San Francisco Charms

Golden Gate Bridge from the Presidio ©Kat Elliott

I'm spending a lovely weekend (indoors unfortunately) in San Francisco this weekend. It's the 2011 SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival Main Jury! We've gathered some great folks from throughout the computer graphics, animation and visual effects industry and asked them to judge over 600 submissions - in one weekend! 

ILM's Yoda Fountain ©Kat Elliott

We've set up shop at the beautiful Industrial Light + Magic campus on the Presidio. Thanks to our wonderful hosts for a great tour of the facility!

Celebrating Spring... With Jewelry!

Spring is upon us! This lovely platinum bird necklace was made by my friend Kathryn Durfee who just launched her Etsy shop, Dandelion Designs. Her simple classic designs fit into a modern wardrobe with ease.

For those of you more partial to gold, these golden birds earrings are adorable! Not to mention I love that her dog made a cameo! I'm more partial to sterling silver so I love these pearl earrings - so simple, they're perfect for any occassion or season!
Good Luck with your shop Kathryn!

Hot Chocolate Love Note

How pretty are these silver spoons from The Tasting Kitchen?! If consuming this wonderfully fine hot chocolate wasn't tempting enough, they press personalized (though short!) messages into the vintage spoons. What a wonderful Mother's Day gift... or marriage proposal! Best part? The chocolate is free of high fructose corn syrup and partially hydroginated oil, is practically gluten free and on its way to being vegan. Owners AmberLee and Andrea also have great party ideas and DIY touches available on the website. Now if only I could find those teacups too!
(Photo by Stephanie Faye for The Tasting Kitchen)

Jenna Kator Handbags

Michigan designer Jenna Kator creates fabulous handbags using environmentally and animal friendly faux leather. Each handbag is named for the Michigan cities and women that inspire her designs. She also considers them to be a combination of East coast flare and West coast charisma. I couldn't agree more!  Her creations look like high priced leather bags but actually have an average retail price of $88. Now vegan/vegetarian fashionistas can indulge on soft, luxurious bags without any guilt. I'm also quite inspired with her philanthropy work with Hand Bags for Hope, an organization that helps domestically abused women regain their confidence using a simple item that almost no woman can live without.
(Via The Senses Five)