Wedding Day

Wedding season is making me nostalgic for our wedding day, almost two years ago. It was such a perfect, perfect day. We danced at twillight, spent the evening with our closest friends and family, and woke up the next morning husband and wife.

I love you, E :)

KL

Orange + Park

Confession: I'm in full nesting mode. My favorite purchase for the nursery thus far has got to be this San Diego Beach Towns print from local designers Orange + Park. The hubby and I spotted it inside Tent City while strolling in Coronado almost a month ago, and I was smitten. Take a look at the rest of their genius creations here.

KL

A Holographic Future

Often going hand in hand with design, especially graphic design, is technology. While I try and poke my head out into the real world every few days to avoid complete nerd status, I love new technology. This post may seem like a laugh to some at first, but the reality is that the pace of technology is extremely aggressive, and things we see in classic sci-fi movies might be a lot closer than you think.

I attended a workshop/seminar at California State University, Sacramento this Spring, featuring guest speaker Hugh Dubberly, an information designer, of Dubberly Design. The topic of the lecture was looking at what will come next in design, where he hit several points all focusing on "augmented reality," or blurring the lines between the real and the virtual world. He sited several issues such as - sensors being used to proliferate and interact with each other, huge amounts of data being collected and analyzed, mobile platforms being opened up to expose new territory for mobile web development, and the convergence of video with other media. All of this makes me think of (I hate to site this movie just because Tom Cruise is such a cheeseball, but...) Minority Report and their creative vision of the interactive virtual reality.

I came across a site that talks about a project that Forbes magazine asked frog design to do which reminded me of the Hugh Dubberly lecture, "to think about the current state of computing, how we might experience it 10 years from now and, perhaps most importantly, how we might make the transition into these possible futures." Pretty amazing.

Another relevant video is that of Johnny Lee, a guy who plays with the concept of interactive 3D on your home tv, using the Wii controller. Definitely worth checking out! (Skip to about 2:45 if you don't care how it works and just want to see the effect.)

JB

Not graphic design but...

This is a design worth noting. Living in Sacramento - the flattest city grid on the West coast - bikes are everywhere and cycling is a big part of the culture. I came across this guy named Dominic Hargreaves on a site about design. He's refreshed a not so old concept – folding bikes - in an interesting way.



He's also created another great concept for storing bikes in public places.

JB

The Chevron

We recently had the privilege of designing a baby shower invitation for Baby Leonard. Joel and I had so much fun designing for (essentially) ourselves, and the Cabreras - who are hosting the shower - gave us a lot of creative freedom.

We chose a combination of summer colors using one of our favorite design websites, Kuler (worthy of it's own post, at a future date :)). I have been LOVING chevrons - it all started with this lovely romper from Shakshuka - and this was the perfect opportunity to incorporate them into some of our design work.


KL

Photography + Motherhood

The lovely Merrilee (of Photography by Merrilee - check out her amazing work here) agreed to answer some questions about photography + motherhood for us! We thought it would be a fun way to kick off our three month project together - it's a baby extravaganza! We're offering $100 off all baby announcements, and Merrilee's offering $100 off her session fee for all maternity and newborn shoots! All in anticipation of our soon-to-arrive Baby Leonard :)

So, without further ado, Merrilee!

When did you fall in love with photography?
My grandfather was a photographer so I have been around it all my life. It wasn't until about ten years ago that I really fell in love though. I took a B&W photography class where I learned to develop my own film and print my images in the darkroom...what magic! The first time I saw my image appear on a piece of photo paper, I was enamored. I realized how much control I had over the light and what I could do with it. It was like a door had been opened and I couldn't wait to learn more.

What's your philosophy as a photographer?
As a lifestyle photographer, my goal is to capture images that tell a story. I love to help a family create a memory of what their life is like right now. I want them to be able to look back at their images and remember the little things...what it was like when their baby was learning to walk, their little one feeding himself in the highchair, the tiny fingers on their newborn baby's hand, storytime with a favorite book. I want parents to be able to show these images to their child and say this is what it was like when you were a baby. I love shooting in clients' homes because when everyone is in their own environment, they are much more relaxed and natural and the images are so much more a reflection of who they are.

Tell us about one of your favorite shoots.
Every shoot is unique and I have learned that each family is so different in how they relate to and love each other. It is a beautiful thing to watch and it is such a blessing for me to experience. It would be hard to pick a favorite shoot, but there are definitely favorite moments like when a child unexpectedly kissed his Mom's pregnant belly or a little one crawled over and peeked through her Mom's legs or when a Dad said "group hug" and suddenly the family had the most intimate moment that I could never have created. I love capturing these unstaged moments that are just raw beauty...it is my favorite!

Paxton just turned one. What have you most enjoyed about being a mom?
Being a Mom is amazing and life-changing in ways I never imagined. What I have enjoyed most this first year is watching Paxton grow and change from a tiny baby into a little boy. He has learned so much and every day is an adventure for him. It is such a treat to watch him discover the world!

KL