and we're thankful.

the holiday season is here. eventhough it feels like it's been here since september, but now this is the time. to start things up, it's time for home made yumminess. if you're not the kind who makes things at home, some delivery can be as good.

here's a little lists of things i'm thankful for:
1. the young studio store and shop  (and all the people who has helped to make this happen)
2. chilly beautiful weather
3. the smell of pumpkin
4. holiday teas
5. and most of all, i'm thankful for my family.

this will be the only post this week.
hopefully i'll be able post new items (that should come in soon) next week.

stay warm!

hem... doughnut...

thanksgiving is literally around the corner. and pumpkin has been in my head since the beginning of autumn. this doughnut recipe is a great alternatives for dessert after a day of heavy meal. but then again, there's nothing wrong with a great  traditional pie.

image is from here.

-have a happy weekend!

date and time

It's been a while since I talked about the development of the studio and the shop. I just feel like I've been playing catch up all this time, and it doesn't help with the sudden surge of the projects that come my way as well as the ones that I'd like to do. Sometimes I feel like I'm perfectly still. It's important to look back once in a while to see the accomplishments that one have achieved and not take them for granted, no matter how small it is! While it's easier to appreciate when the products are selling like hot cakes, however, there are things as important, like more people favored your store at Etsy, or more fans at the facebook page, or how much compliments you receive on the products, and interests in your products and store in general. All of these non-monetary things can lead to better branding, and more interest in what you do, which eventually will lead to hot cakes moment, that's hopefully everlasting.

The holidays is coming soon. For some, it's as exhausting as any process can be. But this time can also be used to reflect how much accomplishments have been made, and just be amazed with yourself.

Once again, with style and courage, lets brace the holidays and move forward to the next year.

^^

happy weekend!

it's been a long and odd week for me. so i was craving for something creamy and chocolaty to settle my mind. So i found this french dessert recipe and beautiful photograph to follow, which brought me smiles, not only because it's sounds so yummy, but beautiful enjoyable photos from the site.

enjoy and have a happy weekend!

another coziness

on the other hand, if tea is not your thing... a burger is definitely comforting in a cold weather (or any kind of weather really).

image is from here via here.

cozy

tea cup and saucer with great loose tea... hemm... just the coziness i need for this cold weather.

happy weekend

have a great weekend! i'm craving cute things, and look what i found while browsing on flicker. ^^ and makes me craving cream puffs. a small dessert after a long week sounds good for me. here's the recipe from martha. enjoy!

holiday pouch for you

during the month of november and december, all purchases, both from my shop or etsy, comes with these zen like pouches. made using unbleached muslin, custom button and recycled t-shirt yarn, these pouches are sewn lovingly by me. i've been wanting to do something with fabric for a long time. so i started learning on how to use my sewing machine back in the summer. while i've made a slew of odd things from my sewing quest, i'm happy to say that pouches has been sort of my specialty. i love pouches for they are very useful for my everyday life organizing obsession, from packing my undies for a short trip to organize my purse. these are also useful for packing those cables, chargers, and other electronic accessories.

offer ends in december 31 2009 or until supply lasts.

november is my month

anthropologie has done some really right with their branding. but lately i'm loving their catalog so much that i wish i'm the girl living in it. these two are the images from their november catalog. for some reason they remind me [the image] of russia. i've never been there, but that's how i think winter in russia should be, snowing inside your mansion while wearing fabulous clothes and carefree hair!

i really don't need to love anthropologie more than i have. however, i was pleasantly surprise to receive these cards from them for my birthday. i love these! the cupcake image was punched through a thick cardboard card. i'm keeping these!

Something old something new

my shop is finally open. as of now, the shop will carry items sold in sets while the etsy store will carry individual items. eventually, i will differentiate the items that are sold at etsy and here. what you ay notice is that the pricing is also different between this 2 shops, due to fees. it's simply i'm passing down what i save to you guys! ^^

now if you have questions, you can visit the FAQ page part of the shop or contact me.

all the products are now packaged in bio-degradable plastics with labels. i love these labels since they are so colorful. the studio's brand identity has been shaping up to be something that i'm really proud of, and might not need to tinker anymore. it's a great feeling seeing the studio and the shop seems to start to come together.

enjoy!

taking a break

hello all! i've been a bit overwhelmed with the seemingly endless of to do lists, from coming out with the new line for fall to finish my site, i have neglected this blog. so i decided to take a break in the next 4 weeks from blogging to reorganize myself, and set up a better time line for my blog. i want to rethink what type of articles I want to write for the blog so it ties in with the brand i'm trying to build.

in the mean time, enjoy the double chocolate pear cake to mark the autumn.

thanks

-sharon

feeding chocolate addiction

i've decided to end the week with a bang! this chocolate beaut photo from Charleston Wedding magazine. The article is about diy dessert bar for wedding, but this can be done for any parties you may have this coming holiday season. or if you're not a diy person, just looking at luscious chocolate surely can brighten up your day!

With this chocolates in my head, last year for christmas, i gave away some cookies and brownies for my friends. they love it, so for comparison with the brownie recipe in the article above, here's another brownie recipe from the barefoot contessa.what i did different from the recipe was cutting the sugar to about 1,5 cups. i like my chocolate on the bitter and dark side. so if you like your brownie to be on the sweeter side, then you can keep true to the recipe. the brownie comes out more like a fudge then a cake.

and with the spirit of chocolate, i'm loving the prada fall 2009 ready to wear coats.

have a great weekend!

thinking about products

product maker can be found here. and here is where i get the info.

it's been a while since i'm blogging about the progress i've made with the studio. the reason for that is seemingly there's been very little of it. there are a couple of products i've added to my collection i've launched, while at the back end if things, i've experimented with different products possibilities, thought myself to sew, thinking about style, brand and packaging, setting up site, and the list goes on. within this list, my products have been in my mind a lot. the questions are about its goodness, its function and its contribution.

paper printing world has been what i believe a shrinking world, and now print designer become survival of the fittest. i guess in design world (or any world for that matter) has always been so. this the reason for my desire to create well thought out products for my next big launch. in the world of things and items, i'd like to contribute a better products. this means slower products launch, and may be a slow studio growth a the beginning. the product above is a perfect example of a well thought out product, not to mention it's eco friendly (bamboo based material that's reusable in a country where wooden chopsticks are constantly thrown out). i'd love to be able to create something that has that many layers like this example.

so in the meantime, i'll keep push through the mental and other hurdles.

kid's corner

image via here.

to end this short week, i'm looking at kid's eco friendly items and here are some of my favorites:

1. giant switches poster

2. pig wall hanging

3. natural modelling dough

happy weekend!

labor day weekend sale

for some reason, in our household, a lot of things usually happen in the autumn-winter months. many of our close relatives birthdays, endless dinner invitations, as well as the holidays that's looming. so we thought it's time to stock up that note cards to say thank you or to say happy birthday. that's why we're having a 10% off sale of everything before shipping in our etsy store starting thursday to monday (labor day weekend). this includes any wedding invitation orders placed this weekend! we won't have any more sale of this type other than this weekend.

happy shopping!

-175DesignStudio

welcoming fall

subtle and romantic patterns. images via here.

bold colors paired with clean pattern. image via here.

earthy and natural textures. images via here.

some of my favorite things for fall. things that inspired and appealed to me. i'm leaning towards subtle but bold, clean pattern, and quiet and understated items.

don't forget, starting today, my store is having end of summer sale. it's buy one get one 50% off for all fine stationery items, and this offer can be combined with free worldwide shipping cost of all orders over $50! we're ending summer with the bang!

have a great weekend!

creativity overload

images via here.

creativity overload last night and i was sooo sooo happy my favorite creative show is back on the air. above are the images from last night's all star challenge from project runway and can you tell which ones from found object which ones are actual fabric? i was rooting for daniel vosovic and he did win! and i have to say, just watching all these designers working their behind off and get creative, totally inspires me to create!

have a great weekend!

-sharon

linen paper and thread

this book can be purchased here.

first 3 (in what hopefully to be many) successful pouches that i did on thursday.

sewing has always intrigued me, but i have no skills on it. when i was young, i broke so many sewing machine that i thought i was jinxed. however, i love the process of sewing, from the idea, pattern, and to sewing. so a few months ago, on weekends, i would learn how to use my computerized sewing machine. so, i was very happy when i successfully sewn these 3 type of pouches! how do i define success? well it's very simple, i've sewn it straight! (ha!) in my studio, there were many many fabric wasted because i couldn't sew straight. and when i finally was able, i was joyous. i wonder if this is how toddler feel when they were able to walk 2 or 3 steps?

hopefully eventually i will be able to create something more elaborate with my sewing machine. in the meantime, my house will be filled with these pouches as i'm trying to better myself with the skill.

so here are some of the books that helps me motivated (and inspired) to dwell in the world of sewing and crafting:

lotta jansdotter's simple sewing

printing by hand (sewing AND printing!)

bend the rules sewing.

last minute patchwork and quilted gifts

have a great weekend!

-sharon

babies in mind

new baby announcement cards from us. can be purchased via our shoppe. this personalize-able cards are sold in the set of 10 cards. this is a circus mixed in with nature inspired designs for a more sophisticated moms.

-sharon

packaged with care

calendar packaging.

this is exciting! all of our products are now packaged with these packaging making them gift ready. all these packaging are standard when you shop our products.

-sharon