Introducing Erin Dollar – the owner, maker, and designer behind Cotton & Flax. Since 2010, she has been creating limited edition textile goods, as well as fine art prints on paper, from her home studio in Los Angeles, California! Check it out.

…a little bit from her:
“The Spring Collection for Cotton & Flax debuted a few weeks ago, which included a few new products (cocktail napkins! wool felt trivets! new pillow sizes!), as well as fresh new colors and patterns across the whole collection. I’m a big proponent of slow design – I don’t rush the design process, and each product I create for Cotton & Flax is developed over weeks and sometimes months of testing and experimenting to find just the right fabric and pattern design for each piece. This means I only release new pieces a few times a year, but the new products are always my absolute favorites. I’m excited to finally share these new pieces, and to start designing for more new products to debut in early Autumn.”

…and now her favorite piece & why:
“My favorite piece from the outfit: the jewelry! The necklace was made by my friend Kate, and I love everything she makes! I’ve really enjoyed watching her work evolve over the time I’ve known her. The eye ring was made by Kaye from Datter Industries, who I had the pleasure of meeting last year at Renegade Craft Fair. All her work is so fun and odd – I feel an instant camaraderie with other ladies who wear her jewelry, like we’re all members of a cool club of weirdos.”

Also, Erin was kind enough to offer up a set of cocktail napkins for one reader to win! They are perfect for having a lady-friend over for a drink or a special dinner with your significant other!! Printed by hand with eco-friendly ink, these napkins are a serious treat :)

To enter:
+ Follow Cotton & Flax on Instagram
+ Leave a comment below mentioning your favorite item in her shop!

Check out her → Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Blog
Photos by: Laure Joliet

I told you I have Mexico on the mind – I can’t stop day-dreaming about margaritas, bright colors, hammocks, oh my… Let the count down begin – 3 months…. 3 months until lots-o-lounging and a much needed break + How great is that cactus bag?? Bravo Amelie!

01 Eva Kolenko – Bay Area photographer & friend :)
02 Ascot & Hart – Get your shop on!
03 Jen Gotch – Founder & Creative Director of ban.do <3
04 Amelie Mancini – Printing, sewing, & wood-working

I was inspired to snap a few details of my studio this afternoon to show you what it looks like on a normal working day. I’m pretty bad about keeping this place clean and clutter free. It’s my studio – it’s supposed to be messy right? This morning, I had all of my birthday remnants thrown around on the table – flowers, pictures, & treats! ( I turned 27 yesterday, ah** ) Bubba and I took these photo-booth shots last night at this little record store by our apartment. Then we proceeded to eat more sushi than I thought was humanly possible! p.s. That blue silk scarf is my new favorite hair accessory!

My inspiration wall keeps growing and growing! I feel like I’ve become this crazy-collector lady that is always picking up random things off the ground, ha. It is officially the #1 thing that people instagram when they come in here ( see: 1 / 2 / 3 ) I added a few new pieces to it this past month that I am seriously in love with. I only have about a foot at the top left blank – I’m so close to covering the entire wall.

This is what my desk usually looks like – lots of cords and that’s about it. Oh, and my foam core sun shield-tent because I’m blinded by glare without it… I sold my desktop a couple of months back and have just been working from my laptop & this rotating stand. It’s been a nice set up but I plan to get a monitor soon – I’m wanting to work on a larger scale again!

Below are some random things that are always lying around – small knick-knacks that keep me happy! Books ( looks like I’m really drawn to pinks & reds ) tape, jewelry, my new leather pouch from my knitting buddy, Karen! All good stuff.

Introducing Jen & Laura of Ascot and Hart! Born from friendship and a love for fashion, their killer online retail shop is a joy to follow! These two are a seriously stylish duo, challenging me to UP my wardrobe-game constantly! I recently received these Payton suede booties, OMG! and when this tee is back in stock, it’s all mine!!

…a little bit about them:
“Jen lives in Dallas with her family and Laura lives in Long Beach with hers. We launched Ascot + Hart at the end of November 2013! It has been the most challenging but rewarding job! We love seeing people wear our tees or something they found on our site. We fly back and forth every 5-6 weeks to meet up with each other or go somewhere together to brainstorm! we just got back from Sayulita Mexico and we are totally inspired. Right now we are mapping out the year for ascot + hart. We have some collaborations in the works and new things we are designing for the shop. We both gravitate towards anything creative, whether its fashion related or not!”

…and now their favorite pieces & why:
“Our vintage Levis 501 cutoffs are our favorite. We live in them! We dress them up and dress them down and basically find a way to incorporate them into every outfit. They are definitely our go to piece when warm weather is around.”

Thanks girls!!
Check out their: Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

I’m so flattered to be featured by Bunch Magazine this week. BUNCH is a limited print publication that highlights influencers across creative communities! The aim is to cultivate a like-minded collective through interviews, photographs, and film that are both inspirational and motivational to the reader.

+ Loren Crosier took my portrait & Chloe Roth wrote the interview
+ You can read the entire feature here

Day dreaming of warmer days & distracting myself from work on this lovely Monday morning!! I booked a trip to Mexico this summer and it’s all I can think about now ( …as I sit here in a big wool sweater and scarf ) I truly am considering getting this Scoth & Soda botanical shirt. It’s like a more awesome fitted version of the classic tacky hawaiian shirt! p.s. I also have a tropical inspired Insta-Discoveries coming up next. Like I said, I have margaritas and white sand on the brain!

01. Yestadt Millinery Hat | 02. La Prestic Ouiston Antique Lau Jumpsuit | 03. Scotch & Soda Botanical Shirt | 04. Yosi Samra Flats

Introducing Tara Hurst – a woman of many talents! When we first connected through email, she suggested that we do a “feature-swap”, where we interview each other for our blogs!! Since I’m completely in love with her series: Creative Q&A, I happily agreed. You can read mine here!

…a little bit about her:
“I work as a designer on beautiful Vancouver Island. When I first came to the island I had no intention of staying and tried on a few other cities (Berlin and Vancouver) before returning to Victoria three years ago. After receiving a grant to work on a gallery project, I started working with creative companies, designers and photographers and soon found that working for myself was possible. I was amazed. That was more than two years ago now. Today I have clients all over North America, most of whom are incredibly talented women that I’m fortunate to collaborate with. Presently, I’m working on branding projects for a jewelry company and a textile designer, as well as launching a blog for a new magazine and two online stores this month. I’m looking forward to an upcoming trip to Nashville to help with a Kinfolk dinner. Outside of my work, I love morning beach walks with my chocolate lab Zadie, the combination of strong black coffee and a good book in the sunshine, cooking for my friends and taking photographs of flowers.”

…and now her favorite piece and why:
“My Nana is always knitting beautiful sweaters for my sister and I. Most recently, she completed this stunning Brooklyn Tweed pattern. She posts each sweater to me, wrapped in brown paper with a little note. Every time I wear one of her sweaters I think about where my own creativity stems and how much love and time goes into all of her knitting.”

Thanks Tara!!
Check out her —> Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter

Photos by Amie Enns

Three things that have made me happy as of late:

01. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of teaching a Graphic Design 101 workshop! I plan to do a more in depth post on this fairly soon so stay tuned, as it was a super fun experience! Turns out I kinda of love teaching! I also love sharing my studio with other people – it’s my happy place :)

02. See that huge white farm-table looking thing in the top photo? Bubba and I made that when I moved into my studio but I never found chairs for it. I figured long benches would be perfect but I never got around to making them. I ended up using the table as a standing work station ( aka: let clutter, magazines, coffee cups, and mail pile up on it ) For the Graphic Design 101 workshop, I decided to snag a handful of these mid-century modern inspired chairs! They were perfect.

03. These pretty pink flowers & greens kept me company on my bike ride last week! I got them in San Francisco from a sweet man that only wanted “a couple of bucks” for them :) After payment, he proceeded to fan me “like Cleopatra” because the palms seemed to remind him of her. Needless to say, I have found my new favorite flower stand.

Eat it up – they rock!!
See more here :)

01. Happy Mundane – Art Director & Blogger
02. Brooks Sterling – Designer, Photographer, and Marketing Expert
03. Brookandlyn – Creative studio of Mimi Jung and Brian Hurewitz
04. Emily Katz – Purveyor of Dreams as Reality :)

Introducing Jeanne Chan of lifestyle and shopping blog Shop Sweet Things. She has an incredible eye for all things fresh and trendy – so it didn’t surprise me that her photos for this feature were so adorable! …and her new workspace is to die for!

…a little bit about her:
“My blog is where I share my passion in discovering simple luxuries in fashion, home, & kids. I’m also a mommy to 2 adorable girls, happily married to my husband, & have been calling San Francisco my home for over 25+ years. I was born & raised in Hong Kong & miss it dearly. It’s probably where the shopper in me came from!”

“The blog itself keeps me being pretty creative right now. I’m constantly thinking of new content and also finding a fresh approach to share it. I’m also exploring another business opportunity right now that involves creating products. It’s in the early planning stage so I can’t talk about it too much. But I am super excited and it will be such a milestone for me when it launches!”

…and now her favorite piece & why:
“Oh boy, it’s a toss up between my Vince leather top and my Dieppa Restrepo shoes. I can’t get enough of leather and gold right now. These two elements sounds so decadent together, but the simple design on these two pieces makes it so easy to wear. And they actually make great transitional pieces from winter to spring.”

Thank you Jeanne!!
Check out her → Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram