The new issue of Utterly Engaged is out and I am very honored to be part of it.  Special thanks to Floral Design & Stylist Fleuretica, Kelley Lee Gin of Picture Perfect Events, and Eva Chiou of Red Velvet Occasions for making the shoot possible!  See the spreads here.  And sharing some behind the scene photos with you.  :)

First of all, thank you all for your kind words during my difficult times.  I can't believe how lucky I am.  :)

Here's a new idea I'm starting, it's called "Hello, Inspiration!"  I've been traveling a lot lately and seeing new things and places.  So I invited local bloggers to point me to businesses that I should visit and introduce to my blog audiences.

My first guest blogger is Courtney from one of my favorite design bloggers, Design Work Life; as well as Heart vs. Heart.  Located in New York, I knew she'll point me to some cool places to visit.  One of the places she listed was Greenwich Letterpress.  It is such a cute and charming store filled with "mouth watering" goodies and an in-house custom stationary design service.

GREENWICH LETTERPRESS

39 Christopher St
(between 4 St & 4th St)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 989-7464

www.greenwichletterpress.com

Here's a cute little interview I did with one of the creative owners, Beth Salvini.  *Thanks, Beth, for taking the time to talk to me and welcomed me to your store!*

1) What is your background?  And what is the history of your shop?

My sister Amy and I own the shop. I have a background in painting and Amy in graphic design. Both of us found ourselves living in New York at the same time and looking for a career change. We come from a family of printers, our grandfather, father, and great uncles all ran print shops. (Our father still does). We were not however looking to take over the family business. Amy was inspired by an article that our Mom clipped out about a woman doing letterpress wedding invitations in California. The idea of keeping the family tradition alive and incorporating her aesthetics into an artisanal print shop seemed like the perfect union. Once I decided to partner with Amy the original idea expanded into a retail shop as well as our own product line. Now almost four years later Amy is in charge of our custom letterpress work, I buy for and run our retail space, and together we design our card line.

2) Where do you find your inspiration?

Pop culture! On my days off I tend to stay home and work in my studio with episodes of Twin Peaks on. Lately I've been on my bicycle a lot which has been very inspiring. I can't speak for my sister, but judging by her designs I think nature in the form of The Museum of Natural History or The Bronx Zoo.

3) What do you love about your business?

I think we both love that its ours. Being your own boss isn't a golden ticket, but at the end of the day it puts a lot of issues in perspective.

4) Other than wedding invites, any fun ideas Greenwich Letterpress can do
for wedding couples?

We are going to start offering a wedding cake topper that can be customized by a great company in North Carolina. We are toying with the idea of table numbers and a few other top secret ideas. When time permits I think we are headed in that direction. Stay tuned.

5) What's your favorite lunch spot?  (Gotta throw that in, right?  hehe)

When we need delivery in a pinch, Gobo. When we have fake lunch meetings, Blue Ribbon Sushi. ha ha ha.

Sometimes we need to grow up and move on that we must say 'good bye' to the ones we love.  Never knew this would be the last shot I took with him next to me.  I wish he will live a better life and find someone that truly deserves him.  Sunset will never be the same to me...

"Love the heart that hurts you, but never hurt the heart that loves you." - Vipin Sharma

"True love does not come by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." - Jason Jordan

"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread." - Mother Teresa

"Perfect love is rare indeed - for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain." - Leo Buscaglia

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it was, and always will be yours. If it never returns, it was never yours to begin with." - Unknown

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." - Franklin P. Jones

"True love never lives happily ever after - true love has no ending." - K Knight

"We are, each of us angels with only one wing; and we can only fly by embracing one another." - Luciano de Crescenzo

"Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much perfoms much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well." - Vincent Van Gogh

"In all that we do let us do it for love." - Chris Cotton

"Love fails, only when we fail to love." - J. Franklin

"Where there is great love there are always miracles." - Willa Cather

"To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another." - G.W. Von Leibnitz

"Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." - Iris Murdoch

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." - Barbara Johnson

"Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice." - Nora Roberts

"Love is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound." - Maureen Duffy

"It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters." - Mother Teresa

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, it's what you are expected to give — which is everything." - Unknown

"If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater." - Unknown

I met Jennifer at Jose Villa Workshop last year and she's been a wonderful friend ever since.  I'm always thankful of her reached out and let me be her second shooter when I was so new in the industry.  I am even more honored to be asked to photograph her and her son, Fox.  Aren't they so cute and stylish?  :)

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Venise came along too and she fell in love with Fox instantly.  Too cute!

I'll be out of the office from September 3rd to 6th.  Internet service will be limited, but I'll try my best to reply everyone's email.  This time I am off to New York to shoot a wedding, which I'm very much looking forward to.  I plan to bring my little toy camera and shoot some NY street scenes with it, can't wait!

Below are some of my favorite New York photos that I want to share with you.

Stay tuned for my 2009 NY travel photos.  In the meantime, have a wonderful long weekend, my friends!

Day 2 of my Vancouver trip is up on my food&travel blog!