all things girls can tell

a case of the mondays

it occurred to me as i headed up to the studio on monday morning that if monday (especially the dreaded monday morning) is supposed to be the roughest part of the week, then i have a tremendously awesome life. i slowly made my way up across the city, toting a vase of gorgeous flowers (a leftover centerpiece from a friend's bridal shower over the weekend), stopping to get change for the bus by conveniently picking up a cup of some of the best coffee ever (from the relatively new completely fantastic coffee shop by my house), chatting with a woman at the bus stop about how handsome the old church buildings in our neighborhood are. such a completely pleasant way to start what's sure to be a busy but supergreat week.

for lunch i got to catch up with my friend and favorite food blogger, marisa of food in jars, and then the afternoon was full of so much printing, as i prepare for the crafty bastards show this weekend.(ps! you can still vote for girls can tell as the craftiest bastard! pass it on!)

i figured sincei realized how happy my commute in on the hardest day of the week made me, it would be nice to share it here, along with a big thank you to everyone who has been so supportive, recently and over the past few years, of my work. that it's such a privilege to be able to do what i do every week is definitely something i'm aware of and feel grateful for constantly. thank you thank you thank you! and i hope your mondays are every bit as enjoyable!

scary, but good

apologies for things having been pretty quiet here lately. there are, as always, a few reasons for this. logistically, i was out of town for renegade chicago (which was awesome! woot!) and then erik + i stole off to minneapolis for a few days (where we happily rode bikes + drank local beers that you just can't get here in philadelphia, two of our favorite things to do).

since we've made our way back to philly, i've really hit the ground running with work. it's been an exhilarating couple of weeks - full of the kind of days where lots of things get done that are total building blocks for bigger things about to happen. i'm sure my friends + colleagues who do similar things as me totally understand the feeling of always feeling a few days behind and the sheer excitement of seeing things ramping up to a very steady hum. and it's only september. seriously.

lots of behind the scenes action here has included more wholesale orders than ever coming in, along with some really exciting things taking shape for the holidays, prep for some of my favorite craft shows of the year, new designs for some amazing clients and the usual lovely routine of orders popping in from sweet people all over the world who are shopping in my etsy shop and the official girls can tell webshop.

all in all, things feel, as i just explained to a friend in a (short!) email, totally insane, but in the best way possible. and that makes me happier than happy.

ps. chicago hot dog diagram wares should be available in the online shop fairly soon! xo! (who knew a gazillion and three condiments on a hot dog - and NO KETCHUP - could be so delicious?)

new diagrams: unicorns, beer + wine, oh my!

 

three (or two, depending on your views on the existence of mythical beasts) of the greatest things ever to exist - beer, wine and unicorns - are now diagrammized and available on assorted goodies in the girls can tell online shop!

 

be the first kid on your block to have a coffee table sporting a magical one horned horse like set of awesome coasters, or celebrate your inner beer snobbery with an accurate set of tea towels featuring my original glassware diagram.

 

yay! fun beverages + fairy beasts! now through until monday, enjoy 15% off your entire shop.girlscantell.com order when you enter the code "magic" at checkout. happy weekend!

my little sister's wedding

i don't, as a rule, typically post personal things here, but i figured this might be a nice little exception.

some family + family friends trekked out to the boulder, colorado area this past weekend to celebrate the wedding of my little sister. everything about the weekend was pretty close to perfect - a lovely dreamy venue, really great food, and, of course, since denver's about as good a beer city as my own dear philadelphia, lots of fantastic beer.

here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend - just some of many super nice moments. 

 

[i want to thank erik, who took several of these great shots]

hello from renegade brooklyn!

 

 

 

the weekend got out to a rocky start (missing freight elevators, getting 20 miles up the turnpike before remembering that i forgot my tent frame, forgetting to print some crowd favorites, etc), but the overall wonderfulness of the whole event more than made up for the bumps early on. 

thanks, renegade, for putting on a truly stellar show! i can't wait for san francisco!

girls can tell spotting

 

so, i have the best customers. in the whole wide galaxy, i think. since people have been so sweet in wanting to share photos of their girls can tell goodies in the sweet new homes, i figured a flickr group was in order. and so the girls can tell spotting group was created!

if you have a photo of something you love that i happened to make, feel free to post it here! it can be something in your home, in your favorite local boutique, perhaps a bag you see a friend carrying on the street... you get the idea. here's the group... join and enjoy! xo!

(and thanks, michelle, for posting the photo above of lovely terrain on facebook! so sweet!)

super cheeseburger press!

 

so, i obviously squealed with glee when i saw my cheeseburger tea towels in print in the current issue of better homes + gardens' kitchen + bath makeovers magazine this month. after i quieted down a bit, i was super delighted to see my work paired with such fun other picks - check out how adorable that environmentally friendly lady ice cream scooper on the facing page is! and brian immediately gushed over how much he likes the retro milk bottle (shown full of oj). 

which is all just to say that probably one of the best things about making things i love for a living is being in the company of so many other things like i love, love, love. mutual admiration club members unite!

not far from the tree

 

so, a few weeks ago, in anticipation of the bazillion and eight craft fairs i'm vending at this summer, i posed a design problem to my dad. i requested a proposal for a tabletop display for my wares (specifically my tea towels, primarily). i had some design parameters though - the display had to hold and make visible as many sets of towels as possible, had to break down flat for travel, assemble easily without tools, allow me to look over it when i'm standing behind the table, be relatively lightweight so that i could transport it easily and, of course, look good.

when he emailed me the detailed drawings above, i couldn't help but laugh. is it any wonder that i draw diagrams of everyday things for a living? 

after some tiny little tweaks, suggestions and a lot of discussion about the material for the horizontal components (we ended up going with that coated wire shelving, which is great), i now have the best tabletop display for my towels imaginable. it's really great, and shows off the many, many diagrams in my line better than i could have hoped for. thanks, dad!

brooklyn, baltimore, philly!

 

brooklyn, baltimore, philadelphia! come say hi! i'll be in your fair cities (well, philly, you're spoiled, i'm pretty much always here) in the next month for some fantastic crafty markets!

new yorkers / brooklynites: i'll be at the brooklyn lyceum market this coming weekend (may 1-2!) - come by my booth to pick up a little something for mom (or for yourself, that's okay, too!) and mention my blog to get $5 off your purchase (of $15 or more, sorry for the fine print). this was a really fun, excellent show during the holidays (on a weekend that the city got over 14 inches of snow, if memory serves) so i'm totally looking forward to being up in the city for nice weather!  also, mark your calendars - i'll also be in new york for renegade brooklyn in a month! june 5-6 at mccarren park. yay!

baltimore: yay! come visit the squidfire art mart at its swanky new location at fell's point this year! this is consistently one of the most well-curated shows around, and it's conveniently the day before mother's day, so stop by for a last minute gift (again, for mom, or, you know, for yourself. no judgment here...)  - mention my blog and get $5 off your purchase! (of $15 or more, again). so super fun!

philadelphia: i know there's an awful lot of other stuff going on the weekend of may 15-16, but girls can tell will be at the annual italian market festival this year! this super busy and awesome craft festival happens on 9th street, just north of the italian market between fitzwater + christian streets! and philadelphia, since i love you, too - mention my blog and, of course, get $5 toward any purchase of $15 or more. xoxo!

yay for elsewares!

 

one of the best things about doing this for a living, and something that continues to amaze me, is how awesome it is when a person or place i really admire gets in touch with me about my work. i've been a longtime fan of the supergreat shoppy site elsewares, so when i got an email from its founders / curators extraordinaire a while back, i was beyond myself with excitement.

and today, all the stars have properly aligned and now you can purchase girls can tell tea towels at elsewares! yay! go over and take a peek! (and if you have an odd hankering to buy me a gift, i've had my eye on this supercute set of huggy salt + pepper shakers for a while now!)