51 | L&A HOLIDAY & CHEER

*  *  *

The season is upon us, and the L&A holiday workshop is in full swing. Dean Martin is blaring, and the spice candles are burning, and there are ribbon cuttings all over the place.

December snuck up especially quickly this year - dreidels are already spinning, and the christmas countdown is well under way!  But despite the hustle and bustle, there has still been time for:

custom letterpress greetings...

personal illustrations with metallic touches...

brown paper packages tied up with string...

stationery gift sets...

in this year's L&A holiday gift wrapping.

HARK! There's more work to be done... including more greeting card and gift designing...

to my favorite holiday tunes.

So, before Christmas arrives in a blink of an eye, L&A wishes you a happy December, filled with present-wrapping, friends, plenty of merriment, and of course,

paper.

*for holiday paper inquiries, click here.

50 | INTRODUCING : L&A MOBILE

Without deviating from the LOTUS&ASH pursuit of preserving tactile paper beauty in our increasingly digital world, it's about time L&A went mobile.

No, unfortunately lotusandash.com (still) does not have a mobile version, nor have I developed an app. However, with only so many hours in the day, and so much paper-love to give, I've had to make my office mobile during my one hour + commute to and from work.

Fortunately, I don't need a WiFi connection to put  handmade touches on each L&A piece that goes out. I've pushed the limits of where you can make stationery, and I've found that all you need is a flat surface (my laptop works great), and as much double-sided tape as you can fit into your backpack.

This is the story of one invitation order:

From my dining room table...

to the morning train....

to the seminar room...

and yes, even at the nail salon...

onto the night train...

and back to the dining table.

Voila! A week's worth of commuting produces ~150 invitations, and about ~50 "what ARE you doing!?" glances from fellow commuters.

And, since we're on the topic, I thought I'd share some of my favorite mobile experiences from the past few weeks (besides my mobile stationery making).

| dia de los muertos parade in the mission . SF . 11.2010 |

| traveling on a champagne soaked, standing-room-only cal train the night the giants won the world series |

| view from the coit . taken with the iphone4 |

| favorite mobile picture app? instagram |

49 | A SUGAR RUSH OF AN L&A UPDATE

To and fro! To and fro!

L&A captures (1) every busy moment as she goes.

Exploring the bay and rising in D.C. (5) -

Cheering Stanford victories (7) and  tastings at Cellar Three Sixty (2)

Birthday sugar-overdose at Crown and Crumpets (6),

A concert in in Berkeley complete with trumpets (8).

Experiences so rich, so new go past,

but she always saves the best for last (3)* ...

To lie in her bed underneath a paper sky (4),

and wonder what adventures the next day will supply...

~

key:

(1) (2)

(3) (4)

(5) (6)

(7) (8)

~

*the best for last:

a new post-it tradition:

upon a visit to my apartment, you must leave a post it with:

- a good moment from your week

- a bad moment from you week

and finally...

- the best moment of your week.

48 | BUILDING IKEA FURNITURE IS A LOT LIKE...

COOKING...

WHICH IS A LOT LIKE

MAKING A WEBSITE.

(And other lessons from the L&A San Francisco front line)

HOW?

• All the pieces come disassembled
• There are instructions, but they are confusing. Always confusing.
• You may think you're following the instructions, but then you attach the wrong side to the wrong wooden dowel, or you add in the tumeric too soon, or your website works in safari, but not IE...

moral of the story: you will mess up. So, you better get good at covering up your mistakes.

• BUT, going back and editing your mistakes can be long, tedious, and perhaps even impossible.
• In the end, when it all comes together, it will LOOK great (though it might not stand/taste/SEO so great). And it is definitely worth all the blood, sweat, and tears.

Indeed, L&A has been busy furnishing | coding | cooking with an 88% success rate! (The 12% is mostly the cooking... and a slightly off center ikea shelf).

LESSONS LEARNED:

• Ikea is great for things you don't have to build. (Plates, towels,  sheets... i.e. DRAGON, GZORMEG, and MIKANON)

BUT! when faced with things to build... recruit friends:

And offer them: Breakfast.

BECAUSE: Breakfast is the easiest meal to conquer (and offer to people as your "specialty").

Toast? Check.

Eggs? Check. Check.

Cereal? I'm a pro.

When in doubt, Avocado makes everything taste better -

And while you're waiting for your furniture to be built, and your kale to soak in avocado-y goodness, why not finish up a few of websites?

www.topshelfkombucha.com

www.stanford.edu/group/theta/philanthropy

www.linxdating.com

MAJOR LESSON:

Though I love ikea, cooking, and coding...

my heart still lies in paper.

| ZEN . designed 08.2010 |

47 | L&Adventure : Austin

L&A was lucky enough to travel to Austin, Texas this past weekend to celebrate Whole Food's 30th Birthday. What's better than a free trip to a city full of great design, to celebrate the birthday of the mecca of health food stores? Not much.

| THE SPOILS of Winning the Whole Food's Birthday Contest |

congrats again to Merit!

Birthday bash or no birthday bash, Austin is well worth the visit for anyone interested in good design (especially of the retro variety)  and food, and when they come together.

Must dos:

- Visit the Flagship store of Whole Foods (obviously), and try one of their "Health Starts Here" foods...

- Have an Iced Chai while listening to Vampire Weekend at Halcyon Coffee / Bar.

- Visit uncommonOBJECTS in South Congress - an antique store sorted by color, complete with an ode to Century Schoolbook:

- Experience live music... everywhere. The streets of Austin are filled with every kind of music from Reggae to Bluegrass, from dance mash ups to Sunday Morning Jazz.

- Dance at Broken Spoke. Now this is the real thing. Country Music Dance Hall - need I say more? If you don't feel like sticking out like a sore thumb, make sure to pack your cowboy boots.

And if you don't own a pair of cowboy boots, make sure to pack someone who will ask you to dance.

- Run or Bike Around Town Lake on a Saturday Morning... Just when you think the loop is over, it probably isnt. Beware of ducks. But, the city vistas are worth the distance and threat of duck danger.

- And if it's particularly hot, jump into Barton Springs

If you're feeling like you need a little inspiration | music, design, cooking | a trip to Austin may be able to cure what ails you.