Oh happy day at LAMA! The new holiday merchandise has FINALLY gone up on the site. Personally, I’m loving the new products. I hope you all do too. Happy shopping!

Thanks again Hijiri for putting together yet another beautiful newsletter! Click here to check out the new merchandise. 

A few weeks ago I received a message from a reader in response to a post I wrote regarding the state of the nation and how it affects shop owners like myself. It was a rather personal account which I debated on putting out there for others to read. To my surprise and delight, the response ended up being so positive and encouraging! It really lifted my spirits.

I was so touched by one reader in particular (the lovely Stacy of Inkspot Workshop) who not only sent me the sweetest message, but she also sent me a pack of one of her latest card designs that was oh-so appropriate for the occasion.

It’s certainly something I have done my best to keep in mind ever since. “Life is Good: Despite What the Media Says.” Aside from the card I keep on my desk in front of me everyday, I’ve mailed out the rest to friends and family that have needed to read this simple yet affective phrase. 

To order your own set and check out the rest of Stacy’s fun and beautiful work, check out her Etsy shop Inkspot Workshop. I’m loving this gorgeous calendar!

Thanks again Stacy! It meant so much. 

Especially a vanity as stunning as this little green gem. 

I came across this stunner on craigslist over the weekend and thought my search for the perfect vanity was over. That is until I saw the $465 price tag attached to it. No! Say it ain’t so Joe! (that’s my favorite Sarah Palin quote. I need to stop using it). Anyhow, back to the vanity… I’ve been wanting one for years. There’s just something so ultra-feminine about a vanity. I can’t help but feeling oh-so glamorous every time I sit down at one. They make me want to do things like style my hair with a silver comb or spray perfume out of a vintage bottle.

I guess I’ll just have to keep my eyes open for the perfect vanity (with the perfect price tag) though, this one is going to be a tough act to follow. For now, I’ll just have to remain green with envy. (Yes, I had to go there). 

A few years back, I came across a fantastic book entitled “Revolucion!” After looking at page after page of the beautiful Cuban poster art inside, I was hooked. Propaganda art has quickly become one of my favorite forms of art around. Between 1960 and 1980, the Cuban government recruited the most talented Cuban artists to create these propaganda posters in order to promote and educate it’s citizens on everything from national literacy to opposing international political enemies. The posters spread throughout Cuban cities and has helped to define Cuban politics through bright and vivid imagery. 

Below are a couple of gorgeous movie posters that I found through Home of the Cuban posters. Don’t you wish movie posters still looked like this? I know I would be begging the manager at my local movie theater to give me one… or five. 

One of my favorite modern propaganda artists is Shepard Fairey. His Obey campaign was really popular back when I was living in Los Angeles. I loved seeing his famous Andre the Giant posters and stickers posted all over the sides of buildings and billboards. More recently, you’ll probably recognize Fairey’s work from the “Hope” posters he created for the Obama Campaign.

You can certainly see how influential early propaganda art was to today’s artists. In celebration of Obama’s victory, Shepard Fairey has created a new Obama poster that will be available tomorrow right here through moveon.org. This limited edition print won’t be around long so I suggest you snatch one up quickly before they’re gone.

Fred (my boyfriend), Miles and I got up extra early this morning, grabbed some coffee to go and took a nice walk over to our local polling station. Yes, I took Miles. He didn’t quite understand we were heading out to vote. All he saw was Fred and I putting on our walking shoes. You can see how this would have been a problem had I not brought him along. Anyway, it was a beautiful morning, the sun was shinning, the leaves were falling and (I’m not sure if it was the crisp fall air and bold coffee) but voting has never felt so exhilarating.

It must have been contagious because everyone I came across at the polling station seemed just as excited as I was. The woman next to me said, “I feel like I’m making history today.” I have to agree. Today is a huge day for all of us.

If you haven’t gone out to vote yet, grab your friends, colleagues, co-workers, pets (yes, they can come along too) and go make some history. It’s a guaranteed great feeling.

When the lovely Holly from decor8 asked me if I would like to offer a special sponsor discount to her readers I was like, “um, yeah!” I’m a firm believer in the statement “it’s just as nice to give as it is to receive.” Why not give a little something back to a whole bunch of people I happen to have something in common with? That something being our mutual love for decor8. Plus, it’s tons of fun for me to see what Holly’s personal favorites from LAMA are. Check them out! 

From now until November 21st, when you enter the code LAMAdecor8, you’ll receive 20% off your ENTIRE PURCHASE! Wow! I have also extended this offer to our LAMA mailing list so if you would like to be a LAMA insider (of course you would), go ahead and sign up on our mailing list. 

Thanks decor8 for making us a part of your reader discount offer! To read the full post and check out decor8 for yourself, click here. Warning: If you love design, you will become addicted to this blog. 

This is my nephew Hams! Hams lives with my brother (major contributing member to the LAMA team) all the way in Berlin Germany! 

Hams is super spooky and ready for Halloween… are you? Happy Halloween from LAMA!!

This is my first day back to life and LAMA as usual after a tough week. Last Friday I lost my Aunt to complications associated with her recent breast cancer diagnosis. She was an incredibly warm and generous person who worked hard to bring her family from Ecuador to the US. In just one generation, our family has managed to accomplish some amazing things that could never have been possible had my Aunt not had so much courage, strength and wisdom. She deserves the biggest “bravo!!” you can imagine. She will be missed by so many people forever.

Coincidentally, October happens to be breast cancer awareness month so I decided to check out Etsy this morning to see how Etsy shop owners were getting involved. To my delight, there were over 140 pages worth of beautiful breast cancer products to search through and better yet, most of the sellers were donating a percentage of the proceeds from their sales to organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation! Here are a few of my favorite products.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit rough to say the least. The news has become so frightening these days and everyone has been feeling the effects of our crashing economy. Being a new business owner, I have been especially frightened about what all of this bad news means for me and LAMA, which has left me feeling a bit blue. No, not pretty LAMA blue, just down in the dumps blue. A VERY unflattering shade of blue. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but all the fear has caused me to crawl inside my shell and rethink all the choices I have made in the past few years of my life. Was I crazy to leave the work force and create my own business? Should I have stayed in the interior design world longer and waited a few more years to open LAMA? Was I too young and naive to think I could actually do all of this?!

And so my own great depression set in quickly followed by a brief (but strong) personal recession in which I actually believed (and again, I hate to admit it) that LAMA was a huge mistake and at twenty six, I had already made the biggest mistake of my life. Dramatic? Yes. Very. 

I decided to let myself cry… a lot … until I felt my fears pass. I started to talk to friends and family about how I was feeling, I went hiking in the beautiful Berkeley hills, I knitted a scarf, I watched The Daily Show (John Stewart always makes me laugh), I listened to my favorite Zero 7 album which always reminds me of the long bus rides I took through Ecuador back when LAMA was just a little dream in my mind and I read “What Should I Do With My Life” by Po Bronson. 

I found this book to be both comforting and inspiring. It’s “the true story of people who answered the ultimate question.” Reading about others who followed their hearts and pursued their passions made me feel a lot less alone and a lot more positive about leaving my old job to create my new one. Not every story ended happily as not everyone who chases their dreams catches them in the end. What I found to be so reassuring though was that not a single one of these people regretted the choices they made and, for all of them, it has led them to a deeper understanding of themselves and their capabilities. 

Maybe LAMA won’t weather the storm, though, deep down I know it will. What I do know for a fact is that creating this business WAS NOT the biggest mistake of my life. There are now three things I know for a fact: 1. I still love my high school sweet heart 2. Miles is the best dog ever 3. LAMA never was and never will be a mistake. I love what I do. I love the people I have been lucky enough to meet. I love the feeling I get when a someone sends me an email telling me how much they love LAMA and I love that there are so many possibilities in front of me. Who knows what LAMA will be in the next few years! An actual brick and mortar? I hope so!! 

That leaves me where I am today. Today I feel really optimistic about my future. I just got off the phone with my mommy. She couldn’t stop raving about the Tina Turner concert my dad took her to last night for their thirty third wedding anniversary. They also recently returned home from a trip all over Europe. She said the best thing to me. “I keep crossing things off my list. I’m doing all the things I always dreamed of doing.” It made me stop and think about my own “to do” list and all the things I’ve been able to cross off in the past few years and that was the most encouraging feeling ever. 

So, to conclude, my major crisis of Fall ‘08 has been averted. I pulled through and have decided to reemerge with more blog posts. This is pretty fun actually! I would like to get in the habit of blogging more often. It’s my early New Years resolution. (Wow, look how retail has already gotten to me. It’s not even Halloween and I’m already thinking about the holiday season!)

I hope everyone is doing well in these troubling times. If the state of the nation is getting you down, I highly recommend one of these Keep Calm posters that you can purchase here from the lovely Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay. Buy it. Frame it. Hang it. And repeat it to yourself a hundred times a day. Trust me, it actually helps. 

I mentioned yesterday that LAMA was expecting some new items for the holiday season. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s coming… 

These adorable hand made crochet cactus plants are expected to hit the LAMA e-shelves by the end of this month. I can’t wait for my own! Yes, I ordered one for myself. How could I resist?

Due to the hand made nature, quantities will be limited to be sure to check back frequently OR join the mailing list and I’ll let you know as soon as they’ve arrived. These will definitely make a special one-of-a-kind gift for a special friend or family member (or yourself). Trust me, it’s okay to buy gifts for yourself.