i’m always excited when i see an email from wayne pate in my inbox. this time it’s because he’s got some great new work launching next week and we get to see a little sneak peek. next week wayne will be adding beautiful new prints ($35) and heavy stock letterpress postcards ($6.50) to his e-shop. the letterpress postcards are smaller versions of his existing ‘flock‘ and ‘love saves the day‘ prints and are perfect for jotting off new years wishes or a casual thank you for holiday gifts. these new pieces won’t be up until next week, but if you’d like to go ahead and pre-order with wayne you can email him right here and he’ll get you all set up. [thanks wayne!]

image by kirby collins

today’s city guide belongs to a town much sunnier and warmer than where i am right now: miami, florida. brought to us by miami local, kendra borja (who runs a
public relations and communications consulting business), this miami guide is part of of two and is dedicated to two areas: south beach and north miami. i hope you’ll enjoy her guide to shopping, eating and entertainment in miami. stay tuned for part two! click here for the full guide, or just click “read more” below.

as always, if you feel like your favorites are missing please feel free to leave your recommendations in the comment section below.

read more …

if i’m ever lucky enough to go to paris again in my lifetime, i plan on spending much more time at french design mecca, colette. when ac and i visited a few years ago collette was closed for an event and i wasn’t able to check it out, but thankfully colette has opened an e-shop! so now i can browse their incredible design section, accessories, art books and much, much more. i’ve chosen some of my favorites above and below but you can view their full selection right here. they also have a section of guest blogs, some of which are pretty interesting.

[image above, clockwise from top left: azzaro belt, beauty to go water, vuitton city guides 2009, caperino and peperone candles, tann's pencil case, samsonite 'trunk beauty' case, bow tie, alexis mabille brooch (i want this so badly), botanika candle, alyssa norton liberty fabric bracelet (also want this badly), pharrell candle (yep, cast from his hand), moscot sunglasses]

today’s sneak peek takes us into the industrial chic home of sherry stein. her white “villa” is in a historic building from the 30s in downtown santa fe. after eyeing the building for years, sherry knew she had to grab the small, 700 square foot upstairs apartment when it became available. the big challenge was downsizing to fit into it, describing it as a true exercise in creative editing. the result is very impressive, showing white space is a good thing. click here for more images of sherry’s home, and here to check out her great bags. [thanks, sherry!] -anne

[above: The large fireplace became the center of the room. The oversized couch and Douglas Fir benches and dining table were all made for a loft I had in San Francisco - my designs and the impeccable fabrication of J.Spix, a cabinet maker based in Sausalito.  The orange '50's Danish chair, designer unknown, was acquired from a second hand shop in Santa Fe. ]

I loved the  white radiators, which became part of the furnishings, plus the great view of an open courtyard and historic buildings of Santa Fe. table setting: I have the great fortune of having three close friends as potters to complement my white porcelain dishes.

this is where I do all my computer work before heading out to the shop where my S.Stein Workbag line is being made (that’s one of my bags beneath the table).  The rolling stainless steel table was from a recycled office furniture warehouse in Portland, Oregon, the stool designed by Jeff Covey (shown at Herman Miller and DWR) and the simple shelving unit from Gorilla storage.

The bedroom furniture, made of Oregon hemlock, was designed by me and made by J.Spix. I made the black-out shades from recycled felt and tan canvas.

i published an ikat guide with the help of my wintern des last month, and of course i keep finding new pieces i want to add to it. this gorgeous ikat teapot is available at sheherazade in nyc for $45 is is calling my name. it would really add some style to my morning cup of tea. click here for more info and to shop. [the ikat bowl is right here]

over the holiday break i did a fair amount of crafting. whether it was stamping, sewing or paper-related, i managed to break out my craft baskets a fair amount and use some materials i’d been dying to try. one craft i’ve always wanted to master, but still haven’t, is paper cutting. so i thought i’d start the day with this gorgeous piece i saw on katy elliott’s site, which comes from elsita at the heart of paper cuts. if i could make something like this i would be one happy lady.

speaking of being a happy lady- if anyone is looking for some fun books to read, i’ve been thoroughly enjoying the southern vampire series (aka, the sookie stackhouse books/true blood) courtesy of my soon to be sister-in-law. i read 6 out of the 8 books over the last two weeks and they’re a really fun winter read.

our last sneak peek of the day takes us down to buenos aires, argentina to the home of eliza jane curtis, the mastermind behind the beautiful hand-printed greeting cards morris & essex. she describes her cards and apartment as reflections of her love of color, plants, animals and a bright jumble of vintage influences. i’m totally loving her space and it’s openness, which is definitely different from the architecture in maine, where she is originally from. check out more, full-sized images right here (photos by caitlin m. kelly). and don’t forget to check out her super cute site right here. [thanks so much, eliza!] -anne

[above: Living room seen from the stairs. This space is so huge. sometimes we have fun dragging the furniture around to switch things up or make room for ping-pong games or movie projections.]

The bedroom is sunny and white. The windows and door open out onto our terrace.

Most of the furniture came from the huge Mercado de las Pulgas flea market a few blocks away. The beard picture is by ashley g. I love her bearded men. This guy looks a lot like Mike. I made the paper cut-out. The bear-headed lady is from Oh My Cavalier.

This is our dining room. It was once an open courtyard but now it has a glass roof. There are still old tree stumps embedded in the poured concrete floor. I love how many older buildings in Buenos Aires blur the lines between indoor space and outdoor space.

It’s cool having a jungle in the dining-room.

The kitchen is little but it works fine. I recently enjoyed an inspiring interview with Mark Bittman about cooking in a tiny kitchen. I made the curtains using a carrot for a stamp. The bike print is from Chris Piascik.

Homemade spice labels.

i love these crazy bathroom walls. the couple that owns the apartment are friends of friends, they painted all these squares.

Bedroom window, looking in from the terrace. . . I found the red apple tray on the street last year. What luck!

Sometimes I work on projects here. I do have a separate studio space, about ten minutes from home. The plastic swimmer is just one of the interesting characters in my little plastic figurine collection. Notebook is from Sukie. I made the yellow pattern painting and the folded-paper egg. It’s great seeing birds looking in at me through this window when I open my eyes in the morning.