I’ve been itching to share the big news with you ever since I received an email from Lara + Cathe from Goods for Goodness Sake asking me to be apart of their new venture. Lara, and Cathe have created Goods for Goodness Sake to give back to many charities. As a consumer when you purchase from this site, you have many charity options you can have your proceeds go towards like project night night and one warm coat to name just a few. You even can donate without purchasing something. And what’s really neat about this site is that all the designs are exclusive to Goods for Goodness Sake, meaning you cannot purchase them elsewhere.

I am extremely honored and humbled to be amongst such talented artists. Go and check out their site and give to a good cause. Thank you Cathe + Lara for making this all possible.

I landed late last night from a much needed break from reality. It was bittersweet to leave my husband and daughter for 6 days but I came back rejuvenated and a better person, thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. I’m still reading it but a great book nonetheless. Sorry I digress…back to the story. As soon as I landed at 11:45am LA time we wasted no time and hit the streets for shopping. (I’m surprised I didn’t pass out since I’ve been awake at that point for 12 hours) And by we, I mean my two favorite Tiffanys, fabulous tour guides if you ever need one in the area.

But the next day was the big adventure. Tiffy W. + I went to to the trapeze school to bring out the little daredevil in me. Well it worked, still sore (yes 6 days later) but an exhilarating experience one should try, provided you aren’t afraid of heights. With a short and I mean extremely short introduction and demonstration we were thrown into it. Now that I know there is one in New York, I will have to seriously convince some of my east coast friends to go with me. Anyone?? It’s really not that scary, I promise.

Saturday was more shopping along Rodeo drive baby and doing brief touristy things like Avenue of the Stars, hand/foot prints, etc… before we hit up DisneyLand on Sunday.

Some of the highlights on my shopping tour were the following paper stores. Thank you to all my twitter friends who recommended these shops, they were so adorable and inspirational. If you are ever in the LA area, definitely hit them up if you can.

Urbanic Paper Boutique :: Venice
Soolip :: West Hollywood
Sugar Paper :: Los Angeles
Mimio :: Pasadena

Had an incredible time, but it’s good to be back.

I will be here tomorrow enjoying the heat wave for five glorious days visiting my 2 favorite Tiffany’s. One thing on the agenda besides visiting some yummy stationery stores is this. I think I’m nuts. I’ll be sure to share pictures when I return.

With that said, a little shop talk. The shop will be closed starting today, April 22nd through April 29th. All orders and emails will be addressed/processed in order received beginning on April 30th.

Have a great week ya’ll!

I married a man that to this day challenges, inspires, and loves me. I love you dear and look forward to sharing many more years together.

Head on over to M’s blog to enter their giveaway for either a t-shirt or placemat. Her and her talented sister, Serena are making way for new products in M’s shop and Serena’s. Spring cleaning if you will. So be sure to check it out, entries are due before midnight on April 27th.

Here are some of my favs:

Good luck!

Balance seems to be the buzz around the blogging world nowadays which makes me sit down and think about mine…or lack thereof. When you think or should I say jump full fledged into running your own business you tend to ignore the struggles you will have to face. Unless you are blessed to have your own staff to take care of things such as administrative duties, marketing, finance, etc…you wear those hats.

You are the administrative assistant.
You are the marketing director.
You are the CFO in addition to being the owner.
And more…

Juggling each of those jobs can be overwhelming at times. And while balancing those duties are extremely important, the one that has hit my heart the hardest is having a work-life balance. I check email constantly, answer convos on Etsy whenever they come in, and begin processing orders immediately. So where does that leave time to spend with my family? (light bulb going off) It doesn’t. The house has been neglected as well as my adorable husband and daughter. Something has to change. Something needs to change.

I have a vacation beginning on Thursday, [LA here I come!] and with that comes my first time away from the shop. No checking emails. No processing orders. Nothing. I know this will be difficult for me but a necessity. And when I return, I plan on implementing a true work-life balance of setting “office hours”. Which is extremely difficult when you have a full-time job in the corporate world. However it’s something I need to do in order to run a successful business AND actually enjoy it. I don’t want this to turn into something I must do, and if I continue down the road I’m on now it could very well be. This business is growing and developing into something I’m extremely proud of and I want to make sure I enjoy every twist, turn, bump, and hurdle I will endure.

So let me ask you, how do you balance it all? How do you have or work towards a more work-life balance?

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Today I bring to you Yuki Murata, owner + designer of modern goods :: a modern fine bone china and table giftware. I stumbled across this talented designer via Annette’s blog and just had to get know her better. Come to find out she was once in my neck of the woods here in New England. It’s so nice and refreshing to make a connection to someone when your only correspondence has been via email. Hopefully an in-person visit is warranted next time she comes back to the east coast. Ok, enough of my babbling, let’s begin the interview.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I grew up on the east coast, but have been coming to NM since 1987 when my parents first bought a house in Taos. I studied architecture at Yale, backpacked around the world for a year, and then worked in a bunch of architecture firms before I turned my attention to the smaller scale of product design. I got my Masters in Industrial Design from RISD and after a brief stint at Martha Stewart I moved back to NM to start my own business. I wanted to try to do what I love in a place that I love.

How did you get started?
Friends from graduate school commissioned me to make their wedding china. I custom designed the Coral pattern for them – both the asymmetric forms and the applied red painted motif.

Where did the name originate from?
Many hours spent checking domain availability and also cross-checking corporate registrations! I know it sounds anal, but in the long run nothing is more frustrating than the confusion (or potential legal issues) that arise from not doing this stuff on the front end. My nickname and company used to be “yukipants”, but after always explaining that I designed tableware and not clothing I decided it was time to change it!

What is a typical work day for you?
I have a 3 year old son and a husband so mornings are a little hectic – but by the time they are off to preschool/work, I settle into my studio (attached to our house) and dig into emails, research, writing (I write a food column for my local weekly news and culture paper), cooking and hopefully if there is energy and time left I draw, paint (watercolors right now – previously encaustic) or scribble in my notebook. As most designers will attest, when you segway your creative work into a business you do end up spending much more time than you anticipate on the “business” component – correspondence, production, account management, order fullsillment, marketing, PR, etc. Not always the most entertaining stuff if you really want to just design.

What are your best selling designs?
The coral (my original design for the wedding commission) and the SMUSH series.

Do you have any business advice/keys to success for new businesses?
Most importantly try to be kind to yourself and to others – the business world doesn’t leave much room for humanity. I try to always be patient and compassionate but also direct and authentic.

What is your favorite hobby?
Cooking/eating & traveling (I do also love to hike/ski/telemark/run/do yoga)

Do you have any favorite blogs/websites?
I do like design*sponge because it upholds a very positive and encouraging atmosphere. And MOSS is great since my family life doesn’t allow for too many trips back to NY – Murray Moss really knows how to mix super modern with impeccable classics (Ming Dragon by Meissen is one of my all time favorites! mingdragon Also, I love all the online recipe sites, especially epicurious – I can’t imagine experimenting in the kitchen before the world wide web!

What is your muse/inspiration?
Family dinners So inspirational!

How would you describe your style?
Organic modern (? is that a style?)

Thank you Yuki for taking time out of your busy day to chat with us! Keep up the great work and whenever you are on the east coast, be sure to let us know.

You can find Yuki here:
website :: www.moderngoods.com
shop :: www.moderngoods.com/store

I’m always looking for fabulous indie designers to feature on my blog. So if you would like to or like to nominate someone, feel free to email me at bridgett@perideaudesigns.com.

Imagine living in this loft. I’d stay home and cook every day with a kitchen like this! Check out more at Modern Mecca.

Buy 2, Get 1 Free

Shop now!

Don’t these treats look divine? Well unless you have four legs and fur all over you shouldn’t be eating these, well I guess you could… Can you believe treats for your dog can look this good? Diva Dog Bakery sure knows how to spoil your canine friends. Be sure to check out their shop and their website. Oh did I mention they have wheat + gluten free items too?