Eli, no!

Our dear friend, brilliant illustrator and the designer of our website, Katie Kirk (of Eight Hour Day fame), has a new children's book out, titled Eli, no!
 
You've have an opportunity to pick up her new tome, eat cake and listen to her read it this Saturday, October 22nd at the Red Balloon Bookshop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Grab your favorite kid and get ready to shout along: Eli, no!

NEW AD. NEW AD. NEW AD.

 Last night we attended the Minnesota Bride Best of Bride party at which the Fall/Winter issue of the magazine AND OUR NEW AD were unveiled. Undying gratitude goes to Kern Nickerson and Emily Snyder of Queen Quills.

Beth Bowman at Mitrebox

In a fortuitous pileup of our best lady friends, Beth Bowman's work will be gracing the windows at Mitrebox Framing Studio for the month of July. A talented Twin Cities painter, she is this month's featured artist at Mitrebox. Experience and have the opportunity to purchase her work at our hands down favorite frame shop (and bring that stack of 20x200 pieces that have been hanging out frameless for years, and let Mary and Sara give them the respect they deserve.)

Attention RePUBlicans!

 

Attention RePUBlicans, we're happy to announce that the lovely new RePUBlic at Seven Corners (formerly the infamous Sgt. Preston's) will be open for lunch starting TODAY! Come and join us on their lovely patio (amidst our jolly plantings) and have one of about a billion tap beers and some summery fish tacos. A don't miss is their two dollar petite desserts by our dear heart, the lovely and amazing Sheela Nammakal. They also have a great happy hour from 4-6pm. We'll see you there (we'll be the girls in dresses looking suspicious and digging in their planters.)

We've Done It Now.

A pat on the back and a raise of our glass to everyone who helped make our new ad happen (at the thirteenth hour.) We can't say enough good things about our partners in crime -- Kern Nickerson, Aaron Hansen, and Emily Snyder of Queen Quills Calligraphy. There's nothing hotter and more exhilarating than the freshness, urgency and synergy of seat of your pants design, and we certainly don't deserve the luxury of such great collaborators who share our vision and make things happen so effortlessly.

Here's a tease of our new ad. Because we're like that. You'll find it on page one of Minnesota Bride Magazine's Fall/Winter issue on newsstands at the beginning of July.

Our Favorite Things: Nurseries (or A Day of Running Around with Liz and Heidi)

Some days we do nothing but run around. Yesterday was hopelessly devoted to our foodie clients, Aster Cafe and Republic, for whom we are planting outdoor containers. After a quick trip to the Aster to size up the situation, we checked in on progress at Republic, where we found Billy O'Reilly pitching in on the painting. We heartily approve of how things are shaping up (and we daresay our paint selections are stellar in the space). After a quick stop at the Seven Corners geyser, we headed on to shop plants, including a stop at the lovely Tangletown Gardens for inspiration. 


As usual, we got gawked at at the nursery for our non-garish carts full of foliage plants. It's okay. We're cool with that. If you need smart and sexy container gardens, you know where to find us. We'd love to set you up.

Labor Days

Black eyes, bruises, cardboard cuts, blisters from lighters, embedded thorns, spray painted fingers, flooded cars and laps...our devoted peeps take one for the team everyday in a job that is deceptively physical. Now that we finally have a moment to take a breath, we wanted to again proclaim our eternal devotion to the people who never quit on us and make us look SO good, even when it's 10pm, when working conditions are 40 degrees and full of fumes, when lunch is pretzel m&ms and dinner is whisky and animal crackers. We couldn't possibly deserve you, but we're so glad you're here!

Handknit Valentine Cosies

You may not yet be thinking of Valentine's Day, but we at Bastian+Skoog are already up to our eyeballs in it. This year we are employing one of our favorite crafty ladies, Bertie (AKA the mother-in-law of the Skoog), to design and handknit delicious vase cosies for our Valentine arrangements. Flossy magenta mohair and superthick undyed wool are just a couple of options adding gorgeous texture and psychological warmth to our already optimistic fresh flower arrangements. Foxy, Scandi, modern, unexpected: stay tuned, we'll have sneak peeks of the finished designs for you soon.

Bastian+Skoog Sponsors Raccoon Rally #boysbikesyay

We're superproud sponsors of the Raccoon Rally, an alley cat race through Minneapolis, created by Greg at Urban Bean Coffee. Sign up and ride! The event is on Friday May 7th, and ends at the 30 Days of Biking Party, an event not to be missed.

*Note: 30 Days of Biking was inspired by my 30 Days of Yoga. They get all the glory as there were only three of us who did yoga (fistbumps to @MissHQ and @cevono) vs. about a million who are biking, yet we coexist peacefully and have made a lot of new friends in the Twin Cities biking community.

Lisa and Rich (+Heidi) on Madeline Island

One of Heidi's oldest friends was recently wed on Madeline Island. Perfect weather, the perfect setting, sweet, small, and intimate; this was one of our favorite weddings of the summer.

We had the pleasure of designing details of Lisa's wedding. The sweet touches of luminaries along the dock, coral-hued lanterns on the porch, turquoise and royal coral printed votives flickering on the tables, and of course, the super-striking color palette of corals and blues made this an ever-so-photogenic event. And it didn't hurt that Heidi was a bridesmaid (check out her shoes).

View more photos of the eye candy on Lace/Hanky's blog.

Call Your Mother

This Sunday, May 10th is Mother's Day. Guess what -- she'd really like some flowers. Guess what else -- Bastian+Skoog can set you up. Near or far, we'll arrange something perfect for your most significant other (ask us about long distance orders, and we'll say "yes we can"). We'll also have extra special hand-tied bouquets available for sale at Surdyk's in the cheese shop if you've waited too long and are embarrassed to call us (you know who you are)...

And before the emails start coming in, yes, that's Liz's momma in the middle. And yes, she's cooler than your momma.

ARTCRANK 2009: A Poster Party for Bike People

Our wheels are spinning as we plot something fabulous for ARTCRANK 2009
The show opens on Saturday, April 4 at One On One Bicycle Studio, located at 117 Washington Ave. N in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. You'll find foxy posters from the likes of Seventhsin, Aesthetic Apparatus, Joanne Grobe, and Adam Turman, The irresistible Millions Billions will make you shake it (not that there will be room to dance). Oh, and did we mention apps by Chowgirls Killer Catering and free beer? Woo hoo!
We were in earlier this week and, escorted by the always charming Charles Youel, we got to dig through the bowels of the one on one basement to scavenge for bike bits. If you haven't been, you really need to go, but make sure to tell someone where you are -- otherwise you could be lost for days... and a tough girl/greasy metal/lush swampy fresh floral installation from us will make you wish it were (really) spring.

It's Official:Our Website Rocks (and don't just take our word for it).

The Bastian+Skoog website, designed by our friends at the superfab EightHourDay, is officially h-o-t. AIGA Minnesota, a professional association for design, held it's 2009 Design Show of Excellence for print and interactive media last week. Big kudos to EightHourDay who were recognized for their design work on not only our site, but their Minnesota Opera project, as well.

Congratulations to our web design heroes, EightHourDay, who just finished their new website and identity, which is, of course, a triumph. We still are completely enamored with our new Bastian+Skoog site, and they seem to like it, too, as they are featuring it on their selected works page. There really aren't enough good things to say about EightHourDay -- incredible designwork, eternal patience and hand holding, and they're really, really nice kids. Check out their site to be humbled by their coolness.

Irresistible: SooVAC's holiday sale event

If you're anything like me, you are still in denial that Christmas is around the corner. Mercifully, Soo Visual Arts Center is here to the rescue with Irresistible, offering fabulous one of a kind art and crafts (without having to go to a mall) by the likes of local gems such as Amy Rice and Jennifer Davis. Irresistible runs from December 17th through the 24th, with a special sales event on Saturday December 20th which will feature our very own Lindsey Borgerson. Her wares will include these sexy maze puzzles packed up in petite little boxes lined with flocked paper -- a perfect stocking stuffer (yes, Dave and Kern, you will be getting them, so act surprised!). If you haven't yet seen her amazing mazes, check out her blog, maze of the day, for your daily fix. And buy a puzzle or a foxy screenprinted t-shirt, print, or roaring fire dvd (approved for asthma sufferers). Skip the mall, support local artists, give an interesting hand-made gift, will ya?

The super foxy Dowling Studio

Attended (and did the flowers for) a holiday party in the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie Theater on Saturday. Wow. Fabulous. Gorgeous. Perfect. A totally dramatic and flexible space with black walls, black floors, black linens, disappearing walls, amazing city views and INCREDIBLE lighting. This is simply the hottest space we've seen in a long time. Hot boys not included (big thanks to our unwilling models, Homme and Dave).

Oh, and did I mention the food? How I love thee, Cue.

Dance Party Alert (sleep in on Thursday)

Our pally Jake is doing it again: Transmission @ Club Jager. Come dance with us, Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 10:00pm. Here's the scoop from the horse's mouth:

Hey friends,

As the tagline reads...it is the biggest, busiest and best TRANSMISSION of the year! It's a night where everyone lets it all hang out as most can sleep in the next day and not have to go to work.

www.myspace.com/transmissiondj

If you generally have to skip TRANSMISSION on Wednesday nights due to the work week, this is your chance to come and shake it to the sounds you won't hear at any other club in town...especially the new wave and "alternative dance" songs you loved from high school and college...with a few guilty pleasures mixed in (George Michael anyone?)

It's truly going to be one heck of a night this year with great music prizes to give away and drink specials all night!

There's free parking, and the club is off the beaten path in downtown MPLS so you don't have to deal with all of the drunken folks at the cheesy bars in the heart of downtown.

My only advice is to get down there early to find your spot for the evening as people have lined up outside the doors to get in on previous years, and the club is only so big.

I can't wait to provide the soundtrack & play some early MTV vids you haven't seen since Martha Quinn was a VJ!

Cheers,

Jake

Just a taste of some of the artists you may hear. Just don't spill your drink on the floor and make the movers & shakers slip!

Pulp, Stereolab, Interpol, Charlatans, House of Love, La’s, Beatles, Ocean Blue, Velocity Girl, Ladytron, Roxy Music, Ramones, Buzzcocks, Stereophonics, Broadcast, Nick Drake, Lightning Seeds, Bertrand Burgalat, Zombies, David Bowie, Who, Small Faces, Ivy, Magazine, Wire, Gang of Four, Curve, Rapture, Manic Street Preachers, St. Etienne, Teenage Fanclub, Suede, Blur, Wedding Present, Cinerama, Fall, Electronic, New Order, English Beat, Specials, Astronaut Wife, Rolling Stones, Searchers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kitchens of Distinction, Unrest, Farm, Wannadies, Strokes, Hives, Jellyfish, Ian Dury, Lene Lovich, Ultra Vivid Scene, Medicine, Lush, Altered Images, Yardbirds, World Party, Byrds, Posies, Darling Buds, Echo and the Bunnymen, Smiths, Sleeper, Gorillaz, Badly Drawn Boy, Elastica, Placebo, Tourists, Moose, Divine Comedy, Komeda, Magnetic Fields, T.Rex, Radiohead, Supergrass, Oasis, Super Furry Animals, Ash, Space, Autumns, Cocteau Twins, U2, Jam, EBTG, Dubstar, James, Sugarcubes, Pale Saints, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Gomez, Air, Bis, Joy Division , Depeche Mode, White Stripes, Ok Go, Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Future Bible Heroes, Apples In Stereo, Fountains of Wayne, Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays, Madness, Belle and Sebastian, My Favorite, Human League, Bill Nelson, Birthday Party, Howard Devoto, Material Issue, Japan, Menswear, Them, Kraftwerk, Clinic, Clash, Velvet Underground, Fischerspooner, Blondie, Beta Band, Ultravox, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Madness, Rialto, Jake Rudh, Modern English, Jesus and Mary Chain, Big Star, Cardigans, Catatonia, Libertines, Babybird, Kinks, Squeeze, Komeda, Gene, Peaches, Sex Pistols, Chapterhouse, Liars, Placebo, Cibo Matto, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Cure, Close Lobsters, Laptop, Beach Boys, Chills, Teardrop Explodes, Robert Fripp, April March, Hooverphonic, Serge Gainsbourg, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Morrissey, Le Tigre, Yo La Tango, Duran Duran, Spoon, John Foxx, A Certain Ratio, Wall of Voodoo, Nina Hagen, Hot Hot Heat, Gary Numan, X, XTC, Echobelly, Faint, Cornershop, Cast, Red House Painters, Talking Heads, Barry Gesmo Experience, Status Quo, Boo Radleys, Spiritualized, Paul Weller, Idle Hands, Sundays, Mercury Rev, Snowpony, His Name Is Alive, 12 Rods, International Noise Conspiracy, Shadow Box, My Vitriol, Teenage Fanclub, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Ray Wonder, Grays, Hang Ups, Magnolias, Husker Du, Matthew jay, Wire Train, Cardigans, I Monster, Redd Kross, Linoleum, Ropers, Spongetones, Wedding Present, Lyres, April Showers, Emitt Rhodes, Felt, Helen Love, Bertrand Burgalat, Taxi Girl, Aislers Set, Catherine Wheel, Tahiti 80, Hot, Creation, Dandy Warhols, Doves, Donovan, Stooges, James Taylor Quartet, Panthers, Starsailor, Straglers, Jan, OMD, Magnetic Fields, Shoestrings, Pink Floyd, Free Design, Electrlane, Jacques Dutronc, Plimsouls, Primal Scream, Riverside, Shack, Embrace, Start, Talk Talk, Dodgy, Icicle Works, Barcelona, Martina, MC 5, Auteurs, Club 8, Birthday Party, Salad, Mansun, Yardbirds, Icicle Works, Von Bondies, Sahara Hotnights, Felt, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Selecter, Chameleons, Hellacopters, Runaways, Cramps, Ocean Colour Scene, Psychic TV, A Certain Ratio, Donnas, French Kicks, Cinnamon, Devo, Silver Sun, Tindersticks, Momochrome Set, Durutti Column, Squeeze, Clean, Adorable, Ocean Blue, Death By Chocolate, Dauerfisch, Monograph, Verve, Gentle Waves, Flamin Groovies, Gene, Datsuns, Go-Betweens, Pretenders, Built To Spill, Quasi, Ladybug Transistor, Essex Green, Falling Joys, Flatmates, Ultra Vivid Scene, Jason Falkner, Muse, Venini, Sea and Cake, Electric Soft Parade, Spearmint, Bettie Serveert, Noonday Underground, Sloan, Four Corners, Radio 4, VHS or Beta, Monaco, France Gall, Turtles, Czerkinsky, Momus, Etienne Charry, Blue Aeroplanes, Jazz Butchers, Pale Fountains, Marine Girls, Mazzy Star, Lightning Seeds, Mellow, Lunar 9, Cranes, Aztec Camera, Adorable, and just about any other modern rock band from the 60's - today (does that even make sense?)

And of course a healthy dose of Steely Dan, Little River Band, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Boz Skaggs and/or Hall & Oates. No, I'm not kidding.

7th Annual B+S Halloween Extravaganza

Believe it or not, our skeleton Paige was the ONLY one who came to our party as Sarah Palin (note, this was a post party shot and she had lost her six pack by this point...).
As always, but perhaps more than usual, we had a rockin' good time. The (already blood red) studio was dressed to the nines, complete with the Terrarium of Terror (we are florists, after all). The cooler was tricked out (and apparently there were some "tricks" going on in the cooler) to serve as our walk-in bar. DJ Jake Rudh was upstairs spinnin' our guilty pleasures. Sheela from Miel y Leche made us amazing cupcakes (with sugar skulls, no less). And lots and lots of kissing was going on in the photobooth. If you want to see it in all of its glory, here are the links:
Halloween 2008, More Halloween 2008, Even More Halloween 2008, OMG There's MORE Halloween 2008, Intoxication Setting In: Halloween 2008, Wrappin Up Halloween 2008.