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On Our Plate this Week

· March 22, 2013

There has been a lot of excitement around my town this week as we’ve launched the very first Starkville Restaurant Week. I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to work on some of the graphics and promotions for the event showcasing great dining options in Starkville. For me personally, it’s been a fun opportunity to create some family memories and to show my kiddos some of the things Mommy does in her work. It’s been a pleasure to hear them exclaim “It’s Starkville Restaurant Week!” as we picked a dinner spot, and to listen to the happenings of the day around a few new tables. Of course, the ice cream shop didn’t hurt the excitement level!

This week, I’ve been trying to visit several of the participating restaurants at lunch with friends and in the evenings with my crew, in part, to get a few food photos to use in promotions. I thought I would share a few items that have been on our plate this week to get your taste buds motivated, headed into the weekend. If you’re near Starkville, I hope you’ll join us through Sunday for a taste of some of our local spots! Enjoy the food and the designs!

Photos from top:
1. Fried Shrimp Poboy from Oby’s — the sandwich my out of town friends most frequently ask me to ship them 🙂
2. A newspaper “guide” I was able to design for printing last Sunday
3. Glazed Salmon from Old Venice Pizza Company — the Bambino kids pizzas are my kids’ fave eat out meal, but this looked so good that Baby Girl was willing to try it. And liked it!
4. Grilled Chipotle Quesadilla from Abner’s Chicken — just the right amount of bite in every bite
5. Starkville Restaurant Week poster
6. Sausage muffin and iced mocha with an extra shot of chocolate from 929 Coffee Bar — because can you really have too much chocolate?
7. Goat Cheese & Fire Roasted Red Pepper Sub from Sweet Peppers Deli
8. Ice Cream from Coldstone Creamery — not pictured, the sugar induced dance

Categories : in the studio

Tags : inspired by food, Starkville MS

still life 031113 . Natural Treasures

Posted by haley montgomery

· March 11, 2013

My kids and I are celebrating Spring Break at our family’s farm house this week. It’s a joy and a privilege to be able to take time out of our normal routine to enjoy giving them my mostly undivided attention. We’ve committed ourselves to walking the gravel roads and pastures as much as possible in search of treasures. Of course, for me, the real treasure is their smiling, wind-blown faces. But, the flowers and sticks and such will do too! Creatively, I’m spending the week to recharge. I had already prepared a couple of things to share with you this week and I have my sketch journal, but mostly I’m framing up some of our experiences with my iPhone Hipstamatic and my Canon. I hope to share some of the photos this week and following. Meanwhile, here are collages of some of the natural treasures found on our Saturday and Sunday walks. What’s been particularly fun has been finding, smelling and picking some of the Spring bulbs my grandmother and great-grandmother planted on these acres — daffodils, paper whites, irises, hyacinths. Some mark long-torn-down fence rows and homesteads. A real treasure to have gracing our window sill this week.

Categories : in the studio, my South

Tags : Hipstamatic, inspired by nature, red, rural places, still life

Spring Forward . New Stationery Designs

Posted by haley montgomery

· March 6, 2013

I’m so ready for Spring! I don’t know about you, but my children have been virtually bouncing right before my eyes in anticipation of running free for Spring. I don’t know how much longer I can hold off Baby Girl and her flip flops. Of course, the Mississippi weather these last few weeks has been nothing short of a tease. We enjoyed snow flurries on Saturday, and I’m certain we’ll reach the 60s sometime tomorrow. Such is life in the Deep South!

In anticipation of the Spring season, I’ve been working on a few new block print designs for The Frog Kisser Etsy shop. It’s been very fun to continue this craft and hopefully improve my quality and craftsmanship with each new iteration. The Spring designs feature some of my favorite reminders of the new life happening this time of year — fruitful nests, new blade of grass and flowers seeking the sun. My favorite design so far is the watercolor embellished bird’s nest. I’ve experimented with a bronze slightly metallic ink and blues and browns for the speckled egg. I hope you enjoy the new designs and please leave a comment about your favorites and ways to make them more “kissable!”

You can find the new designs on Etsy here:
SPRING NEST in Metallic Bronze
SPRING NEST in Robin’s Egg Blue
SPRING GREENS in Emerald
SPRING FORWARD in Emerald
DOUBLE SUNFLOWER in Yellow

Categories : in the studio

Tags : block printing, green, inspired by spring, paper craft, the frog kisser

a new creative project

Posted by haley montgomery

· February 22, 2013

I have a new personal creative pursuit to share with you today to celebrate Friday! Over the extended holiday the kids and I took for Christmas, I was thinking through some of my goals for 2013. I kept coming back to wanting to draw and make things. I’ve always been a “maker.” Tinkering with this and that to make little treasures, whether jewelry or hand-made books or gift wrapping. During the first two years of Small Pond Graphics, I’ve focused more on digital work in getting my business off the ground. I’ve spent a lot of time in front of a computer or ipad screen! But, with the loss of my husband, Mike, this last year and dealing with the changes in our lives, I realized that sometimes tangible things can be comforting. And inspiring. There’s a joy and discipline in creating something with your hands that helps us move forward. Maybe.

SO, I’ve been getting back into “making”, experimenting with block printing again and enjoying a little watercolor painting. The ideas are new and sometimes half-baked, but I’ve enjoyed letting my kids watch and hearing their sweet “Mommy, I think you’re doing a good job with your artwork.” I love how there is never any “high” art with them. It’s all equivalent to pulling out the washable Crayola markers, and I like that.

The product of this renewed “making” adventure I’d like to share is a new Etsy shop! I’ve named it The Frog Kisser, and I’m slowly adding hand-painted and block printed notecards, gift tags and small prints. Here are a couple of the first designs, and I hope you’ll stop into the shop and let me know what you think! I’m always happy to hear what might make these designs more “kissable”. Happy Friday!

Categories : in the studio

Tags : block printing, hand-crafted, make, orange, the frog kisser

A Chalkboard Painting Project

Posted by haley montgomery

· January 14, 2013

One of my monthly clients, Eat Cities, LLC, launched a new brand and online magazine at the beginning of January called Eat Y’all. A year in the making, the project aims to showcase food in the South as only Southerners can through great editorial content, the creation of food trails, and the production of exclusive Chef’s Table events giving diners the opportunity to interact with regional chefs. Yum! I’ve had the opportunity to work with Eat Y’all on their branding and marketing, which will soon include a new website. As part of their ongoing Chef’s Table series, they asked me to paint the logo on chalkboards to be used at the events. It was a fitting project for a Friday last week, and I thought I would share the process. Enjoy a peek! And, watch for details about Chef’s Table events in your region of the South. It’s an intimate Southern food experience you won’t want to miss!

Categories : in the studio

Tags : black and white, branding, client profiles, inspired by food, logo design, painting

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.