joie to the world

it's always a happy day around h|h when a new discovery of paper goodness is uncovered. it's no secret i heart the old world artform of letterpress, and, after finding this mahalo letterpress note card on etsy, i knew i had to find out just how the designer was connected to the islands.

it turns out, tina pham, the creative mind behind joie studio, did indeed grow up on oahu and followed the path many of us know so well of going to the mainland for college and setting down roots far from hawaii after graduation. a web designer by trade, tina started designing invites as an extension of her work creating wedding websites, and eventually caught the letterpress bug after taking a few classes.

tina now spends countless hours by the side of her early 20th century golding letterpress churning out charming paper ephemera featuring a mix of antique and modern illustrations. the mahalo card is the first in joie studio's old hawaii series (a new design will be released every few months), and tina is now collaborating with the toast team to give their playful graphics a letterpress touch.

peacock

naughty & nice

2008 blooming desk calendar

click over to the joie studio etsy shop to take a peek at the lovely holiday designs, and be sure to scoop up one of the remaining limited edition 2008 blooming desk calendars which has received a lot of online buzz since its debut last month. custom work is available and the joie studio design house also offers web design and event planning services.

go behind the scenes via the joie studio blog.

go 'bows*

[*june jones may have rebranded the football team a few years ago, but they will always be the rainbows to me]

even if the islands are a plane ride away, you can still cheer on hawaii's team at the sugar bowl by clicking over to the uh rainbowtique. wrap yourself and/or your favorite uh fan in warrior threads and show your island pride wherever you may be.

and, if you missed the game last night, take a peek at the highlight reel here and here.

weekly sales sheet

 

stop by fighting eel headquarters today to scoop up styles from their spring/summer 07 collection for 30-50% off. you'll also have first dibs on fe designer rona marie's charming new jewelry collection.

• when: today & fri, dec 7th
• where: 47 n. hotel street

this weekend, alliway will be hosting a lily lotus holiday trunk show with savings of 25-50% off the island born yoga/loungewear line. preview the upcoming spring 08 line and pick up goodies from miuartworks and mayapapaya jewelry.

• when: sat, dec 1st - 4p to 9p
• where: alliway @ ward warehouse

kealopiko celebrates the one year anniversary of their truly hawaiian style collection with a birthday pa'ina. doors open at noon for early bird shoppers and evening festivities include a fashion show, art gallery, and entertainment by paula fuga, the girlas, ernie cruz, jr. & kupa'aina.

• when: sat, dec 1st - 5p to 9p
• where: contact kealopiko for directions
• fyi: cash only. $3 donation at the door (proceeds benefit hawaiian charter school art programs)  

discover fresh ways to make this holiday a bit more eco-friendly at the green market gift fair. there will be gifts that keep on giving and diy demonstrations to help you learn how to green your home and garden.

• when: sun, dec 2nd - 11:30a to 4p
• where: church of the crossroads - 1212 university ave

kokua auction - final round!

lot 3

alrighty, so there have been some serious steals during the kokua auction so far. since the all knowing magic 8 ball says there may be travel in my future, i have decided to accelerate the pace a bit and have just posted the final three auctions on ebay. yep, you read that correctly . . . thanks to the generosity of stancher at etiquette, an extra auction has been added just for the fellas!

remember, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to aloha harvest which does good work helping feed hawaii's hungry.

kokua lot no. 3 (est. retail value: $40):

• 1 state of mine t-shirt from etiquette (m's size large)
• 1 letterpress note card set (3 cards) from miemiko atelier
• 1 note card set (6 cards) from big island artist caren loebel-fried
• 1 package of pat's pineapple salsa
• 1 mango papaya soap bar from north shore soap factory
• 2 handmade gift tags (dog & tiger) from downtown general store

lot 4, part one

lot 4, part two

kokua lot no. 4 (est. retail value: $175):

• 1 sterling silver charm bracelet by he'e nalu (6" to 8" diameter)
• 1 ola hawaii coconut cane sugar scrub by hawaiian body products
• 1 letterpress note card set (3 cards) from miemiko atelier
• 1 note card set (6 cards) from big island artist caren loebel-fried
• 1 lather soap bar from bubble shack hawaii
• 2 handmade gift tags (cat & lamb) from downtown general store

lot 5

kokua lot no. 5 (est. retail value: $250):

• 1 dress love (size xs) by fighting eel
• ola hawaii lemongrass sugar scrub (1) & vanilla ginger creme lotion (1) by hawaiian body products
• 1 letterpress note card set (3 cards) & 1 note card from miemiko atelier
• 1 vanilla mint lip balm from mama coco's
• 2 handmade gift tags (bear & monkey) from downtown general store

i suspect everyone has been waiting for the final lot so bid away to your heart's content! the opening bids are a fraction of the estimated value so there are quite a few deals to be had in this final round of the kokua auction.

remember shipping is on me if you live in the states (international bidders pay a flat shipping rate of $5
usd). all auctions end on monday night so happy bidding and mahalo for your kokua!

a twist on tradition

modern interpretations of the traditional origami crane seem to be everywhere lately so i thought it was high time to gather up a few designs for show and tell.

1 - adorn your xmas tree with these delicate porcelain ornaments from semplice.

2 - red envelope stocks this double crane vase which would be perfect for newlyweds who prefer to surround themselves with more traditional objects (fyi - the photo is deceiving as the vase is actually quite smaller than it appears)

3 - a new way to stick to tradition and still add a little whimsy to your space via oneupdesigns' origami crane wall decals.

4 - alas, grownup sizes of the paper crane tee have already sold out at threadless, but you can still gift this homage to the karate kid to the little one in your life.