Welcome Fall!

by Mari Robeson in ,

Fall is my favorite time of the year! I'm heading into the later part of 2014 with a grateful heart.  I am so thankful that I am doing what I LOVE for a living and for all the wonderful people I have met and collaborated with this year. On the horizon are three collaborations I look forward to sharing with you! Until then, enjoy these last few days of warm days and nights and let's pray that California gets blessed with a lot of rain this coming season!

A Little Behind The Scenes With Palette Arts!

by Mari Robeson in ,

"Beatrice" with her Certificate Of Authenticity Available Exclusively At The Pink Pagoda.

Yesterday I picked up several prints to be sent off to their new homes around the country. I'm so fortunate that one of the best printers in the USA is right here in California and is only 15 miles from me. This is really an amazing story because when I started the process of selling my artwork I looked all over the world! I had samples from China and other overseas countries but the quality of the canvas just wasn't there. At the time it never occurred to me to look in California so unfortunately I did it the hard way. Finally looking and finding the best right in my own back yard! So if you are an artist looking to reproduce your work let me tell you I've already done your homework and if you want the best quality for your images I highly recommend Palette Arts! I simply adore Les and his incredibly attention to detail. He's one of the most meticulous graphic designer & printer I have ever met. He has extensive knowledge in his field as well as web design and social media.

What really resonated with me is both of our commitment to the highest quality available for the products we produce. My art prints are printed on premium heavy weight watercolor paper with colorfast inks that last 100 years. It's truly museum quality at it's highest level. You can read more about his process here.

I want to thank everyone who has ever ordered an art print or giclee from me! Your patience in this process is greatly appreciated and I want you to know that I have searched high and low to bring you the best product made in the USA! Thank you so much for supporting the arts and small business in California. I am deeply grateful!

Get The Look From Studio Ten 25!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

I just had to repost this Gorgeous Mood Board that the incredibly talented Abbe Fenimore (OMG! Watch the video!) put together on her blog today. The colors are so fresh and inviting, I seriously want to "Get The Look" for my own home and I was even more thrilled to see our Ballet TuTu Art Print included!

Make sure you take a minute and pop over to her shop because she has added new categories and beautiful new products! Seriously one of the best places to shop on the web for gorgeous Home Decor! StudioTen25.com

Happy Bamboo Friday!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

A designer once said to me, “You should always have one piece of Asian furniture in your home.” I never asked her exactly why but I can imagine it’s to show that you are worldly? I thought it was kind of funny actually because I don’t think you should have anything in your home that you don’t find to be useful or that you absolutely love. I happen to love anything chinoiserie so I suppose I would have this designers approval, not that I would even care. Decorate your home with what you Love!

In honor of the fantastic designer Parker Kennedy and his Bamboo Fridays, this one is for you! Happy Friday y'all!

 

Decor Amour For The Pink Pagoda!

by Mari Robeson in , , , , ,

I feel so blessed. Really...

I adore the wonderful people I have met here on the www! Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda is incredibly talented and truly a wonderful human being. I love collaborating with her and our creative brain storming together! It's really wonderful when people can connect on a creative level and working with her has been exceptional. I was just thrilled when I saw this Mood Board she created with "Beatrice" the Zebra. It is so colorful and whimsical! If this is for a little girl then I want to be 10 again! :-) You can get all the details on her blog.

Things Are Getting A Little Wild Around Here!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

I love a little animal print! “Little” being the important word here. Animal prints can be very bold so think about just using one type of print and selectively placing it in an area of impact. In other words, be conservative.

I also love animals so please only use the faux versions. I adore the look of a fabulous faux zebra rug angled on the floor. It makes me think this person must be well traveled or at least they are quite adventurous, but I really don’t want it to be a real skin. That just makes me sad. You can easily create the story of the well traveled person without harming anyone! Do not even get me started on elephant tusks! Those only belong to the elephant!

Some places you might consider adding a little “Roar” would be on the seat of a chair, an accent pillow, a rug, or a throw blanket. If you want to add animal print wallpaper, you may want to consider using it on an accent wall or on the back-side of a book case. Just a splash of animal reads sophisticated. Animal prints on all four walls would feel like a safari gift shop.

If you’re just not that person who can see yourself living with a wall covered in zebra stripes, it may suite you better to hang a painting of a zebra but I’m personally a fan of a little animal pattern play in a room. It fits my personality. It’s a design motif you can easily try without a whole lot of commitment or you can just get yourself a fabulous kitty cat, that will do the trick too!

1 Designer Jana Beck's Gorgeous Brush Stroke Lamp Coming Soon! // 2 Cameron Gold Leaf Black Velvet Chair From ShopTen25 prrrrrr // 3  Gold Leaf Square Table also from ShopTen25 //4 "Beatrice" The Zebra Exclusively Painted By Muah For The Pink Pagoda  5 Jonathan Adler Zebra Rug from Zinc Door

Thank You Chinoiserie Chic For The Lovely Feature!

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

I literally LOVE to see how people style my paintings and my textiles! I almost fell off my chair when I saw how Beth from Chinoiserie Chic put together this beautiful design board on her Fablulous Friday Finds blog post! It is simply stunning & I think I need to have that ceramic zebra in my life! Thank you so much Beth! Make sure you check out her gorgeous blog & while you're at it, head over to The Pink Pagoda where you can purchase Beatrice The Zebra! A special thank you and shout out to Jennifer as well because it was her vision of a whimsical zebra that inspired my painting....AND if it wasn't for the wonderful Linda of Calling It Home we would have never met. It was her One Room Challege that brought us together, so a huge Thank You to you too Linda! Wow! So much goodness & it's Friday! I think it's time to call it quits and have a celebratory glass of champs! 

New! Exclusively For The Pink Pagoda!

by Mari Robeson in , ,

I'm not sure why this is, but the Nicest People live in Texas! Over the past few years I have had the pleasure to collaborate with some of the most talented designers in that state. Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda is no exception! I was thrilled when we connected on Instagram. I admire her beautiful blog and sense of design, in her own artwork as well as her interior design. When she reached out to me with a few ideas I was honestly quite flattered and excited to work with her! She discribed to me her vision of porcelean elephants with her blue & white pottery on top and whimsical flowers...in pink, of course! This is what I came up with. You can now purchase the 16" x 20" prints exclusively in her shop, which is Loaded with other gorgeous treasures that you must check out!

We also played around with the idea of a zebra and pink flowers. The first go around I came up with "Juliette" (seen on my previous post & now available in my shop) and now you can meet her Shakesperian sister "Beatrice" in The Pink Pagoda's Shop!

Introducing Juliette!

by Mari Robeson in , ,

Lately I've had the pleasure to work with a really lovely designer-blogger! Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda & I have been collaborating on a fun little project we will be sharing with you this week! Jennifer had some wonderful ideas that she had asked me to illustrate for her website. It was so much fun that I had to make a sister painting for my own Shop. Meet Juliette! She is part of my new Cabanna Collection. She plays very nicely with my New Zebra Pillows too! Oh So Safari Chic! Make sure to back this week to see what we've come up with tgether!

 

Werk!

by Mari Robeson in , ,

I know, I know....crickets over here! June has been incredibly busy! I've been quietly working away on multiple projects and look forward to sharing with you soon! One of the projects I'm most excited about is a book I'm writing and illustrating! I hope to be among these greats one day!

Also on the horizon is a very fun collaboration with The Pink Pagoda! I'll be sharing more about that next week! I you are enjoying a fantastic summer and working on projects that bring you joy!!! 

 

June's Free Desktop Wall Paper & The Pink Pagoda!

by Mari Robeson in ,

This month I'm thrilled to be teaming up with the very talented, Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda! I have always admired Jennifer's work and design aesthetic. Her love of chinoiserie and blue & white ginger jars is simply contagious! Her blog is full of inspiration and one you must add to your blog roll. I was so honored when Jennifer asked me to create some original watercolor art prints for her gorgeous shop. We talked and she shared with me her ideas on what she wanted and I've taken it from there. Until then (soon) I've created this Free Desktop Wallpaper with The Pink Pagoda as my inspiration. It's for you to enjoy and share for your personal use. If you would like to share please credit back to myself as the creator of the artwork. Happy June everyone!!! 

iPad  // iPhone  //  Desktop

Let's Work Together!

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

My word for 2014 is "Collaboration" and this year I have worked with so many wonderful shops, designers & bloggers. I love it and realized this is something I would most certainly like to continue to do. My latest project is with the lovely Jennifer, from The Pink Pagoda. Here's a sneak peek of my new watercolors that will be available exclusively on her site! More details to come soon!

If you're interested in having your own exclusive art created for your shopping site or clients, shoot me an email!!

One Room Challenge - Week 6 The Final Reveal - Studio Make Over!

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

Today's the day! The Big Reveal...ok sort-of-big Reveal. After looking through all the amazing design blogs I was so impressed with the level of accomplishments my fellow bloggers achieved with their make-overs! Since the entire process of the One Room Challenge was all new to me, I started with a room that just needed a little sprucing up, My Studio, which is up there, in my attic. My husband & I designed and built our house ten years ago and I've always loved the attic space as my studio but it's funky because...it's an attic! 

I have to thank Linda of Calling It Home for putting this challenge together because it was huge motivation to go through and clear the clutter, not only in my studio, but in my entire house! The other really wonderful aspect of the challenge that I enjoyed more than anything was meeting so many incredibly talented designers. The banter over Gold Spray Paint on Instagram with so many of you especially, Emilie of Shell And Chinoiserie, kept my laughing through this entire process. Make sure you check out her reveal. We both purchased the same desk but she seriously glammed it up with some Gold Legs! Just fantastic!

So here we go. It all started with this cat. When cleaning out my studio I found all kinds of things that I had forgotten about long ago. When I found my daughters cat (she's now 15) it brought back a flood of happy memories, so outside to the tarp she went where she received a shiny new coat of Gold along with cabinet knobs (still haven't found ones that I REALLY Love so these will do for now), my card racks, mason jars & a gold vase.

I was pretty happy with all the items I painted gold...so fast...and easy...such instant gratification, one might even dare to say addicting! 

I'm an Interior Designer but I also have a line of textiles, art prints and cards. Everything in my studio is my work. The rack has some of my pillow collections, if you weren't sure what that was. :-)

Then came the "Heart of Gold" gallery wall. Painting it took a while because I used a brush when actually the best way to paint anything metalic is to spray it on. Then came hanging the pictures. I made a template but I will tell you that hanging picture frames level and straight was no simple task! THEN, back in Week 2 when I was being soooooo organized, I had forgotten that I filed all the paintings I wanted to hang on the wall. Of course I found all of them neatly stashed away, AFTER I had hung all the others. Good Grief! So down some of them came and I switched them out to this final design.

Onto the Rug. My attic can be super chilly or super hot sometimes. Luckily I'm in California so the weather is usually very nice but when it get's cold a fuzzy rug warms everything up! I shopped for a couple of weeks to find one I liked but there was always some issue. I actually had this one in storage which, guess what?, I found when I was cleaning out the rest of my house! I'm telling you Spring Cleaning is a great idea in more ways than one!! I love having my pillows and poufs all around me & Willow Loves it too!

Really the only thing I purchased for this make-over was some gold paint, frames & the desk (which I love!) It was more about setting aside the time to make the space feel good to me which was really fun! Fresh flowers are a must for me in every room. These are from my garden. Sometimes it's a race between me and the deer to see who gets them! 

I meet with clients in my studio, so I have a stocked mini-fridge at all times. 6 Weeks of One Room Challenge complete. I do believe that calls for some Champs! Cheers!

Make sure you check out all the One Room Challenge make-overs! You will be incredibly inspired!

Please make sure to check out Calling It Home & all the other amazing blogger/designers making beauty in the world!

Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //

Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //

Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //

My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House

Thank you again Calling It Home! See you in October! 

Decor <3 Amour - Desk Accessories I Love! Week 5 of the One Room Challenge

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

Week 5 of The One Room Challenge involved painting my Heart Of Gold for my gallery wall, sourcing a rug (that's a funny story - I'll share tomorrow!) and shopping for desk accessories. I realized when shopping that I was, just a tad, over my budget but just LOVED these items I found.  This is my Decor <3 Amour; Desk Accessories I Love & am kind of obsessed with!!!

Some things that are a must for me on my desk are Always fresh flowers, good lighting (I'm obsessed with this lamp!!!!), & a pretty note pad to jot down thoughts on a whim. I keep seeing this Day Designer organizer by Whiney English. Does anyone have it? Would you recommend? It's just lovely to look at so I can only imagine it must be wonderful inside too! 

I'm also just in LOVE with everything from Times Two Design & this acrylic business card holder is no exception, it's even PINK People!!! Love, Love, Love! Having that on my desk would make me happy everyday! Of course having a donut on my desk would make me happy too but that wouldn't be very healthy. I do however, Love my coffee! Roar!

And who says function can't be pretty too? A-Dorable Bow paperclips, erasers & clock are all from Kate Spade, who else? 

That's pretty much my list of items I would Amour to have on my desk!

Huge celebration dinner party tonight for my Daughter's Team winning State Cup...of course it's at my house! I may be a little late but I will post my One Room Challenges for Week 5 tomorrow!

1 Jana Brass Adjustable Table Lamp from ShopTen25.com  2 Times Two Design Acrylic Card Holder from ShopTen25.com  3 Acrylic Stapler from DesignDarling.com