all your candid pics in front of the windows!
I'm starting to get instagrams and emails with people visiting the window displays around the world, and I can't wait to see yours!
If you are planning on bing in New York City, Chicago, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong this Christmas, don't be shy, and take your pic in front of the window display!
I would love to have a little collection...especially since I don't even know what the set up is in the other stores besides New York and London.
I'm getting ready to load up some "print your own" holiday cards....for any of you that like the comfort of your own home, your own time table, and filling in last minute gifting requirements:)
(I fall into that category big time!)
I just love this time of year. It gets me every time.
Stay tuned!
Well, if you've been checking my Instagram, the cats out of the bag!
This holiday season, the Ralph Lauren Flagship store on Madison Avenue in NYC as well as the flagship stores in London, Chicago, Hong Kong and 10 other stores across Asia are featuring my Nutcracker puppet theater illustrations as their holiday window display this Christmas Season!
Ya. Pinch me.
The flagship store of Ralph Lauren at 72nd and Madison is literally both sides of an entire block. It's pretty spectacular. The buildings are breathtaking, and have a history all on their own. The detail inside and out is just exquisite. The Men's store is on one side, and Women's and Children's on the other...and each has their own themed window displays.
Each of the 7 windows were decorated with my illustrations....here's a tour of the displays!
On the front corner was a winder candy scene with the Sugar Plum Fairy and a dancer from Waltz of the snowflakes.
And of course, Nutcracker and Mouse King.
I love how they used the stage border on all the windows...it went so well with the architecture and feel of the whole setting.
The Mother Ginger window was my favorite. It's hard to see the details here, but she has little dancing children underneath her.
In the corner windows by both doorways, there were lovely framed prints of the Nutcracker Characters. So Magical!
And every window featured my website and name, which was such an honor. It was so lovely to be part of their celebration this year!
I went up for a short little 2 and a half day trip so that I could see them in person. And because Michael Miller Fabrics is located in Manhattan, we made a little outing together. It was really fun to share with them! (Nutcracker fabric coming soon anyone??)
The windows turned out so lovely. I just got goosebumps! How crazy to see something you made at home with your kids on a wintery saturday turn into a window display to be seen all over the world in such a magical setting! Just so cool.
So, forgive me, but I took lots of photos! Here's a photo dump. Hope you don't mind!
Here are some close ups:
Christmas Window displays are a big deal...especially in New York City where people take city tours just to see the yearly displays. So when I was asked to be part of a 5 window display with Ralph Lauren, my jaw hit the floor, and I admit to re-reading the email a few times just to make sure.
Ralph himself toured the windows and sent his approval. And while I was taking pictures, some of the Kardashian Klan popped into the children's store (most likely for Baby North!).
The greatest part was getting to spend a weekend trip with my Mom and baby Anders. What a wonderful getaway! I LOVE NYC during the holidays. It's just so magical. Anders has been quite the traveler lately! Poor guy has to follow his Mama and her crazy designs:)
Thank you Ralph Lauren for letting me in on the Holiday fun! And if you are in NYC this Christmas, or London, Chicago, Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai, do stop by and take your pictures...and send them to me via facebook, instagram or email! I wasn't able to get pictures with my own kids (sigh) but I look forward to seeing yours! I'd love to post any and all of you there at the display!
Here's a list of the stores that will featuring my Nutcracker Windows:
Happy Holidays everyone!! And enjoy making your own Nutcracker little displays :) We are unpacking ours and using them as Tree Decorations this year. Have fun!!
xo
Sarah
I have a really cool secret that I can't tell you just yet. But it's really incredible. My best secret yet.
I'm getting on a plane tomorrow (with cute baby Anders of course), heading on a really cool journey that has something to do with these Nutcracker Theater puppets.
The suspense it too much, I know.
And no, I'm not touring as the Sugar Plum Fairy this Christmas.
I know. You are SO bummed out right now.
But your getting warmer.
I'm going to be Instagramming my journey and you can follow along here
(Even if you aren't on instagram, you can peek by clicking my little camera button on the sidebar starting tomorrow afternoon!)
Eeek! I can't wait to tell you.
But in the mean time, you can download your Nutcracker puppets and start cutting them out, ready to dance.
And watch this adorable video here.
Any guesses? More hints coming tomorrow....
Stay tuned!
xo
sarah
Christmas is in 33 days and I feel like it should still be summer.
I put away my kids summer clothes last week. I felt strangely sad. I bet a lot of it has to do with the fact that I didn't spend much time playing outdoors this summer.
We had summer pool passes. I didn't ever put on a suit. We had perfect days for hiking. I stayed in bed.
I'm so happy I have a healthy baby. And that he stayed inside me. But bedrest stinks.
I don't think I've ever appreciated my body and it's ability to move and play and explore as much as I did this past summer.
It snowed yesterday.
And I am christmas shopping today, and all I can think about is how it feels all too sudden.
Anybody else not ready?
It just feels like it should be summer again.
A girl can dream.
New holiday stuff coming to the shop this week. Stay tuned!
I'm so excited to introduce to you a new calendar for this upcoming year! I've had flip calendars in the past that I know you all have loved. But I thought I'd try something new, and offer a wall calendar to be up for the whole year.
And if you can see....it coordinates with my newest fabric line that I still have yet to show you:) I'm trickling in little hints....and the wild horses are my favorite. Horses are a mild obsession with my girls. Ok, border-line crazy obsession. Ella pretends to be a horse most of the day actually. Truth.
These calendars would make lovely gifts as well. Can you believe it's already November? Where does time go?
So how about a little discount this week? I don't know about you, but I'm trying to get Christmas done early this year. (Ha! Early, like before December 20th:)
I hope you enjoy!
xo
sarah
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When I knew I was going to be an artist, around age 6-7, I wasn't on a quest to find my STYLE. It sounds silly. What child it on a quest to find their style? They are just interested in finding anything.
I was.
To an extent.
From an early age, I knew that if I wanted to learn how to draw a tree, first I had to sit and look at a tree. And draw it while I was looking at it.
But then I realized, that there were many ways to draw that same tree. With a painbrush. With a pen.
With short stubby lines. With long fluid ones.
Each attempt made me feel something different about that tree.
Being exposed to a lot of art as a child, I soon realized that every artist had his own voice, and I became thrilled with so many forms of art.
I get asked a lot how I found my STYLE, and while I won't mention it all here (way too long!) I will say that I did have a very strong sense of what I liked in art and why.
I started out painting because that's the education I had at a young age.
The above painting is a painting I did when I was 15, and I spent the summer copying lots of different artists. This is a painting of a painting, and in my early years, that's how I taught myself.
Here's a portrait I did of my husband when we were early married. But I realized pretty fast that I didn't want to go into painting because it was just too time consuming and frankly, wasn't what I wanted to SAY to the world. But because I had dabbled in lots of areas, I knew that about myself.
But while I had a traditional education in highschool, I knew that wasn't my style. I liked it, but it wasn't my voice. And with the hours and hours I'd spent pouring over picture book illustration, and drawing with line and wash, I really found myself drawn to a more simplistic illustration style. I marveled at how much feeling could be felt in just a few lines and a bit of color. While an oil painting could say so much, I wanted to say just as much if not more, with as little as possible. Which is so challenging. But that's what excited me!
When I started to build my artwork professionally, I spent a lot of time surrounded by my favorite illustrators. I discovered what I loved about their work, and what I had to add to that style.
One hero of mine, Marc Simont, just died last month at the age of 97. Did you hear about that?
He taught me that so much information could be said by just ONE line. Less is more. His artwork challenged me to really be deliberate about my line work and how much art I put on a page. I adore his work!
I have so many hero's, and I might take some time later on to go through more. And identifying the pieces that have made your voice what it is, is really lovely to identify and see. Like pieces of a puzzle. Because often, you don't know what's influenced your style until after the fact.
Finding your own personal style, in what ever it is you do, is a multi-layered journey. And I believe it should always be stretching and reaching for new places. My own style has changed over the years, and I love discovering where it's leading me.
And as a side note, my friend Monica Lee, who has the super awesome site called SMART CREATIVE WOMEN with a site full of interviews from the design world's super creative people, has just launched an online class called SMART CREATIVE STYLE. It's an interactive online course all on developing your own personal style. I have a video interview up on her site today talking about creative process and style! The course includes my input and is full of amazing council from some real style pro's. See her page here!
I'd love to know your thoughts on style, and what you've learned in your own journey. In this day and age when SO many voices are heard and seen online, knowing your own individuality is so important.
Isn't it?