New Cake Servers on BHLDN & Terrain!

We've been hoping to get our products in Anthropologie for awhile now...but so far we've only had some loose email correspondence that've yet mound to anything....

But this last winter out of the blue, one of the the buyers from Terrain (with great home & garden goods) contacted us about making custom servers for them!  

Then a month later, another buyer from BHLDN (with beautiful wedding things of all sorts) contacted us about making more custom cake servers, too!

Not only are both of these shops great, they're also under the same umbrella of Anthro & Urban Outfitters! 

We feel like we're just one step away from getting something in Anthropologie! Let's hope that next step will happen in the near future! 

Copycats, REALLY?!?!

It was brought to our sad sad attention that an Etsy (of course!) seller has been blatantly copying our Superior Servers......down to the T....copying our product, process, verbiage, AND even the way the products are styled in the photos!!

I know they exist everywhere and anywhere...but this is beyond just "oh it's inspired by or it just looks similar" type of scenario. These people have consciously copied EVERY part of our products and details.  As Tiny Fay, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers would be happy to back me up and say...."Really?  REALLY!?!"

And this is what we imagined they'd say.....

Tina: REALLY?...Did you actually make a check list of all the things that were in L&G's photos and went down the grocery store aisles going...."ok...let's see here....I need... 7 cherry tomatoes cut in half while leaving on on the table, check. Couple sprig of rosemary, check. Round plate to place on the upper right corner, check. Some fresh parsley leaves on table, check.  Whole Roasted chicken with the part of it sliced, check"....and then did you print L&G's image in real size to lay everything out on top so its almost identical even in how the things were arranged? COME ON! This is like when kids use tracing paper  to copy cartoon characters before they learned that not all mice HAVE to look like Mickey Mouse!!  REALLY.

Seth: And COME ON!....did you EVEN TRY to spend some time to AT LEAST think of doing something different or did you think about it for less than a second and then went"....oh, never mind,  that's too much work...I should simply do EXACTLY what they did, because why would I want to spend/waste more time to do something different OR unique OR have to use any of my creativity when I can be MAKING MONEY from another person's idea!"....REALLY!?!

Amy: and REALLY...were you absent to class everyday in school when they taught that PLAGIARISM is inexcusable AND unacceptable and that you automatically get a big FATF on your grades?! Well....guess what?  That rule STILL applies even if you're an adult... you'll still get a big FAT F...U know what.

Just read the comparison of the text below....

L&G's PRODUCT TEXT: A versatile set of serving utensils with colorful dipped handles.  The trio consisting of a stainless steel spoon, carving fork, and perforated spoon is ideal for serving baked dishes, salads, roasts and more.  The festive colors make them perfect accessories for weddings, holiday parties, dinner parties, and more.  Mix and match your favorite colors separately or pick the versatile 4 piece gift set.  

Each is piece is constructed of solid stainless steel with a durable food safe dipped handle.

CAVALCADE ETSY COPYCAT'S TEXT: This set is ideal for serving baked dishes, salads, roasts and more. The festive colors make them perfect for weddings, holiday parties, dinner parties, and more. Pick your favorite colors to make a one of kind gift.

Each is piece is constructed of solid stainless steel with a durable food and dishwasher safe colored handle.

COME ON PEOPLE!!! REALLY?!?!?!

L&G Makin' Some Rounds this Holiday

It's that time of the year to celebrate the holiday and shop for gifts!!! (....and we still can't believe it almost the end of year!)

But boy, are we excited for this joyful season and for getting into some holiday gift guides!

Check em' out!

Here's our Ovis Hanging Chair front & center on Seattle Metropolitan Magazine! 

 

Our Aura lights was also featured in the latest issue of Gray Magazine (also Seattle based magazine)

Here's our lil' chalk piggy bank made it in to Cool Hunting's Gift guide!

Here's our Superior Servers in RealSimple's roundup of serving utensils.

AND our servers is also featured in November issue of ALASKA AIRLINE magazine (pg76)!!....oh how I love flying on Alaska Air especially on their small jets (i.e. Seattle to Portland) where I get to down a glass of complimentary wine in 15min. It's awesome....

And through FAB, our chalk piggy bank also made it into NY Post's holiday gift guide...along with the insanely famous FURBY and NIKKI MANAJ..... perfume. No joke.  Here's the printed version...and be prepared to be blown away by this collection!!! 

I think the only way we can ever beat Furby or Nicki is to make a new version of chalk piggy bank that talks like a creep and wears bright pink wigs...then we're gonna pitch this to Shark Tank and make BANK!

 

We're Bringing Cake Servers Back!

Just added a whole new batch of perfect holiday vintage Superior Cake Servers in the shop! Get em' while they last! They're selling like hotcakes....cuz you know...to serve hotcakes and such! :D

Americans Unite!

We've been lucky to know the awesome people behind the American Design Club since we started showing at the NYIGF back in 2010. We all seem like such babies back then....and boy have we all came a long way!!

Especially for AmDC, they've now established themselves as one of the main portal for many of the talented up & coming American desginers to be part of the greater design community.

Besides organizing & curating various design shows, they've just recently launched their online shop just to kick things up a notch!  

And already...they got this great mention on the NYT online....with our servers in there, too!!! 

....AND printed in the real deal!

L&G on Lonny Magazine

L&G is got in the March/April issue of Lonny Magazine, an wonderful home decor & lifestyle magazine!



L&G Goods In Japan and Soon...US!

So we got some DOUBLE exciting news for L&G and for us!

We currently have some L&G goodies & hand selected vintage items at our friends' shop in Japan called Depot Cycle & Recycle. It's a charming family run bike & lifestyle shop in Ichikawa owned by THE MOST adorable, loving, & happy people we know!!
For the past month, We've been sending some fun things from L&G, R&L goods, and Piano Nobile goodies for their house & lifestyle area of the shop. They just sent me the photo of what it looks like and I'm already in love with all the things, the colors, and just the charming aesthetic of their shop!! I Especially love all these beautifully made ceramic ware.
Here is a photo of the lovely Minato Family. Seiya & Mami & their 3 adorable kids, Aika, Yume and Yuni!! ( I'd like to adopt all of them....yes please...) This is pretty much what they look like ALL the time....always happy and adorable....no joke.
The Minato family visited us in Seattle last summer at our duplex and between Dylan, Chika, Jared and I, we had such a blast with them hanging out around Seattle, Ballard and Guemes Island to show them the great NW.
It was especially fun experiencing everything through their eyes since pretty much wherever they go...birds would sing, people would smile, flowers would bloom, babies would laugh, and even total strangers would go up and talked to them and be compelled to be their BFFs...
It sounds like I'm making it up...but I am not exaggerating.

So in about a week, Dylan & I are actually going to Japan to visit them!!
We'll actually get to really see and experience what its really like to live like one of the happy Minatos!

We're especially excited to see Seiya & Mami shop in person and see L & G piggy banks, servers, and doily rugs!
I made couple of Mini-Mega Doilies (One 2.5 ft diameter and the other is 2ft diameter) for them since their space is limited, but I also think they might actually do well at that size in Japan since it can also be used seating pads for the floor or on a chair....I hope they do well!
At that size... it's actually pretty cute if I may say so myself! :)

I also made a little sewn look book for them of our work.
There's something so satisfying about the combination of thread & paper...

Here's what the inside looks like...I can't explain how excited to see them & also visit Japan!! I'm getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!
It's been a LONG time (7 years!) for me since I was last in Japan studying abroad there, and Dylan on the other hand has never been!
We've been talking about it for couple of years now, and it's also been a long time since the two of us have taken a long personal vacation that's not family or work related!
So it's about time!

....now on with planning the trip......Oh boy!! Where do we even begin or stop!?!


Some Pinterest in L&G goods!

I recently saw that someone added our servers to their Pinterest board and out of curiosity clicking a link on the side "Also from ladiesandgentlemenstudio" and then ended up seeing this page......
then kept scrolling....
whoa.....did NOT expect this...
All I gots to say is...I love Pinterest, not just for this reason!


Few Recent L&G Blog Mentions

Both our servers & piggy bank got on Azure!! We were SUPER stoked to see that!

on SVPPLY....that site is absolutely dangerous since I get totally sucked into it too easily.
Servers on Poppytalk. Thanks Jan!

Servers in the editor's pick on House Beautiful
Paper Tastebuds

Re-Nest

A random mix of things...our piggy partying it up with  some sexy lingerie and leopard printed wellies on Josie Natori.

I really hope the piggies don't turn all B.Spear or P.Hilton on me....

L&G's New Things!

We know that the winter holiday has just past...but this also means its time to launch some new items for 2011 Spring/Summer! I know I'm ready for it!

here's a quick intro of our new additions:

This little piggy has a twist!: A new, limited edition (of 100) Chalk-it-to-me Piggy Bank with a knotted leather tail.

Superior Server Blues: We added a handsome new spring color - Vintage Aqua - to the Superior Server family!

Porcelain Gem Necklaces: Hand-cast ceramic gem stone necklaces highlighted along with various type chains.
Some of these new items will be launched at this coming NYIGF with JOIN!
JOIN
has combined forces once again along with 6 other Northwest design
studios to launch a series of new products and accessories at the New York International Gift Fair January 30th - February 3rd, 2011.

Hurray for new things!

L&G Servers on TV in Denver!

This is the first time yet!
L&G's Superior Servers actually got featured by Katie Woolsey (Marketing editor for Country Living Magazine) where she presented a holiday gift guide under $50 for local news channel in Denver!

It's our first time being on TV and boy are we glad that it was just the servers that go on TV and not us! :P

Couple More L&G Features!

Our L&G Superior Servers also got featured in December's holiday gift guide in Traditional Home Magazine!

This and Sunset's feature this month was totally amazing for L&G! And because of it, we've literally been working non-stop since Thanksgiving.....which totally feels like centuries ago! There were people who even recognized our goods from the features couple of weekends ago at UCU show!

In addition, L&G's Chalk Piggy Bank got featured in the Seattle City Arts magazine, too! This feature I actually didn't even know about! But thanks to Jenny from {Far4} I was able to get a copy of it before it was too late!

It's been fun seeing where we've been popping up without knowing....it's almost like a scavenger hunt..even MORE exciting! :)

L&G on Sunset Magazine!

We're stoked that Sunset features our goods from L&G!Beside the fact that we're in a special Holiday Hot List section, they decided to feature BOTH our chalk piggy bank AND servers!!This little piggy is making its way up!
We're excited to see our Superior server next to the adorable teal cupcake mini-pedestals from Jamie & Brian of Iacoli & Mcallister!


Yay! How exciting!
....but of course, with all the excitement comes consequences...this mean that I'll be doing some work over the Thanksgiving weekend!!

Here's to Happy turkey workey day!! I'm pumped!

L&G on Seattle Homes & Lifestyles Magazine

Oops, forgot to share this! Our servers got featured in October issue of Seattle Homes & Lifestyle Magazine along with our friends from Piano Nobile, Chadhaus, and LiT!!

L&G Servers on Oh Joy Eats!

L&G servers on Oh Joy Eats!
I absolutely love everything that Joy shares...but I have to be careful and not read her food blog too often since I just find myself getting really hungry every time I read it and want to eat everything...including my computer....

L&G Lost in Translation on Marie Claire Maison

L&G's servers got mentioned on Marie Claire Maison blog! They wrote bunch of stuff in French....I wonder what they wrote....
Here's to google translate....

Exit () COVERED!

It all started with a crucial question: What color, salad servers? They took what color?

Let me explain. Is what you've ever pick up a virus of the fever that makes you for hours and between two bavouilles on the pillow, you done spouting things without rhyme or reason? (There, there must be fewer players who say yes, otherwise I'll feel very lonely ...) Anyway. Me, it happened to me once and it seems that I posed the above question (with a hint of annoyance in his voice too!) Needless to say, this story haunted me long (partly because that 'I have been reused many between the dish and the cheese - when the salad, so) Now, I can still confidently say that I found my happiness.

These covered for the service are published by Ladies & Gentlemen, a design agency founded by John Lee and Dylan Davis. and to answer my own question: I want every color!

Apparently Google even translated my name to "John Lee"...so to all the French people who read the post, Dylan & I are one fabulous gay couple!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: I asked my French brother-in-law about the post title which I assume "Exit () Covered!" got a little lost in Google translation... But here's a better explanation from an actual French speaking person:
"sortez les couverts : put out the utensils. Couvert stands for utensil for sure. Sortez can be translated by come out, put out, going out ... buttttt there are playing on the words. Writting les in parantheses is funny. sortez couvert means go out protected (or stay protected/wear condom)... these french people, even when speaking of utensil they need to put a sex feeling in it !!"

Ahh...It all makes sense now...
Oh....wait a minute! So the part about "finding my happiness" means...oh dear...
So to add to the idea that Dylan & I are a gay couple to all the French readers, we're also the designers who makes serving utensils that also serve as sex toys...just perfect.

L&G on Desire to Inspire

We're TOTALLY stoked that L&G got a couple of mentions on Desire to Inspire's recent "Wink" (Weekend Links) Posts!
Its quite exciting to find that blogs we find inspiring are actually finding our designs to be inspring in return! That's totally exciting enough to make us raise our fists and go "hurray!"

Our first mention on their Winks (weekend links) post!

Our second Winks mention in the same month! Ok...now we're jumping up and down and running around in circles like maniacs. :)

The Launch!

Those who have visited our site in the last day (you know you look like everyday...) may have noticed a much needed update has been executed to celebrate the release of our new products in time for the NYIGF this Aug 15-19th: Chalk it to me Piggy (v2.0) and Superior Servers.

We're very excited about these two labors of love.

You may have followed Jean's multi-part mini-series on the birth of our Chalk it to me Piggy...well he's finally almost all grown up and ready to take on the world. This proud parent has to say he's looking pretty handsome eh?

Superior servers is another vintage inspired line of brightly color coated serving ware. These dandy serving pieces will class up your dinner service than most parties at your grandma's. Each piece is available in 3 lovely colors that can be mixed and matched to your fancy.
You can go to our website to see it all!