san diego creatives video

This week we're on a little getaway in the desert. We're currently out near Palm Springs, but we will be there on Monday and staying at The Ace. We're celebrating Philip's birthday, our anniversary, and just needed to get away and relax! No work, no orders, no e-mails..well, I guess blogging is technically work, but I don't think of it that way ;)

Just wanted to stop by with a quick hello and to share this video. We had the privilege of working with Shaun of Boyte Creative. When I say "working with" I feel like I'm making our role sound a lot more involved than it was. The whole project was so much fun for us. Shaun came over to film and interview us a few days, but it was mostly hanging out with an awesome new friend. He wrote about our brief time together and basically explains how we were all supposed to be friends (the two of us, him, and his girlfriend Kelsey). Shaun and Kelsey are moving, so our friendship will grow in a different way than we would have thought. It was funny timing, but we now have friends that we'll get to know over e-mails, daily Instagram comments, and by keeping up with each other's blogs. We will hopefully get to take advantage of road trips to their new place in Colorado as well. We were honored to be apart of such an incredible project. We can't thank Shaun enough for creating this and to Kelsey for letting us steal Shaun in these very last days while they packed and searched for a new home in a new city.

Also, thank you to everyone who has already given so many sweet and encouraging comments upon watching this video. We couldn't do what we do without all of the love and support from everyone around us. Truly. It would be impossible without you all and we're so grateful that we're able to live out this little dream of ours.

-Philip and Chelsea

vol. 2

In no particular order, here's a little of what happened last week:

1. I was grateful to have two plates on the breakfast table. This only happens on the weekends, as Philip is at work during the week.
2. Patrick had lots of playtime at the park. This is his new friend Noi, a little Australian Shepherd puppy.
3. We picked up some beautiful ranunculus at the farmer's market (and realized just how affordable they are there compared to the grocery store).
4. I enjoyed a lot of lunches at home.
5. We got out new bulbs for our international customers.
6. We played around with some beautiful piano remains for a special project we're working on.
7 + 8. We had breakfast with some friends who were downtown for the day. This is my favorite breakfast at Craft + Commerce (and in San Diego).

closet mixology // a rainy day

Outfit details: 

chambray button up: H&M

cardigan: H&M

scarf: Forever21

watch: thrifted

leggings: Forever21

scrunch socks: Target

shoes: Forever21

(umbrella: Target)

Today is a rainy day here in San Diego. Rainy, but not freezing. I got away with wearing a light cardigan and a big scarf in place of any sort of heavy duty jacket. I've been wearing this scarf just about everyday because I love the chunky texture and the color. I've also been rocking the top knot everyday. It's just so easy and it's helping me cut back on my prep time in the morning (most mornings I haven't even dried my hair). When you look at where all of these pieces came from, you'll notice that I'm basically a walking billboard for the mall/ big chain clothing companies. But hey, that's what I can afford and what makes up a lot pf my closet, so here it is.

Philip needed a day of relaxing, so that's exactly what we've been doing. We had coffee and visited at Influx, bought new windshield wipers, and took Patrick out for a walk. That's it. We don't give ourselves many days like this, so we're being very intentional about doing practically nothing (and not feeling bad about it).

I added a about 5 new book lamps to the website this week (I'm currently working on putting them in our Etsy shop as well.) We want to keep adding more so that we can offer a larger variety. If you're looking for something specific, keep in mind that we always do custom requests (and a lot of them).

American Wit and Humor

Today I took a lot of product photos and am in the process of listing each one. I just had to share this one. Maybe it's the olive and gold accents or the torn edges, but this one has stolen my heart.

Vol. 1

Last week was sunny and mellow. This a little bit of what happened.

1. I took too many walks to count. Patrick loved it.
2. We received our March/April copy of Mountain Living, where one of our book lamps was featured.
3. We ate at the Lincoln Room twice. They have filling and yummy $5 dinners during their Happy Hour.
4. Both of those dinners were followed by a trip to Cremolose where I discovered their cappuccino flavored mousse.
5. I did a tiny bit of decorating.
6. I did a lot of business planning, brainstorming, and sketching.
7. I got to see William Fitzsimmons at Anthology thanks to Jessica.
8. I got reacquainted with my camera and the blog.
9. We went to Noble Experiment where I had the best mojito. They aren't joking about their well balanced drinks. Absolutely fantastic.
10. Once we realized that Noble Experiment didn't serve food, we reserved a table in The Neighborhood for dinner.

featured // decurate

What the wha?? Typewriter Boneyard is featured on Decurate this week! You can read Philip's story here. You can see what's for sale here.

In other news..I'm about to head to down to the leasing office of our future home to sign all of our paperwork. Yes, we found a loft! It's actually not the one from before that I said was perfect. It's a different building all together and even better than the first. (What a blessing!!) We couldn't be more excited about this new place and I can't wait to share what it looks like!

Happy Friday.

it's here!

The fab sale started this morning on Philip's lamps! Most of the book lamps sold out immediately. [I think there's one style left if you're interested ;) ] If you aren't signed up for Fab, you can do it here. It's free, but you have to be a member to see their sales.

Also, Philip got his website up and running this week (yay!). I'm really proud of how hard he's been working to get all of this done. Let me tell you, he deserve's a break!

Now on a random note, here are some things I'm loving from around the web:

Krista threw the most glamorous party for her "littlest sister's" big 13! Seriously, UH-mazing!!! A big happy birthday, to Kameryn (who look absolutely fabulous in her Anthro ensemble)! ...what's even better? Krista is sharing the DIYs from the party :)

Rachel from Smile and Wave has a new-ish series on her blog called Home Sweet Home where she shares pictures of some very beautiful homes. I loved this picture from her latest post.

I kind of have a crush on Moorea-Seal (I mean, did you see her cute nails this week?!). I always enjoy reading her blog (she's always really honest which I appreciate) and her Etsy shop always has wonderful something's in it. I'm currenty loving both of these pieces.

Hope you enjoyed your Friday so far. I'm getting back to making more lamps (because that's our life now) :)

life lately.

Most of our days involve some of the following: cutting wire, staining handles, cutting out the insides of books, soldering, buying drill presses, doing photo shoots, building websites, and wishing we were sleeping more. It's been busy, but the end results have been worth it.

All of Philip's lamps are turning out beautifully. In a few weeks, he will be selling them through fab. It's so exciting, but lots of work. Guess what? When it's over, we're taking a few days off to relax. We haven't decided what exactly, but have discussed a few things: staying in a fancy hotel, riding bikes on Coronado, getting massages, eating out every night, seeing a few movies, or maybe a little shopping...and we can't forget: sleeping in.

shop update: chalkboards and lamps.

Philip and I both have some new listings in the shops. We have been working like crazy fulfilling orders and when we do get the chance, we try to update the shops. I had a custom order for these chalkboards + the woodland chalkboard. It was really fun making something new- especially because it was something that we made together. (Philip cut and sanded the wood for me.)

Philip has had a lot of e-mails asking when he's going to have more book lamps in the shop. He's been so busy fulfilling pendant lamp orders, that there hasn't been time to make any. Well, there was time to make one and it's in the shop now.

I have the day off from the cafe so I'm sending out some orders and working on new ones. Yay! AND it's my brother's birthday today, so maybe I'll even get to see my family for dinner tonight. What are your plans today?

project restyle.

Added this to the Project Restyle Flickr group. Have you joined?

Make Good.

Philip and I sell some of our products at Make Good in South Park. This weekend was the South Park Spring Walkabout. I made a few pieces to take down there before Saturday.

paper flower broaches.

packaging.

paper flower headband.

rosette headbands.

tags.

...........................

My new favorite things are these paper flowers. Philip has to hollow out the books he uses for his hard back book lamps, so we have lots of page cutouts in our house. I hate to throw them away, so I started making these flowers. I sent Make Good these headbands and broaches.

[I'm in the process of making some other goodies with these flowers too.]

I know it's been a little quiet around here. We had a tough weekend. Everything's ok and we're back to normal :) I'll share later about the past few days.

In the meantime, here's a few things to share with you:

There's a nifty little tutorial on DS this morning on how to make your own faux firelogs. I made a few to incorporate into our christmas decor this year. However, I was unaware of the fact that single-faced corrugated cardboard existed. I was tearing the outer layer of the cardboard off to expose the inside of it. Learn something new everyday.

Fresh and Easy makes the creamiest ice cream I've ever bought from the grocery store! I could not stop eating it! I even packed some for myself to take to the movie this weekend :)

Philip has some lamps in the shop. A few book lamps and [a first] a drift wood lamp. They're pretty swell.

Speaking of swell- we just started watching Mad Men and I'm in love with all the design and costume behind it. Not so stoked on all the cheating, but it's a drama, what should I expect?

Jenny Lewis, Johnny Cash, She & Him, Edward Sharpe, Lissie, Rachel Yamagata, and Regina singing "Hallelujah". I made this playlist and can't turn it off. Enjoy.

I'm finishing some cupcake toppers for the shop today. I'll share once they're done ♥

we're back.

So many exciting things going on around here this week. It's just that were out of town and without Internet. Now I get to share them with you :)








I was so giddy tonight when I was visiting 100 layer cake and happened to spot one of my ring bearer book stacks!! Remember Kristen and Ben? Well, their GORGEOUS wedding was posted today. You should definitely check out the post. There's a lot of beautiful pictures. They did everything themselves, the location is just breath taking, and everyone looked fantastic!

Also, we wanted to say a huge thank you to Rebecca for posting about Philip's shop. She bought a lamp after one of her sweet readers sent her the link. The name of the book was Archer in Hollywood. Her sons name is Archer and they live up in LA, so it was a perfect fit :)








Speaking of lamps, Philip has some new pieces in the shop. There were more but they've been selling within hours of him listing them!








And lastly, one of my boutonierres was featured on Emmaline Bride this week. They did a woodland inspiration post and I got to be apart of it. Emma was sweet enough to invite me to be a featured artist for their site. They just recently had a make over and it looks great! Check them out for great wedding ideas!

We're adjusting to having to get back to our daily routine. Part of that for me is being consistent with the blog, which I'm slowly getting better at. Check back this week for shop updates and other exciting things. Good night.

Shop Update

Philip made some new lamps this weekend and put them up in the shop.

New lamps!

Philip has added some new hardback book lamps to the shop!

..this one is my favorite :)

Our living room has been a disaster the past few days with my projects and pieces of these lamps everywhere....but I always LOVE how they turn out and am SO proud of my husband so it's worth it :)