The High Tea Party has a makeover of its own

Because a change is as good as a cup of tea with some tiny tasty sweet morsels... this year the wonderful Alison at The High Tea Party decided it was time to give this all-things-feminine brand a breath of new life. We have loved working on this project and took it upon ourselves to recreate this identity to be one which inspired whimsical optimism in both the guests and the partners who loyally return to the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane events each year. We wanted to capture the experience of a day at The High Tea Party as being an escape from the everyday – where mothers, daughters, girlfriends and sisters could meet up, feel gorgeous and be delighted. The result is a collection of hand-drawn and softly collaged elements which come together to create a pretty, sunshiny new image. Their website is yet to be completely finished, but still looks great and you can see it here. To celebrate the makeover, tickets this week are only $65: check out their facebook page for more info.

Pantone Color of the Year 2013

I'm not entirely sure that Pantone's Colour of the Year announcements aren't self-fulfilling prophesies. Nor am I all that comfortable really with the makers of my printing swatch book (or at least the descendants of the makers of my swatch book) should be informing me of what colour I should be filling this season's wardrobe with or indeed, which hue my eyelashes should be. In any case, I have to admit this is a fun idea and a nice way to introduce the graphic designers' referencing system to the shiny white tiled floor of David Jones. Buy it online at Sephora.

Ashley Goldberg

Since I'm planning a visit to Portland OR sometime soon (Yipppeee!) I thought I should probably get listening to The Decemberists a bit more, and find some other artists which have come out of this bohemian (in the traditional sense of the word) city. Ashley Goldberg's illustrations have a naivety and an unhindered creativity which is really charming. Check out the prints of her  at her seemingly asian-inspired illustrations at her Etsy store.