a timeless icon. we came across this beautiful photograph of isabella rosellini and fell in love.

the bold colors and illuminating work of mark rothko with the graphic black of hand made cup holders from africa are beautifully balanced by the soft petals of the peonies.

youjin, our very talented illustrator, shares with us her tools of the trade.

1. princeton brush set – the angled brush (far right) is my favorite because it creates a variety of brush strokes.  the rubberized handle gives me a perfect grip.

2. tombow 4B (aka dragonfly) pencils – a must-have for illustrators.

3. the golden nib – smooth and fancy in appearance, this nib is perfect for fast sketches.

4. higgins black and blue magic indian ink.

5. portrait color pastels.

6. no. b5 pen nib with limited edition pen holder – this pen is my favorite because of its fluidity and reliability.

7. fabriano studio water color paper.

we love spirits that roam free… and our friend nicolle embodies just that.  nicolle, a native new yorker, now resides in ocean beach, just outside san francisco;  with the city close and the ocean at her door step, she now has the best of both worlds.  her job in fashion takes her all around the world, but she loves to trot the globe in her free time as well.   some of her destinations include paris, london, hong kong, india, sri lanka and stockholm (add tokyo and turkey to the list next week).   paris was the first destination that called to her.  ‘i just knew i needed to go,’ and once there, ‘it made me feel alive.’  when asked where her dream destination to live would be, she thoughtfully responded, ‘the french riviera.’  bon voyage nicolle…