Dear Jens, Get Well Soon. Love, Notions & Potions.

packaged in poppy

Petite packages made for those I have yet to meet, in shades of pristine poppy. See more about poppy potency: Poppy crop circles and poppies in Oz...

que sera

Recent correspondence from my grandfather expressed concern over the messy nature of my hair in photographs he had previously been sent. My reply came in the form of peanut butter cookies and a portrait of myself with my hair done up like Doris Day. His reply came in the form of some of the best grandpa advice I've heard in awhile. Such comforting words to receive in the midst of so much uncertainty.

colors & cupcakes

Miss Ella drew me a "picsha," as a thank-you exchange for my honey-banana cupcakes. Her colors remind me that print does matter, and of Printed Matter, a book that will forever inspire. 

white and black

Splurged last eve and bought the new Fever Ray album, haunting and beautiful and best listened to with eyes wide open, in the dark of the night. Plus, check out this most pristine publication, a beauty I've been eyeing recently...wish I could get my hands on a copy.

when i grow up \ i want to be a forester \ run through the moss on high heels \ that's what i'll do

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wild strawberries

The sun came out today, and so this finally seems seasonally appropriate. Mmmmm produce. Farmers market season is finally here!

graduation celebration

My little brother graduated yesterday eve. Congrats, philly cheeseball! How does it feel?

play all day

Though it came belated, this book was a rather suitable graduation gift for myself: Play All Day, brought to you by the ever-impeccable gestalten.
Featuring a fetching little game by Miller Goodman...
Lovely programmes and posters by JUNO GmbH & Co (website?)...
...And the amazing Fuji Kindergarten design by Kashiwa Sato. Learn more here (thanks, JZK).

Today I grapple with the guilt of material production, situated in a society of consumers. I question my own place within this sphere of printed matter. That is to say, do books matter?

let's play

Dear Grown-up, Way back in the mid-19th century, a man named Friedrich Froebel invented Kindergarten when he founded the Play Activity Institute in 1837. He was a pioneer in early childhood education, and a strong advocate for the importance of free play in children. His Kindergarten classes were structured around a series of "gifts," designed to be given to a child in order to inspire innovation and self-directed activity. These concepts spread around the world, and as a result, the young students attending the first Kindergartens grew up to be some of the most innovative and creative thinkers of the 20th century. From the founders of the Bauhaus and modernist art movements, to American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, many young minds blossomed and thrived simply because they were given the gift of play.

Let's Play––the Make-it, Build-it, Paste-it, Do-it Super Fantastic Fun Kit!––was inspired by the ideals that Friedrich Froebel put forth so many years ago, along with recent scientific research working to promote the importance of play in the lives of both children and adults. In our fast-paced, high-tech modern society, we are losing sight of how beneficial unstructured, free, creative play can be to our physical, emotional, and cognitive well-being. 

Let's Play was designed to bring the gift of play to those who need it most. Working with Olmsted County Social Services, I created this kit to be used as a tool to engage young children in at-risk home environments, and help parents and caregivers learn to bond with the child while realizing the benefits of free, creative play in their own lives.

It is my hope that the simple materials inside of these kits can bring the gift of play into a child's life––inspiring a lifelong love of curiosity and ingenuity, and serving as a creative outlet wherein dreams are born, inventions are made, and imaginations are allowed to run wild...

Happy Playing!  Aimee Gauthier, May 2009

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(what precedes is a glimpse into my senior thesis project, a semester-long labour of love that is still in its final stages of production. click on an image for a closer view...)

delicious dishes

My recent travels north brought me to a lovely roadside flea market, wherein the dishes looked good enough to eat. I bought this souvenir tray–– 

an ode to the dandelions.