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Archive for inspire – Page 12

font crush . Impact Label

· May 22, 2012

Today I thought I’d share a font I’ve been crushing on lately. I guess it’s both a font crush and a retro crush. Do remember those label makers in the 70s and 80s? They had the rolls of vinyl label strips and the dial that turned for choosing letters. Mine was a kid version shaped like a turtle and I can remember getting pink/orange flowered and blue/green striped label rolls in addition to the standard red and blue. Anyway… IMPACT LABEL packs a lot of retro fun and is available in regular and reversed. (You’ll find a free download here.)

Categories : favorite things

Tags : fonts, typography

favorite things . Dolled Up DIY

Posted by haley montgomery

· May 17, 2012

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted a CRAVE in Plop! land — probably because I’m in crave overload from some of the creativity I’m seeing online these days. I was looking through my archive of bookmarks and had to share this one right away! I’m not a seamstress. Not even close. But, I’ve fallen in love with these DIY dolls from MIKODESIGN. The illustrations are so sweet and whimsical, and I can imagine my Baby Girl squeezing the love out of this little Parisian and her stylish bunny. I particularly love the tiny camera, tote bag and itty bitty bottle of Chanel No. 5. I also noticed that you can purchase remnant bags of the Parisian fabric in a couple of colors — just the right touch of frou frou, if you ask me!

Programming note: I’ve been weeding through past posts recently getting inspired again, but mostly cleaning up inconsistencies I see, fine-tuning topics and categories and tweaking here and there. I hope you’ll poke around too!

Categories : favorite things

Tags : blue, DIY goodness, etsy shops, red, textile design

favorite things . Taped

Posted by haley montgomery

· February 29, 2012

I’ve been adding to this collection for a while and I finally settled on a few of my favorites to include. I’m also experimenting with a new digital collage approach to sharing them — could be a trend!

1. Sketchbook tissue tape — butterfly illustrations & handwriting from PaperSource.com
2. Japanese washi paper tape from HappyTape.com — love the turquoise and red combo
3. Alphabet tape from House Industries — I think I love everything from this foundry.
4. Red & blue ticking stripe fabric tape from PaperSource.com
5. Semi-transparent washi tape from Top Hat — for an overlapping pattern

Categories : favorite things

Tags : collage, tools, well-designed products

favorite things . Feathers

Posted by haley montgomery

· February 13, 2012

I’ve been noticing some lovely feathers lately — both in the plump late winter birds outside my window these days and in some of my wanderings across the design sphere. Feathers always have a delicate and tender quality to me, and I think these well-designed items capture that. Enjoy…

Porcelain tiny cup from Villarreal Ceramics (her whole collection is beautiful)
Letterpress card from Papyrus (just in time for Valentine’s Day)
Embroidered linen pillow from Aldea Home
Hand screen printed table runner from Elkhorn Design (some bolder feather pillow designs too)

Categories : favorite things

Tags : ceramics and pottery, paper craft, textile design

inspired by . Chalk Lettering

Posted by haley montgomery

· January 30, 2012

I’m starting out the week completely amazed and inspired by the work of Dana Tanamachi, a custom chalk letterer and graphic designer. In this digital age, the drawing of letters is almost a lost art. But, I love the gritty and personal quality of these large-scale pieces. I love the whimsy inherent in conveying a message in the chalk medium. I also love the idea of possibly moving our digital tools in reverse — scoping out designs and messages in the digital sphere, and THEN translating that message back to a hand-wrought medium like chalk. [I think I may be gushing.] Be sure to check out the time-lapse video Dana made of the process of creating one of her pieces.

Ace Hotel Room 1021 from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

Categories : inspire

Tags : artists, black and white, chalk, hand-crafted, typography

Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.

The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.

I invite you to open the boxes.
Peek into the drawers.
Rustle through the pages.
I’m honored to have you here.