spanish party at the umlauf with bakesale

bakesale austin is a custom dessert bar company owned by the extremely talented andrea duty. andrea trained as a chef at the french culinary institute in new york, and cut her chops as a pastry chef at some of the best restaurants in town. she now offers custom dessert bars for events that are out of this world delicious--meaning instead of having just a cake (or cupcakes) you can actually personalize the desserts at your wedding or event to be just what you might order at your favorite restaurant. you can also order deliveries from andrea if you'd like to send someone a nice surprise instead.

in addition, andrea has a great eye and a strong creative vision. i felt lucky to work with her on this spanish-themed dessert bar for an open house at the umlauf sculpture garden last week. she made amazing churros, chocolate salami, arroz con leche, and a gateau basque (a traditional basque cake).

she wanted to follow a rustic spanish vision (instead of falling into the cliche matador red and black) which was refreshing. i used lovely cafe au lait and dinnerplate dahlias along with oak leaves to bring in an autumn color palette of burgundy, cream. grey, and olive greens.

el cosmico

spent a very dreamy weekend in marfa at the trans-pecos festival of music and love. el cosmico was, as always, divine and it was a thrill to meet so many thoroughly creative and talented folks. highlights were meeting the fine folks behind imogene + willie, j.m. dry goods, blackmail, design build adventure, mother falcon, the heartless bastards, and many more.

additionally, i had the great pleasure of spending the last night at a bunkhouse on a ranch just north of marfa. probably one of my favorite spaces i've ever been, it was simultaneously rugged, cozy, and sleek. a very perfect way to end a rather magical weekend.

this right here

tool & tack

f o l k s

friend and all-around fount of creativity natalie davis has pulled together one heck of a pop-up shop focusing on finely crafted menswear: tool & tack.

including products by canoe, wood & faulk, and the *stellar* handmade bowties by forage, this is not to be missed. and probably a perfect way to thank the mister for the flowers he's sent you?

cherry on top--it has a stop-motion invitation:

Tool & Tack Pop Up Shop Invite from Miss Natalie on Vimeo.

october 15 at grayduck gallery off of south first.

ps--we'll be there with some fine floral arrangements, too!

personal aside

(all recent instagrams. from top-- dry creek saloon, my favorite summer watering hole; an installation i'm working on in my living room in homage to my grandmother; my dad's office)

thanks to car trouble/illness/other enactments of murphy's law, things have been nuts around here and, like (seemingly?) always, i find myself constantly catching up on things, my to-do list mocking me with its daily lengthening.

just barely getting moved in, just barely remembering to buy groceries, just barely reminding myself to read a book to wind down rather than watching back-to-back episodes of party down. (actually, i've just been watching those episodes of party down because, well, it rules.)

if you've had to be patient with me recently, thank you *very much* for doing so. if not, then i assume that means i haven't seen you in a while and let me just take this opportunity to let you know that i miss you and can't wait to catch up.

michelle + jordan

there are few joys like working with people who have the creative energy of michelle and jordan. michelle is the talent behind red start paint design and she and jordan are a part of the monofonus community in east austin.

when you work with a couple that cite tim burton and crazy gingerbread houses as sources of inspiration, you know that party's going to rule. i had a lot of fun mixing coral charm peonies with all other kinds of bright and unusual flowers to really take things over the top.

i also had the pleasure of being a guest at the wedding and, as these amazing photos by bill mccullough attest, there was an overwhelming feeling of joy and support from all the (numerous) guests in attendance. and check out that rad cake. GEEZ.

so much fun to work with you guys, michelle and jordan. mazel tov!

tribeza

had a lot of fun having my portrait taken by the talented kailey flynn for local style magazine tribeza's september style issue. many additional thanks to writer jackie rangel for the interview and editor lauren smith ford for the opportunity.

see the full issue here.

and no, my hair does not normally look like that :)

"everything in our lives is practice. " --dogen

blue eyes

lately, everything has been really rosy. new studio, new clients, new website (very soon!) and some fresh starts on old and very good things.

full update with studio pics to come, but for now just this little love song i've fallen for and a few snaps of what's been going out the door in the past month.