78 | Send your Love

February 5, 2015 Ashling Loh-Doyle

I'm 4 days into my first week working on LOTUS&ASH full-time. There are lots of decisions to make, designs to create, and paper to send, and I've been spending my days between Coffee Bar SF and Saint Frank, and running around Crissy Field starting to make sense of it all. As I think about how to scale L&A from what it is today to what it can be tomorrow, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a Valentine's Day collection - a set of cards to celebrate love on Feb. 14 or any day you feel like making someone swoon. And, for the first time ever, all these cards are available for purchase on the new LOTUS&ASH shop on Etsy!

You look sexy in sweatpants

I Just Wanna Be(er) with you

Hate Valentine's Day, but... Love you

Hurry up Supreme Court! In the meantime, let's celebrate everyone's right to love.

Heart Pitter Pattern

All cards are flat-printed, blank on the inside, and available on Etsy.

Shipping for Valentine's Day until Feb. 10.

(US only)

PS:

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays to send love with paper.

Check out the archives! 2013, 2011, and 2010.

P.P.S:

Behind the scenes of this photo shoot:

76 | Becoming a Golden State Girl

June 7, 2013 Ashling Loh-Doyle

I am oh-so-excited to be a part of Tessa Pompa's latest venture - Golden State Girl. Recently, she featured my "gold-listed" June obsessions on her blog and I can validate that I am, very, obsessed with all of those things. She left one off! My mouth waters at her gold table pizza recipe. It's especially exciting to see her blog launch since I had the opportunity to design its logo and banner.

I thought it would be fun to show the various concepts that led to the finished product. Tessa is just as in love with type as I am, so we new that her logo was going to be type based. We were both immediately drawn to Jacques and Gilles -- a font that embodies casual California chic. We flirted with Bodoni at Home and realized it would be the perfect complement to J&G. With artwork from her mother, the GSG look was complete!

A congratulations full of California sunshine to Golden State Girl on her launch!

74 | Be Mine - Part II

February 7, 2013 Ashling Loh-Doyle

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I'm still busy dreaming up new card ideas. A card (any card) is essential, but I've also collected a few other things to make Valentine's Day (or any day) special.

Need a last minute gift that's simple and sweet? I received this book 6 years ago from my very own big spoon. No time for the book? There's also an online test so you and your partner can find the perfect sleep position (don't worry - not that kind of position).

Feeling D-I-Y? I'm a recent subscriber to A Subtle Revelry and I'm inspired by every post delivered to my inbox. I especially love Victoria's collection of handmade Valentines.

For all you San Franciscans, it looks like it's going to rain next Thursday. So, if you're staying in, play this album, make these drinks, eat grilled cheese sandwiches, and watch this video:

72 | Twenty Twelve: A Year in Review #tbt

January 31, 2013 Ashling Loh-Doyle

In the past year, I have taken a liking to #tbt. Let's explode that hashtag: throwback thursdays is a phrase older than instagram, but has been popularized by what the Amaro filter can do with that old picture of you with braces, headgear, retainer, __(insert awkward orthodontics here)__ that you love to hate. Is it because I live for nostalgia? Yes. Is it because I can never see too many of my friends with bowl cuts? Most definitely. And so, on this last #tbt of January, I think it's a good time to have a throwback to the prior year, and offer a look into what kept me away from posting on L&A.

01.

Became a Kentucky Fan.

02.

Embedded in Los Angeles

03.

Returned to San Francisco. Received by Nettie's with open Cornbread arms

04.

Visited the American Museum of Natural History for the first time. Experienced delicious, retro typography and dioramas.

05.06.07

helped launch this site and made wedding invitations by candlelight

08.

found this apartment

09.

wore my first kandura in Abu Dhabi

10.

Halloweened in Hong Kong

11.

Explored Penang and Bangkok.

12.

cooked brunch for my family on Christmas.

Twenty twelve was amazing. So many sights seen, so much done, so many laughs shared with friends and family. But of all the sights seen, the TCDC (Thailand Creative & Design Center) was the most incredible. Wall to wall design books, magazines, textures, and materials. I would travel the world and back just to spend the afternoon here:

Onwards and upwards with 2013!

71 | New Year. New Site. Round 3.

January 10, 2013 Ashling Loh-Doyle

Screen-Shot-2013-01-10-at-8.19.21-PM.png

I am beyondincrediblyverysuper excited for this moment -- the moment where I unveil a new, more functional, more friendly website. But more importantly, the moment where I break an eight-month-long blogging dryspell (shame on me) and share the exciting work that came out of the L&A shop in 2012 and what unfolds this year.

This is the third time I've redesigned the site. First, I made a blog. Then I "handcoded" a site that loved lightbox oh-so-much. Now, I've made a site themed on WordPress, which brings site and blog together. I've added a few new features, too.

A shop!
A contact form! (Bring on the spam!)
Weddings.
TypeKit (Bring on the fun!)

It may not seem like much, but it's kind of a big deal. Why?

Shopping is fun.
Contact forms are friendly.
Weddings are the ultimate paper experience. They take a lot of labor and love to create, but it's worth it for the most cherished of paper pieces.
If you don't know, then I don't know.

This site has, unfortunately, been a work in progress for longer than it has needed to be. (More to come on that during my ThrowbackThursdays series when I take a look back at 2012 projects). However, as I look ahead to the new year, I'm excited to fill lotusandash.com/lifestyle (neé UPDATE) with plenty of travel, recipes, links, inspirations, and of course, paper.

It must be said that WordPress installations are no fun, and that the fact that this site is *live* is a feat in and of itself. This is what the site looked like last night at 11pm:

Now, I'm proud to unveil the new lotusandash.com.

Feedback is welcome and encouraged. Just fill out the contact form. And if you miss lightbox, you can find it here.

| ready to print in my new studio... |

| and more than prepared to write. |