It’s time for another edition of blog headers…wonderfully beautiful fonts are floating around like crazy over the internet!
Any faves?
Blog Spotlight
Collaboration. Honesty. Respect. These are just some of the words that I repeatedly wrote in my notebook at this past weekend’s BlogPodium in Toronto. Bloggers, PR agents, and brands artfully invaded the Hyatt hotel on King Street on Saturday to learn and share strategies about the world of blogging.
photo by Jordana
This year’s BlogPodium, just as in previous years, completely impressed me. Organized by co-founder Jennifer Flores (Rambling Renovators) and her BlogPodium 2013 crew, the event showcased the important work of bloggers, the brands that recognize their influential abilities, and the ways in which bloggers have come together over the last several years to form one of the most engaged, vibrant, and energetic communities around.
decorations by Minted, styling by We Create Hoopla; photo by Jordana
This BlogPodium was an extra special one for me as I gave my first blog-focused conference presentation. Several months ago, I submitted a proposal to Jennifer after a BlogPodium Call for Presenters was released. A little while after I sent in my submission, Jennifer put me in touch with Giulia Doyle (Audrey’s) and suggested that we partner. Our topic? Balancing a day job and a successful blog. While Giulia and I had never met, I was excited to work with her and give back to the blogging community through this presentation.
Over the period of a few months, Giulia and I worked together (via Skype, telephone, Dropbox, and email) to write two posts for the BlogPodium blog (one and two) and to prepare a cohesive presentation for BlogPodium attendees. I am so grateful to Jennifer for brining Giulia and me together. Not only did I learn about Giulia’s approach to blogging, but I appreciated her professionalism, her commitment, and her creativity. Giulia – thank you. (It surprised many attendees to find out that Giulia and I only met about 2 hours before our presentation. Kind of cool, right?). For those who are interested in our full presentation, the slides should be available soon via the BlogPodium site.
me and Giulia; photo by Anna With Love
Presenting at BlogPodium was hugely satisfying for me and it allowed me to connect with bloggers – new and experienced – on a whole new level. We were able to take our conversations offline and speak in sentences that were longer than 140 characters. While I love the online world, face-to-face interaction is hard to beat.
photo by Giulia Doyle
Another highlight for me was Sarah Richardson‘s keynote speech. She was funny, intelligent, and engaging. She was approachable, spoke clearly and with ease, and really shared how hard work, determination, and talent, got her to where she is today. Having respect for colleagues, being nice, and working collaboratively, were just some of the points that she shared during her presentation. Creating successful relationships has been a really important contributing factor to her success.
Sarah Richardson & Jennifer Flores; photo by Anna With Love
Lunch was good…but dessert was amazing! Way to go Hyatt!
bloggers love chocolate, right?
Lunch was extremely enjoyable for me as I had the pleasure of sitting with such a talented and diverse group of bloggers. Thanks to Christine (Just Bella), Brittany (Gallery No. Eight), Megan (Hodge Podge), Gabrielle (Bee and Daddoo), and Sara (Saige Wisdom) for sharing your stories.
After lunch we heard from a panel of influential blog & magazine insiders: Margot Austin, Jacqueline Clark, Emma Reddington, and Rhonda Richie. This panel was moderated by the uber-talented Leigh-Ann Allaire. Oh man – she always always asks the questions that I am itching to ask. She know what to say and when to say it – she’s a talented moderator and I look forward to seeing more of her soon. This group of presenters shared their experiences with publishing – online and offline.
I am also pleased to recognize the generosity of the sponsors and exhibitors. They spoiled us with artistic, useful, and pretty supplies (everything from paint to caulking to candy to fabric)!
Sarah Richardson + Kravet
dishes at Urban Barn
Poppin in white at Chapters-Indigo
BlogPodium 2013 will always be something that I look back on with incredibly happy memories. Thanks again to the attendees, presenters, and sponsors for making this day so fun!
Cheers!
*Note: The original post vanished after it was published due to a server error. This piece was written from an earlier draft.
I love this gorgeous crepe paper peony made by the incredibly talented and donut loving Tiffanie Turner.
It was Tiffanie who inspired me to create this beautiful braided basket. I finished my basket long ago but because of the move, I have yet to photograph it and feature it on the blog. I will eventually!
And here’s another round-up of lovely black and white blog headers…and some extra reading material for your holiday Monday (in Canada). Like the other posts in this series, most of the content of these blogs are very colourful, which is why I’m extra glad to see them have such simple black and white headers. I love the variety of fonts that have been used in these headers.
Design: Blog Headers IV
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Categories: Blog Spotlight, Design
Here we go – part III of the blog headers series*
and Lona’s Etsy shop:
 
*I didn’t know this was going to become a series when I wrote this post. I love when things evolve naturally.
Okay so – yeah – I have pretty exciting news to share. Ready? Here it is – I will be presenting at this fall’s BlogPodium! (Did the above logo give it away?) BlogPodium is Canada’s conference for design and lifestyle bloggers and I couldn’t be more happy and proud to be involved in this wonderful event.
Me and Giulia are co-presenting a session about work-life balance. Our session will be full of great tips and tools that we use to organize our blogging lives and to expand our knowledge of this creative field. You can view the full schedule here. As you’ll see, Sarah Richardson – The Sarah Richardson – will be the keynote speaker!
Past BlogPodium events have left me energized, engaged, motivated, and excited and I have no doubt that I will, once again, be amazed by the people I meet and the things I learn. Bloggers of any stage of their blogging careers will surely enjoy the full day event. I encourage you to attend and if you do, please be sure to say hello!
Photos of BlogPodium 2012 via Mango Studios.
I’ve been meaning to feature more black and white headers since this post but I got side-tracked. Oops. Today’s the day! The typefaces in these blog headers are quite different but each quite attractive. (Don’t forget to click on the logos so you can see all the goodies at each site!)
Today I thought I’d highlight some of my mom’s regular go-to websites. After she stops in at White Cabana (her first stop online, obviously), she clicks onto these sites (yes, usually in this order) to see what’s going on around the world…
1. 8foot6. This is a daily read for my mom, my sister, and me. The three of us lead very different lives but Shannon at 8foot6 appeals to us all. My mom, sister and I often touch base and discuss Shannon’s daily updates (Shannon – if you’re reading this – we seriously do talk about all the goodness that you’ve got going on in your home!). We love Shannon’s home, her photos, and her growing Pyrex collection. We are also impressed with how much she manages to do with two toddlers in Toronto.
via 8foot6
2. The Enchanted Home. My mom loves following this blog and often gives me the update about what changes Tina (the author) has made to her incredible home or what new orchids or plants she has placed in her massive collection of blue and white ceramics. Tina’s home is not just gorgeous – it’s pretty spectacular. She has amazing taste in fabrics and decor and watching her build her house from start to finish was a real treat for us readers.
 via The Enchanted Home
3. My French Country Home. My mom’s third (well, fourth if we count White Cabana) stop around the internet is My French Country Home. My mom keeps me informed about Sharon’s horses and her tours of the brocantes (flea markets) in France. Like Tina, her property in Normandy is pretty incredible.
4. After White Cabana, 8foot6, My Enchanted Home and My French Country Home, my mom usually clicks on the blogroll (aka the list at the side of the blog) at My Enchanted Home to see what else might be interesting on a particular day. Often she clicks onto French Essence.
via French Essence
5. Kijiji and Craigslist. My mom loves Kijiji and Craigslist. She has dragged me to who knows where to buy who knows what random one of a kind item for her home. She entertains me with her incredible searching skills. Honestly. My mom can find anything you need at an incredible price. It’s a talent like I’ve never seen before. Her determination and persistance in finding beautiful high quality items at incredible prices is really to be admired.
via Craigslist
Happy weekend! Wishing everyone a wonderful mother’s day. (Is there such thing as aunt’s day?)
While there are so many colourful blogs out here on the internet, I have recently noticed that a lot of them are sticking to simple black and white branding. I’m a fan!
I’m gearing up for a few weeks of travel…beginning with a trip back to Florida…today! Hooray! I am so looking forward to some quality beach time so let’s hope the sun continues to shine!
Here are some thoughts about my trip – with the help of Mark Addison Smith‘s amusing illustrations:
So…here I go, off to the United States again…
I am using only a carry-on for this short escape so I have only packed two outfits and two swim suits because…
I haven’t packed any lotions, gels, drinks or food because I’m not sure if…
I hope that when I come back in a few days people might say to me…
because I’ll have a tan.
Right?
Happy Weekend!
Images via Mark Addison Smith’s You Look Like the Right Type.
I don’t often give shout outs to blogs in posts because I feel like that’s what my blogroll is for. If you have a peek over at that list you’ll see some of the blogs that I enjoy reading on a daily and weekly basis. But there are so many great white (and colouful) blogs out there and, probably like you, I am always stumbling upon some new-to-me blogs. Today I’d like to shine the Friday Five spotlight on some of these gems.
Sous Style, headed up by Australian-born, Brooklyn-based Pippa Lord, is a great resource for inspiring home decor and recipes. The blog has some amazing regular features like Wake Up Call and Cook For Me. And I especially like the blog’s manifesto (copied below).
Sous Style
I only came across 79 Ideas, a blog written by Radostina, a graphic-designer based in Prague (hello – I love Prague). It’s such a soft blog and so pleasant to read. I enjoyed reading through Radostina’s likes and dislikes, some of which are copied below. Be sure to flip through her e-mag – it is full of the most beautiful photos.
Sarah’s blog, A Beach Cottage is gorgeous because it includes two of the things that I love: white and the beach. Really, do you really need more convincing to go read it?
the deck at A Beach Cottage
Tenessee-based Kayce Hughes is a designer, blogger, and mother of seven. I have no idea how she gets everything done. Kudos to her. Her blog is super colourful so if you need a colour fix go have a peek! Of course I’m most attracted to her more monochromatic photos (see DIY below).
Finally, Icy White is a wonderful all-white tumblr (there are a few others out there as well). It is an excellent source of white inspiration (in addition to White Cabana, of course!).
What blogs have you discovered lately? Let me know in the comments section! It’s the Canada Day long weekend here so I’ve got some time to catch up on reading (outside, of course)!
Have a wonderful weekend!
I am loving Andrew Miller’s Brand Spirit – an all white blog (well, Tumblr actually) featuring a new painted-in-white product each day. For 100 days, Andrew will paint “one branded object white, removing all visual branding, reducing the object to its purest form”.
I do wonder how he gets the paint so smooth. There’s no mention of digital work but I barely see any brush strokes on these items. Thoughts?
Images courtesy of Brand Spirit. Via Swiss Miss.
Canadian design bloggers have got it going on!
From their blogs, I already knew my blogger colleagues were a dynamic group of talented individuals. But meeting some of my blogger friends in person at two recent events – BlogPodium and the Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup – confirmed the fact that this community of bloggers is also friendly, supportive, stylish, and smart.
BlogPodium is the first and only Canadian conference series for design bloggers. I was delighted to attend the inaugural event at IDS2012 in Toronto. The founders, Jennifer Flores and Lindsay Stephenson, set the bar high and achieved success with this first event. They put together a wonderful panel of presenters – Margot Austin, Kimberley Seldon, Kate Moore, Jennifer Flores, and Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault – who shared their opinions about blogs and the media. The talk was informative, engaging, and entertaining, and the crowd of design bloggers eagerly soaked up as much information as they could. I think it is safe to say that we all wished it would have lasted just a little bit longer!
Left to right: me; IDS Founder Shauna Levy; The Panel: Kimberley Seldon, Kate Moore, Margot Austin, Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault, Jennifer Flores (photos by Jason Hudson)
The event was well-designed, well-orchestrated, and best of all, it was fun! Many thanks to Jennifer and Lindsay for organizing this event and for making us all feel so welcome. Many thanks to the presenters for their candid advice, their approachability, and for making us laugh. And of course, thank you to the many sponsors, including Delta Faucets and House & Home, for supporting our design blogger community!
***
As if BlogPodium wasn’t enough, I also had the pleasure of attending my second Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup at Brassaii in Toronto. Vitania and Daniella continue to amaze me with their dedication, their style, and their optimism. They designed a warm, welcoming, and entertaining evening of blogger fun. The meetup included talks by Cameron MacNeil and Lisa Murphy of House & Home, as well as Cassandra Lavalle of Coco+Kelley. Oh – and I must not forget the surprise speaker – Brian Gluckstein. It was great to hear the speakers’ different perspectives on the world of design blogging, the potential for collaborative opportunities, and what inspires them.
Clockwise: Cameron MacNeil, Lisa Murphy, Brian Gluckstein, Cassandra Lavalle (photos by Alessia Lamonaca)
The meetup also gave us bloggers a perfect opportunity to mingle with people who we’ve only known in the online world. For me, chatting with people whose blogs I enjoy was a real highlight of the event. So many people are doing such interesting things – hosting workshops, teaching classes, writing for magazines, designing products – the talents of this group of people is really inspiring!
Clockwise: Welcome to the meetup; Sponsor GlucksteinHome (photos by Alessia Lamonaca); Lindsay, Sharalee & me; me & Troy
Again – let me take this opportunity to thank Vitania and Daniella for organizing such a classy event, the speakers for sharing their experiences, the sponsors for their continued support, and to my fellow design bloggers for being such a cool group of people to hang out with online and in person!
Olivia’s blog, Everyday Musings, is just gorgeous. She showcases beautifully her daily experiences with food, travel and photography. I’m completely hooked!
And yes – it definitely helps that Olivia’s current adventures are in France!
This past weekend Tina of The Enchanted Home awarded me the versatile blogger award! Oh happy day!
The deal is to write 7 things about myself and to then pass on the award to 15 other bloggers.
Seven things about Jordana:
1. This past September I began an introductory Spanish course. Me gusta mucho la clase de español.
2. I love dark chocolate – especially Villars which I have yet to find in Toronto or London.
3. My mom came across the name Jordana in the movie The Pirate with Anne Archer (I’ve never seen the movie). The book of the same name (which I have now read and is on my bookshelf) is by Harold Robbins.
4. I love writing hand-written letters on pretty stationery (often it’s black & white but I do have colourful stationery too!).
5. I’ve only been to three provinces in Canada (Ontario, Quebec & New Brunswick). I really wish flights within Canada were cheaper.
6. I hate pineapple.
7. I love (really, really love) Nutella.
And now I’d like to pass on the award to 15 bloggers who are new to me, who I ready daily, who I’ve met in the past or who I would like to get to know. In alphabetical order…
8 foot 6
AKA Design
Coriander Girl
Crazy Sweet Life
Eat Live Shop
Eclectic A
Haute Pink Pretty
Interior Groupie
Just a Smidgen
La La Lovely
Little Bits of Lovely
Little Green Notebook
Moth Design
Tea for Joy
What Wilson Wants
Thanks again Tina for giving White Cabana this award!
p.s. If you haven’t checked out what Tina’s been up to – you must – her dream home/castle is unbelievable!
Canadian design bloggers have really got it going on!
photo by Leah
Last weekend I had the pleasure to meet and mingle with an amazing group of design bloggers at the Canadian design bloggers meetup held at Brassaii in Toronto. Vitania of Verdigris Vie & Daniella of Dress Design Decor organized a most beautiful event with the help of generous sponsors (IKEA, Delta, CIL, as well as House & Home, Crate & Barrel, Style at Home, Kravet, and Rowenta). The party was full of style.
at Brassaii, photo by Jordana
The very stylish Tommy Smythe shared some photos and stories from his recent trip to Scandinavia and kept the crowd laughing (photos here).
IKEA + prosecco = two of my favourite things
The event was beautifully organized, very well-attended, and it was an inspiring evening to say the least. I’m already looking forward to the next meetup – as I know many of the bloggers I met are too!
Sending out a big thank you to Jo and Kim at Desire to Inspire for featuring White Cabana on their Easter Reading Guide. Yay!
card, PAWLING
by Johanne
This Wednesday we’d like to acquaint you with What I Saw Today, a fascinating peek into what designer and illustrator Richard Haines sees every day on the streets of New York City.
You will surely recognize Richard’s hand: he is an illustrator currently working with clients J.Crew and In Style magazine, among others.
Here we’ll feature but a handful of his black & white sketches from his recent sightings at New York Fashion Week. We highly recommend skipping over to Richard’s site and checking out more of his B&W and colourful sketches.
Below, we’ve ‘named’ each illustration with the name of the blog post and any text that accompanies it as it appears on Richard’s blog.
I sketch her.
and life goes on.
Observations @ Patrik Ervell: Thick Sole Boat Shoes, Jumpsuits…
Malcom McLaren, Arena Looks.
Visited Kelly Armendariz @ Splatterpool Artspace The Other Day…
Check out all the cool stuff they have going on here:
All images courtesy of What I Saw Today by Richard Haines.
Thank you to my friend David for introducing me to Richard’s beautiful world.
I’m not left-handed but some of my most favourite people are. This post is for them!
After seeing the photos Antonia (of Swedish Love Affair) took of her colourful tulips this week, I was inspired to take photos of the beautiful white roses I have in my apartment right now.
photos by Jordana
Many thanks to Kate & Patrick for surprising me with these this week! They’re perfectly gorgeous!
An award? For White Cabana? Aw. Thanks.
The Award (the original is green)
A while back Antonia of Swedish Love Affair was kind enough to award White Cabana with the Versatile Blogger award. How fun! Thanks Antonia! (Sorry it has taken so long to post this!)
To accept the award I have to do some sharing and pass on the award to others. Here we go!
Seven things about White Cabana:
1. I (Jordana) have loved white for at least 10 years now. When I decided to start my own blog I knew it had to revolve around my love of this colour (or is it a non-colour?).
2. The name White Cabana was shortlisted on a list of about ten possible blog names. The final decision came after some late night phone conversations with my (Jordana) parents, sister and blog coach, Johanne (who also created White Cabana’s first logo).
first logo
3. Johanne and Jordana met in graduate school. Surprisingly, they grew up in the same Toronto neighbourhood.
4. Johanne and Jordana share the same nick name…Jojo. Although they pronounce it differently.
The Jojos – back in the day
5. Jordana and Mackenzie are cousins. They both love fashion.
Jordana & Mackenzie
6. Jordana, Johanne & Mackenzie use Macbooks to write all White Cabana blog posts. Mackenzie was the first Macbook user and Johanne bought hers soon after. Jordana arrived (fashionably) late to the Macbook scene (August 2010 thanks to her brother-in-law).
7. We thank our parents for supporting our efforts, for being our number one fans and for offering their advice.
And the awards go to…
1. Designs by Nina
2. Luxe + Lilies
3. Lark + Linen
4. Curious Sofa
5. The Social Secretary
6. Bea-Cici
7. I Suwannee
Happy reading everyone!
In honour of White Cabana’s upcoming first anniversary, today is all about celebration balloons.
via Danske
via Oh Darling!
via Amy Atlas
via Style Me Pretty
Wishing you all a most happy weekend.
p.s. A very happy birthday to Simon (today), Daniela (tomorrow) and Maclean (the day after).
On behalf of the White Cabana team, I would like to thank French by Design for awarding us the Stylish Blogger Award. Oh happy day!
via Crane & Co.
What am I to do now? Well, first I’m supposed to tell you 7 things about me. Then, I’m going to pass on the award to 15 recently discovered blogs. Sounds like fun! Here we go…
7 Things About Jordana
1. My nails are currently painted red. See…I like colour…sort of.
2. I speak three languages: English, French, Italian
3. I have two nephews. They are the best!
4. I had sushi for dinner tonight – spicy salmon. Yummy!
5. I curl…as in curling…you know, with a broom and a rock. How Canadian, right?
6. I collect vintage purses.
7. I like white carnations…all bunched together.
via Eddie Ross
I’m happy and excited to pass on the Stylish Blogger Award to these 15 amazing blogs from around the world:
1. Sunday Collector
2. Concrete and Honey
3. Inspiration and Design
4. Chez Larsson
5. Pinecone Camp
6. Seventy Tree
7. An Angel at my Table
8. Ett hus i vitt
9. Conversation Pieces
10. Ideas to Steal
11. An Indian Summer
12. Mitt Vita Hus
13. Vita Villa Vila
14. Varpunen
15. Le Voyage Créatif
I just love this wrapping featured on Jacqui Lewis‘ blog. I’m saving this idea for Noël 2011.
wrapped by Jacqui Lewis
p.s. I love Jacqui’s “J” logo too.
I really feel like I’m the last person to find out about What Katie Ate, a most amazing food blog based in Australia and written by the talented Katie Quinn Davies. The recipes are delicious as can be and they are complimented by beautiful photographs. This is one site that shouldn’t be missed.
Most recently, What Katie Ate published an absolutely gorgeous Christmas magazine (free for all of us to read!). It features beautiful menus, delicious recipes, and a food tour around Sydney, New York and elsewhere. Drizzled in are giveaways, gift ideas, and plenty of chocolate goodness! This issue should definitely be on your Christmas reading list!
We do love coffee art here on White Cabana and what would go well with coffee? Nutella cookies, I’d say. (My sister is probably drooling right now.)
If cranberries are more your thing – maybe you’d like to try out these macadamia beauties.
In addition to recipes, What Katie Ate featured a few chocolate shops in this issue and took us on a tour of some beautiful food stores and restaurants. Yum! Yum!
I just love how polenta is on this list of cupboard items. I thought only my family ate polenta.
Honestly – the 495 pages in this issue are stunning and well worth your time. Let me know what you think!
Happy cooking. Happy baking. Happy eating!
All images courtesy of What Katie Ate.
A white watch? Yes, please. Have a look at these beauties from Crow.
Toddy, $50, Crow Watches
Lush, $50, Crow Watches
One of my favourite blogs, hooray, is currently hosting a Crow giveaway. How great, right?
Images courtesy of Crow Watches.