A New Look for The Studiolo!

First off, let me apologize for missing a post this week. We have been busy with storing our stuff, returning our moving truck, house hunting, getting new drivers licenses and handling logistical car stuff, and updating our portfolios to make the best impression possible for potential employers/clients, all while continuing work on some projects in New York. The weather has vacillated between 50 and and a balmy 75 degrees since we got here (a little colder at night), and we have eaten lunch outside for the last two days. In the sun. Without coats. We even slept with the window OPEN on Wednesday night! WA-HOO!

Onto the explanation of my brand-spanking new header and business cards! Before we left New York, we designed and printed up some new business cards for me (back to that whole making-a-good-impression thing) for when I do some networking in Austin. We started thinking about an identity for The Studiolo and sketching ideas months ago. I've had a bit of an obsession with the whole sunburst theme lately, and I was hoping to find a way to incorporate it into a logo. Initial ideas from my sketchbook:


After looking at those, Oliver hit the ground running with his own ideas:


You can see some Frisson explorations, as well as some unrealized custom lettering for Mara's calling cards.

And then he hit the jackpot with this sketch:


He tweaked parts of it in illustrator, but retained the hand-drawn feel with the final result. Once the plates were ordered, he marched off to The Arm in Brooklyn to letterpress them (his first time doing a two-sided card).


Oliver also designed the other side of the card to reflect some new information about Frisson (note the new Austin phone number)!


The Studiolo side was printed with Rhodamine Red and the Frisson side was printed using Delft Blue, both Pantone colors. We didn't have a chance to photograph the cards before we left New York, but Oliver's parents have a yard filled with spectacular trees, stumps, pine needles, pine cones and all sorts of other whimsical specimens to use for styling. I love how the natural elements contrast with the precise craftsmanship of the cards.

I promise to share some photos of our travels soon. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of us the morning we left town: