1st Thing I Reach For

in my kitchen #1

2012-02-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

glimpses

iphone snapshots

quick little captures

of studiopatro patterns

in my kitchen.

#1 in a series?

back in stock

2012-02-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

our kitchen aprons in oatmeal

(sold out over the holidays)

are back in stock, on the shelves and ready to ship.

all apron choices - kitchen and café - oatmeal and oyster -

are available in plentiful supply.

hurrah!

new terrain

2012-02-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

announcing another new stockist:

COOK and BAKE

have made their way to terrain

in glen mills, pennsylvania.

more nice company to keep.

tout est mieux

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

previewing

spring / summer 2012

with a traditional mariniere stripe and our favorite saying

(but this time in french).

delicious in belgium

2012-02-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

art director Janine Couperus from

delicious magazine nederland

stumbled on studiopatro

and included us in their january issue.

nice dutch words this time!

a good gift

2012-01-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

the unwrapping.

a photo from lindsay thompson

of her gift from mindy gayer.

we love to see our towels go out into the world

to be used.

color of the year

2012-01-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

2012 pantone color of the year

is a shade of red-orange that is "spot on" to our

copper.

apartment therapy calls it

"an eminently acceptable dose of happy color

to add to your interiors"

and we think

it's always a good idea

to balance the vibrancy with some beautiful neutral grays.

present-ly shipping

2011-12-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

there seems to be a flurry of orders this week,

and just so you know...

noon on wednesday dec. 21

(that's california time)

is our deadline for taking orders

for delivery before christmas.

if you're on the east coast,

that means you've got until 3pm to order!

time to wrap it up.

tree time

2011-12-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

it's tree time

and our Leaf Tree is a limited edition

tea towel that we created especially

for this season of giving.

10% of sales

is being donated to an organization

dedicated to educating children and their families

about healthy eating.

happy tree trimming!

café aprons at their best

2011-12-13T11:33:00.000-08:00

when men serve...

men look great in our café aprons,

as evidenced at a friend's recent baby shower party.

Tyler and Peter served,

and were admired by all!

we speak french

2011-11-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

a new interpretation of
stripes make everything better

in french!

nell dodge created a new e-popup shop
603 here & there
and commissioned these oh-so-french mariniere stripe towels.

will you be on elizabeth street in nyc anytime soon?

thomas sires

has them too.

"tout est mieux avec des rayures"

we're still giving thanks

2011-11-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

it's a good time of year to say

thank you.

so take 25% off all

tea towels

aprons &

market bags

now through monday november 28th.

studiopatro.com

enter code giving at checkout.

(gift sets not included.)

glamour-us

2011-11-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

of course!

jamie oliver's holiday must-haves

would include COOK and BAKE

tea towels.

isn't that what the holidays are all about?

in the december issue

nice and simple

2011-11-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

our EQUAL tea towel is one of

real simple's

10 holiday hostess gift ideas.

see all 10 here.

thanks

and another

equally great gift idea is

EQUAL + PANTRY + DOT

and a beautiful hand-crafted wooden spatula

see it, get it

at studiopatro.com

spooning

2011-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

i am so excited.

we've just received these small wooden spatulas

handmade one-by-one by

edwards smith.

part of a holiday apron gift set we're preparing.

read edwards' story here.

orange time of year

2011-10-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

it's that time of year.

orange = october.

so take carry goods anywhere to carry just about anything.

happy harvesting :)

leaf it to me

2011-10-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

there's a sale going on

at studiopatro.com

to mark the fall season,

any tea towel printed with leaves

is $18

(that's 25% off).

pick and choose from 13 leaf designs.

offer ends on sunday october 9th, so shop now

and rake in some leaves.

use me

2011-09-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

I often hear from customers
that they don't want to use their tea towels
because the towels are just too nice.

but I love the linen best when it's used
and washed
and used again and again.

soft and crumpled.

just like these photos from lissa
who writes a blog
dedicated to food, family, friends, and time in the kitchen.

she even made a movie

and there's "best stripes", being used again!

a good gray day

2011-09-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

it's another gray day in san francisco

so I've decided to make it a good gray day

by posting my favorite new grays.

although I have to say,

even these look better on a sunny day.

slate on oatmeal linen, here.

harvest time

2011-09-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

a friend of mine gave a friend of hers

a tea towel, and he didn't want to use it.

she insisted, and here you go.

it's harvest time

with live love eat.

thanks for sharing, katie.

bakers love BAKE

2011-09-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

bakers love BAKE

and we love seeing our tea towels

out there in the world,

being used.

michelle lee, thanks for sharing.

(if only you could share the baked goods! :)

ny gift show

2011-08-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

a glimpse of our booth at the

ny gift show.

we're back in sf

ready to fill new orders,

introduce the fall designs,

update the website,

12 ways to use a tea towel

2011-08-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

check it out.

our first video.

just one-and-a-half visual minutes

12 ways to use a tea towel

use cloth, not paper :)

with very special thanks to

christina schmidhofer

and to

benito taylor, for his music.

haven's kitchen

2011-08-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

haven's kitchen

will open later this year in a

carriage house two blocks away from the Union Square Greenmarket

in Manhattan.

but they're already equipped with some stunning aprons.

a preview into fall 2011

2011-07-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

a preview into fall 2011

we're hard at work on the new fall line:

all new 100% linen in oyster white and oatmeal,

sack cloth,

something we're calling art squares,

new patterns and wordplay everywhere.

studiopatró on jamie oliver's food revolution

2011-06-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

3 teams of high school students in LA

competed on jamie oliver's food revolution.

studiopatro tea towels were there to help

clean, wipe and dry.

these kids rock.

watch episode 6 of season 2 here

LA bound for dwell on design

2011-06-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

off to los angeles for

dwell on design

with the remodelista local market

friday, saturday, sunday

are you in LA? come see us

welcome patina

2011-06-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

PATINA

a private shop of fukuoka

is stocking studiopatro tea towels

gluten free simplicity

2011-06-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

simplicity

and keeping it simple, keeping it fresh

from

a gluten free blog dedicated to food, family, friends,

and time in the kitchen.

lissa's recipe for peanut butter marbled brownies

here

gifting with tea towels

2011-06-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

how to gift a studiopatro tea towel

check out the indigo blog

from canada

editor ashley minnings came up with

my favorite new use of a tea towel:

waving in front of the smoke detector

(hey, it happens).

nest

2011-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

our natural linen tea towels are reprinted and in-stock.

just in time to nestle a gift of four fresh eggs

from a new friend, kate weese

see her paintings here

thumb's up

2011-05-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

thumbs up for

Haven's Kitchen

a culinary school, supper club, and specialty food shop

opening fall 2011 in the flatiron district of manhattan.

devour

2011-05-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

the truth about DEVOUR.

above my desk is a quote from filmmaker jim jarmusch,

that reads:

"nothing is original. steal from anywhere that resonates

with inspiration or fuels your imagination. devour old films,

music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams,

random conversations, architecture, bridges,

street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows.

select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.

if you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.

authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.

and don't bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it

if you feel like it. in any case, always remember

what jean-luc godard said:

'it's not where you take things from –

it's where you take them to.'"

thank you, jim jarmusch.

you spoke directly to my soul and inspired me.

remodelista in seattle

2011-04-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

meet me in

for the remodelista one day local market

this saturday, april 30th.

11 to 4 o'clock

henrybuilt, georgetown location

all the details here:

earth day birthday

2011-04-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

since 1970 we've been celebrating earth day

on my birthday.

it's an association that I love,

being the earth-bound taurus that I am.

studiopatro is celebrating with a 20% off sale,

and a request that we all use more cloth,

less paper.

dot tea towels

2011-04-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

color stories

for spring.

we have updated our website
and added the new
dot designs.

AND

all our tea towels

are available individually

so mix and match as you wish.

at studiopatro.com

spring citrus

2011-04-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

spotted in my kitchen:

city linens and spring citrus.

(just wanted to share some color!)

studiopatro in 7x7

2011-03-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

see
the april issue of 7 x 7 magazine,
page 42.

the studio of studiopatro is featured in THE ROOM,
written by Leilani Labong,
with photos by Gabriela Hasbun.

Lily is now one famous dog.

taking a step back

2011-03-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

simplicity

color
+
pattern

today's exercise:
taking a step back
looking at the basics
finding inspiration
resting your eyes
taking a step forward

nice words

2011-03-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

a nice surprise from
sarah coffey and
apartment therapy's marketplace

check out all 10 designers here:

sprout and vine tea towels

2011-02-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

great finds
inspired by the world of gardening

sprout and vine tea towels
in the march issue of martha stewart living

page 32!

sisters are a gift

2011-02-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

here's my gift show hero.
my sister karen

thank you a million times over
for all your help
and support
and humor
and good spirits.

could not have done it without you.
no way.

(check her out on imdb too)

our first new york gift show

2011-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

our first new york gift show.

the booth looked fabulous,
we met fun and interesting people from all over the country,
we listened and learned,
we have great new customers,
we have tons of "following-up" to do.

i am home,
resting and refueling
and realizing just how lucky i am.

lucky
for my family and friends

and grateful
for their limitless generosity,
constant encouragement
and unflinching help.

talk about fabulous.

copper dots and comfort

2011-01-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

weekday afternoon,
hot water, meyer lemon
and another new pattern.

copper dots and comfort.

love the objects you live with

2011-01-09T09:41:00.000-08:00

sunday morning,
a favorite quote,
and a favorite new pattern.

"using your favorite mug
makes every breakfast special.
love the objects you live with."

sara's gift

2011-01-04T08:50:00.001-08:00

sara's mise en place

sara's wrapped gift

see more of sara here

a new leaf

2011-01-03T11:25:00.001-08:00

it's here.

along with a beautiful
"new leaf"

and a wish for a
happy and healthy new year

filled with
peace, prosperity and new growth!

happy, happy holidays!

2010-12-22T19:19:00.001-08:00

it's time…

stocking's up!

and then it will soon be time

for a caper

and some champagne.

happy, happy holidays!

elements of the perfect gift

2010-12-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

elements of the perfect gift

from

mo + mo living

40
perfect gift ideas
beautifully edited and a visual treat

the best I've seen
and not to be missed

let's go shopping.

DesignStory is for design lovers

2010-12-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

DesignStory
is for design lovers

free to join,
DesignStory members have access
to limited time sales events at designer discounts
on high-quality design furnishings for the home.

studiopatro
on sale december 2 - 8

shop now

remodelista holiday market

2010-11-29T20:24:00.001-08:00

will you be in the sf bay area this weekend?

remodelista
is hosting a holiday market in mill valley.

sunday december 5
12-4
at summerhouse warehouse
250 east blithedale ave.

locally made goods… and it is sure to be good!

ambitalia, breakaway cook, dagmar daley, fearless chocolate,
fineline letterpress, heritage culinary artifacts, luke bartels,
marie veronique, mato creative, rough linen, sefte,
studiopatro, tony tutto pizza, wendy furman design, and more.

join us,
and invite your friends too.

gather + carry

2010-11-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

the linen market bag
debuts

and 3 weber sisters do a photo shoot

susan, the photographer

karen, the model
and
me, the designer.

available at studiopatro.com

caper + rue

2010-11-22T22:24:00.000-08:00

I never get tired of caper.

however sometimes I get so tired, I forget how to caper.

that's why it was so much fun to see
studiopatro
in the newest, latest issue of rue.

(see what's hanging on the oven?)

remodelista was nice enough
to include studiopatro in their
backyard harvest
roundup.

look for remodelista's feature
on page 80.

holiday baking

2010-11-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

chewy gooey crispy crunchy
melt-in-your-mouth cookies

a new book by alice medrich
is on the shelves and ready for
holiday baking.

photographer deborah jones
and
art director and stylist sara slavin

chose some studiopatro tea towels
to accompany the cookies, bars and wafers
you'll find here.

I'm so flattered!

calm before the storm

2010-11-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

fyi

the unadulterated photo,
before the "violators" took over.

photo by Nigel Cox

bon appetit

2010-10-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

glimpses
of studiopatro
on the newsstands this month

1.
our kitchen apron helps serve
a thanksgiving turkey
on the cover of bon appetit…

styled by friend Roscoe Betsill

2.
our apron and caper towel
help in the making of a thanksgiving feast
in food & wine…

styled by friend Sara Slavin

thank you, dear friends.

it's nice to be out in the world,
helping to create feasts and photos.

a very special linen towel

2010-10-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

we created

this very special linen towel

to serve as menu and napkin
at my friend David's
very special birthday celebration.

and of course,
it now serves as a towel in my kitchen.

(it's a very nice way to remember
that lovely evening too.)

studiopatro in lola

2010-10-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

so happy to be in berkeley at

lola

simple, luxurious, lovely.

wool throws from wales
velvet pumpkins from minnesota
maple bread boards from vermont

such good company for studiopatro tea towels.

follow lola

aesthetics

2010-10-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

i love this t-shirt.

something about
words and fragments and spacing and helvetica

and allen, of course.

ought to be a tea towel.

(and reminds me a little of my kitchen wall)

cherry tomatoes

2010-09-11T12:38:00.001-07:00

end-of-summer cherry tomatoes
from a friend's garden

almost too pretty to EAT.

here's one good reason…

mizuna and haricot vert salad
with crispy potatoes, purple basil,
cherry tomatoes and stilton

from food 52

a very nice resource
if you love to eat.

our stockists make us look good

2010-09-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

you're only as good
as the company you keep.

our stockists
make us look good.

see a list of all the places
to see and feel and buy
studiopatro tea towels
right here on this blog,
to the right.

down and dirty

2010-09-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

get down and dirty.

newly made
kitchen aprons are in.

on the farm

2010-08-27T17:23:00.001-07:00

my friend wendi took
some towels to her mom's farm this summer,
and shared this photo of her daughter Lydia
bringing in the eggs.

more of wendi's images here,

and here.

champagne

2010-08-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

champagne, anyone?

f i n a l l y

it's been sunny in san francisco
for 2 days in a row,
and I'm ready to celebrate.

stripes and light

2010-07-25T21:21:00.001-07:00

stripes and light

scenes from a
summer weekend away

at villalucy.

10 new designs

2010-07-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

new stuff

3 new pairs,
a new set of 4,
a new color – harbor,
see my 10 new designs.

(i hope you like them)

alder & co in portland

2010-07-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

spotted in portland

alder & co

thoughtfully selected items,
suitable for everyday use
and for the grand occasion.

and particularly passionate
about goods made in the USA.

another very good match
for studiopatro.

wanderlust in the kitchen

2010-06-26T18:56:00.001-07:00

food stylist extraordinaire
george dolese
sent me wanderlust in his kitchen...

it's fun when people share photos
of their tea towels at home.

another wanderlust
went off to a brand new kitchen
in victoria canada today…

and I can't wait to go there and see it.

leaf

2010-05-31T17:30:00.001-07:00

"leaf" can be pretty

and useful too.

one day
we're off to an engagement party

and the next
we're keeping lettuce fresh in the fridge.

(hint: use cloth towels instead of paper and plastic)

the best of the city 2010

2010-05-28T15:47:00.001-07:00

I am pleased
delighted
gratified
chuffed
and happy

that 7x7 magazine
has included studiopatro in
"the best of the city 2010"
june issue, page 74.

and there I am
with three of my friends

paste

urban mercantile

general store

in
best of home + design.

a collection of leaves

2010-05-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

3 things

inspired

the newest collection of

studiopatro

tea towel designs

1
my collection of leaves
2
stripes in my kitchen and everywhere
3
eating and a beautiful antique spoon

(4 new sets coming soon!)

zoe loves casa

2010-05-02T19:00:00.001-07:00

zoe
loves casa

jack
picked fig

who can resist these two?

zoe lives in san francisco
jack lives in washington d.c.

and I can't think of a better way to use a tea towel.

photo of jack by garrrrrrrrrry

a very special gift for all mums and moms

2010-04-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

mums the word

studiopatró
and
june taylor

have come together
to create a very special gift for all
mums and moms.

meyer lemon marmalade and
strawberry & rose geranium conserve
wrapped in fern. $50.

candied blood orange peel and
meyer lemon & mint syrup
wrapped in fig. $50.

order here

by saturday, may 1 for delivery by mother’s day

also available at june taylor’s still room in berkeley
and at her booth in the san francisco ferry plaza farmers’ market
on saturdays may 1st & may 8th

nice company

2010-04-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

I am lucky
to work with
talented, creative people.

sandra cook
is one of them.

she created an herb mixture
of nori, wild mushroom powder,
garlic powder, salt and sesame seeds,
ground it in a mortar + pestle,
and
wrapped it in spike.

a gift to friends

to sprinkle on
scrambled eggs,
fish or pork,
rice and vegetables.

nice company.

cooking light

2010-03-20T13:13:00.001-07:00

the editors at cooking light
found our tea towels

and included us in their april issue.

how sweet is that?

and I can't wait

to make the
coconut cake from the cover.

(how did they know that coconut cake is my favorite?)

casa and city tea towels at SFMOMA

2010-03-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled.

studiopatro
casa and city tea towels

are at the SFMOMA museum store.

think urban adventure, architecture, city grids

in a strong modern palette
of copper orange and slate gray.

beautifully paired with
august table porcelain plates

and available at
the museum store
or online.

it's so nice
to be in such good company.

cafe mom giveaway

2010-03-09T14:46:00.001-08:00

giveaway

check out cafe mom for

studiopatró kitchen apron + tea towel set giveaway.

offer is good through saturday, march 13th.

just a comment puts you in the running.

timeless treasures

2010-03-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

the source

for vintage letters

big and small

bins and drawers full of everything imaginable

the more you look

the more you see

timeless treasures

on sutter street near pierce

in san francisco

and they even have some of my T towels.

tea towels for modern world

2010-02-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

a short story

about tea towels

christina weber's tea towels for modern world

read it online or in the march issue of SFiS

(so nicely written by sarah adler)

the general store, sf

2010-02-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

have you heard

about the

general store?

if you're in san francisco

it's in the outer sunset

but it's very "in".

don't miss

serena mitnik-miller's

hand-painted blocks

(gorgeous)

and the studiopatro tea towels, of course.

lever house goes pop

2010-02-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

surprise on park avenue

my favorite

lever house goes pop

richard woods

discovered that william lever and lady lever

loved decoration.

so his installation of

victorian pattern on the modernist landmark

may seem to clash,

but is really a lovely story.

until march 13th.

gorgeous grey

2010-01-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

gorgeous grey

how can you resist?

on fingertips

on dinnerware

on city sidewalks

and on façade, city and wanderlust too.

stockholm street style

heath ceramics

studio forbes

my mom...

2010-01-20T16:36:00.000-08:00

my mom.

she just turned 84,

and still hangs her laundry

on the clothesline to dry.

here she is, at home in arizona,

with spike and leaf.

thanks for the photo, susan c. weber

architecture and textile design

2010-01-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

the oresen house

by
akasaka shinichiro atelier

and

the casa tea towels
are a natural fit.

maybe architecture and textile design
should get together more often?

now that would be an interesting assignment.

akasaka shinichiro atelier via remodelista

reusing packaging ribbons

2010-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

easy sunday

a good (and practical) way
to reuse packaging ribbons.

cookbook bookmarks
mark your spot.

home from the market

2010-01-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

saturday

just home from the market.

fresh fruit with casa…
a nice contrast.

prepping

2010-01-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

prepping on friday

cushion a bowl
soften a surface
keep it clean

the 1st thing I reach for is fern.

thursday in seattle

2010-01-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

thursday in seattle

I'm being used.

to dry your hands
to wipe the counter
to grab a hot pan
and to hang around,
looking good.

thanks to kathy + anthony

wednesday in the kitchen

2010-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

wednesday in the kitchen

an irresistible word
for the strong desire to travel or wander.

why is "wanderlust" so intriguing?

itchy feet, anyone?

tuesday morning

2010-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

tuesday morning

a lunch of last night's leftovers
bundled up and ready to go to work
in the city tea towel.

instant napkin too.

monday morning

2010-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

monday morning

the first thing I reach for
is my good ol' Peet's.

strong coffee + milk =
the color of toast.

patterns + textures + colors

2010-01-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

patterns + textures + colors
from a morning's walk

irresistible
inspirational
humbling

(take your eyes and your iPhone
and go for a walk)

peace and cake

2010-01-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

wishing you

peace and cake

in the new year.

we ate
citrus cake with cranberry compote.
yum.

cake: dana tommasino
of woodward's garden restaurant

setting the table, butler-style

2009-12-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

setting the table, butler-style

you've got to admire that level

of attention to detail.

does anyone still have rules for setting the table?

does anyone e v e r iron the newspaper?

photo: Peter Granser

camaraderie

2009-11-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

i wish i could place my tea towels
right into these photos.

my friend sara slavin's stylish ways with food
inspired this camaraderie.

and the beautiful photographs…
(top to bottom)
deborah jones
leigh beisch
france ruffenach

"city" in copper orange

2009-11-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

"city" in copper orange
spotted on Halloween weekend.

beautiful food
side-by-side with texture and pattern.

one of my favorite things.

italy

2009-10-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

wanderlust
went to Italy with Lee.

what a lucky tea towel.

happy accidents

2009-10-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

I didn't do this.

somebody just grabbed a towel,
wrapped the baguette, and put it on the table.

happy accidents
at a dinner in Sonoma

photo: Julie Dodge

early morning walks

2009-10-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

inspiration

often comes from
the 1st thing I reach for
on those early morning dog walks.

the perfect leaf and spike met
and became partners

fall 2009 collection

2009-10-06T20:43:00.001-07:00

we design tea towels.

introducing our
fall 2009 collection

this blog is a portal to our online store
and a place to share stories.