Material Archive

Ladurée Obsession

Yup. As per usual – I went a little bananas in Ladurée.

And I know this is going to sound contro – but I really hope they don't open a location in the old TDot, because I like the fact that I can't have it that easily. Makes it more special, oui?

 

European Tour: Ladurée, Paris & London

If it's not wildly obvious already, I am obsessed with Ladurée. Why? Where to begin... it represents everything I love: amazing pasteries & chocolates, beautiful branding & packaging and an authentic legacy of doing it exceptionally well for 150 years.

While In London and Paris – I sought out almost every location to sample something new I hadn't tried before. My new favourite item is pictured above with the rose petal – it's called the rose & raspberry Ladurée Saint-Honorés and is every bit as delicious as it is pretty.

Of course, I shipped home all of my empty boxes so that they could assume their rightful positions on my packaging wall.

 

Happy NYE!

Running around – shopping, cooking, assembling party favors, etc.

Excited for tonight – will drink many pink bubbles... :-)

Look at what my cleaning lady recycled by accident:

Had this on my shelf since the 80s. Boo.

My visit to Ladurée New York

Well, let's be honest, it's not like being in Paris. But, it is nice to be able to get a quick Ladurée fix while trapped in North America ;)

The store sadly does not carry any pastries, chocolates or Langues de Chat (which I expressly came for), but, it's packed to the gills with macaroons, tea, candies and even ice-cream.

I left with the most glorious oval box filled with everything I could get my greedy mitts on. :)

Stuffing my face with delicious caramels as I write this...

 

 

Jonna Pedersen Paintings

 

I love food. I love packaging. I love paintings of food packaging.

See more of Jonna Pedersen's work here.

 

Cake Opera Co.

I can't decide what I like about Opera Cake Co. more – the fact that they are such gifted artists or that they live in my own city! Making a plan to visit next weekend...

Vintage Labels

Found here.

Today I bought: Top Shop Make-Up at Jonathan & Olivia

 



  




Stopped by Jonathan & Olivia today to see their new Top Shop make-up bar. I've been a fan of this line since I saw the charming packaging profiled on numerous design blogs a while back. I love the naive illustration style – it feels so right for the TS brand.

I'm happy to report, after testing practically everything there, that the make-up is quite nice and the pigments are rich. I left with a big bag of goodies and will report back after a few longer wears.

The Beauty of Envelopes

 

Again by Andrew Bush.

Hot Dog!

"Designed by Bangkok based Subconscious: "TrueCoffee, the coffee shop that serves coffee and bakery with hi-speed Internet in cozy and modern atmosphere, expanded their food range to a quick bite like hot dog. They wanted hot dog packaging that would attract teenagers. We reinterpreted the word ‘hot dog’ and created a lovely dachshund character. Its unique characteristic was that it’s hot all the time." Via the Dieline

Marks & Spencer 125 Years Anniversary Packaging

I wish more brands would follow M&S's lead and mine their rich archives for some gems from their past branding & advertising campaigns. This Jellie box is one of many designs revived for M&S's 125 Anniversary. See more here.

Pierre Marcolini, will you be my Valentine?

 

Given that we are talking about Valentine's Day, it seems like a logical next step to discuss chocolate. Clearly, I already talk about chocolate quite a lot on this site (given that I eat the glorious stuff every single day), so I thought I would post about a brand that is exceptional – for this particular "special" day in February.

When you hear Pierre Marcolini speak about his brand, (there is a great little movie on his site), you quickly understand that making chocolate is not just a job to this man – it is his passion, his vocation and he is on a mission. One only need look a the few images above to see that he is rather serious and really cares about elevating the art of creating and experiencing chocolate to a new level.

For my part, anyone that understands that chocolate can and should be branded like fine jewelry – knows that connoisseurs never eat it because they are hungry or snacky, but because they want to experience and savour something truly pleasurable that is special and punctuates a moment. ♥

Barcelona Diaries: ChocoLate Orgániko

 

So in addition to shoes, and eating out, I really splurged on good chocolate. ChocoLate Orgániko is another example of an excellent brand creating wonderful and unexpected flavour combinations like Lemon & Red Pepper chocolate, Orange and Cardamom and dark chocolate sprinkled with coarse salt from Ibiza, amongst others. Of course, the lovely packaging doesn't hurt either!

Barcelona Diaries: Chocolat Factory

 

 

I brought back a bunch of Chocolat Factory products for my staff and colleagues at work – the chocolates taste as good as the packaging looks. Wish we had a location here in the Big Smoke.

Barcelona Diaries: San Nicasio Crisps

Potato chips are one of those snacks that everyone loves, but, generally would never dare eat directly from the bag in public. For example, you could walk down the street drinking a trendy Starbucks Mocha Chip Frapuccino, which packs a whopping 590 calories and 22 grams of fat per 24 ounce serving, and no one would necessarily judge you as being low-classy or sloth-like. But, if you did the same with a bag of chips, you would likely be on the receiving end of a series of judgmental looks – even though a small bag is less than half of the calories of the aforementioned Starbucks. Because of this unfair stigma, most people reserve chip snacking to the privacy of their own couch or lost in a sea of other snacks on a table at a picnic, where the focus is diluted.

As a fan of all things potato, I believe the approach to chip bag design needs a re-think to remove this frumpy image – this is where the lovely photo above comes in. While dining at Inopia in Barcelona this week, I spied these remarkably charming chip bags on the restaurant's shelves and my instant thought was: "that is so beautiful – I must have it." Usually, that type of enthusiasm is reserved only for brands like Ladurée and Fauchon, not fried food snacks.

Spanish based San Nicasio has elevated the humble chip to a thing of artisanal beauty, touting their use of Himalayan pink salt and extra virgin olive oil. Who doesn't love the idea of pink salt? And don't even get me started on how much better olive oil fried anything tastes. Every time I had patatas bravas during my trip, I nearly lost mind mind wondering why everyone doesn't fry in olive oil all the time.

Anyhow, I digress. Like any other product, packaging is critical in creating desire and instilling pride of purchase and so I say, it's time for chips to have an identity makeover. Wouldn't you feel good about showing up to a party with "beautiful" chips that taste amazing and have pink salt? This design–crazy lady certainly would!

Jean-Marie Bytebier's Sky

I love paintings of sky – you effectively get another window when you hang a piece like the one above. It's subtlety makes it particularly nice.

Aubin & Wills Branding

The packaging and typography of Aubin & Wills wares is quite lovely don't 'cha think? Check out the fox with a top hat – bloody charming.

   

Nice package: Mini Giants

Nice design by Camilla Lillieskold for children's online retailer Mini Giants. Illustrations by Nila Aye. Via LovelyPackage.

Maneki Neko Candy Pack

"A tiny cellophane packet achieves a surprisingly effective illusion: transforming its contents —(two gum-ball shaped candies)— into a miniature Maneki Neko. Different packets feature different facial expressions." Via the Dieline

Marni & Ladurée!

Oh joy – two of my absolute favourite brands have decided to collaborate! Ladurée has invited Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni to add her unique touch and affinity for flowers and dots to the iconic brand's macaroon box – complete with gold leaf. Now, if they could only figure out a way to have them FedExed to me without arriving as gold dust. Trust me, they don't ship well.  via Vogue UK

Vintage Beer Cans

 
Found on Flickr & posted by Lance15100

Martelli Pasta Packaging

I saw this pasta at St.Lawrence Market this past weekend – isn't it great? Fellow designers know I love yellow, so it's no surprise that it caught my eye. The combination of the bright crinkly yellow paper (with a great hand-feel), the charming script type and hand-drawn pasta shapes are lovely and give it a real handmade quality which is perfectly consistent with their brand story. Martelli is a family owned and operated business in Tuscany.  (image via Fudies)

Vintage Match Boxes

via Pillipat on Flickr

Great logo by Louise Fili

You can see more work from Louise here.

Paul Smith for Evian

As Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul Gaultier before him, Paul Smith has teamed with Evian to do his take on their bottle. Nice result!

Love the colours

“When approached by an independent beverage company to rebrand their line of 100% natural, carbonated juices, BBDK responded with a simple question. “Why not call it 100%?” It only makes sense. Graphically, we felt that nothing said pure better than clean graphics and a direct statement."

via lovelypackage.com

Paul & Joe Beauté Packaging

As a follow-up to my vintage Coty packaging post – I decided to look up some Paul & Joe Beauté image references and was disappointed to learn that they've moved away from their original eclectic pattern packaging design to something more simple. Above are some of the original designs that I thought really helped differentiate them in the market and referenced their clothing line in a meaningful way.

Classic Coty Airspun Face Powder Packaging

You can see from these great vintage Coty samples where brands like Paul & Joe Beaute got some of their inspiration.

Great Packaging Design

   

All of this talk of food reminds me of some of my favourite food packaging – designed by Farrow.

Lovely Pudding Packaging

By designer Yvonne Nieweth