One of my favorite aspects of owning an e-shop and running the LAMA blog are the wonderful connections I get to make with awesome people going the creative route with their ventures. Most recently, I was excited to have an inspiring email exchange with fellow shop owner Daniela Montelongo. An architect and crafter by nature, Daniela made the entrepreneurial plunge at the young age of nineteen when she opened her own shop, Pompons Party, in Juarez, Mexico. For the past six years she has been grateful to be able to do what she loves most, creating colorful objects, mexican folklore pieces, beautiful textures, and other pieces of art. Even though Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Daniela doesn’t see this as much of an obstacle. According to Daniela, “this just makes me want to keep creating beautiful stuff to give a nice color to this grey and sad  environment.” While owning her own business has been and continues to be “a learning process all the way,” it’s something she know she wants to do for the rest of her life.

Be sure to check out Pompons Party here, here and, here.

Thank you so much Daniela for sharing your story with me! All the best to you!!

Like all South American countries (at least the ones I’ve been fortunate enough to visit) Brazil is one COLORFUL place! My time in Rio was a blur of vibrant colors flashing around me from every direction. It was color heaven! That’s why it comes as no surprise to me that this line of stunningly colorful leather jewelry I recently stumbled upon is designed and produced in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Designed by Luisa Herculano, this line of African influenced Brazilian jewelry is to die for!

Until recently, Luisa’s line was only available in Rio de Janeiro. They are gradually starting to distribute worldwide but they don’t appear to have any US retailers. Hm. Something for LAMA perhaps? I don’t know about you but I’m dying to get my hands on one of these gorgeous statement pieces!

To view the rest of Luisa Herculano’s collection, be sure to check out her website. Luckily she has an English version.

I was so sad to learn earlier this week that one of my favorite bloggers, Karina Manghi of El Beso, has decided not to continue on with her blog. Although I will miss her English/Spanish posts (I love that she always took the time to do both), I hope this will give Karina more time in the wonderful world offline. As my own farewell to El Beso, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite posts in her segment called Stylish Bloggers. Stylish Bloggers was a great way for me to check out cool and unique everyday fashionistas. I always found these posts so inspiring and they certainly motivated me to take risks with my own wardrobe. Enjoy some of my favorite stylish bloggers and check out the rest here.

I spend a considerable amount of time sifting through products, so in the past few years I’ve become obsessed with product designers and the entire design process. Today I thought I would share with you the work of one of my favorite people and one of the most influential product designers of our time, Hella Jongerius. Though I adore everything this incredible woman produces, I am particularly drawn to the Ikea-Unicef project she did with women in India back in 2009.

The aim of this project was to help Indian women earn a living and meet other Indian women while their children attend school. The wall-hangings created are the result of industrial and craft production and “honor the role of the craftspeople, as each specific fabric carries the name of the woman who contributed to it.” The images of the hangings were inspired by Swedish fairy tales as a tribute to Ikea’s homeland.

I have a tremendous amount of admiration for designers that reach out and work with local craftspeople and women’s collectives in other countries. I know Jonathan Adler does a lot of this through various organizations in Peru. I hope this is a trend that continues to grow and develop as it is such an important type of partnership.

On a side note, if anyone knows where I can get one of these wall hangings, please please let me know!

As I mentioned last week, I’m going through a serious fashion illustration phase. Searching through contacts of contacts on flickr last night, I came across the stunning work of Costa Rican artist Natalia Sanabria. I adore her soft pencil technique and the way she knows just where to add splashes of vibrant color. Natalia’s work is lovely in every way possible. I can’t get enough of her color palette! I will certainly be referencing her work while choosing colors for my wedding!

Edel Rodriguez has one of those amazing careers in illustration that I admire on every level. Born in Havana, Cuba, Edel Rodriguez’s work has appeared in numerous books, on US Postal stamps, and on film and broadway posters. Edel is also a regular contributor The New Yorker magazine and was an art director at TIME magazine for over a decade. Amazing!

Edel Rodriguez was also given the honor of illustrating the cover for the 25th anniversary edition of one of my favorite books of all time, House On Mango Street. I love his use of color and the 70′s feel behind his work. Edel Rodriguez = my hero.

Be sure to check out more his his incredible work here.

I have been a big big fan of Cynthia’s (aka Rosie Music) artwork for years. Based in Mexico City, Cynthia’s artwork is inspired by fashion, music, travel, and children’s books. I can certainly see all of those influences in her work. I have had a few of her pieces displayed in my apartment for a while and I’m loving her new work! I think it might be time to update my art collection. These watercolor animals with glasses and polka dot mod girls are some of my new favorites!

Be sure to check out more of Rosie Music’s work here and here.

Based in Queretaro, Mexico, Geninne Zlatkis has been one of my favorite artists for several years. I was fortunate enough (and SO honored) to have her create these prints for the LAMA shop, and it’s been really exciting to see her career evolve in the time since. Recently Geninne moved into her new home designed by her equally as talented husband.

If you’ve never checked out Geninne’s art blog, you’re in for a treat. I can’t stress enough how wonderfully talented she is!

Thanks to Kireei for the photos!

Question. How is it possible that today is already December 15th? Now here’s the bigger question.. How is is possible that I haven’t purchased a single Christmas present?! For me, I have to be made painfully aware that it is indeed the holiday season. Otherwise, locked in my little office, zombies can be taking over the planet and I would have no idea. I use zombies as an example because over the weekend I watched the entire first season of The Walking Dead. (*note: do not watch this series in one sitting unless you want to have terrible nightmares). Anyhow, how have I gotten so off topic today? Yes, Christmas.. as I was saying, sometimes you just have to be made aware of the fact that it’s the holiday season. For me, these ADORABLE Christmas pieces by artist Ximena Carreira just may have done the trick.

Ximena Carreira is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, from Buenos Aires, who recently discovered a new way of expressing herself by creating with her hands. Luckily, for the rest of us, Ximena discovered this new form of self expression. If you love off-beat Christmas decor as much as I do, you should certainly check out her work.

By the way, if you’re still in need of the perfect holiday gift for that artsy someone in your life, be sure to stop by LAMA. The entire store is heavily discounted as we clear out our current inventory to make way for next year’s new items!!

As if I needed any more reasons to head down to Santiago, Chile, the second annual Latin Lover design conference is currently going on! What is Latin Lover? Allow me to translate, “Latin Lover is an international event which gathers, disseminates, and explores new directions in graphic design and global visual culture. Latin Lover seeks to create a place of connection, participation and reflection in which noted figures of national and international visual creation share their experiences and visions with the local creative community.” How amazing does that sound?!

I was especially excited to see Irana Douer on the list of International guests. LAMA was fortunate enough to have Irana create a series of exclusive hand drawn teacups for the shop! (Most of the current set has sold out, but don’t worry.. more on on their way! Btw, they are currently on sale but not for long!) Irana was invited to give a lecture on her artwork at Latin Lover as well as create an exhibition.  Congratulations Irana!

If you happen to be in Santiago, Chile, make sure and check out this amazing event! Latin Lover will be on exhibit until December 24th. And make sure to check out their hilarious promotional videos.