The Story Unfolds

Hint, hint, Ben

2010-02-07T18:18:00.002-05:00

Lou & Vanessa

2010-01-31T17:49:00.000-05:00

Lou Doillon is a perfect mix of wit and charm, the epitome of Vanessa Bruno's Spring 2010 line. This short film brings a smile to my face.

The Poppies Awards

2010-01-27T11:28:00.000-05:00

We're super excited to be nominated for this year's Poppies Awards in the "Homemade Housewares" category. Jan at Poppytalk, one of our favorite Canadian design blogs, has a great list of folks and a wonderful judging panel. Many thanks to all our great friends who have been voting. Polls close on Friday, 1/29, at midnight, so you still have a chance to cast your vote for Miss Natalie! Simply follow this link and click on "Miss Natalie".

Classes start

2010-01-18T16:59:00.001-05:00

Last week the winter session started up and I have quite a full load this quarter! Four classes, 85 students, and lots of type. Here a quick flashback to my Intro to Type class from San Francisco, from our experimental type assignment. I am now teaching an entire class on experimental type, one of my favorite topics.

Making it

2010-01-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

For the last few days I have been writing and thinking about my design and teaching philosophies. Good, but hard stuff that makes my brain hurt and my fingers want to get off the computer, stop thinking so much, and just start making. Like this:

2010

2010-01-02T10:28:00.002-05:00

2010 is the year we've been working towards, so I can't tell you how excited we are to see it here. Ben and I have both been putting in the time, nurturing our projects, and we're about to see the first blooms soon. Looking forward to sharing them with you all here, and I hope to be posting more often to document the journey.

xoxo,
Miss Natalie

Happy Holidays

2010-01-01T17:48:00.002-05:00

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T10:07:00.003-05:00

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be grateful for, and I'd like to share a bit of that with you, our loyal Miss Natalie friends. Until December 14th, whenever you buy from the Miss Natalie shop, enter promo code STORY UNFOLDS in the "Note to Seller" section and receive a free gift with purchase! Thank you so much for your continued support and kind words--you've helped make many dreams possible (for both myself and Ben), and we couldn't have done it without you.

xoxo from Texas,
Miss Natalie

photo by Paul Schiek

Mail-A-Mask Postcard

2009-11-18T09:59:00.002-05:00

They're HERE!! Miss Natlie's Mail-A-Mask Postcards are ready to go, perfect for your favorite kid or friend in need of some cheering up. Who knew it only took a 6" x 9" postcard to make anyone instantly smile?

Don't tell the apple boxes, but Mail-A-Masks are my favorite new item this season, as it combines my love for mask-masking (remember this?) and hand-drawn patterns. Printed on recycled paper, the postcards are a total steal at $4 and available in our shop. Since they're 6" x 9", you have plenty of room to write an epic letter to your friend. Who doesn't like to get real mail?

Snowflake Ornaments!

2009-11-14T10:33:00.002-05:00

We've just updated the Miss Natalie shop with some lovely wood-burned snowflake ornaments! Each ornament measures 5.5" x 5" and comes hung on a satin red ribbon with a green gift tag, ready for giving or hanging on your tree.

There are two unique styles to choose from: the Polka Dots or Herringbone pattern, and they are available in sets--just drop us a note and we can put one together for you! Aside from hanging on your tree, these also make charming table settings for a holiday dinner party. We've made a limited quantity for this holiday season, so get yours early!

Renegade Holiday Show in SF

2009-11-12T13:32:00.001-05:00

We're totally jazzed to be back in SF for the new Renegade Holiday show!! Bringing back your favorites, plus a bunch of new products we've been working on. The next few weeks will be insanity as I try to wrap up freelance, get products out to stores, and prep for this show. BUT, you guys know that I thrive when busy.

For all my loyal Bay Area customers, I hope you can make it out to the show, December 19th-20th. I miss seeing you all!

Fall on the River

2009-11-09T10:53:00.001-05:00

Suddenly the leaves have turned and it feels like fall down by the river. Thankful for the cooler weather and a chance to break out my sweaters.

Type Inspiration

2009-11-05T09:56:00.004-05:00

Gorgeous type inspiration this morning from Sheaff: Ephemera. I need to make a type backdrop for myself and pose all my products in front of it--soo nice. While I love a chunky letterform, my favorite of this bunch is Brown Light Artillerary. I have a lot of hand lettering to do this weekend, so this was a perfect find.

In other news, our house has been invaded by two of our favorite boys, Paul and Kyle. They're out to help Ben finish building out his salami and sausage shop, Salt and Time. Today they are installing a huge cooler--the curing room. I know waaay too much about salami now.

I'm working on lots of fun, new products for the holiday season--can't wait to share with you guys.

Driving Home

2009-10-24T12:42:00.003-04:00

I may be slowly falling in love with Texas. I didn't really think it was possible, but living in the country has won me over.

Cheer up, Charlie

2009-10-05T22:43:00.001-04:00

This little guy has been keeping me company while getting over the flu. If only he could also keep me in a constant supply of smoothies and bad movies, I'd be set. More to come when I'm back from the dead. Is it just me, or is this the week that everyone's been hit with the flu?

I heart trades

2009-09-25T18:32:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited to have my little hands on this wonderful print by Caitlin Keegan! I'm creating a wood-burned Babushka apple box for her, and she's sending me this print. I've been coveting this piece ever since seeing the original at her show (with Julia Rothman) at Rare Device a few years ago. Caitlin's sister, Sian, created our stuffed dog portrait of Hawkeye, so I've gotten to know the talented Keegan sisters this last year. Lucky me.

Back in the Saddle

2009-09-24T23:54:00.001-04:00

Wandering the streets of Gruene last weekend for Market Days. I'm a big fan of Gruene and it's classic Dance Hall, the oldest in Texas. Whenever I get around to filming my rap video, it's going to be in the Gruene Dance Hall. I'll be wearing the killer denim jumpsuit Ben scored for me, the one that is 3 inches too short in the legs. We'll let you know if we need extras for the big finale.

Oh, you know...

2009-09-18T10:40:00.002-04:00

Guys, I know, I know. This is a travesty. I was supposed to have this cleaned up days ago. But then I got busy with freelance, and all my favorite TV shows started up again, and then the Valentino documentary finally arrived from Netflix. You know, important stuff here.

Also, I've been super busy stuffing my face with pickled okra. Pickled Okra! It has changed my world. Ben made 3 different batches and we've been eating them non-stop. As you can tell from this photo, most of the okra is gone. This batch was my favorite, Pickled Okra with chili and lemongrass. And yes, I do believe Pickled Okra should be capitalized because it's that good.

Skies clearing

2009-09-14T12:17:00.002-04:00

I'm revamping the site over the next few days, so bear with some ugliness for a while. Thanks!

New Tools

2009-09-14T11:51:00.003-04:00

Finally got my brand new camera and took it out for a spin this weekend in New Braunfels. I'm also testing some new software programs to help make it easier to upload my photos. I usually download my pics to iPhoto, then upload from there to Flickr using a plugin. I don't like the way flickr formats photos if you use their "blog this" feature, so this morning I went on the search for a plugin directly from iPhoto to Blogger/Facebook. Found Pixelpipe's iPhoto to Blogger plugin, so apparently it's working it's magic now. What do you use to get your photos out in the world?

Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this tool. It automatically uploads directly, without first saving a draft so you can edit text. Also, it default centers everything and includes the title/description of each photo. May need to fiddle around with the setting and see if that is fixable. Any other suggestions?

You still there?

2009-09-02T10:53:00.005-04:00

Hope so. Apologies for not writing sooner to let you all know we landed safe and sound in Texas! We had a fun trip across the southwest to get here, and then dove straight into lots of work. I'll have a longer post coming soon, but wanted to share our new view from the Lakehouse.

We're also trying to keep up with these guys, Hawkeye and his new best friend Mac. Two lhasas with completely opposite personalities/looks. Quite a pair.

xoxo from Texas!!

Miss Natalie + Ben's Garage Sale!

2009-07-30T11:49:00.003-04:00

If you live in the Bay Area, stop by this Saturday for our mega-awesome garage sale! Ben and I are liquidating our entire house (and a good chunk of my studio) before moving to Austin next week! Yes, you heard that right. We're moving to Texas! We have lots of big plans ahead and I'll be keeping you all posted shortly, just as soon as I can empty our house and get this show on the road. Here are the details:

THIS Saturday!
10AM - 4PM
no early birds, please, we're not that organized
456 Rich St. (off 42nd/Telegraph)
Oakland, CA 94609

Some items of interest: Craftsman furniture, loads of linens, design books, cookbooks, fiction and non-fiction, nautical items, office supplies, design magazines, loads of sweet fabrics, craft notions, kitchen supplies, tons of glassware, stoneware, art prints, vintage paper, records, clothing, and hot purses!

Swing on by, check out our goods, and then grab yourself a fried chicken sandwich and lemon chill from Bakesale Betty's, just down the street. Hope to see you there!

Renegade SF Recap

2009-07-24T12:19:00.004-04:00

Renegade SF was beyond words--such a wonderful mix of new and old friends, and some fabulously talented vendors. It was, by far, the best group of vendors I've ever shown with. We had a killer corner booth in the center aisle, which we flanked with bunches of red balloons. Whenever I got a chance to sneak away from the booth, I would overhear folks saying, "Yes, meet me over by the red balloons," b/c they were one of the few landmarks in the huge hall. Totally worth the splurge. I'll definitely be using red balloons at future shows in similar spaces.

Thanks to all my wonderful customers who came out to show their support--it means the world to me to meet you all and hear how excited you are about Miss Natalie. We wouldn't be doing what we're doing without you. Also, big thanks to my dear friends who helped me pull off a solo show--Clarissa, Scott, Margaret, Nichole, Jocelyn, and Ben. You all are life savers.

In all the chaos, I forgot to bring my camera, so didn't get many pictures of the other wonderful vendors. During the last day, I was trading goods like a mad woman, and came back with a great set of loot. Will share that in another post--stay tuned!

Renegade SF this weekend!

2009-07-15T10:09:00.005-04:00

We're counting down to Renegade San Francisco this weekend! Only a few short days left to prep for our last show this season. Come on by this Saturday and Sunday, between 11am-7pm @ the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion. Our corner booth will be in the center aisle, just past the first row of vendors. We'll have lots of goodies, plus some great vintage items for sale as well. Just look for the red balloons and you should be able to find us. See you there!!

Treatzone Portraits + L.A., I'm Yours

2009-07-08T10:56:00.004-04:00

Gorgeous new portraits by Treatzone! Available at Renegade San Francisco, July 18th-19th. I love Sandy and Matthew's work. I can't decide which one I want to scoop up, but I know I need to swing by their booth early for these beauties.

Don't forget! This weekend we'll be down in LA for the 1st annual Renegade LA show, July 11-12th, from 11am-7pm at the California Market Center Penthouse. We'll be around the corner from the Reform School booth, so swing by and see us! Can't wait.