Daisy Janie

seeing | what the fuzz is all about

making an effort | modernemotive

'Making an Effort' highlights designers & crafters who use eco-friendly methods and/or materials where possible in creating their products. The entirety of their collections may not be 100% organic or green or recycled, but they're trying and that's the point. They're making an effort. Doing something is better than doing nothing at all. Would you like to be considered for this feature? Email me.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This week, Adele Miller from modernemotive (Toronto) shares her designs & eco philosophies with us. Adele creates stunningly simple & modern paper goods, which are made primarily with materials using recycled content. She's very selective about every detail throughout her product design process - it definitely shows! p.s. she included an exclusive coupon code for Daisy Janie readers...keep reading! 

What do you create?
Right now, my product line consists of greeting cards, invitations, announcements, personalized stationery and business/calling cards. I have plans to expand my line in 2010 to include notebooks, notepads, folders and more functional paper goods. The list never ends which can sometimes cause great chaos in my already overactive mind. I also have plans to extend beyond paper goods but all in good time.

What materials do you use?
I try to pack as many “eco points” into my materials as possible.

Here’s the current breakdown:
Cover stock + white envelopes
Acid Free, Archival, Certified Processed Chlorine Free, FSC Certified, Green Seal Certified, Lignin Free, Made Using Wind Energy Recyclable, 100% Post Consumer Content

Brown Bag Envelopes
100% Post Consumer Content Colored Envelopes FSC Certified, Acid Free, 100% Recycled, 30% Post Consumer Content

Cello Sleeves
Plant-based (corn) materials, Biodegradable, Compostable

What made you decide to use recycled & other green materials in your products?
Simply put - why not? The options are available (especially in the paper goods industry) so there’s really no reason not to.

Do your customers seek out eco-friendly products?
I certainly think the fact that my products are ecofriendly influences some purchases. However, for the most part, I believe people are just seeking out unique, fresh and modern stationery. Over time, I think the ecofriendly aspects will become a more influencing purchasing factor. But to do that, I think the stationery industry has to make it the norm rather than a “bonus”.

What is the biggest challenge in using green raw materials: sourcing, price, variety, etc?
Pricing is definitely my biggest pain right now. While I am trying to be competitive, I also don’t want to undercut myself just to compete. I truly stand behind the quality of my products, materials and design work. I think my prices reflect that fairly. I am putting my heart and soul into modernemotive and while I do think the market will somewhat determine price points for you, I also think you need to put the breaks on dropping your prices until you know you’ve hit your target market and failed. Of course, there is always room for adjustment, and it’s something I continually monitor.

Do you have plans to incorporate more eco-friendly materials in your products?
I’m always looking at new ways to further my efforts and it’s certainly a deciding factor when I consider adding new products to my line. If I can’t optimize the eco aspects as much as possible, the idea is shelved until such materials become available. For example, I package my products in the bio cellos rather than boxes because my source doesn’t currently offer earth-friendly options. While it may take away from the visual presentation some, for me, this is a small compromise rather than loading landfills with boxes made of plastic. Also, when I start to wholesale, I imagine I’ll have to outsource the printing. When this happens, I will definitely be going the vegetable or soy ink route.

Anything else to add?
As a thank you for sharing my work with your readers, I’d love to extend them a discount code for 15% off* in my shop. Valid from Friday, 20 November thru Sunday, 22 November. Simply add “DJ15” to the notes to seller and I’ll refund you via PayPal. Or it you’d prefer a revised invoice, include that in your notes. *Cannot be used against custom work, items currently on sale or with any other offer.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thank you for sharing your ideas & ideals with us, Adele! The effort you're making is commendable and very much appreciated!

modernemotive links:
shop | blog | flickr | twitter

how to say thank you a la peanutman

From this...

To this...

To this...

How do your kids say thank you?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I saw some funny things along the way. 

This guy...

And these guys...

And this guy...

fabric sighting: pillow in bloom (and a puppy)

photo credit: lisa kelley

Awwwwwwww....a puppy dog! (did you just say it, too?) This cutie patootie is Lola, the newest family member of my friend Lisa {milkshake}'s house. Lisa was also one of my very first fabric customers in 2008, when she purchased bloom and audrey. This pillow in bloom looks great in this setting, as it really brings together the rich reds and mod neutrals in the space. Lisa has great taste, and one of my fave features in her house are sheer, jewel-toned drapes she has hung & tied back in the very high archways between rooms. Makes it feel very romantic and cozy....sort of a Moroccan vibe, too.

Lisa's links: milkshake | sweet inspiration

For anyone who needs a dose of puppy like I always need a dose, here's Lola up close - I want to reach through my screen and nuzzle her up! Lisa says she has a lot, a lot, a lot of energy - guess that's why she needs soft, scrumpy places she can rest her baby bones to rejuvenate herself! Good girl Lola!!

Extreme crafting update:
I did indeed crack a rib on my back when I fell last week. About 2" from my spine. I'm considering myself an extreme crafter who's extremely lucky I landed just as I did b/c it could have been much worse. Nothing one can do other to let time heal it up. My push-up and pull-up goals for my 40th bday in a month will have to wait. Alissa from Mew Paper Arts said her mom calls carrying everything in 1 trip when you should be making 3 trips the "lazy man's load" - LOL!

daisy janie calendar giveaway

Time for a giveaway! My 2010 wall calendar is hot off the press, and I'd like to give one to a good home!

Like last year's calendar, the 2010 version has a lot of cool, unique and functional features (oh, I can come up with more adjectives, too, don't tempt me!). All of the features were selected and executed with thoughtful intention on my part. B/c of this, the final design makes me ridiculously happy, and it seems true for a few others as well:

• Just got my calendar in the mail today!!! LOVE IT!!!! Thanks so much! I also love the little notebook that came with it! Very cute! - Kim D.
• SO beautiful -- exactly what I had hoped for. The quality is superb, and the design is gorgeous. Also, I appreciated that it was shipped flat and well-wrapped -- not a crease or bend! Thank you!!! - Kate P.
• I got the package today! Daughter and daughter-in-law thrilled with the calendars. DIL Sue has this year's calendar and loved it so that's why I ordered 2. Thanks! - Nancy S.

 + + + How to enter + + +

1. Either - Read about the details of the calendar on this blog post or in my etsy listing. Pick an attribute that floats your boat. Leave a comment on this post saying what it is and why you like it.
2. Or - Share a comment about something you do in your business or in your personal life that involves thoughtful intention. Something where your actions are/were very purposeful to yield a positive result.

 + + + Rules  + + +
One (1) entry per person (dupes will be deleted); winner will be chosen at random; winner has 24 hours to claim prize. after that, a new winner will be selected. Contest ends Monday, 11/23 at midnight.

Good luck and thank you for entering!

another wrap-up.

Another water-bottle washing season is over. Peanutman's last soccer game of the season was yesterday, and it was a magnificent 65 degrees and sunny, with whispy clouds as far as the eye could see. He had a great season, filled with tremendous passion and astounding growth as a thinking player and young athlete. It is such a gift for me to watch this process unfold....*sigh*...I'll be happily on-deck to wash more water bottles come Spring!

happy weekend!

autumn blooming cherry tree / prunus subhirtella

Happy weekend! May you find a sunny spot to relax and beauty peeking out where you least expect it!

Thank you to all who commented on yesterday's accident seen here post - your stories about sliced and sewn fingers, wicked stair tumbles (with children), and embedded glass in a foot were completely barf-worthy and made my stomach lurch with each gory detail! Not bad yo, not bad at all! (Barbara of second surf even wrote about her artsy accident on her blog.)

A few notes:
+ international shipping for the Daisy Janie 2010 calendar has been updated. Canada, UK, Australia & S. Africa have been added by request. let me know if you need another location!
+ there will be a calendar giveaway on the blog beginning either Mon or Tues.
+ wholesale ordering capability for Geo Grand will be up next week.
+ select [read: underperforming] organic sateen fabrics are on clearance.
+ all cotton/linen blends are being discontinued & are on clearance as well.

Some overdue gratitude for the following features & mentions. All are very, very, very appreciated!
+ true up
+ indie fixx
+ cottage industrialist
+ scoutie girl
+ going home to roost
+ fresh paint

accident seen here.

Good thing I included "miscellany" in my blog header up there b/c that's certainly where this post is going.

So last night I'm thinkin' I'll do a little multi-tasking and make notebooks while watching Glee. I gather a cutting mat, papercutter, metal yardstick, rotary cutter, stapler, stack of paper and stack of designs on cardstock. I contemplate making two trips down the stairs to carry the awkward load and decide, "Nah! That's what you have two hands for lady!" I pile all this stuff from big to little, scoop it up in my arms and off I go. On the very last step (you see it up there in that pic), my sock slid a little on the carpet. I'm guessing b/c George left an extra dustbunny of dog hair right there, making it extra slick. He's that way.

At first slippage, my feet came out from underneath me and with NO hands to catch myself b/c, for crikey's sake, they're meant for carrying $hit and not for catching falls, down I went! WHOOSH and BAM! I landed on my back on the edge of one of the steps! I yowled such a loud, nonhuman sound that my husband came running & holding back his laughter! I was sitting on my a** in a hair-every-which-way stunned stupor, with all that stuff scattered about like an AC Moore tornado had hit, and I couldn't cry or laugh or talk b/c it hurt so effing bad & the wind was knocked out of me. All for a little joyful creativity to round out the evening! (My spinal column is intact (hooray), but I bruised a few ribs on my back. Today I feel like someone tried to crack me in half.)

It's not the first time I've sacrificed care for creativity:

• I broke the outside of my foot going UP these stairs 7 years ago, carrying picture framing supplies piled high like a plate of spaghetti.
• I got so comfortable on a stepladder once while working that I stepped off of it into open space, thinking I was on the ground. I had an xacto knife in my hand and, luckily, had the wherewithall to toss it across the room as I was falling through the air.
• I got my finger completely pinched & stuck in my tent pole trying to rush to pack-up after Art Star in 2006 - Mr. Indie Fixx was beside me with Jen, and he managed to pull the tent apart.
.

Please share - what accidents have you had while crafting and creating? artsyville aimee, I know you have something!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Speaking of Indie Fixx, I was honored to be interviewed by Jen for the Wed Indie Artist Fixx yesterday! Thank you Jen!!

thank you.

Today, I'm taking more than a moment to remember those who serve our country - both those who went before us and those among us now.

I am thankful for the freedom to have a job and buy this plant and grow this flower and post this flag and buy this camera and take this gorgeous picture and have this blog and share it with you on a date and time of my choosing. And certainly I'm thankful for the freedom to make myriad micro-choices in this process that are not mentioned but stand as an example of how truly lucky we are as Americans.

My husband is putting together a "For the Fallen" workout at our gym, where teams of 4 will complete the number of reps equivalent to the number of soldiers who have died in the Iraq & Afghanistan conflicts. Today, that number stands 5,130*. We'll also be sending care packages from items donated to enter the workout. Please visit the Faces of the Fallen on the Washington Post's website to see for yourself who these brave young men & women are...whether you agree with the war or not, they gave their lives doing what they were asked to. I stand humbled by their courage.

*We often do mega workouts that are about 700 reps and take an hour. 5100+ reps will take quite a while and a toll, but it's still paltry in comparison to what our soldiers have given.

how to make a pocket-sized notebook

Aren't these tiny notebooks adorable? I was cranking these out yesterday, stopping about every 5th one to stack them up and gaze admiringly like a goofball at the lot. Not even b/c they're my designs - just b/c I love stacks of neatly finished work!

These pocket-sized notebooks will be my tokens of appreciation for those who purchase my 2010 wall calendar. The underlying motivation for creating the calendar style as I did is organization. Now I don't have to scribble notes and phone numbers in the margins of our calendar b/c there's a big note-jotting section at the top of each month just for that purpose!

Carrying that theme over, I created these notebooks for purses and pockets - when you need a quick piece of paper to write a reminder or a number. How many times have you been reading a magazine at the doctor's office or salon - and you happen upon a website you want to remember...so you try rehearsing it 10 times, but you never remember it later? (Please don't tell me that's only me.)

To make a pocket-sized notebook, you'll need:
- 2 sheets of 8.5 x 11 plain paper or notebook paper
- 1 sheet cardstock, plain or printed with a design
- scissors or papercutter
- stapler

1. Cut paper into quarters that are 4.25" x 5.5".
Do the same with the cardstock.
2. Optional: trim corners with a round-edge papercutting tool.
3. Stack 5-6 sheets of paper together, aligning them just so. Fold in half, crease hard.
Repeat with cardstock.
4. Unfold paper & cardstock. Stack with paper on bottom & cardstock on top, with design facing up.
5. Hold stack tightly and staple 1" from each end on crease.
6. Refold and recrease to keep it from popping open.

The designs I used are my orginal surface designs that I had on display at Printsource last January. I have a couple hundred of these big 11 x 17 printouts! They've been gnawing at my brain lately - sell scrap packs, make notecards, gift tags, notebooks, pillow boxes...something! Let me know if you have any ideas!

(c) Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

2010 Wall Calendar is here!

I am very happy to introduce the Daisy Janie 2010 Wall Calendar to you! It's now in-stock in my etsy shop and ready to ship.

Features:
 + big daily squares on big pages –22” tall by 17” wide.
 + big blocks for note-jotting things to buy, appts to schedule, ideas to remember, etc.
 + mod & happy patterned backgrounds in black & white.
 + totally eco-friendly printing on 100% PCW coverstock with soy ink.
 + bound with wire ring for easy paging & no plastic!

Fun Stuff:
 + Designs can be left chic in black & white or colored for a unique, original look!
 + Cute pocketsize notepad comes free with purchase so you can jot notes when you're out & about, too! (I'll show some of these tomorrow.)
 + Calendar giveway coming up at the end of this week!

seeing | intensity build

wrapping it up

Another year, another Halloween. I fear this may have been the last one we'll enjoy as parents of a kiddo who's bursting at the seams to get dressed & get out the door for trick-or-treating. And that's a very sad thought to me. He wrapped it up in style tho with 5 of his best buddies and a combo birthday/Halloween sleepover (toothpicks in my eyes today). How fortunate that his last real Hallow's Eve fell on a weekend!

As he gets older and grows out of 'little kid' games, traditions and behaviors, I cannot help but be sad at how fast his childhood has gone! Man, it's a harsh reality to recall all the times I thought, "Oh, there'll be plenty of time for that later...he's still a little sweet potato!" NO regrets by any means, but I surely would take some of those laters now. Guess this is why our parents were so anxious for grandchildren! The waiting begins. 

Audrey & Kurt: a pair of halloweenies

Audrey Hepburn and Kurt Cobain. A match made in heaven, at least for Halloween '09. Love how vacant and lost Matt tried to make himself in this pic - in full character!

Matt put together a Halloween party at our gym, with a dead celebrity costume theme. It was hilarious (and enlightening) to see what people came up with and how they pulled each one off! Jackie O & JFK, Natasha Richardson & James Dean, Amelia Earhart & Charles Lindburgh, Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen. And my fave was Anna Nicole - my friend bought a double D bra and stuffed it with fluff from an old pillow, dressed all trashy & carried a bag of pills with her all night.

A few of the aforementioned dressed not only as their famous person, but also as the person's cause of death - it was rottenly creative & devilishly comedic!

Costume Deets for Audrey as Holly Golightly:
- false eyelashes for doe-eyed look
- tiara from girl's hair accessory pack
- dress from Good Will
- earrings & pearls from Target - I will wear these again
- gloves & cigarette holder from Halloween store

To do hair, gather hair in a high, high ponytail on top of your head. Take the end of your ponytail and flip it under & bobbypin it. Your ponytail will then fan out as shown - I sprayed the h*ll out of mine to make sure it stayed. Was much easier to do this style than the wire hangers I used to put in my braids for Pippi Longstocking!

Costume Deets on Kurt Cobain:
- shoulder-length blonde wig, tinted with paint to look like dark roots
- eyeliner on bottom lid
- not clean shaven
- nonsense white tee & gray cardigan from Good Will
- ripped up jeans

preview | new organic fabric collection - Geo Grand

Geo: geometric, shapes, lines, basics, elements.
Grand: large, big, magnificent, impressive, splendid.

Put the two together, and you have Geo Grand, my debut organic fabric collection for wholesale!

Geo Grand features six large-scale, bold, sleek & dynamic designs, presented in a rich palette of espresso brown, smoky aqua, sky blue and a sweet apple chartreuse. The designs will be printed on soft and supple GOTS-certified organic cotton (which is being woven as we speak). Available in stores and on-line in late Feb 2010. 

If you are a store/on-line shop owner and you'd like more info, please email me. I expect to have details on my wholesale page in the next few weeks.
- - - - - - - - - -
The scale of the large motifs is a challenge to capture in a thumbnail. The inset images in the upper-right corners below are still only 70% of full-scale. How fun will these be to work into home decor projects, personal accessories, clothing and gorgeous quilts?! I can't wait to sew with it!!

This is one of those posts where I wanted to gush and chat and go crazy with exclamation points, but I figured I'd let the designs do that for me. Enjoy!