If you have a few hours to spare, I might suggest a little trip over to Sheaff Ephemera. The site is the brainchild of one Richard D. Sheaff. Collector extraordinaire. These figural cameos don’t need much explaining. If you’d like to see more, and there are MORE, go here.
I’ve posted about this pasta before, but as part of a larger entry in which I highlighted simple clear packaging. And, even then, I only had the spaghetti and the vermicelli. I’ve been looking for this pasta for awhile. It is rustic and toothsome with a nutty taste. It’s now one of my favorites. It also happens to be Swiss, which came as a big surprise to me. (Although it shouldn’t be, given the great packaging.) I was about to place an order online, until yesterday, when I came upon Formaggio Cheese, a small shop in the Essex Street Market, that regularly keeps this pasta in store. Now, if you live in NY, love food, enjoy cooking and haven’t yet been to the Essex Street Market, I might suggest that you make a little foray as soon as you get a chance. The market itself is, I believe, the longest continuous running retail public food market in NYC, and one of only four remaining public markets in the 5 boroughs. There was a time when many thought the market had reached its end, but in the past few years it has found a renewed vitality (for various reasons, both good and bad) that seems neither forced or temporary. Do yourself a favor and visit Saxelby Cheese while you’re there!
Not too long ago, my friend Theresa, a graphic designer, took a class in the art of the pointed pen style of calligraphy. Copperplate, to be specific. While I am impressed by proficiency and dexterity (both of which she possesses in the extreme), I am always more captivated by the process. The practice pages she showed to me one night over dinner won my heart. She very generously lent them to me. I hate to have cropped them, but the format here on Mrs. Easton isn’t well-suited to the landscape image.
Agence Eureka has such an amazing and extensive collection of ephemera that I could probably post something from their archive every day for the next year and still have plenty to spare. Scrabble anyone?
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