Yellena, please.

Arty friends, hold on to your hats. The works of Portland artist, Yellena James, have just tempted me to hide every napkin scrawl and phone book doodle I've ever rendered and sorta liked. Her remarkable works of ink and paint have graced the walls of galleries all the way from LA to the UK and are now tickling the fancy of more than just art snobs. Look for her intricate works to debut (if they haven't already) in collaboration with brands like Rojo Magazine, Keds, Nike, Anthropologie, Adidas and K2 Snowboards.

I need this in my life (and my living room.) You too? Lucky us—prints can be found in her Etsy shop...for a reasonable price too.

Her partnership with period lighting manufacturer, Schoolhouse Electric, is clearly a match made in heaven. Can't wait to see what's next for this artist!

Erin + Shaun: Something Bold

It's not often a couple comes along with style like this. Erin and Shaun's romance began when Shaun (sporting a a pair of black Converse sneakers) asked Erin to swing dance. From the first day, this casual couple strayed boldly from the beaten path, staying true to their retro styles and blissfully offbeat approach to life.

Married in the Ault Park of Roses in September and celebrating their reception at the Redmoor, a 1920s converted movie theatre, Erin envisioned a true vintage-inspired invitation and loved the idea of introducing tattoo-style artistry and essences of pin-up poster art. It was a perfect fit for her avant garde wedding approach and the moody, throwback ambiance of their venues. First, we created a mood board to capture the tone she described and what we knew about the wedding: loves vintage, Park of Roses, loves tattoo art, groomsmen wearing black Cons, 1920s theatre, loves pin-up style.

From this, we created these goodies—2-sided invitation, flat-printed complete with vintage typography and gobs of tattoo-inspired red roses. Charcoal stripes, subtle fishnet patterning, and an RSVP postcard (inspired by some things we picked up in my dad's antique shop) help add an aged look to all pieces to suit Erin’s request for “true vintage.”

A custom envelope lining is created to match the rest of the invitation suite; it's all in the details.

We even topped the RSVP design off with a tiny phonograph to favor Shaun’s love for music and the swing dance that started it all—now this a true original.

Thanks and congrats Shaun + Erin. Here's to a lifetime of breaking the rules.