Quixotic

Quixotic is a local Kansas City collaboration of musicians, dancers, aerialists and designers. They presented its summer show, Paix Reveuse, at the Madrid Theatre this past weekend. The show was a mesh of engaging sights and sounds.

I went to last year's show and I must say Quixotic is similar to Cirque du Soleil. The production, dancers and musicians of any Quixotic are always phenomenal!

photos from INK magazine

it's color week at Hallmark

Today is the final color week presentation.

I had the pleasure of meeting Erin Olson, author of the popular design blog House of Turquoise.


The blog is an outlet where she shares her passion for the color turquoise and beautiful interiors.

Erin expanded on her love of color when she created Decor By Color, a network of 11 blogs that link consumers with places to purchase home decor and other products, sorted mostly by hue. What started as a hobby in 2003 became an obsession which turned into a full-time dream job.

A reception featuring goodies and drinks - all in turquoise - followed her presentation. Cupcake made by Hallmarker Laura!

YUM!!!

it's color week at Hallmark

Today's presenter was paper artist, Matthew Sporzynski.


Matthew Sporzynski got his start with Estee Lauder creating intricate paper and cardboard versions of luxury accessories. He is most well known for his paper constructions that appear in every issue of Real Simple magazine.


It was really cool to hear him talk about millionaires contacting him to design their personal Valentine's and party invitations.

it's color week at Hallmark

A cool thing about working at Hallmark is that we get cool people to come and speak.

This week at Hallmark it's color week. There are presentations on the 2011 color forecast and the week is filled with colorful speakers.

Today it was fine artist, Tim Biskup, long recognized for his complex color and design theories.


It was neat to learn about his struggles of how he became an artist.

Speaking of artist are you watching Work of Art on BRAVO? It's an awesome reality show about artists that premiered last Wednesday.


Kansas City's own Peregrine Honig, owner of local lingerie store Birdies and co-producer of last week's West 18th Street fashion show, is a contestant. She does wonderful illustrative work. And she hasen't gotten kicked off yet!


More about Peregrine here from INK magazine.

celebrating Earth Day at Hallmark

We're celebrating Earth Day this week at Hallmark!


There will be representatives with information on how to recycle and save energy.

And not only is the 22nd Earth Day... it's also Take Your Kids to Work Day! There will be samples from local food farmers and kids can plant an heirloom tomato plant with seeds and instructions to take home.

Uhmmm... I don't have a kid to bring to work but I want an heirloom tomato kit!

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

West 18th Street Fashion Show

I'm so excited to announce that the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the West 18th Street Fashion Show, A Decadent Summer, will be held at dusk on Saturday, June 12th.

I've been every year since I've been living in Kansas City and I love it each time. This will be my 5th show to see.

The show takes place in on West 18th Street in Kansas City, between the cross-streets of Wyandotte and Baltimore.

As the anniversary event it's going to be more elaborate, over-the-top affair than ever! The show will feature eighteen collections from a select group of local and national designers.

Disney Princesses on Ice

Being a designer in the Licensing department the Disney Princesses and I have become BFFs! And guess what?!? They are in Kansas City starting this Friday with Disney on Ice Presents Princess Wishes!


Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Mulan all make their wishes come true in this collection of celebrated tales wonderfully told through artistic skating and acrobatics.

With the help of the magical pixie Tinker Belle, the Disney Princesses’ embark on an adventure to find their heart’s fondest wish. Ariel dreams of a life above the sea; Mulan finds her inner strength; Jasmine discovers a whole new world; and Snow White finds her true love. Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty also find happiness in this beautifully imagined new ice show.

Hmmm... maybe Princess Tiana will get in on the action next year!

Show Times at the Sprint Center:
March 19th : 7:00 pm
March 20th : 7:00 pm
March 21st : 10:30 am and 7:00 pm
March 22nd : 11:00 am, 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm
March 23rd : 2:00 pm

the new Garment District opens today

Did you know that Kansas City once housed a world-famous Garment District right between Washington and Wyandotte? Many don't. In fact, clothing manufacturers employed thousands after WWI, and according to the KC Garment District Museum website, '1 out of every 7 women in the U.S. purchased a KC made garment.' I highly suggest taking a tour there.

The Kansas City Power and Light District unveils their own Garment District today at 1350 Main.


The district is touted as a boutique | bar | collective and will house seven regional retailers such as Westport fave Imagary, City Girls Boutique (from Salina), Urbantique (repurposed vintage), Denim Couture (OP), Label, Two Chic Blvd, & Polka Dot Petals. The best part is, there is a bar in the middle of it all. So grab a cocktail and shop until you drop.

HELLO ART

Kansas City has a cool art community.

Hello Art is a membership organization created and sponsored by the Arts Incubator to serve as an introduction – an ice breaker of sorts – to Kansas City’s arts community. Hello Art bridges the worlds of the artist, gallery owner, experienced collector and “curious beginner” through a year-round calendar of events designed to strengthen the Kansas City arts scene. The goal of Hello Art is to bring together all who want to appreciate and support art. The point is to build community and have fun.


On First Fridays, members can come by the Hello Art Lounge located in the Arts Incubator. Here, they mingle over wine and hors d’oeuvres and look at art work by featured member artists. Then, members hop on the Hello Art trolley and visit a few galleries where volunteer docents will greet them and introduce them to exhibits and/or artists. Other events include workshops, discussion groups and behind-the-scenes studio tours.

Check it out!

precious places in Kansas City

As a member of this blog I feel like it's my speciality to inform you of all of the spots here in Kansas City. Well... I'd like to tell you today that there are some little precious places filled with antique and whimsical goods.

Over the weekend I went around to four places for some Valentine inspiration.
• Curious Sofa
• Urban Mining Homewares (owned by a Hallmarker)
• Bon Bon Atelier
• Good Juju

I must say that Kansas City has some of the best antique and thrifting spots. Such eye candy!

See my blog for more!

new online magazine

Issue one of Kansas City's new magazine for young adults, "QUIRK."

Very local, very cool, very... quirky.

Hallmarker chicks rock out!

Softee is a band composed of four Hallmark Cards gals: Sarah, Steph, Mimi and Flora.




They made the cover of a local Kansas City magazine, HERLIFE.

Like a groupie I went around the office and got each gal to autograph my magazine. It's gonna be work some money one day!!!

Holidays by Design 2009

This year I was honored to participate in the Kansas City DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) event on 11/21.

The annual event raises money to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Kansas City area by auctioning off holiday wreaths created by local designers and artists.

It was a beautiful event! Check my Flickr page for more photos.

Blog Action Day: climate change

Blog Action Day is today, October 15, 2009. Thousands of bloggers will unite to blog about a particular issue that is affecting our world on a grand scale. This year the topic is climate change.



Today I blogged on my blog about the connections between climate and food.

I talked about purchasing sustainable local food. Sustainable agriculture involves food production methods that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, are humane to animals, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities.

At Hallmark we just completed the summer of a community supported agriculture program. Every Wednesday we picked up a bag of food from local Kanas City Farmers through Hen House. It was fun to get vegetables I'd never buy in the store. But next summer I need to be more adventurous and try to make more recipes. I threw some of the scary squashes away :(

Also, here are some local Kansas City spots that are supporting local farming.
In Kansas City, Bad Seed Farm Market is a local, natural & sustainable food producer marketing to nearby, conscientious consumers. Their farmer's market is open every Friday night, 4:30 - 9p (May thru Nov. 20th). They have a winter farmer's market also.

And... The Farmhouse in Kansas City has bi-weekly farm-to-table-dinners. Four courses meticulously planned for your enjoyment using only the most fresh ingredients available from the farms that week.

Buy local. Eat local.

ARTIST TRADING CARDS

September's Artist Trading Card (ATC) trade was our three year anniversary and me passing the reins onto Steph and Gayle! The theme for the at Hallmark was whatever we wanted.

Here are couple of the cards from the trade.



It's so fun to be able to get together and work and do creative stuff!

You can see more at the ATC blog.

Hallmark 100th anniversary

We're doing a cool project here at Hallmark. For the 100th anniversary celebration there are 500 crowns for designers to design on. We can do whatever we want!

Here are the blank white crowns waiting for us to have our way with.

They will be displayed here in the Hallmark art gallery in January 2010. Cool huh?

New on "Hallmarkers Who Blog" List

We just added another fabulous person to the "Hallmarkers Who Blog" list: Teresa L.!

Teresa, from the East Coast, is a senior greetings editor and has been with Hallmark for four years.

Her blog is www.poetprocastinator.blogspot.com. Wait. Procrastinator is misspelled! Teresa says, “that's right. I'm a writer who can't spell, and it's been immortalized in my URL.”

Teresa started her blog in the summer of 2005. The blog is about mostly stuff and also things. “Truthfully, it's just my musings on any given topic. Lately, I've tried to start labeling posts to see if I seem to address certain topics more than others,” Teresa says.

Teresa says she started a blog because all of her friends were doing it. “Seriously, my awareness of blogging (technically as in "web + log" or online journal) coincided with my relocating to a new city for a job opportunity, so I thought it would be a great way to keep my family and friends informed about the goings-on in my life. As irony would have it, my family doesn't read my blog, to my knowledge - they're phone/text people, by and large.”

There is no blog schedule for Teresa. She blogs when she wants and hopes that if a person stumbles across her blog they will enjoy it. “I want people to get from my blog what I get from the blogs I read: the occasional inspiration, something to laugh at, a break from the task at hand, a slice of a life that isn't their own.”

Build Kansas City

In these hard economic times feel great about your local purchases because you are giving back to Kansas City.

Build Kansas City from Standard Social on Vimeo.

~ by buildkansas city.org

week 6: Hallmark Employee Card Challenge

THIS IS THE LAST CHALLENGE!

For this week’s challenge (8/24), the challenge is to “Encourage a kid going back to school.”

Going back to school can be challenging, exciting or even nerve-racking time for kids, whether they’re riding the bus, finding their way around a new school or walking from the dorm. There’s no better time than now to tell the kids in your life how wonderful they are. It may just be the boost of confidence they need.



Send a card. It’s the biggest little thing you can do for kids going back to school!

Even though that the challenge is over... please, keep sending cards!

week 5: Hallmark Employee Card Challenge

For this week’s challenge (8/17), the challenge is to “Reconnect with a friend.”

Remember, you don't have to mail a physical card. Send an e-card! It's the biggest little thing you can do.