Marco writes:

“ciao lilla!
here is the last ‘gastronomica’ mag assignment: i had fun, and art director frances baca is delighted with it…”

Allegra writes:

“Hello to everyone!
Here the new work just made for the Philharmonic of Scala (the Opera house of Milan): I had to reinterpret their logo for children and the make the poster for a series of concerts for schools about the “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It’s a work very important and representative as it’ll be in all the catalogues of the season.
Have a good day and a good weekend!”

Monday: Recipe illustrations by Marco Marella

Adolie writes us:

“My new book comes out Tomorrow

Sleeping beauty

A childhood dream but also an illustrator.
I stuck with it for many winters,
I’m bitten with pictures of young princesses, kings and colorful’s fairies.
Now, the book finished  and the story done, I can sleep too.

Tell me your travel, your emotions in this tale,
spread the news in your kingdom so that does not lose the magic of stories.

Thank you for sharing my dreams.”

Allison writes:

“Below are some images from a recent assignment for Parents Magazine, they were wonderful to work with!
I illustrated a spread and three spots for an article about the role that birth order plays in personality development.
I also had the opportunity to try out a new technique that I have been working on for a while. My goal was to combine the texture and shadow from my cut-paper fine art with the drawing style of my editorial work. I hope you like how it turned out!”

Wednesday: Adolie’s new book

Trina Dalziel writes:

“Hi, Lilla

I’ve been having lots of fun at Cosmo China in Bloomsbury, London recently painting plates and mugs and egg cups and butter dishes etc with this circus theme.

It developed from the circus design I did in the spring as part of a collection of circus themed repeats. And they, in turn, came from a little sketch in my sketchbook done in the winter. I love the way ideas, themes and projects can grow and in doing so change form.”

Monday: Allison Cole – new work in the October issue of Parents Magazine

John Coulter writes:

“Hi Lilla,
This is my latest illustration for Seattle Met. I was really trying to push the colors and textures on this one.”

Friday: Trina Dalziel’s Cosmo Circus Ceramics

This is a wonderful piece that I enjoyed a great deal, by Whitney Smith, a potter, from Oakland, California.

love your customer, even when you don’t
“I worked a few jobs in high school that required constant interaction with the public, and I learned– as did my supervisors– that customer service was not my forte. People would get on my nerves with their foolish expectation that I should serve them quickly and politely. I would shake with indignation if a customer gave me attitude. Of course I was young and untrained, and I had little idea what the word “customer service” meant, only that it sounded like somebody else’s job.

I thought being an artist and escaping into my studio every day was a great way to avoid having too many encounters with the general public. I have learned over the past 14 years that the best way to guarantee that you will be interacting with the public all the time is to be an artist who actually sells their work directly to people who want it.

The great thing about being totally wrong is that I’ve been given the opportunity to learn to be a person who can gracefully manage all kinds of encounters with clients and give great customer service. It’s been a long learning curve, because inside I still have a piece of that teenager that gets very upset when people complain, or want something from me that I’m not prepared to give. I’ve alienated customers with snappy responses, defensiveness, and irritable behavior. I’ve learned that just makes me feel just as bad as the customer does, while not solving the problem I’ve been presented with.”

Read the rest here:
this artist’s life: love your customer, even when you don’t

Wednesday: New Work by John Coulter for Seattle Met: Shorter Sale

Suzy writes:

“Lilla,
These holiday charmers are hand-painted, engineered wood ornaments with hinged hats for concealing tiny treasure. The nutcracker set began as a stationery project for Madision Park Greetings. Then, the little comrades were adopted by Crate&Barrel, and infused with new life as 3-D ornaments. It was a treat working with both clients.

“Partridge in a Pear Tree” boxed notes are also available from Madison Park, and “Sew Festive” is available through my etsy shoppe.”

Carolyn writes:

“Hello everyone,

Julie at P&B sent me the first s’offs (strike offs) of the new Spring Street Fabric Range!… here are a few pics.
The collection is making its first debut at the Quilt Market in Houston end of the month.”

My friend, Chantal, is involved with this wonderful organization.
From the Haiti Projects, Inc. website:
“Handmade items are made by the women of Fond des Blancs, Haiti. Proceeds from the sale go directly back to these women and their community. The Sewing Cooperative was started in 1996 to provide women with the work they need to earn a living. Today eighty women are employed at the cooperative. Washing, is still done by hand and so is ironing with charcoal irons. In spite of difficult circumstances, women at the cooperative use their embroidery skills to produce heirloom-quality items of great beauty.

The Sewing Cooperative is a program of Haiti Projects, Inc., a non-profit, charitable corporation registered in Massachusetts. It operates in Fonds des Blancs, Haiti, a poor, mountainous area 75 miles west of Port au Prince. Most of the inhabitants of Fonds des Blancs live with their impoverished children on less than one US dollar a day. Haiti Projects’ mission is to fight poverty by creating the means through which people can help themselves.

100% of the proceeds from sales goes back to the women at the cooperative who, thanks to you, are able to feed their children and send them to school.”

“Empower a women, raise a family and lift a village.”

Available for purchase here.

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