The English Muffin Blog

I blame it on November...

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Remember this little guy?

Yah... I remember him too.

I'm going to blame this sad situation on November. The sun has been a.w.o.l for weeks and I am not exactly famous for my green thumb.

Sorry for the somewhat depressing post. I'll be cheerier tomorrow - promise!

bess

Little Red Riding Hood

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I found these adorable Little Red Riding Hood finger puppets on Etsy the other day. They are from the Toronto based shop, Clara Clips. Aren't they adorable?! They would be perfect for my Kindergarten classes, now I just have to find out if the little Austrian children know about Red Riding Hood.

photos: Clara Clips

Have a great Tuesday!
Bess

die burgermacher (the burger maker)

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I've been walking by this cute little indie-feeling restaurant for the better part of a year now, and Saturday night Big Chuck and couple of our friends decided to give it a try. It's called "die burgermacher" which translates to mean "the burger maker". As you've probably now guessed, the main item on the menu is burgers. They also have an assortment of 25 different beers which made Big Chuck and our friends super happy. I myself am not a big beer drinker - unless we're talking about a raspberry Belgian beer, then I drink beer like juice. My taste buds can sometimes be similar to those of a little kid, if you disguise my beer with berries, or my coffee as a Mocha Choco Panna Cotta (which by the way was what we had for dessert that night), then I'm sold. The menu was delicious. I had a Tofu Rucloa Burger (tofu, arugola pesto and veggies) with American-style coleslaw (yum!) and Big Chuck had the Fleisheslust Burger (beef burger with bacon and mushrooms) with a side of purple fries. All the food was organic and the portions generous. I would definitely recommend you pop in for a burger the next time you're in Vienna.

die burgermacher
Burggasse 12, 1070
Vienna, Austria

Happy Monday!
bess

Dedicated to my tree Dr.

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I just love this print from artist Bryan Nash Gill. I think it shows so beautifully the space where art, nature and science all meet. I have my very own scientist/artist/nature lover, you may know him as Big Chuck. He is working on his PhD and currently spends a lot of his time analyzing tree rings and compiling that data into information that is important for understanding the effects of carbon in our atmosphere.

I would love to have this 52" x 38.5" Hemlock print in our home one day...

Hemlock 82 Relief Print by Bryan Nash Gill available at Ashes & Milk

Here are some photos of artist Bryan Nash Gill's process.

Photos: Ashes & Milk Blog

Happy Friday, and Saturday and Sunday too!
Bess

Polaroids Are Pretty

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I was inspired by all of the Twitter folks posting their submissions for "'Roid Week 2009" - a bi-annual celebration of instant film. Here are few that I picked for my Flickr gallery, Polaroids Are Pretty. Swing by Flickr to check them out, and be my newest contact!

gallery on Flickr

Have a thrilling Thursday ;)
bess

Matomeno Cookie Greeting Card

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Cookies and stationary together at last!
I love this cookie greeting card from Japanese online store Matomeno. Now if only I could figure out how to order it! Found via Eat Drink Chic - a great food and design blog.

photo: Matomeno

Have a great Wednesday!
bess

Knittles

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I'm not sure what I love more, these beautiful handmade knitted and crocheted items or the adorable kid modeling them! I am in desperate need of a pair of warm mittens and a cuddly scarf as I'm writing this. November is indeed the darkest, gloomiest month of the year and what better way to cheer yourself up than to invest in some woolly goodies.

photos: Knittles

Knittles is 3 designers/crafters, Mavis, Olga and Marcy, based in Calgary, Alberta. Knittles offers stylish handmade knitted & crocheted items for men, women and children. They also produce custom pieces and recently showed their first runway collection in Alberta Fashion Week.
For more information, visit their store here.

Have a cozy Tuesday!
bess

Holiday Printables!

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

It's beginning to look a lot like.... the holiday season!
This weekend I had a little photo shoot with my Printable Holiday Gift Tags and Cards Sets and they are now available in both my Etsy and Big Cartel shops.
Printable holiday stationary is the perfect solution for this festive season. Once you purchase the PDF file they are yours to use as many times as you like, they are inexpensive and always at your fingertips. It is even possible to have your holiday printables customized, so that Santa's handwriting won't be oddly similar to yours.

Printable Holiday Mittens Gift Tags and Cards Set

Printable Holiday Dog Gift Tags and Cards Set

Printable Custom Holiday Gift Tags and Cards Set

Have a great Monday :)
bess

Museum Fun

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Let me just start by apologizing for neglecting my blogging duties yesterday. I hope you weren't too disappointed. Don't worry, nothing's wrong, I just ran out of time. We were out Wednesday night celebrating a friend's birthday and didn't get home till late, and Thursdays are my crazy run around the city teaching Kindergarten days, so unfortunately no blog post. Oh well, I hope today's content makes up for it.

On Monday it was Austria's National Day and we had a day off. To celebrate we decided to venture out to a few of the free museums. Charles (I refuse to continue calling him "Big Chuck" on the blog) took some amazing pictures at the Globe Museum where the lighting was killer, and I took some at the Esperanto Museum. We didn't really know what to expect, but I must say we were pleasantly surprised.

Austrian National Day would not be complete without visiting the military display in Heldenplatz.

photos: Bess Callard, Charles Nock

Have a wonderful weekend!
Bess

Papershop.fi

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

This past summer I got my first wholesale order from Papershop.fi, an online paper shop based in Finland. I checked out their store this weekend which recently opened and was so excited to see my Animal Alphabet Posters and Letter Prints in the shop. Anna and her sister Tea have done a wonderful job and I encourage you to pop over and take a peek at all the beautiful paper goods they have to offer.

Papershop.fi

And in other news... English Muffin made it onto Etsy's Front Page for the first time earlier this week! Can you spot the 2010 Calendar?

Have a great Wednesday!
bess

Canadian Content

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I've rounded up a few new and a few old faves in the world of Canadian design blogging. I'm always interested in what Canadian designers are doing and of course who and what Canadian bloggers are featuring. Below are just a few of the Canadian design blogs out there, I hope you like them - I sure do!

Poppytalk - a definite favourite, the Canadian version of Design*Sponge.

KITKA design toronto - a new find, Juli & John focus on interior design in Toronto

styleNorth - "Elle Décor taste and a flea market budget"

HindsvikVintage - flea market finds and a great source for interior design inspiration

Canadian Design Resource - a library of Canadian design and culture

Lake Jane - home decor and other bits and pieces from the world of design.

If you have any faves of your own I'd love to hear about them :)

Happy Tuesday!
bess

Happy Birthday Austria!

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Österreich! Today is Austrian National Day, so we have a holiday - Yipee!

photo: Charles Nock

This is me at the Parliament in Vienna sometime during the past two years.

Enjoy your Monday!
bess

Stella McCartney for GapKids

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

How jealous am I of these stylish kiddies?! Where was Stella McCartney when I was little and outifitted in GapKids?

These pictures were on OhJoy!'s blog yesterday and I just had to share them here too. Don't you love the glittery animals, Mr. Fox and all the little furry friends that are in the shot (must be Photoshoped - I can't imagine they'd all get along so well!).

Oh, and please may I one day have a daughter so I can dress her up in that adorable pink tutu?!

via OhJoy!
photos: WomensWearDaily.com

Designer Stella McCartney's collection for GapKids will be launched November 2nd at select Gap stores in the US, UK, Canada and Japan.

Have a great Friday!
bess

Bento Boxes

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

A little while ago my good friend, the Guerrilla Gourmand, sent me a link from the New York Times on bento boxes. I meant to post it sooner, but you know how things get lost in internet-land. The images below are from Flickr member, bentomom. There were so many adorable photos to choose from - these are really just the tip of the iceberg. I even unwittingly stumbled into the land of "bento porn", seriously - it's out there.

photos: bentomom

How lucky are these kids? Their luches look delicious and so creative. If you'd like to do a little more reading on all things bento, then check out the blog, Just Bento.

Happy Thursday!
bess

Yodel-ay-ee-oo!

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I saw these photos on one of my favourite photography blogs, Our Labor of Love. They do a lot of wedding photos and the shots are always amazing. They also have a Smilebooth feature where you can have photos taken with different backgrounds and props - these are the best photos of all though! The moments are priceless and if I ever suck it up and have a wedding, I'll definitely have a Smilebooth too.

Google recently had an Oktoberfest party in Atlanta and Our Labor of Love was there to set up this awesome Smilebooth. The backdrop and props are by Dolci Odille.

photos: Our Labor of Love

Don't forget English Muffin is having a mini-Oktoberfest of our own. Free upgrade to priority shipping when you purchase a 2010 Calendar during the month of Oktober!

Tschüss!
bess

The Handwork Group

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Technically today's featured artists are not Canadian, but Michigan is close enough, isn't it?! The Handwork Group is a collective of Waldorf parents who create handcrafted artwork to sell to benefit their children's school. They meet every Monday to "use (their) hands to create beautiful and functional, fantastic and imaginative creatures of nature". You can support their work and the Waldorf school by visiting The Handwork Group's Etsy shop.

photos: The Handwork Group

Tall Buck in Fresh Blue and Grey
Deer Family - made to order
Piggies
Tiny Sitting Squirrel with Mat

Have a great Tuesday :)
bess

To Market We Went

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

On Saturday we took a stroll to our favourite market in the city, Kutschkermarkt. I've posted photos from this market on the blog before (here and here), so this time I decided to have a little fun with them in Photoshop.

Here are the results.

(photos: Bess Callard)

I hope you had a lovely weekend :)
bess

2010 Calendar featured on decor8!!

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:09:00 +0000

decor8

I'm so thrilled that my little calendar was feature in decor8's 2010 Calendar roundup! Yipee!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)
bess

Hello Friday!

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:10:00 +0000

2010 Calendar

My head is swimming with things I have to get done, mostly stuff I can't show you at the moment... sorry! I can tell you all about it though. I've been reworking some prints I've submitted to Juna Studio, they are a New York based print studio who have been representing me for the past few months - I know, exciting, eh?! Well the world of print design is quite a daunting one if you ask me, especially for a girl who really has no formal print design skills except for a childhood full of Marimekko prints ;) But I'm trying my best and learning lots as I go.

I am also working on my best-friend's wedding Save the Dates and of course those are top secret until they go out. It's really fun though. For some reason, and Big Chuck will kill me for saying this, I like working best on the projects that I do "pro bono"!

Some fun news... I have a hunch the English Muffin 2010 Calendar is going to be featured on Decor8 today. Holly is doing her annual calendar round up so pop on over and find yourself a smart calendar for the coming year.

Have a wonderful Friday!
bess

English Muffin's 2010 Calendar

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

English Muffin's 2010 Calendar

It's finally done! English Muffin's 2010 Calendar is ready to be shipped out to all you eager customers ;)

This year's calendar is more than just an ordinary wall calendar. As shown in the photo above, once the calendar month is over, you can snip off the bottom portion of the page and then frame your favourite animals. Cover your home in animal prints - go on, go nuts!

**If you'd like to receive a special friends of English Muffin discount on your calendar, simply join the mailing list.

English Muffin's 2010 Calendar

Have a great Thursday!
bess

The Movie Title Stills Collection

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Images: The Movie Stills Collection

I found The Movie Stills Collection website, created by designer Christian Annyas via Designisms, and had such a fun time looking at old movie titles that I thought I would share some with you. These are only a few from his massive collection, ranging in date from the 1930's to the 1960's. It's a great website to visit if you're looking for typography and layout inspiration or just want to take a trip down graphic design memory lane.

Images: The Movie Stills Collection

Images: The Movie Stills Collection

Have a great Wednesday!
bess

3dots Design

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Fallen Leaves 2
Peacock Tail Necklace
Mistletoe (on Sale!)

Aren't these necklaces just perfect for fall?! I have to admit I have a very small jewelery box and one of my favourite pieces is a necklace that my best-friend bought for me in London. It's simply a piece of leather string with 10-12 wooden "doughnuts" strung through it. So simple and sweet, just like today's Canadiana Tuesday designer, 3dot. Based in Quebec, designer Lucie is a furniture maker full-time and jewelery designer part-time. Her Etsy shop is full of beautiful and unusual pieces and I'd recommend stopping by, especially since the Mistletoe necklace is on sale - perfect for Christmas, non?! Speaking of the holidays, below are some of Lucie's Holiday Stars, very festive!

Holiday Star
Photos: 3dot

Have a wonderful Tuesday!
bess

Knit the City (dot) com

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Photos: Knit the City

Here's something that will definitely brighten your day. Knit the City is an online blog belonging to a team of woolly warriors who have been on a campaign to guerrilla knit the city of London since February 2009. They cover random parts of the city in colourful knitted-wear in the hopes of brightening and beautifying their surroundings. Here are a few examples of their work.

Photos: Knit the City

Have a great day, and Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canadian Turkeys!!
bess

Halloween

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Skull Button Set Solid

I've never been a big fan of Halloween (well, maybe as an 8 year old). I think it's all the pressure to have a good costume, and I always end up throwing something together last minute and it's incredibly lame. Luckily, Europeans don't celebrate Halloween so we haven't been invited to any Halloween parties for the last couple of years, phew! But... if I was to be invited this year, here's what I'd wear.
• a super cute skull button or two
• a kitty cat mask, Big Chuck could be the dog
• and matching laundry bag sized trick or treat sack

Cat & Dog Mask Set

Trick or Treat Bags

Have a great weekend!
Bess

2010 Calendar - sneak peek!

bess@englishmuffinshop.com (Bess) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Here's a little sneak peek of English Muffin's 2010 calendar. I've been a busy little bee working on it for the past couple weeks. I'm hoping to have it all done and printed by Friday afternoon, photographed by Sunday and up on my Etsy shop and website by Monday.

Inspired by a good friend of mine who has framed her English Muffin 2009 calendar, I have made this one more framing-friendly. When the month is done, simply cut off the date portion at the bottom and then you'll have a perfect little square of art to frame. Hello multi-purpose!

I would love to offer everyone on English Muffin's Mailing List a special price, so if you'd like your very own 2010 calendar at a discounted price sign-up here, and I'll be in touch shortly!

Have a great Thursday!
Bess