sale and news

on sale now: wasabi green and linen white wallets from hobo! only a few, so grab em' quick. also, laptop cozies have been reduced. and just to keep you in the know, we are thinking we will be closing our doors on the 2nd street space, august 8th. we will plan to reopen in late august in the new space on 4th street. continue to stay tuned for more specific info as we pack and make our way up the mall.  lots of new merch has arrived for the new space so the opening will be ever so juicy. we can't wait to get going and open that pretty new door. 

juicy sale

alrighty, the sale is getting juicier by the day. markdowns even lower have begun!!!! and we've added some queen bee small wonderboy wallets, and checkbook wallets, as well as lots of deadly squire fabric creations, including aprons, pouches, napkins and changing pads for wee ones. there are also some beth mueller treats to be found which is rare indeed. the deal is, we are planning our getaway and fresh start on 4th street northeast, so the goodies offered up on sale are worth checking out. the sale will end when the store is officially moved (which will be the beginning of august) so only a few more weeks left on 2nd street!! come say goodbye to us there and grab some gifties. 

xo suz

summer daydreaming...

we know a lot of peeps are cutting back on their summer travels this year -- it’s just not a good time to be driving or flying anywhere. so instead, we may find ourselves perfecting the art of daydreaming, always a worthy pursuit. at the shop we are especially enamored with paris and italy, and this post is for the italophiles and francophiles among us. if you find yourself imagining a stroll through montmartre or along the tiber, come indulge your french or italian itch at o’suz!

there isn't much to dislike about italian culture when it comes down to it. the art, the food (oh gelato, how i love thee!), the language, and the movies are just a few of things for which italy is known. here are a few of our favorite italian goodies:

where to begin with italian cities – rome, venice, florence?!? have your pick with stone coasters from studio vertu. “this is rome” is full of lively illustrations and though geared towards a younger audience, we think it’s a fun gift for any lover of the eternal city. we always have a hard time keeping “italy out of hand” in the shop, and a new addition to our italian bookshelf is “made in italy,” a compendium of all of the amazing artisanal wares for which the country is so well-known. “the antique and flea markets of italy” is a petite and charming book detailing the age old market tradition of the region. if you really need to feel like you've made the trip over, come snag some acca kappa soap, made in italy in scents like wisteria, lily of the valley, and classic lavender. don’t forget that the ever-popular moleskine notebooks are an italian invention, and postcards aren’t just for travelers! cavallini’s postcard tin is full of classic images that are great for quick notes to your correspondents. finally, we are so, so excited about an italian paper line that is new to us, tassotti (not pictured due to the photographer’s inability to capture the awesomeness). they make amazing flat paper in all manner of patterns, from hot air balloons to mushrooms to typewriters to strawberries.

when it comes to france, we have to admit a particular fondness for paris, and in fact, we couldn’t even fit all of our favorite parisian merch into one photo, so please enjoy both of them!

oh my gosh, the yumminess of french pastries! we have two books on french culinary delights, "the gourmet shops of paris" and "patisseries of paris," both of which are sure to inspire a serious craving for the perfect brioche. if you’re feeling crafty, “simple sewing with a french twist” is a gorgeous book with lots of projects, all of which are generously illustrated. still feeling productive? get organized with cavallini’s parisian file folders, write a letter to a pen pal on the matching stationery, or stamp away with parisian-themed rubber stamps. studio vertu’s eiffel tower clock and their coasters are great homey gifts for francophiles, as are the products from la compagnie de provence, a fairly new line for us. we carry three scents in the shop, rose, verbena, and olive&lavender, all of which come in liquid soap, body lotion, hand lotion, and bar soap and are beautifully packaged. we are especially obsessed with the rose hand lotion – the scent is truly heavenly.

more parisian pleasures here – “this is paris” and "paris out of hand” to match their italian partners. lucien herve’s photographs of the eiffel tower span the 1930s through the 1990s and detail the monument from unusual and compelling perspectives. if you do know anyone making their way to paris, the city walks: paris deck and the moleskine travel notebook are handy bon voyage tokens.

so if you aren't embarking on any travels this summer, we hope you're spending at least a few lazy days enjoying the slower pace of life, reading a good book, or simply daydreaming in your own backyard. ciao for now, jessica

4rth of july hours

okay, so we will be closing only a touch early today so get in before you hit that cookout and those fireworks cuz we are open til 4!!!! happy 4rth to everyone, and jessica we miss you!

xo

suz

"love it" for july: FLOWIE

so flowie is one of our newest and favorite textile designers. she uses cotton and linen, or a blend of the 2, on which she screenprints by hand, her own designs.  she keeps work done on these textiles, on a local level, in the bay area where she lives. if you want to know MORE about yaling, go to yalinglou.com like we did. she is super talented and we just love her! not sure who found who but it is a match made! thanks yaling xo

interview with yaling of FLOWIE:

what was your first job and how did you end up designing textiles and creating bags and accessories?

I worked as an in-house graphic/web designer for a company in Taiwan. Then, I got married and moved back to the US. I love fashion and I love graphic design as well. So, I decided to go back to school to study textile design, which combines my both interests. While I was in school, I made myself many bags to carry my school supplies, and I received many compliments on my bags. After school, I decided to give it a try and launched Flowie.

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

I love everything I designed and created. If I really have to pick one, it would be the one of new series I’m working on right now. It will be available by the end July. Hope you will love them, too!

who or what inspires you?

Most of my designs are inspired by people around me or a special event in my life. That’s why I named many of my prints after my friends. Movies are my other source of inspiration.

what three websites do you visit daily?

Design*Sponge, Dooce, Decor8

describe your ideal sunday.

Wake up and drink my morning coffee that my husband  has prepared for me. Take our dog out for a walk. Think about which color to paint our rooms (we just move into our first house). Drive to HomeDepot to buy paint supplies. Paint the wall. Take a break to watch Law and Order rerun on TV. Continue painting and decorating the house. Let our dog run in the backyard while I water the plants.

Cook a nice dinner. Go to bed early.

what do you see outside your studio windows?

Lots of trees and flowers.

the BIG news

okay, drumroll please. where is stuart copeland when you need him? (from the police, my young friends). the day to reveal the BIG NEWS has arrived, and you, kind reader, are the first to find out. i have not even been able to tell my lovely and most loyal employees/friends the news as it is after hours and they have left work or town, jumping back into their unique lives; one dancing, one writing, and one just landing in rome to teach. i myself am plopped happily in the country, in our airstream to be exact, writing about the BIG NEWS! .....we will be MOVING the store up the mall, east aways, as of, or before, september 1rst, 2008. our exact address will be 114 4rth st ne. for those of us who know the mall, that is up from 5 guys, down from daedalus bookstore on the corner, and next to novel. for those who don't, it is a hop, skip and a jump from my current location and still just right off the mall . the deal has been in the works for a bit but i just made the decision. while we will be sad to leave 2nd street nw, our home of almost 5 years, we are excited for the change and for the increase in size. don't worry, it will still be intimate and probably crowded. our hope is to offer more artists and goodies in general, including: new jewelry lines, t-shirts, more baby goods, more lamps, product, paper & card lines, accessories and whatever else will fit! we are so excited for the change. if you know my roadmap to now you know that i have enjoyed change all along. i started where pearl is now, moved to where elsie garden is now, opened a store on elliewood ave, and then opened the o'suzannah on 2nd street nw.

so there it is folks, the scoop, the skinny, in black and white, straight from the source. stay tuned for details regarding additional sale times, opening dates etc. one thing is for certain. we will be open in the new space on or before september 1rst 2008!

andiamo a roma!

in a little over a week i'm off to rome to help lead uva students through the hallowed halls of the vatican and the villa borghese. we'll wander down the via giulia (so very lovely...) and marvel at the scale of the colosseum. 

"marveling" is pretty much a state of being in rome. wowee.

it's pretty hard to complain when you're studying michelangelo, raphael, and caravaggio everyday, especially when there's gelato from giolitti at the end of the day. (and paper stores galore!)

how one "experiences" the sistine chapel these days. 

shh, don't tell anyone i snapped a photo.

still, it's hard to leave o'suz for a month -- i miss the peeps and the goods! lucky for me, a little bit of o'suz travels to roma.  let's take a tour of my daily tote.

despite being the poster child for "directionally challenged," i've spent enough time in rome to avoid getting too terribly lost.  regardless, i never leave the apartment without my moleskine rome city notebook.  these relatively new pocket-sized notebooks are a departure from the traditional guidebook -- you won't find directions or dining suggestions;  instead, a series of pages for you to fill with notes about your favorite parts of the city as you learn its landscape. never fear, one classic guidebook feature remains -- a serious map of the city, divided over many pages, with important landmarks indicated.  one of my favorite parts about moleskine city guides is that they keep the street names and landmarks in the native language of your destination.  it's never a bad thing to know that what we call the "tiber" is to italians the "tevere." perfect for a more exploratory approach to the city, and a lot lighter than my old eyewitness travel guide! 

moleskine city notebook, dwell travel case with fluffy co passport wallet, and city walks rome deck. 

also featured is my pal, andiamo, who will be a regular guest blogger in the coming weeks.

i'll also be stuffing my burt's bees lip balm, sunscreen, and various other items into my new dwell travel case. i love the transportation motifs and the fun colors, and of equal importance is how functional this petite pouch is. laminated on the outside, lined in the inside, and equipped with additional interior and exterior pockets, this is my kind of travel pouch. (and there's a larger size good for shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

super sleek and a model of organization  -- highway messenger bag

all of these goods (along with my hobo wallet, saltygal ipod cozy, fluffy co passport cover -- oh my gosh, is everything i own from o'suzannah!?!?!) will be toted daily in my spankin' new highway bag.  i've traveled a good bit in europe and have never found the perfect bag for daily use -- they're always either too big or too small, not secure enough, not durable enough, etc. but now, perfection has arrived in the form of this sleek, multi-tasking messenger.  yay for functional, attractive design! this bag has seven pockets of varying sizes so that you always know what's where; it lies flat on the body and can be worn across the chest as an added safety precaution.  it's pretty much awesome, in every way.

this is just a tiny bit of the o'suz love i'll be taking with me to roma.  stay tuned for my next post, where i'll fill you in about the little bits of italy (and paris, you francophiles you) that can be found at the shop! ciao for now, j

weekend report

so the first 3 days of the annual summer sale have come and gone, and what a whirlwind they were. the store was jammin' busy selling lots of sale and greeting lots of new faces here for the festival of the photo. the sale will go on as long as there is sale to be had, so come on in and grab some good xmas gifties early or some treats you didn't know you needed for yourself. there is jewelry, aprons, candles and soaps, books, lots of stationery packs, journals and pads, decoupage, baby goodies, single cards galore and much, much more.

also, stay tuned for some VERY BIG NEWS from o'suzannah, coming soon.

xo suz

the news on the street...

alrighty then, as promised, this blog is here to tell you the news and the news is that our BIG SUMMER SALE is about to begin. gadzooks, i know it's early but with gas prices the way they are and the heat index already breaking records, i say why not? we will begin the SALE friday the 13th, yup, your lucky day. the sale will be more contained than usual but will take on a life of its own with each passing day. we have tons to go in the sale, but we just don't have tons of room so we will put it out gradually. this means we hope to see all of you SALE lovers frequently. we open at 11am on friday and don't forget we open at 10am on saturdays, so try to get by and see the loot. we can't wait to see you!!!!

don't forget your papa!

a quick reminder that this sunday, june 15, is father's day! o'suz might not be the first place you think of when shopping for the men in your life, but we've got a boatload of cards, books, and even some gadgetry. stop by for a little treat, and wish your pops a happy day!