After much hard work by the entire StoneImpressions family, we are proud to announce we are getting noticed! We are currently in the November issue of Home & Design Magazine and in the November/December issue of Traditional Home Magazine. Next year we will grace the pages of Old House Interiors and East Coast Living. Make sure to pick up your copies!
If Fall has a color, it has got to be Orange. Sure, there are rusty reds, smokey browns and greens with dark intensity. But the unique presence of Orange in any color scheme cannot be overlooked. Orange is the gal in the room who stands up and demands attention. She is known for her loud and boisterous ways - screaming with unrelenting vibrancy no matter where she is found. You love to invite her to parties, however you find yourself just a little bit relieved with she finally goes home.
But Orange can be tamed. One of our new Pattern Tiles has just the tiniest dashes of Orange. The pattern is called Harvest and Orange peeks out a little hello among the charcoal and brown of the leaves and branches surrounding it. This tile design on Limestone has a distinctly autumn feel to it. A simple, earthy warmth that is saved from tedium by the bursts of Orange throughout.
Our Harvest Tile Pattern shows the softer, quieter side of Orange. But is is still fun to take a peek at Orange in all her lively variations. We did a little browsing through Etsy and came up with a few of Orange's more Diva-like moments. Enjoy!
If you love color, this is a fascinating video to watch. The Printing Ink Company is located in Ontario, Canada and they manufacture ink used for professional printing. Who knew that an industrial process that sounds so mundane and boring could actually be so visually arresting?
The person who shot this video certainly has a great eye. His name is Tate Young.
We work with color and ink every day, so we can really appreciate the careful attention and passion that goes into this company's ink making. And since we are on the subject of us (shameless self-promotion, we know), take a look at some of the more colorful designs from our new catalog.
Chopin Mural on Carrara Tiles
Deco Dots Saybrook Vibrant (these are 1" x 1" mosaics)
Dancing Flowers design on Limestone
Marseille Design in the Caviar color scheme
Southwest style accent and listello from our Ganado Collection
Looking for a fun and inspiring distraction? Go check out Product Wars from the evil procrastination-enablers at Designer Pages.
It is a perfectly simple idea, beautifully executed. They show you two different items from a certain design category, side by side. And you get to choose which one you like better. Once you have made your decision, you see right away if you are among the ranks of those with obvious good taste or a rebel who goes against the tide. Make sure to hit the orange tab all the way to the left of the page to change up your categories.
If you do it for too long, you will start to feel like a Queen ruling over her loyal subjects.
You! Red Chandelier with the funky shapes - you please me! You may stay.
And, you! Traditional Light Fixture, with glass and nickel-plated finish - I am so bored by you! Begone!
Step 1: Rip everything out of your current bathroom. Or walk-in closet. Or spare bedroom. Or, heck, even the kid's room - he'll be fine on the couch. This is about priorities, people.
Step 2: Install one of these AMAZING tubs from Stone Forest in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Step 3: Reach Nirvana and live happily ever after.
Stone Forest creates a whole line of stunningly beautiful tubs and sinks from natural stone, bamboo, copper, bronze, iron and hardwoods. See all of the awesomeness here:
You might be familiar with Etsy.com, an online marketplace for handmade goods. If you haven't heard of it, do yourself a favor and go take a look. You will be amazed by the amount of creative talent and the extraordinary number of items available for sale. A search for the word "Thanksgiving" results in over 28,000 entries. There is a huge range of styles - from simple, crafty handmade dolls or puppets to striking original paintings and sculptures. Beautiful handmade jewelry too.
If you ever find yourself getting depressed about things, like the lack of art classes in our schools or the bland, over-commercialized consumer culture that we live in, spend a few minutes browsing around Etsy. You will be reassured that a place still exists where creativity and artisitic expression is flourishing.
Below are some of the Thanksgiving themed items for sale that we thought were the most fun and interesting. (Don't miss the Orchid Gourd. It is awesome!)
Locals know it as "The Del." It is a National Historic Landmark and one of the last examples of a wooden Victorian beach resort.
Don't miss the lobby...
...or the incredible ballroom.
Another summertime "Del" that might be familiar to the East Coast crowd is a classic summer treat called Del's Frozen Lemonade. Started in 1948 at a little stand in Cranston, RI, Del's still uses a recipe developed in 1840 by the DeLucia family from Naples, Italy.
Anyone from Rhode Island will tell you - there is nothing better than an icy cold Del's on those 90 degree + 90% humidity days.
San Diego is undeniably a military town, with a large number of Naval and Marine bases throughout the county. So we can't forget to say thank you on this day for those men and women, in all branches of the service, who have given their lives while serving our nation. We are all grateful for their tremendous sacrifices.
Wishing you and your families a safe and fun holiday weekend. And may we all have a summer filled with sunny beaches, ice-cold lemonade and slow, breezy evenings relaxing with the ones we love.
Our previous entry showed off the tiles in our Herb Collection. As much as we love these pretty tile accents, you can't eat stone. Or drink it for that matter.
For today's fun Friday distraction, let's look at some fabulous ways to use real-life, aromatic, fresh and tasty herbs.
Over at The Nibble they have some interesting recipes for Herb Infused cocktails using tarragon, basil and rosemary. The Shinnecock Cocktail features rosemary, peaches and rum. Sounds divine! Is it five o'clock yet?
You can't beat The Pioneer Woman Cooks for drool-worthy recipes with gorgeous photos and easy to follow step-by-step directions. Try her Buttered Rosemary Rolls or Sweet-Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges. Mmmmmmmm. We hope they invent Scratch-n-Sniff web pages soon because the aroma is probably twice as tempting as that photo.
Remember Snow Cones? The make-your-teeth-ache, syrupy sweetness that you loved as a kid? Well now there are more to Snow Cones than your summer flashbacks of sticky hands and fructose-induced mania. How does Blackberry Lavender sound? Or Watermelon Basil? Lemon Prickly Pear?!
Linday Laricks and her Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones offers these flavors and more. Selling to the lucky folks in the Kansas City area from her vintage 1957 Shasta trailer, she uses all natural ingredients and sweeteners, along with fresh fruit and herbs grown in her own organic garden.
She only sells these refreshing treats during the summer (yes, we are way behind) but we hope she will consider hauling that trailer of hers over to our neck of the woods for the winter months. What do you say, Lindsay? San Diego is calling... endless summer days, beautiful beaches, all the fish tacos you can eat? It's 70 degrees and sunny today. How about it?
Whether you are snuggled up against the cold this Friday or sporting your tank top and flip flops - have a great weekend everyone!
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