2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Design Notes

I'll be sipping my hot apple cider watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow morning.
Check out Behind the Scenes: Creating a Float
Check out Behind the Scenes: Making a Balloon
Sneak Peak at the 2008 Floats & Inside the Parade Studio

Here are some interesting musings about tomorrow's parade route. Click on the image to read full size. Illustration by Meg HuntImage from Time Out New York

Window Wednesdays: Holiday Window Guide

Click on the image to enlarge this great holiday window guide from Time Out New York.

Schlep Tote for the Holidays

The Wisconson Jewish Chronicle listed the Schlep tote I designed for PopJudaica.com on its top gift list for the holiday season!

Bliss Holiday Packaging

While browsing Sephora I spotted these wonderful Bliss holiday packages. The taglines are witty and sooooo New York. The Big Orange reminds me of Syracuse, NY and would be a perfect gift for a college student or recent Syracuse grad! "i glove" new york and "scent"-tral park are just as creative.

Hanukkah Cards: 8 Options for 8 Nights

Hanukkah cards galore. So many creative options this year. Stock up with 8 options for eight nights.(1) Menorah Blahnik
(2) Bella Pilar Design for Hanukkah
(3) Letterpress Menorah
(4) Chanukkah Carols
(5) Brooklyn Greetings
(6) Dreidel Game
(7) Mod Chanukkah
(8) Star and Dreidel

Window Wednesdays: 2008 Holiday Windows Almost Up

I walked past the stores this week and found most of them still-in-progress. I love seeing real people put up the windows and paying close attention to every detail. Next week I should have the Wrap-up of the top tier---Bloomingdales, Bergdorf, Saks, Barneys, Lord & Taylor & Macy's. Stay tuned!
Kate Spade

Website matches windows!
Kenneth Cole

Juicy Couture

Gap

Armani Exchange
Love good typography treatments.

Aldo
Some more type expression over at Aldo.

Joan Miró and Van Gogh at the MOMA

Sunday, Cait & I headed to the MOMA to see some of the new exhibits.{Starry Night Over the Rhone}
I was more impressed with Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927–1937. It is showing until January 12, 2009. I have been to both the Miró Museum in Barcelona and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and it was refreshing to admire both of these collections and say hello to some paintings I haven't seen in awhile.

Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night will be up through January 5, 2009. I loved seeing Starry Night over the Rhone. The colors were fabulous just as the title of the exhibit notes! It was hard for him to see his canvas in the dark (you'd never know). My favorite part was seeing his handwritten letters and (sketches within the letters) to his siblings about the works that were in progress.

Museum Musings...I wish I was

in Chicago:
Alexander Calder in Focus
July 28, 2007 - March 1, 2009

in San Francisco:
Yves Saint Laurent
November 1, 2008 — April 5, 2009

in Boston:
Rachel Whiteread
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - Sunday, January 25, 2009

in Cleveland:
Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique.
October 19, 2008 - January 18, 2009

in London:
Fashion V Sport
August 5, 2008 - Jan 4, 2009

Any inspiring exhibits coming to your city?

Tony Bennett the Artist

Tony Bennett drew these!
The Tony Bennett Limited Edition Gift Card features his original artwork of our iconic 59th Street store plus an audio track of Jingle Bells (that he recorded exclusively for Bloomingdales)
I just learned he is also an artist.

NYT Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008

Thanks to Caitlin for sending me over the link to the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008. Enjoy the slideshow!{Written and illustrated by Suzy Lee}{Citizen Hawk of New York City. By Janet Schulman. Illustrated by Meilo So}

Window Wednesdays: Holiday Windows In November

This week I started to see Holiday window displays go up~up~up. Umm, hello where did Thanksgiving go? I feel a little unbalanced when stores skip holidays and head straight for X-mas. I want to enjoy my warm apple cider, fall foliage, and pumpkin pie--STILL--before mentally preparing for the winter holidays and snow. Hanukkah begins on December 21st this year, so I am very excited for the extra time to create & find perfect holiday presents.

Fred Flare
Fred Flare opened a new store just in time for the holidays. The New York Times had a great article and images of their store design.

Paperchase
Print & Pattern is keeping me up to date on my favorite paper store across the pond, Paperchase. You can also find their stuff in a Borders near you.

Macy's
Some handlettering to Santa at Macy's. The windows go along with the mailbox to send a letter to Santa inside the store.

Dooney & Bourke Special edition Macy's bag.


JCrew


Old Navy
Impressive packaging!


Sephora


Fossil Store


Bryant Park Skating Pavilion & Rink
The design of the Bryant Park Rink this year is so clean, sleek and modern. Great ads & clever copywriting.


Check out this show on TV!
HGTV Holiday Window Tour (2007 Windows)
Special Presentation
Episode HWIN5-S07

AIR TIMES:
• November 28, 2008 7:00 AM ET/PT

Holiday Windows 2007
Our annual special takes viewers behind the scenes of the most popular stores across the country to witness the creation of their fabulous holiday window displays. And with those windows, comes a cast of characters ... designers with over-the-top personalities who consider their job as window creator second only to the guy in the big red suit! Each act will showcase a colorful unveiling of a unique holiday display, lots of joy sure to put you into the holiday spirit! This year look for old faves Neiman Marcus (it's their 100-year anniversary!) and Macy's, plus many exciting others.

IN THIS EPISODE:
• Macy's 2007 Holiday Window Display
• Saks' Holiday Window Display for 2007
• Neiman Marcus' 2007 Holiday Window Display
• Barneys New York's 2007 Holiday Window Displays
• Hudson's Bay's Holiday Window Displays for 2007
• Wynn Las Vegas' Holiday Window Displays for 2007