Please meet Samantha!

Or "Smash" as she's known to most of her friends and family! We are SO excited to introduce you to Smash, the newest member of the Gus & Ruby family, who joined our team in late June as a graphic designer. She has been a busy little bee working alongside me on some beautiful invitation designs and some pretty cool branding projects. She is super creative, a craft wizard and so much fun to have around. We could not be happier to have her on our team and look forward to sharing examples of the projects she's been working on in the near future.


So, with no further ado, meet Smash (in her own words):


I grew up in the beautiful coastal town of Stonington, Connecticut where I not only developed a lifelong love of the ocean, but also mastered the art of crafting by age 12. I attended Philadelphia University to study graphic design and realized my passion for typography and handmade projects. I doodled, embroidered, typed, knit and baked my way through four years in the city of brotherly love. During my final months at school, in the middle of the craziness involved in creating a portfolio, I happened upon the Oh So Beautiful Paper blog, which led me to the fabulous ladies at Gus & Ruby Letterpress. About a minute and a half after landing on their website I knew it was fate. No question in my mind—I had to work there. It didn’t matter that I was in Pennsylvania, or that they were in New Hampshire, or that my only memory of Portsmouth was stopping by on the way to Maine 10 years earlier. All that mattered was that I had this gut feeling. Sooo… during my spring break I came up for a lil visit, and that’s when I really knew! My bags were packed and ready to go before I even walked across the stage at graduation. The rest, as they say, is history! The brilliant ladies of Gus & Ruby do amazing things and I could not be more proud to be a part of the team. They are tremendously talented, passionate, hilarious, and always inspiring. If you’ve so much as stepped into the store you know what I’m talking about. Moving to Portsmouth to join the Gus & Ruby family was the best thing I’ve ever done, and I could not be more excited for what’s to come!

xoxo

Smash

{Top left photo courtesy of Emilie Inc.}

Designer Spotlight: Duet by Page Stationery

Remember how we told you that we'd found all sorts of new goodies and a few new albums as the stationery show this year? Well one of those fabulous new albums just arrived at our doorstep and we couldn't be happier to share it with you!

Paper hounds, please meet Duet by Page Stationery. Page Stationery, based in Richmond, VA, was originally started by designer Sue Corral in 1999 and has grown into an industry leading brand. Over the years, Page has become known for classic, timeless designs and high-quality printing. Their newest album, Duet, is a multi-faceted, mix-and-match concept album that offers gorgeous, customizable, digitally-printed designs at affordable pricing and with quick turnaround (just 5-7 business days from proof approval!).

The album contains several categories including: stationery for her, stationery for him, stationery for kids, birth announcements, shower invitations, save the dates and holiday cards. All of the designs can be customized (change colors! change fonts! turn into a party invitation, rehearsal dinner invite or graduation announcement!) and include super fun double-sided printing for a pop of graphic pattern or a beautiful full-color photo on the back. We love the mix of classic and quirky designs and we think the album is a perfect addition to our library for the design savvy and budget conscious shopper.

Need another reason to love Duet by Page Stationery?  Through the month of July, Page is offering 10% OFF all Duet album orders with a quantity of 50 or more! 

One of my favorite Duet designs is their "Design by Me!" personal stationery for kids. Being able to use your own child's drawn self portrait to create adorable and personal custom stationery is pretty sweet, right?

Check out just a few of the hundreds of designs that are available in the Duet album and then stop by the shop to see for yourself!

 

(all images courtesy of Page Stationery)

swoon worthy...

Afternoon guys and gals!

Lizzy here, blogging from the bright and sunny shop - don't you just love a sunny start to the weekend?

This morning I went out to a sweet little diner for breakfast with the boy and had this lovely thought to myself about how fun it would be to own a B&B... with a big garden in the back yard and a barn full of handsome animals with old fashioned names... the idea of making a delicious quiche with fresh veggies from the garden and eggs from the chickens brings the biggest smile to my face. I can imagine going estate sale shopping for all of the furniture for the bedrooms at the inn, doing laundry and hanging it out on the line to dry in the sun.

Just enjoying a simple life where your home is your work and your work is your home...
I dig that.
In a serious way.

Of course the kitchen in my B&B would be outfitted with all sorts of simple, stainless steel gadgets... a black and white checker floor... glass panel cabinets so that you can see the eclectic mix of dishes and ceramic bowls inside...

And while I know how unrealistic it is to believe that it would be a pristine space, that's how I imagine it in my head. With these incredible Leah Duncan tea towels hanging on the handle of the stove. Crisp, bright, dry cotton tea towels, ready for some soapy hands or a basket full of freshly baked rolls.

(Sigh....) Perfection.

You'd all be invited to the B&B for a pig roast every year too...
It'd be a lot of fun.
And if you wanted, you could come stay and help me tap the trees for sap, and weed the flower gardens full of zinnias and petal-ly peonies... I know that you'd love it, too.

So who's in?

I'm going to get me a set of these tea towels while you all make up your minds.
Oh, and pets are allowed along for the stay at the inn...
So long as they are friendly and don't mind basking on the wrap around deck that's splashed in sun rays all day long..

Happy Friday, and if you dream about serving up quiche and making beds with crisp white linens, you should come and get yourself some of these Leah Duncan tea towels. You're B&B guests will be very impressed by your acute sense of style ;)

All my love XO
L