the haystack needle

thomas paul melamine plates

To be clear, our kitchen cabinet is stocked full with plates. Overloaded might be a better word. I cannot adopt any more, not even the summery melamine plates for dinners on our roof (I'm all set with a stack of melamine from the Orla Kiely for Target collection and Bon Genre.) But hopefully one of you is in the market for some unbreakable, lightweight, melamine plates. Thomas Paul designs a new (even cooler than the last) melamine collection every season. I adore the Thomas Paul nautical Scrimshaw plates, and I'd pair them with his Portland gingham line — I love a table dressed with mix-matched plates. If your cabinet's full like mine but you have an empty wall in the kitchen, these plates would be a fun start to a Lisa Congdon-inspired plate wall, don't you think?

(photograph of Lisa Congdon's kitchen via design*sponge)

paint by numbers plate

Oh, Anthropologie. Your site is such a danger zone when I'm trying not to spend money. This fantastic Paint-By-Number dessert plate is part of the print series, "111 Reasons to Love You" by Trey Speegle. I'd say this cheery plate is the 111th reason to love paint-by-numbers. Seeing this totally makes me want to create a plate wall out of these plates.

moroccan tea glasses

I confess that I'm just not that into china. I didn't register for china for our wedding and prefer to use more utilitarian white plates. But pretty mismatched bowls and tumblers — that's my weakness. I'm loving these Moroccan tea glasses from Cost Plus World Market. I recently found out World Market has an online shop, which is fun since there isn't a store in New York. When I lived in Chicago, there was a World Market by Dan's apartment where I'd often stop by to browse for nothing in particular. World Market reminds me a lot of Homegoods in that it's super affordable and you often need to hunt around to find something, but sometimes you turn up a total gem.

woodland state of mind

The woodland motif has been around a while — this look has pretty much circled the globe, orbited the moon, and is now hovering in space over some Anthropologie headquarters. But I still love seeing the birds, the birch, the moss, the faux bois. I can't help it. In small doses, I think the woodland trend can stick around as a classic, much like how a few whimsical floral patterns in your wardrobe will never go out of style. And I love seeing how designers are taking the woodland idea up a notch, because it's always harder to create something fresh when people have already seen a zillion things with birds and owls. Here are a few favorites.

Dutch Door Press has designed a line of letterpress 5x7 prints called birds & blooms of the 50 states. It's my favorite design from their collection, for sure. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas are the newest editions. I can't wait for Maine to come out, and I love the New York print below. I also think these would make a sweet favor idea if you're planning a wedding in a state you love. 

And I'm stuck on the idea of a terrarium. Maybe two. Here's a secret garden.

Moss Terrarium No. 162, will you be mine?

And I'm sure many of you know Amy Atlas. She's one of my favorite event designers. Check out the woodland party theme she designed. All the birch goodness is right up my alley, and it feels so perfect for fall. We used birch slabs cut from Dan's family's woodlot to set up the cupcakes at our wedding. If you have access to wood, it's a really simple, chic idea to create centerpieces and display food using slices of birch. Check out more photos from her faux bois dessert party right here.

Dan and I are going to see Bright Star tonight. I secretly love period films with all the amazing clothes, and I'm excited to hear Keats' poetry weaved into the movie. Parts of the trailer feel a bit like a woodland fantasy to me, too. Maybe it's the talk of butterflies and scenes of them running off into the forest together.

Have a fun fall weekend!

in and out

I'm checking in quickly to wish you a great weekend, as I'm heading out to the Brimfield antique market today! I'm so excited — not even the rainy weather report will get me down. I've been planning to go to this massive flea market for months now. My friend Yolanda and I are hitting the road this morning and hope to find some one-of-a-kind vintage treasures. I'm taking my camera, so I'll have pictures from the market to share next week. I'll also be sharing my mini bathroom makeover (thanks to Nightwood!) with you.

These in and out trays (above) are new to the Bob's Your Uncle collection of melamine. So graphic and cool — and the road trip signs are fitting as I head out in a van for a little road trip adventure.

gleena ceramics

Gleena means clay in Russian. What's the Russian translation for these handmade porcelain pieces are stunningly gorgeous? Or I can't stop thinking about your beautiful bowls and dream of drinking frothy lattes from a bowl with a calligraphy number? Gleena's artist Asya is originally from Russia and now creates her clay masterpieces in her Rhode Island studio. If you're in the New York area, you're in luck. You can see Gleena's work in person this weekend as Asya is a part of the Fort Greene Brooklyn Flea on Saturday! I'll be walking the Stationery + ICFF shows all weekend at the Javitz — so unfortunately I'm going to miss out. Asya also has a Gleena Etsy shop and a super blog where she shares more of her work (including some amazing commissioned work) as well as what inspires her. Thanks to Your Destiny is Stone Golden, where I found out about Gleena!

 

melamine plates

After the long winter wait, we can finally enjoy picnics in the park and dining alfresco, so I thought I'd pull together a guide to melamine dishes for the season. I have a growing collection of melamine that I love — it's hard to beat an unbreakable plate with a great pattern. Cheers to unfussy parties outdoors with playful plates all summer long.

This Acapulco plate by Jonathan Adler stole my heart! The blue + white pattern is folksy meets fresh.

 

Thomas Paul's collections of melamine plates are always so eye-catching. My current favorite is the sea life series, though I must say the artifacts line adds a fun elegance to melamine.

 

Denmark-based Rice spices up melamine with their juicy colors and designs.

I own a set of these Winchester Mandala plates by Bongenre.com, and the pattern is still my favorite from the line. Jill designed the plates in several colors that look pretty mixed together on a table.

 

I spied these fantastic personalized gingham plates on Country Living. Custom melamine plates — yes, please!

 

Whimsical design meets plastic plates at Anthropologie.

 

Play around with custom melamine plates on Freddy & Ma. Here's what I came up with — 9 stylish patterns for a summer party.

Leave it to West Elm to make melamine dishes that are hip in an understated way. Gray melamine is oh so modern.

These Zak melamine plates are smartly named Park. That's exactly where I'd love to bring a set of colorful melamine plates.

French Bull always has a deep selection of melamine everything. My current favorites are above: the bold black + white Felix pattern and regal plates inspired by royal china patterns of Europe.

 

Birds of a feather will flock to these pretty melamine plates from Poketo.

 

Working Class Studio designs these square melamine plates. Love. This venture of Savannah College of Art and Design also had fun designing retro fruit and vegetable illustrations on these melamine plates.

 

Hand-painted Italian ceramic plates? Nope, these Williams-Sonoma plates are actually made of melamine. It's rare to see a traditional twist on melamine.

Crate & Barrel goes graphic floral with their melamine.

Fontaine Maury is another company selling custom melamine plates. I love the bright plaid pattern here — adding the name of your kiddo makes a cute plate to hang in the nursery.

 

Spotted this cool blue set of melamine plates at Macy's.

 

Orla Kiely's line is still available at Target for a little longer. I believe her melamine plates are making women everywhere a little giddy.