Mint

Leah Goren is a California native who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York where she is finishing up school at Parsons The New School for Design. Leah’s work is very reminiscent of her sunny California roots, with lots of bright floral patterns, girls and niche culture illustrations. She first caught our eye with her scarves and headbands, and continues to excite us with new illustrations and textile prints. There’s no doubt that she will continue to do great things in the future, and we are happy to share some insight into her work as she’s on the way there!

When did you first become interested in illustrating/drawing?

My mom is an artist, a painter among many other things, so I grew up always making and creating. Some of my first memories are making large-scale paintings with her. One of the photos I included is a really epic one – I painted my family, and my grandma is the one in the center with the huge brain. The other is me looking really serious next to my chalk board – it looks like that may have been my first cat drawing.

Anyway, I kept with art my whole life, and realized around age 16 it was actually a viable career path. I took life drawing classes outside of high school, and did the Pre-College Program at California College of the Arts for two summers. After studying drawing, painting, and printmaking at CCA, I knew art school was where I wanted to be.

You appear to wear so many hats; student, artist, blogger…what keeps you motivated and going every day?

Making my own schedule and keeping it balanced.  I’m an obsessive planner, and I keep lists and daily schedules of what needs to get done. I only have school two half-days a week this coming (and final!) semester, so everything else will fit around that. It’s more fun making time for a variety of projects, than just one thing over and over again. As soon as I get tired of one thing, it’s on to the next! I also spend as much time as possible doing things I want to do, rather than things I have to do.  Etsy is a time-consuming, repetitive job — making multiples of objects is rarely creative — so I have to set limits for how much time and work I’ll put into it. I recently stopped making the cat dress, at least for now, because it was interfering with making new things. Coming up with my own projects is usually exciting and motivating.  I also love working with others. Kaye Blegvad and I recently did a project together, and now my boyfriend, Dylan Ousley, and I are working on a couple jobs together, as well as our new blog, A Future Present.

Who, would you say, is/are the biggest influences of your work?

I’m always inspired by California, where I grew up, and how it seems so much bigger and brighter now that I’m not there. My work is very colorful, which reminds me of that – New York can feel so drab. I draw a lot of flowers, plants, and girls with this in mind. As for inspiring artists, Sonia Delaunay and Vera Neumann are always on top. I also love Matisse, Tina Berning, Maira Kalman, Leanne Shapton, and tons of young illustrators I’m always finding on the internet.

What piece of work are you the most proud of?

That’s a tough question! I get so tired of everything after looking at it for so long. I am pretty proud of the pattern portfolio I’ve put together so far, and the girls faces print is one of my favorites.

I think that the Internet Girls installation you did is so interesting. Do you have plans of exploring this subject any more or creating new pieces that tie in with the internet girl phenomenon?

Thank you! The pieces I created and the exhibit feel specific to where I was last summer, right after I was thrust into this whole internet girl blog world because of my work on Etsy. But, the themes are still constant through my work. Many of the pieces I make, unless they are for a specific assignment or client, refer back to that type of girl, what she likes, the kind of illustration and textiles she’ll want to buy or blog about.

You’ve been sending out some signals that you’re partnering up with a big shop! When do we get to know who/what it is?

Oh man, I didn’t think I’d said a word! The project should be out late spring or early summer, and I’ll definitely let everyone know when it is.

What are three things you never leave your house without?

iPhone, keys, and wallet. And also chapstick, I can’t go anywhere without that.

What is your favorite part about living in Brooklyn, NY?

Living in Brooklyn, I feel like I’m a tiny part of a something much greater that’s happening in art, design, and the current handmade movement. So many people I admire live right here, and even if I don’t personally know them, and I’m nowhere near as great as them (yet), at least I’m here making it happen too.

Thank you, Leah!

All image credits: Leah Goren

- Katelyn

Does anyone else feel like January is flying by? If you are able to catch a break this weekend, we have some links for you to check out!

+ Leather handle by Nu interieur | ontwerp via Bloesem

+ Oh So Beautiful Paper has been running some informative posts about the printing process. Check out the latest ones on letterpress printing, die-cutting and offset printing

+ Artwork by Lynne Woods Turner via Design for Mankind

+ A lovely collection of Valentine’s cards by Rifle Paper Co.

+ Screen printed infinity scarfs by little minnow designs, shown above

+ LOCAL STUFF: Third Friday in Durham! In addition to galleries downtown, the Golden Belt studios will be open and Only Burger will be serving dinner out front. // “A Sense of Place” interactive art installation by Michelle Gonzalez-Green at The Carrack // It’s going to be warm, so the Raleigh Flea Market might be a great place to check out!

Have a good weekend!

+ Mink Letterpress vintage handkerchief calendar via Design Work Life (above)

+ new Wes Anderson movie with titles by Jessica Hische

+ new bridesmaid dresses by Whitney Deal

+ Mar Y Sol clutch via Oh Joy!

+ house portraits

+ LOCAL STUFF: This weekend is looking a little slim. Try checking out the Rembrandt exhibit at NCMA (and if you have a tween or teen check out Sketchbook Saturdays). Then head to Chapel Hill to check out Luis Franco’s political pop art at UNC, and a show by UNC’s MFA candidates at the Friday Center. Kids might also enjoy the Wonderland Express at the Museum of Life & Science, a 2,220 square foot indoor train with local landmarks (through Sunday).

Have a great weekend!

Mia Christopher is a multi-disciplinary artist and student from San Francisco. Although we only recently discovered her work, we have quickly fallen in love with her expressive use of color and every single one of her mixed media pieces. You can check out some of her prints for sale on here, here and here. We asked Mia if we could learn a little bit more about her and her inspiration and she happily obliged!

1. When did you first identify yourself as an artist?
I’m still getting comfortable with saying I’m an Artist without feeling super self conscious. I’ve only been exhibiting work for about two and a half years, but I don’t think that is what makes someone an artist because you can be an artist without anyone ever seeing your own or thinking of you in that way! I am also going to school, so I am a student, as well as other roles. Artist means different things to different people. I think it is a very lucky thing to be able to be, and growing up I did not realize that being an artist was even in my realm of possibility.

2. Do you have a favorite piece of work you created during your childhood?
The thing that sticks out in my head is my bedroom door from ages 7-10. My parents were really generous with letting me be expressive, and they allowed me to cover my entire door with stickers. Now that I think about it, I may have just started sticking them on one day and they let me continue. I’ll have to ask them sometime. I collected tons of stickers, mostly Mrs. Grossman’s and Lisa Frank, and other free stickers family members would pick up for me from various shops and concerts and so forth, and stickers from the vending machine at the bowling alley. At first I would put them on office paper and staple them together to make books, but it was so much fun to be able to cover a huge space like my bedroom door. It was so satisfying and I remember kind of getting lost and making up stories while sticking stickers all over the door. Of course, once I turned 12 I felt too cool or angry for cute stickers and I painted over everything with thick, black paint. I wish I had a photo from before I painted over it. I still fight the urge to collect loads of tiny, decorative stickers and stick them all over things. I could see this playing into my work some time in the future.

3. Who/what are the biggest influences of your work?
Right now I am completely enamored of Monique Prieto’s paintings from the 1990′s. I love the work she is doing now with text as well, but those big shape paintings are really exciting to me. San Francisco artist Leah Rosenberg makes gorgeous paint confetti and stacks of acrylic paint peels that are so visually pleasing, I am very intrigued by her practice.
Other than artists I think the biggest influences of my work are probably just day to day occurrences and watching environments form and relationships shift and settle and change and my mood and the weather, both mundane and personal moments.

4. Many of your works are mixed media. What would you say is your favorite medium to work with?
I’m partial to working with acrylic gouache on paper, and drawing with colored pencils and graphite. I also like markers that are really bleedy and have been utilizing them a lot lately. I like playing with flat, opaque colors and transparencies in my surface and materials.

5. One of my favorite pieces from your latest collection is the one with the beautiful colors stacked on top of each other (above, right). What can you tell me about this piece?
Thank you! This piece is part of a series of stacked colors and shapes as objects that keeps coming up in my work and kind of represents the bare bones of what I always seem to be investigating; color, shape, relationship, space, and mark-making. I’m very excited by color as it’s own subject, and am interested in playing with balance and relationships within the frame of formal painting questions such as color, scale, shape, and so on. I like the idea of a color or a shape as an object or form that has a life of it’s own and how it relates to the surface and whatever else may be in it’s environment.

6. Do you have any future projects in the works? If not, what are you up to currently?
I’m currently working on my BFA show at California College of the Arts which is going to take place in March 2012, as well as an upcoming installation for a group show at Empire Seven Studios in San Jose in January of 2012. I have several different drawing and painting series’ that I am working on for these, as well as exploring some sculptural elements and working with some new materials. There may be more textiles work in these shows as I have just been learning how to silk screen and have been making felted sculptures.

7. Three things you never leave the house without?
pen, chapstick, keys

8. Favorite part about living in San Francisco?
The views, weather, hills, microclimates, delicious food, eucalyptus trees, the architecture, having new things to see all of the time- it is my favorite city! I love it here so much. I love being in a beautiful and interesting place, it has a plays a large role in my mood and motivation.

Thank you, Mia! 

All image credits: Mia Christopher

On Saturday I’ll be at Rock & Shop in Durham, NC from 12-5! There will be 100+ designers and crafters selling their wares, not to mention food trucks, live music, and beer. I can’t imagine a better way to finish up (or, uh, start) your holiday shopping. At the last minute and just for fun, I had some fabric printed with four of my patterns at Spoonflower, and then had them sewn into tea towels! Today we’re busy ironing, ribbon-tying, and tag-hanging. These are limited edition, so come on down to the market to get yours! I’m looking into options so we can hopefully add these to the online shop at some point. We’ll also have the full selection of our everyday and holiday notecards on sale, as well as our invitation book to flip through (the online shop will be closed on Saturday, but will be back on Sunday). Also pictured above… a sneak peek of my collection of  new Valentine’s Day Invitations, launching on Paperless Post soon! Yes, I was working on Valentine’s Day this week.

Tonight, be sure to stop by Golden Belt, which is an old textile mill turned live-work-shop-eat space (and where I moved my studio this fall). Golden Belt has an entire building dedicated to artist studios, and the artists have been super busy getting ready for tonight’s 12×12 show. Each participating artist created 12 original 12×12″ works of art, all of which will be sold for $200, with part of the proceeds benefiting The Center for Child & Family Health. Above, some artwork found in Chapel Hill this week — wall tessellations by Leigh Suggs at the Ackland Museum Store and a close-up of Lauren Salazar’s installation at the Hanes Art Center.

And lastly, a few close-ups of our home. The mobile is a new addition to our sunroom, and we finally hung more pictures on the walls (the one on the left is in our retro seafoam-tiled bathroom). It’s hard to believe we’ve been in our house for over a year! We’ve done lots of improvements — small things to most people probably, but big things to us, and are slowly collecting furniture and artwork we love. The house to-do list is never-ending! But, I’m learning to accept that most projects can’t get done in a weekend, and maybe next year I’ll have more courage to share our attempts at improvement on Mint! There’s something nice about the year coming to an end, isn’t there? Fresh starts, new projects… onward and upward.

A round-up of gift-worthy items from some of our featured sponsors!

1. Good Timers Ceramic Mug by Kin Ship Press / 2. North Carolina Necklace by Vespertine / 3. Thunderbird Ring by Ruby Lane / 4. Zig Zag Postcards by The Change Factory / 5. Western Meadowlark Specimen Letterpress Print by Mossière / 6. Spring Court Velcro Trainers from Smallable / 7. Snow Angel Letterpress Cards from Felt & Wire / 8. Peaceful Snowflake Cards by Juniper Berry / 9. Looking for Beauty Print by Creature Comforts / 10. Hana-Hukin Kitchen Cloth from Uguisu

Thanks, all! Sponsors help make Mint possible, and I am so grateful for their support. If you’re interested in advertising on Mint, please get in touch by emailing ellie at mintdesignblog dot com, and I’ll be happy to give you all the details.

One of our favorite sponsors Felt & Wire has some really great gifts for everyone on your list this year. They also have a large selection of cards and tags that would put the perfect finishing touch on any gift! Here are some of our favorites for the holidays, and be sure to check out their entire shop!

1. Heart Cushion Cover / 2. Holiday Music Card / 3. Yellow Candle Holder / 4. Kids Letterpress Color-in Clock / 5. Recycled Canvas Bucket / 6. A Year in Caps 2012 Calendar / 7. Fern Art Print / 8. Italian Grapes Journal / 9. Letterpress Holiday Cards (set of 6)

Thanks F&W! Sponsors help make Mint possible, and I am so grateful for their support. If you’re interested in advertising on Mint, please get in touch by emailing ellie at mintdesignblog dot com, and I’ll be happy to give you all the details.