the bright side project

BOOJIBOO

{please visit boojiboo here}

by Miss K

You have to admit, aside from the misogyny, bigotry, chauvinism, and the Kafka-like political ideologies, the mid century was a swell time.  Hats, brooches, gloves, heels that didn’t teeter or totter: the world was a demure fashionista’s oyster, complete with pearl necklace.  And nothing set off a pearl necklace better then a feminine apron cinched around an impossibly small waist and full skirt.  Le sigh.

Luckily, the mother and two-daughter team at Boojiboo is channeling Doris Day into some hip aprons meant to set off your classy chassis. Each vintage inspired apron is of their own design—no craft store reproductions, no ma’am.  Just fun fabrics fashioned into stylish kitchen-wear that would make even Lucy Ricardo forgo another trip to the hat store, despite her lackluster success as a baker.

Boojiboo is giving away two aprons in the winner’s choice of fabric.  That’s right—two winners!  All you have to do is answer the following question by Wednesday, June 17, 2009 for your shot at winning.

What is the one thing you find beautiful and why?

Please check the winners page on Sunday, June 21, 2009 to see if you won.  Good Luck!

PLOVER ORGANIC

{please visit plover organic here}

by Miss K

I’m sure this surprises no one, but I am a big fan of tablecloths.  I always have one on the table in the kitchen (it looks so charming with a vase of fresh cut flowers on top) and I have a wide and varied assortment of more formal table clothes for the raised pinky dinners at the dining room table.  What can I say?  I have a penchant for pomp and circumstance.

Plover Organic, clearly, is a company perfect for my grandma chic heart.  Named after an endangered short-billed shorebird indigenous to the Great Lakes and the Pacific/Atlantic coasts, Plover Organic is a home textile company unlike most in the industry.  Plover Organic fabrics are organic cotton and block printed by hand. Each step of the manufacturing process complies with Fair Trade standards, uses water judiciously, and is low impact. And they are impossibly smart looking.  Miss B would pair the vine tablecloth and dots napkins with crisp white dishes.  I thinking the same set up would look smashing with my green bubble glass and milk glass collection.  Either way, it’s a recipe for tabletop success.

Plover Organic is giving away one 60x60 tablecloth in VINE and six napkins in OLIVE DOTS to one lucky winner.  Please answer the following question by Monday, June 2009.

If you could have any six people, dead or alive, at your dinner party who would you choose to host?

Please check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 21, 2009.

DELIGHT.COM

{please visit delight here}

by Miss K

We don’t advocate sitting in front of your T.V. to eat unless it’s an emergency.  By emergency we mean season finales, reality T.V., and any show where two main characters are “totally going to get together this episode.”  The lovelies at Delight.com feel the same way, which is why they offer Lappers, the most distinctive dining trays on the market.

Lappers are made from melamine and come with indentations for your plate and beverage.  Silicone lines each indentation, which means you can jostle your tray, snuggle into the sofa, or reach over for the remote control without threat of dumping the contents of your dinner.  The dinner on your tray is as glued to the tray as you are to the T.V.

Delight.com is giving away two sets of two lappers in the print and pattern of your choice.  Two winners (yay!) will walk away with two chic trays all for answering the following question by Monday, June 15, 2009.

What is your favorite picnic food?

Please check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 21, 2099.  Good Luck!

P.S. We have a little re-design underway and have hit a bit of a bump (small) the winners will announced shortly.

LOCKETTE

{please visit lockette here}

by Miss B

I liked Lockette before I had ever laid eyes on Priscilla Locke's work.  I thought the name was so perfectly charming, now that I am privy to her pieces I am happy to tell you that her work is as well.

Locke is not only a designer but has the very important task of teacher--elementary school mind you.  She needed a creative outlet after days spent nurturing young minds.  She wasn't quite sure what that outlet would be but knew it would involve paper as she is an admitted full-fledged, card carrying 'paper junkie' (hear, hear!). She also had a love of pattern and fabric and during a flight she decided she to fuse her loves together:: Paper + Fabric= Lockette! Each piece is cut by hand and made with the extra special ingredient that makes all good things great--LOVE.

In order to win ANY set of 8 fabric notecards from Lockette, Priscilla has asked that you answer the following:

Who has been your greatest teacher, and why?

Winner will be announced on Sunday, June 14, 2009. Good luck!

JEWELRY BY JESSICA

{please visit jewelry by jessica here}

by Miss B

I was thrilled when designer Jessica Poundstone emailed us to be considered as a potential contributor for her line Jewelry by Jessica. It was a perfect fit for our Pattern + Print project (sheesh, say that five times fast).  We get many, many emails here at the BSP, I feel like a Beatle, along with those emails comes a lot of wackiness like requests to transfer funds from a foreigner in need, of course the Viagra emails are a plenty (if you need a discount on it, it seems the BSP has the connection), submissions that often don't fit the bill for the current project nor any project for that matter, we're talkin' wacky with a capital 'W'. So you can only imagine when I hold my breath open an email and see something soothing, simple and just plain pretty that I exhale a much needed sigh of relief.

Poundstone's line started as a creative craft reserved for herself and her all black wardrobe but her craft became her calling when pepole started aking where they could get their hands on her graphic, sleek pieces, she soon opened shop and now can proudly say that she has fans all over the globe.

Jessica is going to allow one lucky winner to pick their favorite piece from her store, which may be tough as I have tried for over an hour and keep changing my mind. In order to try to win your very own Jewelry by Jessica piece please answer this question:

What is your favorite color combination and why?

The lucky winner will be announced Sunday, June 14, 2009.

KHAYA COOKIE COMPANY

{please visit the khaya cookie company here}

by Miss K

You’re in for a truly sweet treat today, my fine purveyors of sunshine.  Khaya Cookie Company, the cookie company with a cause, is here to brighten up your day with a snack that makes you feel as good as it tastes.  Khaya, the Xhosa word for home, is a South African artisan cookie company that endeavors to make delectable cookies all while creating sustainable opportunities for communities in South Africa and the U.S.  How so?  Well, every 1,500 boxes of cookies sold creates 1 employment opportunity in South Africa.  Every 500 orders packed creates 4 new jobs in the Kyaya Cookie Company distribution center located in Philadelphia, PA. 

There’s even more to whet your appetite. For a limited time, Khaya Cookie Company is holding a Quest for Cape Town.  All you need to do in order to have a shot at winning a 10 day South African trip for two is enter, use your discount code, and buy 3 or more boxes of cookies.  Khaya Cookie Company will send them to you (and cover the shipping).  That’s a sweet deal even if it didn’t include the chance at winning a paid for vacation.

I’m no mathematician, but it seems to me Khaya Cookie Company offers you more goodwill than calories in every delectable bite.

In order to win a CASE of assorted cookies (unbuckle your belts, ladies and gents) please answer the following question by Friday, June 12, 2009.

If you could only eat one type of cookie for the rest of your life, which would it be and why?

Please check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 14, 2009.  Good Luck!

MONYETTE PARIS

{please visit monyette paris here}

by Miss B

For someone that blogs her head off on a regualr basis you might find it odd that I don't like to talk about myself all that much.  It's even odder when I am put in a position to talk about something I created other than a  compromising situation; I don't mind making fun of myself you see, anything for the greater good of guffaws. Today I put myself in a not so funny position, I didn't confirm our feature which meant I was this close to bringing rain clouds to our part of the internet.  In a panic I remembered that I do in fact have a back up plan that is sure to please even the most hardened bright sider--A vacation in a bottle.  Yes, I have that, at least that's the word on the street. I created a fragrance many moons ago to try to capture the essence of paradise at night, the smell of Tiare (Tahitian gardenia) floating on warm breezes of vanilla orchid.  Clean skin mixed with aquamarine salt water. The scent was so intoxicating that I couldn't be on terra firma without getting to smell it on a regular basis.  I wasn't going to pull a Gauguin and self impose exile myself, so I created Monyette Paris. I do hope that the winner enjoys their bit of paradise.  If you are not a fragrance person gift the parfum and pure parfum oil and light your soy candle blend and take off for paradise...

In order to win a complete collection of cult fragrance Monyette Paris, the Eau De Parfum, Lumiere Luxe and the Pure Parfum Oil please answer the following question:

My absolute favorite flower that has a scent is tiare, it smells like a jasmine mixed with sunshine. My favorite flower to look at is hands down the peony, the petals are lush, light and gorgeous, they remind me of tutu's for some reason, so femme yet bold.

What are your favorite flowers and why?

We will announce the winner on Sunday, June 14, 2009. Good Luck!

TAPESWELL

{please visit tapeswell here}

by Miss K

You can always count on stylists—the original doyennes of feasts for the eyes—to prove to the rest of us that even the mundane and practical can be modern and chic.  Take, for example, the humble packing tape.  I can say with complete honesty that not once did it occur to me that something so utilitarian could be anything but practical in appearance.  Eileen Eisele of TapeSwell doesn’t suffer my limited vision.  She quickly saw the potential to give the ubiquitous a makeover and turned ordinary tape into a visual feast for the eyes.  With TapeSwell decorative tape, packing up for your latest move or visiting the post office just got infinitely more stylish. Now anything that needs tape can give a hint to your personal style.  Even if it’s that box of miscellanea you never get to opening after every move.

Eileen Eisele of TapeSwell is giving away two combo packs (Birdy Bright & Dottie and Scroll & Laceful).  In order to win, please answer the following question by Wednesday, June 10, 2009.

If you could move anywhere in the U.S., where would it be and why?

Check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 14, 2009.  Good Luck!

FREYA ART

{please visit freya art here}

by Miss K

If you think about the greatest experiences of your life thus far, can you pinpoint the pivotal moments that lead you there?  It was the decision to turn left instead of right, buy another cup of coffee, or go to law school instead of art school.  These are the best decisions—those seemingly simple ones that set off a chain of events that later alter you more than anticipated.

Fréya of Fréya Art & Design understands all too well.  After paying her dues as an Art Director for Republic Advertising, Fréya embarked on a journey of self-discovery.  The result was a new career in illustration. Her sweet and affirming art is now available in private and public collections worldwide.  We think the Vast & Amazing print is perfect for the office, studio, or home—anywhere you would need a gentle reminder that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Please answer the following question by Tuesday June 9, 2009 in order to win an A4 sized print of Vast & Amazing.

Where is the most amazing place your path has ever taken you?

Please check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 14, 2009.  Good Luck!

DAUB & BAUBLE LAUNCH OF PROJECT NO. 05:: PRINT + PATTERN

{please visit daub & bauble here}

by Miss K

Welcome to Print + Pattern month at The Bright Side Project!  Yes, that is correct, today is June 1st and that means we have a new theme to play with this month.  In case the name didn’t give it away, this month we are focusing juicy colors and rich patterns.  Like the first super saturated blast of a summer popsicle, for the next 30 days we are giving away products guaranteed to make you smack your lips with pleasure.  Let’s get started, shall we?

Daub & Bauble had a mission, and that mission was to make the mundane magnificent.  Mission accomplished.  The clever purveyors of body and home products house their naturally formulated products in bottles wrapped with labels featuring seasonal prints and patterns.  Each year Daub & Bauble works with a featured artist to create label art sure to make dreaded household chores a little more cheerful. 

Daub & Bauble is generously giving away one Ceramic Bottle Caddy, one Dish Detergent (Choice of Fragrance), one Hand Wash (Choice of Fragrance), and four 2 oz lotions (Assortment of four Fragrances).  You have until Monday, June 8, 2009 to answer the following question.

What product/brand are you so evangelistic about that you couldn’t live without it and why?

Please check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 14, 2009.

ARIEL GORDON

{please visit ariel gordon}

by Miss K

I once saw a middle aged man wearing a curly toupee fly past me in a red Ferrari.  His license plate read “Dr. Dude.”  Life lesson learned: personalization is best when subtle.

Take, for example, Ariel Gordon’s eponymous collection of initial of jewelry.  The line is simple and smart, not unlike Gordon, a summa cum laude graduate from UCLA with degrees in both Literature and Italian.  Of course, Gordon did not stop her education in the romantic language department.  No, once she decided to design jewelry professionally, she did what anyone committed to becoming the best does—she traveled to learn under the top in the field.  First, she studied at the famous Revere Academy in San Francisco.  After that, she returned to LA to hone her skills with Maya Brenner.  The result of all that study is a clean, understated collection of lower case initials in gold or silver, each one set with conflict free diamonds.  Yes, diamonds.  Proving for the second time in her educational career that Gordon is one smart cookie.

In order to win an Ariel Gordon initial necklace in gold or silver with a conflict free diamond (or not), please answer the following question by Friday, June 5, 2009.

What is your favorite foreign language and why?

Please check the Winners Page on Sunday, June 7, 2009.  Good Luck!