we heart night owl.

a couple of years ago we received a snazzy mailer in the post from a new-ish (est. 2004) stationer called night owl paper goods, out of birmingham, owlabama. and yes, everything that partners jennifer and alan make has "owlabama" printed somewhere on it, which is one of the most charming things about their goods. we were really sold on the line after i snagged some cards during a visit to birmingham -- i literally came home with piles of night owl stationery. we were impressed not only by the designs themselves but also by the quality of the materials and the printing. after that, we were hooked!


when we first started carrying night owl, most of their work was comprised of letterpress flats and cards. it's been exciting to see their work evolve, and we're loving the luxe new paper and simple but sincere sentiments.

the above is hands down one of my favorite cards ever. it's the kind of card that's great if there's a specific occasion for acknowledging a friendship but can just as easily be sent as a sweet mailbox surprise. the simplicity of the design and the straightforward nature of the message just strike the perfect note!


more recently night owl has been working extensively with sustainably harvested yellow birch wood. in this case increasingly adorable graphics are printed onto a thin piece of wood, and the back is free for you to inscribe in pen or pencil. the fact that these are all made from wood also means they're all different -- there are variations in tone and grain and even the occasional knot. not only is writing on and mailing wood awesome, but, hello, mister puppy here is one charming google-eyed canine!


more recently night owl has expanded their work with the eco-friendly birch to include notebooks, desk notepads, and jotters. and since we are calendar-obsessed at o'suzannah, we are especially pumped about the 2009 calendar, which also includes sustainably harvested walnut and douglas fir. this 12-month desk calendar features six double-sided pages with a sweet new design every month. i gotta tell you, it's going to be hard not to bring this one home with me...get them while you can!

night owl has even moved beyond stationery and has introduced a few tote bags with some of their signature images. these fair trade totes are super roomy and are made of 100% recycled natural and organic fibers. then they are silkscreened in birmingham, and the night owl label is handstitched on the top. perfect for library books or grocery shopping!



i apologize if the above card sent anyone into a panic -- don't fret, it's only november 5. i just couldn't pass up the opportunity to show you some of my favorite holiday cards from night owl. seriously, have you ever seen such adorable owlies? here are mr. and mrs. claus, chillaxing on the mantel, getting toasty by the fire. i get a little warm and fuzzy just looking at it. on a more technical note, these cards are from the faux bois series, which is printed on fsc-approved 100% post-consumer recycled paper. you say cute and eco-friendly, we say awesome!


here's another sweet mantelpiece, this one letterpressed and sans owls, with a simple message. isn't this just the coziest fireplace ever?

i can't resist these owls. they're wearing belts, for goodness sake. these are some lovely little enclosure cards printed on birch that are perfect for tucking into a package or attaching to a gift.

i hope you've found night owl as endearing as we have. we have so many more amazing cards in the shop that i couldn't show you here, so please come visit us! xoxo, jessica

november love it...jill bliss!

the first time i walked into o'suzannah, i knew immediately that it would become my favorite store, in part because, holy moly, there were so many handmade goods by artists whose work i'd only ever seen in my online travels. among those represented, it was all the lovely jill bliss merch that sent me over the edge -- the cloth wallets, the paper products, the bags that i had previously only been able to imagine were there before me. it was a little slice of jill bliss heaven.


when i think of jill's work, my mind divides it into two categories which often merge and overlap. the first is the fabric goods, and in particular the wallets and checkbooks she creates out of what must be an AMAZING stash of vintage sheets. she gives these linens a new life by sewing them into carefully crafted credit card and change pockets. my mom's been rocking her mini pocket wallet for nearly two years now!


and then there's jill's stunning illustration and design, which focuses on the natural world around her, whether it be undersea specimens or the native flora of the west coast (and even the occasional californian banana slug). there is an incredible amount of detail in jill's work, and it seems to almost vibrate with color.


not only are we thrilled to always have jill bliss originals in the shop, but we also carry many of the products produced through her collaborations with my favorite mirror, ipop, and chronicle books. most recently we received a nice big box direct from jill containing her 2009 gathered together wall calendar and the floral leaves datebook. come check them out, and i hope you enjoy reading jill's interview below! xoxo, jessica


what was your first job and how did you end up making all of your amazing goods?

my first job was helping my mom make christmas crafts to sell when i was a kid. we lived on a farm then, and got paid once a year, in january, for the summer prune and fall walnut harvests. by october we'd be low on funds, so i'd help my mom make raggedy anne and andy's, quilts, pom pom tree decorations, and, my fave, spice ropes!

most of the things i make these days are a result of something needed by either myself, my friends, or my customers. i love paper, i love fabric, trims, notions, beads, small things, and i love organizing things, and i love pockets.

what is your favorite piece/group/series in your work?

i love them all equally like children! but i secretly love the newest things a little bit more than the rest. right now my mom is teaching me how to crochet. you'll see the results late this year!


who or what inspires you?

i'm inspired by little natural or colorful elements i see when traveling, hiking or walking. i like to challenge myself to recreate these elements in drawn form or with various pre-made items or fabric in my studio.

what three websites do you visit daily?

uh, i must confess i'm not good at keeping up with the blogs or news online. i prefer to talk in person or email and text my friends. and i like to watch news on tv. i do visit google, google maps, and thesaurus.com pretty much every day though. oh, and hulu.com. now i can watch tv shows and movies on my laptop while i sew!

we don't have this piece, redwood sorrel, in the shop, but i couldn't
resist showing it to you! it's an original drawing available on jill's site.

describe your ideal sunday.

it's overcast and misty raining in the morning so me and my dog sleep in. we get up, have breakfast, water, weed and harvest in the garden. by then the rain has stopped, so we get on the bus and the light rail and go to forest park for a hike. we get back home in the early evening. lucy [my dog] has dinner, and i leave her home and ride my bike to meet a friend for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, navarre. i meet up with other friends for after-dinner drinks at a bar somewhere, and ride my bike slowly home about 11 pm.

what do you see outside your studio windows?

my vegetable garden!

in the words of....

NIKKI MCCLURE





nikki mcclure may just be my favorite artist to date, past and present.
i guess she speaks to my strong sense of family, especially now that i have been growing my own. one of our windows right now is a tribute to both her work that we carry and our upcoming election. see more of her works here. and VOTE please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

windows on fourth

since opening in our new space on 4th street we have had a blast changing the windows. i have always loved this part of owning my own store and these windows just might be the best we have had yet, to work with. they are more or less symmetrical which makes it easier on the brain and they are just the perfect size. usually jessica hits one and i hit the other and we create themes. the first theme, fitting for september, was back to school and as you can see above the rather large bla bla are hittin' the books, and in style i might add.

one of next themes was autumn. browns and greens and of course oranges (below).

i will say, my energy increases with the onset of fall and winter. i love this time of year.

the colors, the smells, the cooler air (yeah) and the merch! i love fall merch. 

i also love halloween. as a rule, holidays that involve loads of candy without guilt are the best.

so, with these windows we yin yanged it a bit. one side serious fall stuff & the other mostly spooky halloweenish treats. 
these bla bla dolls are caught in the act of trying to disguise themselves for halloween. leonardo always wanted to be a panda,  verdi a masked stranger and wink wanted to be a lion, so poof, they are transformed. scared?

                         ....and you can't forget our selection of owlies. oh how we love them. 

               oh and all of our halloween stamps including skulls, bats, crows, pumpkins etc...

                                                                   fall window cont... 

and so on. you get the idea. our hope for future months, for you fans afar, is to take quick pics of our new windows as they are revealed.  we might also give a little description of their contents to keep you all up to date on what we are thinking about and perhaps what is new. some windows will have an obvious theme, some will be more subtle. all will be fresh and fun so stay tuned for our VOTE window to be followed with our first november windows. we also hope to put out xmas cards next week. i know it seems super early but peeps are always asking in october so we are feeling the pressure. be sure though that it will not look like xmas in the shop just quite yet we just want you loyal card givers to get a jump on the season. 

did you say italian cashmere?

so the latest juicy box to cross the osuz threshhold was from portolano. if you have shopped me for any number of years you know this line is a staple for us come fall and winter.
a little backround:
{The history of Portolano as a glove producer began in Naples when Aldo and Ivo's grandfather, Fortunato Portolano, began manufacturing in the year 1895. The company was a pioneer of the Italian glove exporters and as early as 1911, Portolano was selling leather gloves to the United States and the British colonies.}
nowadays they make and sell all manner of knits and leather including stuff for kids!!
here are some quick pics to peruse and with the chill in the air you might even wanna snag some. thanks to all models (hee hee) for this impromtu photo shoot!

roll call

okay, so we have had so much fun doing this blog... but let me tell ya, it is an effort keeping up with our own ideas, all the amazing artists we support and love, and the clock, as it tick tocks each passing week. what we want to know is IS ANYONE READING IT? not to shout, but we ARE dying to know if it is fun to read and if anyone outside of our lovely fan base (but please you write too) is reading and enjoying it. this would make it all worth it. SO, we are asking for anyone who reads and enjoys our blog to say as much. if you are shy, just say "HERE". i know it will take an extra sec but we would be sosososo appreciative to know "who goes there?"

love

suz

what a hoot

so who has not noticed, owls are everywhere? we are no exception, but the difference is, we have always loved our owlies. i remember growing up with owls in the 70's. my sister loved them, so my mom would decorate with owls. i vaguely remember a print of an owl that my mom had framed. i would love to have that print now. anyhoo, we have lots of owlies to share with you at the shop and here are some our favorites:


i won't list the obvious, but i will say that the owl tee for toddlers, by fauna, and the owl onsie, by foxy and winston, are awesome for small peeps. the magnets, made by ipop with boy girl party graphics are so fun. all of the owl stamps are regular's at o'suz. i am always looking for more good ones so that we can stamp our bags at a moments notice with any manner of owl. owl decal by one up designs, which is so cute if you put it above a light switch plate like he is perched, owl art by cabin and cub and sally bennet, and a book on owls called sightings that we just got more of yesterday!


more favorites include owls by bla bla and igolfini, owly tee and snap pouch by nicole larue, owl print by alena hennessey, an owly birthday calendar, owl pads and cards by all kinds of peeps and the best, an owl on a pogo stick pad by seltzer goods..... and finally the owl hand puppet who failed to look up for this photo, by dwell studio. anyhoot, we got owls and lots of em!!

xo suz

more new goods fresh in!

around here, our 2 favorite things, other than perhaps coffee and sweets, are doing fun fresh displays and getting shipment. but we aren't greedy, i'm here to share some tidbits with you.

first up, monday we got tikoli teatowels, modern textiles for the kitchen. this is our favorite:

lots of others came too, in blues and greens. they are 12 each and such a sweet gift. we also got french bull. they introduced some new patterns in the salad servers which is exciting because they too are only 12 for a set and such a great gifty! also, back in, are the sippy cups which are A-dorable. here is my mini man with his, long before he was even using it.

note the tummy. yummy.eh?

just yesterday we got fluffy co. t-shirts for little peeps and bigger ones.
the new ones they make are so new there are no images yet but here's a peak:

owlies, yeah!


i snagged this one for red!
it's red and black and spoooky.

today, was no different. we got goodies from scotty and none too early. we got the new
lotta jansdotter shipment!!! for you lotta fans, it is sad, but good to note, that she has tightened her line up quite a bit. as a result, in my opinion, her offerings are that much more precious. here are just a few treats we got in:

good lord, why can't we all wear these.

we can all tote this baby though!

this yoga bag is the coolest around.

2009 fabric calendars

we got lots more but we need to save some stuff to surprise you when you come in.
see you soon,
xo
suz

october love it...moontea artwork

moontea artwork has been a favorite of all the o'suzannah ladies and our customers ever since we first found it at the stationery show in may 2007. as everyone who's visited the store knows, we love all manner of stationery, but when we spotted oregonian kristin loganbill's bold images and patterns, printed on both paper and fabric, we knew we had found something special. as i was thinking about this post and pondering what it is about moontea that really drew us in, i was (rather nerdily) reminded of a statement made by an art historian (i wasn't kidding about the nerdy) in the wake of the increasing industrialization of our existence. i'll spare you the quotation, but i think it is the incredibly personal and handmade character of moontea that we find so compelling. i love that kristin designs the images and patterns, block prints or screen prints on a soft hemp/cotton blend fabric, and then sews this same fabric into bags, pouches, and petite sachets. it makes me feel like i know something about the past life of the treat i'm holding in my hand, which is a rare thing these days! kristin was kind enough to answer some questions as our october love it feature, so please enjoy this window into her art and life!

pocket book purse with eucalyptus print

What was your first job, and how did you end up printmaking?

I can't say that my first jobs (babysitting and cleaning house) led me to printmaking! I have worked a lot of retail, and I worked as a massage therapist for some time. Working in retail probably led me to want to have my own business. I also loved massage, but at some point I knew I had to try to do my own art- I figured it was better to try and fail then to wonder what would have happened if I had tried! I've always done some sort of art- but printmaking just resonated with me- I just love seeing the method in the art form- it just begs to be touched, if you know what I mean. Plus I like the quality of hand printed items- they just look so perfectly imperfect!


What is your favorite piece/group/series among your own work?

At the moment I am particularly fond of the Stones cloth. I also printed Stones on paper with silvery metallic ink, and love how it turned out. (see photo) It may seem egotistical, but I really do love all my prints- it makes me happy when I am surrounded by them.


Who, past or present, most inspires you?

My favorite artist is Rufino Tamayo, he was a Mexican artist from Oaxaca. The colors he used are earthy and rich, and to me show where he was from and what he loved. Also his subject matter often had a bit of humor in it.

What 3 websites do you visit daily?

Maybe not daily... but I do like to keep up on the blogs "How about Orange?" and "Cicada Daydream." I also like to see what is going on on Flickr. (In addition to your lovely blog, of course!!) (ed. note: kristin has a blog, too, where i learned she has seven llamas!)

Describe your perfect Sunday morning.

Lots of scenarios would work for this one, but a few perfect elements would be: 1. cup of chai tea 2. being caught up with work (so the mind feels free) 3. going on a hike on the coast, or walk by the creek 4. making some little drawings for future prints.


What do you see outside your studio windows?

I am lucky to have lots of windows in my studio, so I see lots of trees and hay and llamas (eating my garden) and cats, birds and our barn. Here have a look for yourself!


Thank you all for taking the time to share my life with me!


we're so glad to have kristin and moontea on the blog this month, and just a few weeks ago we received a new box teeming with new bags and pouches! come check them out at the shop -- see you soon!