Recent Design Work: April 2015

My little design studio has been busy! So many wonderful design projects. Three of them are just finishing up and I hope to be able to reveal them in a couple of weeks! That being said, there are two projects I can share with you today.

The first is the second book cover design for Terra Kelly's "The Winters Family Series"! This second book cover is a less steamy, but I can tell you now that book three will more than make up for it! Whew!! Hot, Hot, Hot! Book two's cover is sweeter, and I love it. You can order both books on Amazon/Kindle here.

The second reveal today is a poster I did for the Third Annual Martha's Vineyard Wine Fest, being held in May. You might recall I attended last year's event and wrote all about it. This year's event sounds like it's going to be even more fabulous and delicious! 

That's really all I can share with you today, but I will tell you I have three new business logos to show you soon, as well as a website design and a few extra goodies! I've really been so incredibly blessed with great clients and awesome design jobs. 2015 may have had a rough start with a very harsh Winter, but work-wise I am loving this year!

Cheers! -Patti

Branding Inspiration: LIFESTYLE by kate

Hello everyone! Today I'm launching a new pre-made logo in the shop and I thought you'd like to see the mood board I created to go along with it. Every year, I begin to get anxious for Spring mid-January. I've not been a fan of Winter, ever, and with each passing year, the lack of love becomes more obvious. I start day dreaming of the garden in full bloom, vases filled with floral pompoms and the sound of honey bees in the back yard. So for inspiration for today's fresh-made logo, I pulled up a photo I took last Mother's Day while I was visiting the Harbor View Hotel on Martha's Vineyard. If I could hand pick a bouquet for my studio, it would look just like this one. Shades of pinks, greens and a touch of yellow... perfection!

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Peonies, Pink Daffodils, Green Hydrangeas and Lilies... Perfect!

With all the wonderful Spring colors as inspiration, I designed "LIFESTYLE by kate" logo. It has clean lines, a personal touch from the hand lettering, is modern but classic... much like this bouquet! 

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"LIFESTYLE by kate" customizable logo

If you're interested in purchasing this logo and it's other web elements, you can find it in my shop. As with all of my pre-made logos, if you want exclusive rights to it, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss availability! And of course, if you would like me to design a logo to your specifications, I'd be happy to work with you. I currently have one spot available in February and two openings in March.

Travel Tuesday: Good Eats on MV

Hello, friends! I've just returned from a long holiday weekend on Martha's Vineyard. We had some rain, but mostly lovely sunshine with cool temperatures. I'll take that any day! 

My husband and I have been going to Martha's Vineyard nearly every year since our honeymoon (19 years ago tomorrow!). And there are definitely some eateries we absolutely love and must visit with each trip. We give it our best at trying at least one new spot with each trip, but as this visit was so short, we chose to enjoy our favorites and forgo new. I know I've blogged about these restaurants before, but they deserve another shout-out, so here goes...

My absolute favorite eatery on the Vineyard is State Road Restaurant. After this trip, I can tell you with all honesty, every meal (breakfast, lunch dinner) is amazing. This time around we had breakfast there, and it was amazing. I asked for a special scramble of eggs-cheese-spinach and they agreed to it. Add to that a side of applewood bacon and THE most amazing duck confit breakfast hash and you've got yourself a really special breakfast! I'd never had duck confit hash, but I'm glad I gave it a go. It was delicious.

Another of our favorite eateries is Chesca's. We've been enjoying Chesca's for years and it has always stayed true to form. Hubby enjoyed their chowder while I devoured the grilled romaine wedge salad. Our dinner choices were the lobster ravioli topped with scallops for him, and braised beef short ribs with whipped potatoes and broccoli-rabe for me. Dessert was a créme caramel custard which I basically ate by myself. 

Our favorite lunch spot is Espresso Love. They make delicious salads and sandwiches, and serve a perfect espresso. But the thing I love most is their house made veggie burger. Being grain-free meant I couldn't enjoy it myself, but my son (the "rather picky" vegetarian) was able to try it for the first time and he LOVED it! Lucky for us, the recipe is included in their cookbook, which we also purchased, so now we'll be making a grain-free version at home! (Sorry I've no photos from our meal, but stay tuned for a post on the homemade veggie burger.)

Side note: On this visit we happened to stop by to watch the fresh catches that came in that day at the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Probably the most "New England Moment" I've ever had on the Vineyard. Listening to all the people talk about their catch from the day, watching the fish pile up for cleaning, the smell of the salty-fishy air... it was so fun! I love Martha's Vineyard and feel so lucky that I get to enjoy it year after year. If you've not been, add it to your travel list! If you have been, let me know the name of your favorite places to dine.

Cheers,

Patti