We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Need to make a great first impression and want to show off your love of good design? How about a personalized calling card from today's featured designer, Jennifer Ortiz of Jennies Paperie? Jennifer designs stylish stationery, stickers, business cards and invitations perfect for today's modern woman.

As if you all need reminding that back to school mania is in full swing, right? Well, most of you know that student living quarters can be pretty cramped, leaving little to no space for a full-fledged desk to do work. Sometimes, a laptop needs a non-lap to sit on. Where should one turn to for a (relatively) cheap and stylish solution?

Ikea, naturally. The store's new 2009 catalog is full of amazing things, but a notable new item is this laptop workstation. It's something you can mount on a wall and fold out to reveal a small tabletop, just big enough to hold your laptop. There are also little cubbies for storing small things and lockable sections for security. This would be the perfect addition to a dorm room where the resident can't even stretch without scraping their knuckles against a wall.

[via Unclutterer]

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with artist Lauren Gehr of Spinach N Peace. Lauren designs beautiful journals to inspire the written word in addition to her other artistic endeavors of painting, photography and mixed media artwork.

We've had moving on the brain lately. We're not sure if it's because we live in a college town and are starting to see the students creep back into town, with their cars overstuffed with bedspreads and bookshelves and beer, or because we moved fairly recently and are still feeling the effects (i.e. still can't find anything), but the fact of the matter is, we've been thinking about it.

And when we think about moving, we immediately think of housewarming parties. Trust us, we can turn just about anything into a party!

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with Barbe Saint John, who designs one of a kind jewelry and and other wearables, often made from recycled and vintage materials. In addition to wearable art, Barbe also creates mixed media assemblage pieces for your home as well as handspun art yarns.

We just found out about this poster sized calendar, with a bubble to pop for every day. We are nearly speechless with desire and obviously we're not we're not alone because 2008 is completely sold out.

This is a serious sized calendar at 48"x18" and it comes in both landscape and horizontal orientations. The font is designer classic Helvetica Neue. US holidays are marked and weekends are set in bold to make it easy to see them.

You can order it printed on 100 lb glossy paper for $29.95 or get a limited edition printed on clear acetate for $49.95.

And did we mention you get to pop a bubble every single day? How have we lived this long without this?

Leave your Monk jokes in the comments. We don't care. We'll be popping virtual bubble wrap while we wait breathlessly for our our 2009 calendar to arrive.

Pulp Shop, launched fall '08 out of Seattle's Ballard district, is a gallery space and retail platform for unique, indie and green designers. It's not the traditional store model, but more of a pop-up location, with limited hours, complemented by an online boutique.

Linda Loundermilk and Loomstate are the most well known from the green section, and there's a handful of local designers for women: dresses by A Different Fur, multi strand semi-precious and costume jewelry from Sid Vintage and scarves by Asli Flinta. Then add more, hand made jewelery, hats, sunglasses, bags and various design oddities like Jeff Koons' Puppy Plant Sculpture or Murakami Monopoly.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Love beautifully wrapped gifts and gorgeous invites? Then you're going to love today's featured designer, Cathe Huynh-Sison of Feterie - Modern Stationery and Bespoken Lovelies. These papers, greeting cards and invites are lovely alright, and they're sure to put the perfect finishing touch on your celebration.

Do you try to have a few scented candles on hand, just to make sure your home doesn't smell like last night's dinner when you have company? If so, get ready for something far better -- Joya candles are more than just a pleasant aroma. They're a small work of wax art for your home.

Even if you don't burn candles too often yourself, you have to admit that a beautifully designed, fabulously scented candle can be the perfect gift for a friend, so read on!

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with designer of A Punkin Card Company. Amie is originally from Louisiana, where she began as a historian with a focus on English studies. After realizing her dream of design and art, she opened her own stationery company in February 2007 and hasn't looked back. She is also the author of A Punkin Card Company Blog, a design and trend blog featuring artists from all over the indie world.

The sunny tartness of lemonade is a summer time favorite, plus it's fun and easy to make. Some lemons, some sugar, ice, a glass and you're in business. The non-carbonated kind we drink here is a particularly American version, and it's a part of many family traditions, sipped on the porch after supper and sold from countless lemonade stands in suburban driveways.

Part of the fun of lemonade is it's versatility. You can add other fruits, like ripe raspberries, for a juicy hybrid surprise, or a garnish of mint to make it a garden party. And for those over twenty-one out there, well you probably already know how well vodka fortifies a tall glass of citrus goodness. Ginger, pink and strawberry lemonade are all someone's favorite.

There are some quick and easy ways to dress up your lemonade and make every pitcher a party. Check out our tips in the gallery.

One of the best things about a wedding is all of the cool paper products you need to order: invitations, response cards, maps, save-the-dates, announcements, thank you notes...the list goes on and on. Now that digital printing is so accessible, sites like Ink and Paper Design let you easily and affordably customize an entire set of wedding stationery.

You start by picking the invitation template that complements your wedding theme, or creating a completely custom design. Then you add on the items you want. Every design is available for every piece they sell, so you never suffer the disappointment of falling in love with a piece, only to find out it doesn't come in your color.



One of the best selling points of Ink and Paper Design is the selection of additional items you can get, like place cards, menus, and best of all (in our opinion) stickers.

Maybe we're stuck in the fourth grade, but we love stickers. They can turn any plain item into a completely customized, matching part of your theme. You can use them to seal your thank you cards, or to decorate your bedroom window. The Ink and Paper Design stickers come in square, round or diamond shapes, taking the whole "choice" thing to a new high. And did we mention the magnets?

It's almost enough to make us wish we were getting married all over again!

We know, it's still summer, but before long school will be starting and Victoria's Secret wants you to be ready, hence the Pink Collegiate Collection.

Victoria's Secret describes PINK as "a fully articulated lifestyle collection for young women" and "includes 9 different items, including fleece pants, hoodies, panties, tees, and totes... available in approximately 375 stores, many of which are in close proximity to the universities in the program." Thanks to a partnership with The Collegiate Licensing Company there are 33 schools featured thus far and more (hello, Arizona?) will be added shortly.

Yesterday we were struck with a serious case of CHAOS: Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Dishes in the sink, a pile of laundry that needed to be folded and then put away, two months worth of bills in a teetering pile on the "coffee table"...the list goes on and on. It so cluttered we were having trouble concentrating, and definitely too messy to have anyone drop in for a visit.

We need some help, so we clicked over to Fly Lady, a site dedicated to making slobs like us get the dishes done and get dressed every single day. Now, it's in our job description that we must wear pjs while writing this blog, and everyone knows bras constrain blood flow to the part of the brain where funny writing originates, but there are still some good tips on the site.

Sale! CB2.com has some gorgeous dinnerware on sale, such as the green chrysanthemum plates you see at right. $2.95-$4.95 apiece, people!

CB2 has a lot of chic, reasonably-priced stuff. Some of it's just on the cool edge of crazy. Look at this vase. Who would think that CB2 is actually Crate and Barrel?