23 | NEW YEAR, OLD BLOG, SAME PAPER&DESIGN PASSION

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LOTUS&ASH wishes you the happiest new year.

& CELEBRATES its website's FIRST BIRTHDAY

It's difficult to believe that lotusandash.com is one year old this week. Between the lines and photos capturing so much paper, design, travels, and aesthetic adventures, a pure love for all of the above remains. 2008 marked the beginning of LOTUS & ASH. 2009 holds the opportunity for more explorations, including an improved website, a CUSTOM PAPER : ORDER page, and a more comprehensive CUSTOM DESIGN space. And, of course, LOTUS & ASH is excited to continue sharing all those explorations at lotusandash.com.

tuckanywherecalendarcloseup

| TUCK ANYWHERE CALENDARS designed for 2009 |

but before we move onto the new year, we can't forget christmas...

It's no surprise that the holiday season is the MOST FUN time of year for LOTUS & ASH. With plenty of opportunities for paper love, the season becomes filled with hours at the printer, cutter, and tying brown paper packages up with strings (this year's present-wrapping theme) Since I was abroad this past fall, holiday designing and printing fell ALL in the month of December with a flurry of cards to design and print. Below, a few spirited snapshots of that favorite season:

christmas| CHRISTMAS EVE taken 12.2008 |

simple_brunch

| THE SIMPLE BRUNCH MENU designed 12.2008 |

venetian

| FLORENCE designed 12.2008 |

21 | LOTUS & ASH ABROAD

| LOTUS&ASH : : : OXFORD |

With a little more than one month spent in England, and a little more than one month left here, I've had enough time to be inspired by the centuries-old motifs, colors schemes, and designs I've encountered along the way, and enough time to really start missing my printer.

That being said, England has been a wonderful LOTUS&ASH experience. The black taxis, the red doors, Portobello Road in Notting Hill - they are all oh-so-LOTUS & ASH. There is something timeless, classic, and undoubtedly posh about London, and I'd like to think that LOTUS & ASH can capture that feeling in its own California way.

I look forward to returning to that lovely state with British influences swirling in my head, and get them onto paper, stat.

I never thought I'd be able to make it three months without any designing, or paper-ing, so when my roommate's birthday came around...The celebration called out for a little paper love.

Using the outdated laser jet printer downstairs (which always seems to be out of toner), paper from the art store on Broad Street, and good-old, reliable Scotch double-sided tape, I created these invitations and a new stationery design for a very lovely girl.

| TEA & CHAMPAGNE designed 10.2008 |

The paper is blush, and the envelopes are lined. It goes without saying that I will be coming home with as many tissue-lined envelopes that will fit into my suitcase! An elegant touch, they are not for everyday use. But when the right occasion calls...they can make a note extra save-worthy.

| OXFORD CLASSIC designed 10.2008 |

15 | Favorite Things

| SUMMER on SKYLINE with a BIANCHINI'S PICNIC 07.2008 |

Summer has proven to be productive and relaxing - and, incredibly enjoyed with a few of my favorite things. Though time spent on Skyline, picnics, visiting San Francisco (the city I LOVE), and cooking pizzas in backyard ovens have cut into time in the LOTUS & ASH office, they are all well, well worth it.

The past few weeks have included designs for new LOTUS & ASH letterhead and proof and order forms, in support for launching a more online-based ordering system.

But good ol' favorite paper fun did not stop with these administrative improvements. L&A celebrated a best friend's birthday with a handmade and custom designed guide for Fine Living at Twenty. Always a fan of Moleskin notebooks, they serve as great canvases to make whatever journal one can imagine.

And, after a long time in the making, a sweet greeting card made its debut. Quoting a favorite STARS song, it can be reproduced in any size.  Sometimes, though, the smaller, the more easily tucked away and re-read. And that's the point of this whole stationery thing anyway, right?

Time working on L&A has been divided betweensailing in the bay and working on B I N A R Y P R E S S

Indeed, things are busy. But they are being thoroughly enjoyed.

| FOGGY GOLDEN GATE 07.2008 |