HELP NEEDED - forthcoming paris trip

this is a plea for help to p+p readers. some of you kindly made suggestions for my recent new york visit, and i used the wonderful zagat guide to help me find certain stores. for my next trip however im less certain of where the good shops are. i was hoping for some inside info from parisians or those that have been there recently. any tips for seeking out print & pattern in paris ? i'll be going at the beginning of july so theres plenty of time to plan. any advice gratefully recieved :)

FAB PADS - ecojot

if you were lucky enough to be at the new york 'national stationery show' this month you may have seen the brand new collection of notebooks from canada's 'ecojot'. carolyn gavin is a fantastic designer who regularly updates their range of journals and notepads, all of which are 100% recycled. these are some of the very latest designs.

DECALS - decorette

if you'd noticed the new dawanda ad appearing on blogs lately, you may have wondered about the pattern used. the design is actually from a paisley wall decal set by melbourne based 'decorette' who have recently opened a dawanda shop.

DESIGNER - kate seaward

these awesome sketchbooks are by designer/illustrator kate seaward who is based in norwich. ive recently seen them go up in kate's shop on dawanda, and in the UK they are new in at bettyjoy. i love the fresh look of their covers. below are more of kate's fabulous drawings, where she shows her love of tea. find out what else kate is into on her website i like pens .

MOTIFS - sublime stitching

if you are into embroidery and fancy something cute or contemporary then look no further than sublime stitching. their slogan is "this aint your grandma's embroidery", and a visit to their site will show you these motifs are hip. and yay they have a blog too.

WALL ART - petit collage

i love the way the animals have been drawn on this new print from petit collage. the three colour screenprint 'animal alphabet can be seen here, alongside new gocco prints on maple veneer featuring either jungle or forest friends.

COMPETITION - laptop moo stickers

do you remember a few weeks ago we featured a competition to design a laptop sticker for moo. well here are some of the winning entries. unfortunately they are not credited so we dont know whos done what, but maybe yours is here ? click moo to see the full collection of 90.

STATIONERY - galison

ive been following up websites on the things i bought in nyc the other week. remember the floral file tote i bought in crane & co ? well it was by top stationery company galison and it turns out they have a whole range of prints to choose from on notebooks, files, cards etc. i recognised the super cute bird design at the top from anthropologie. see their website for the full range of patterns.

BOOK - kawaii not

these are the illustrations of meghan murphy author of kawaii not, a great little book published by how. the theme is to take the cute japanese art of kawaii and make it go bad. i bought the book in urban outfitters a few weeks ago, and what attracted me to it wasnt the fact that they've gone bad, but just that i love to look at objects with smiley faces on. the book features over 100 illustrated strips and in true japanese style some kawaii stickers too. see it here on amazon uk or amazon usa. if you want to know more check out meghan's latest daily ventures into 'kawaii not' here.

BOOK - how to be an illustrator

if you're in the mood for buying books then heres a great new title for both designers and illustrators. "how to be an illustrator" by darrel rees, published by laurence king, is a guide on how to get your career started in the industry and gives plenty of advice on things darrel wishes he had known before he graduated. now i dont actually work as an illustrator myself but still found this book so useful, i think it works for any designer who works freelance as topics covered such as portfolio presentation, studio space, invoicing, etc are useful to everyone. the book is also peppered with interviews with big name illustrators who share their experience of starting out. scroll down to see the chapters and some of the subjects the book covers. see it here on amazon uk or amazon usa.

HABITAT - new pattern

this print is a new habitat design called 'bezelle' and it features on kitchen textiles, mugs and trays. for paper fans good news ! theres a free habitat patterned notebook on the front of this months 'real homes' magazine. (plus it has a coupon for 20% off at paperchase).