From my window in Brooklyn I can see one tree branch covered in yellow and orange leaves. Can you believe it’s fall? Can you believe it’s still hot out? I’m so ready for winter! Of course I’m sure I’ll be saying just the opposite after a few weeks of snow, but in New York City, pining for the next season is par for the course. It’s like decorating for Halloween; exchanging disavowals of shorts, endorsing closet rummaging and dusting off of snow boots are all part of October’s festivities. But I digress. What I really wanted to say is that here in my little map workshop (picture a table with lots of paper, pens and watercolors spread out all over the place), I have been buried under a mountain of maps. It’s been great. But it also means less time to post.

Above is a map I did over the summer for a lovely couple getting married in Colorado. One of my personal favorite states––the mountains, the sun, the skiing, the sun, the rock-climbing––Colorado has plenty of environmental attributes to work with. Buffalo, for one. This simple flat map with digital color has just a few key icons to make it pop.

Below is a little roundup of some more summer maps including Dallas, Napa and Palo Alto.

Hello All, It’s been a while since I posted…but it’s map season! So far I’ve mapped cities across the country, worked on some very different projects (an all-in-one invite, more to come…), met up with a few wonderful clients in New York City, and am planning on some very big changes for spring. Because of all this though I am wiped and haven’t been posting!

This Sunday a friend (and fellow NYC blogger) and I are cooking up something fun to share with you. More soon, I promise!

P.S.

The beautiful photo was taken by Clara Róman, check out her here flickr here.

It’s a steamy day here in New York City (83 in Central Park…real feel? 96). Riding my bike over the Manhattan Bridge today (running a few errands and getting a steam facial while I was at it) the heat-haze made it look like the fireworks had already been set off.  Nonetheless, it was beautiful in its own city-ness.

Since I’ve heard fireworks every evening for the past week, I’m sure the sidewalks tonight will be chocked full of sparklers, glow-worms, fountains and spinners.  I guess we’ll have to make up for Texas and New Mexico; both too dry and too bedraggled from fires to allow any added sparks to their air this year.

And, this fourth of July makes it one year since we drove out of California. Hard to believe…

Enjoy your barbecues, soda-pops and Yankee Doodle cocktails everyone!

(Above Image re-blogged from TikiPop blog)

Just for fun: a few images I found around the ol’ internet closet today.

Happy Father’s Day! It just so happens that this year the boy’s dad is staying with us. The two of them just got back from a road trip to Washington, D.C. where they were checking out the museums, monuments, and landmarks. I was jealous of course but someone had to hold down the fort (and maybe I had just a little too much work to do…). They brought me back a great souvenir, something to add to my collection of mugs and tea cups. George Washington and I share initials you see.

On the bottom are two old pictures of our dads — Number 1, on the left, is my pop and number 2 is the boy’s. I love the banjo pic (and it has two generations of dads in it!).

Lake George, New York

It’s been a little while since I posted — I got caught up in new maps this season! And what a season it’s turning out to be…

This Lake George map was finished just after I got to New York (seems so long ago already). It’s a complex elevated map that was letterpressed by the Aerialist Press along with the rest of the couple’s suite. To begin this map the wedding planner sent me a few images to give me an idea of styling, and that’s when I first learned about Jacques Liozu from iDIY blog. Check out his maps, they’re amazing and inspired me to include a border similar to a traditional map (with longitude and latitude marked) along with the map scale on the bottom left.

A few blogs that I keep an eye on (for obvious reasons). A little food, a little design, a lot of New York City: these beautiful blogs offer comforting color during a very cold winter. Enjoy!

Key:

1. The Color Kitchen

2. Kate Spade NY

3. Slow Like Honey

4. Love and Olive Oil

If you’re ever in need of a little holiday cheer–even in say, August–head to Santa Fe, New Mexico on Google Street View, where it’s Christmas all year round. It was incredibly fun going for an internet walk around the streets of Santa Fe while illustrating this map – the lights and garlands hanging from the lamp posts and balconies of the downtown area were very charming.

Besides perennial yuletide cheer, Santa Fe is a great city to illustrate. If ever there was an American town with a distinct look, it would be Santa Fe  -  flat roofs and wooden dowels along the  tops of  facades, rough stick fences and Southwestern architectural embellishments.

This bride requested a fully elevated map with the birds she saw on a Mackinac island map. Along with a few added icons to highlight wedding sites, this map was a Complex Elevated map. On the back (notice the “please turn over” at the bottom) is additional information for guests such as room rates and directions. Since this would be an out-of-town wedding, the bride and groom wanted to give their guests plenty of time to decide whether they could make it to Santa Fe, book flights, hotels, etc., so this map is a Save the Date with plenty of planning info.

This map was printed in-house on cream, linen paper and matching envelopes.

I love when a map order comes with a built-in theme like sailing. This Rhode Island bride sent me a rough sketch of what she had in mind which included two nautical flags (see the left corner). Additionally, the reception was going to be held at a yacht club and had its own flag. Add a lighthouse, a sailboat, a bridge – et voilà – we had a maritime map. This map was delivered in both blue and black digital files for a DIY print job.

There’s more to come from this Save the Date, but for now, it’s a secret…