BrooklynBride

Viva Coney Island!  Makes me wish it was just a smidge warmer…

[images from Jennifer Boyle Photography]

Just a nice chill engagement shoot amongst the flowers, books and sculptures…

[images from Lev Kuperman]

1st row: Erin Jang , image from Union Photo, image from Flory Photo
2nd row: Rifle Paper Co., via The Bride’s Guide
3rd row: Head vs. Heart, Erin Jang, via Once Wed
4th row: both Martha Stewart Weddings

Name: Kathleen Shannon
Location: Oklahoma City, home office
Company: And Kathleen

What do you do? I work as a graphic designer and art director. I specialize in small business branding and identity development (logo, business card, signage and blog design) as well as print goods such as custom wedding invitations and stationery.

What is your aesthetic? I think I’ve got this indie-modern meets vintage-apothecary kind of vibe going on. I love working in limited 2-color palettes and contrasting vintage woodcut art with clean and modern typography. I love bringing hand-drawn elements into my work as well. Everything is highly-customized to my client but each piece has a huge part of me in it too.

How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? I put my heart and personal style into every single project I work on – and the fact that my studio is in my home reflects that. My space is an eclectic mix of vintage mid-century modern furniture paired with a modern color palette and natural textiles such as a cowhide rug and wood floors. I’ve worked hard to create a beautiful environment that is full of character and conducive to creating beautiful work in.

Favorite part of your studio? I love my chalkboard wall. I was afraid it wouldn’t get much use but my friends are always goofing around on it and drawing silly pictures that keep me smiling daily.

Where do you go for inspiration? I find inspiration from interior and fashion design blogs. A few of my favorites are The Selby, UnoCosa’s Scrapbook, The Jealous Curator, and Desire to Inspire. I also get loads of inspiration from movies – anything Wes Anderson or Sofia Coppola makes my heart go pitter-patter. I also just took a huge trip to Nepal where I hiked up to Mt. Everest Base Camp – the whole trek was beyond inspiring and I came home ready to hit the ground running with my design work.

What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without? My Pantone and paper swatch books. Oh and Sharpies.

Is there anything you’d upgrade to? I just purchased a Gocco press and would love to get into hand making more print goods for my clients. I would love to create a handmade stationery line.

Anything else we should know? My coworker is named Mister Scooty Boots. He mostly stares at birds out the window or hangs out in my lap but I keep him on the payroll anyways.

[images from And Kathleen]

Can you believe its already that time again?  I’m having trouble coming to grips that the year is already almost over and that thanksgiving is next week!  But maybe a little holiday card swap will make the transition a bit easier…this year we’re going to do the optional recipe swap as well if you’re interested in getting some good cookie or cake recipes to try out.

In true card swap tradition, I asked a talented designer to design the logo for this years card swap, so thank you to Ellie Snow of Mint Design blog and Hello Tenfold!

Here are the rules:

Send an email to me at brooklynbride [at] gmail [dot] com with Holiday Card Swap in the subject line by November 25[day before Thanksgiving]. Include your name, address, email address, website/blog address and twitter handle [if you have these].  Please send your email in this format…

Jane Smith
123 Main St. #25
Anytown NY 12345
jane.smith@google.com
www.janesmith.com
www.janesmith.com/blog
@janesmith

- By December 1, I will have emailed you the names and addresses of up to 5 people to send cards to.
- Your cards must be handmade [think Gocco, glitter, Photoshop, cut + paste, sewing, etc....] Make something that’s easy to do multiples of.  You’ll be sending 1 card to each person on your list, and add in a special holiday greeting!
- If you’re feeling EXTRA up to the challenge, include a tried and true holiday cookie recipe!  And if you can, please email me the recipe in addition to including it with your card so I can gather them all together in one easy place.
- Send out your cards by December 15 at the latest!

Wait patiently by your mailbox!  The swap is open to our international audience, so pay special attention to postage.  Please don’t disappoint your partners if you know you won’t be able to send out cards on time, or at all.

[graphic by Ellie Snow of Hello Tenfold and Mint]