Elle Decoration: Best buys...

We are proud to have had two of our wrapping paper designs selected by Elle Decoration magazine, as 'Best Buys' of the season, in their Christmas gift guide.

Bjorn Lie - Winter Trees

Leah Duncan - Triangles

Bjorn also has an exhibition running throughout November at Castor & Pollox on the seafront in Brighton

Introducing... Muxxi

Our new range of cards this summer has been designed by Norma de León, an illustrator from Guatemala City, who works under the name Muxxi.
There are eight greeting cards in the range, which are printed in the UK using vegetable based inks on card produced from sustainable managed forests, whilst the accompanying gift wrap is made from 100% recycled paper.

From digital illustrations to murals, Muxxi's work centers around surrealistic dream worlds filled with mysterious, sweet and colourful creatures. She explains  “I always had attraction for the surreal; movies, pictures, animations etc. My characters are a mix of all those things inside my mind. I love patterns, organic shapes, something abstract and harmonic at the same time. Above all, I like the spontaneity in what I do, and thinking of something lovely and cute.”

Muxxi has exhibited her art around the world, in Germany, Canada and the UK. She also has appeared in numerous publications including Computer Arts, and the Pictoplasma Character Compendium. For more about the artist, visit www.muxxi.me

You can see our full range online here

Alverton Hotel

We often hear people say they think our cards are good enough to frame. Well, the Alverton Hotel in Truro, Cornwall, has done just that. Using the work of Lizzy Stewart and Tom Frost as part of the decor in their newly refurbished brasserie and bar.

With thanks to Kate at our Falmouth stockist Here and Now, who kindly sent us these photos.

Have you got any of our cards of wrapping paper hanging on your walls? Send us a photo, we'd love to see them.

Second anniversary 20% discount offer

To celebrate 2 years successful trading, we're offering our followers a 20% discount on everything in our online store for the next two weeks.

Just enter the coupon code 2YEARS when prompted during the checkout process.
There's 20% off wholesale orders for new and existing stockists too, contact us for details.

Valid until 14th July.
NB: Make sure you type the code in UPPERCASE

best wishes,
Betty & Dupree

Sarah Andreacchio

Our final new range for this spring is a vibrant series of  'Animal Habitat' cards by Sarah Andreacchio

Currently living in Rouen, France, Sarah's designs are full of joyful animals and plants. She experiments with various techniques including gouache, papercut collages, and computer based illustration. These are brought to life with unusual palette choices and large blocks of colour, producing beautifully simple, exuberant results.

Sarah also writes a blog called ‘My Vintage Avenue‘ devoted to children's book illustration of the 1950s, which is where we first encountered her. The work of artists from that era such as Abner Graboff, Stig Lindberg, Miroslav Sasek and many others have all influenced her style.

If you are interested in seeing more of Sarah's work, and to buy prints or original artwork by Sarah, head on over to her website: cargocollective.com/sarahandreacchio

Alyssa Nassner

Our second new range for this season, is by Alyssa Nassner

A surface designer and illustrator from Baltimore, Alyssa's illustration style is inspired by vintage botanical prints, science, nature, and hand rendered typography. Alyssa strives to keep her work playful and fun, aiming to brighten someone's day, by adding a bit of colour to their home.

Alyssa is an active contributor to the worldwide illustation community online, co-running the collaborative blog 'Ten Paces and Draw'. As a career that often results in working alone from home, or spending late nights in a studio, the project encourages artists to share and interact, creating new work in the process.

To celebrate the launch, Alyssa is offering a special discount on purchases of prints from her online store.
For more details visit: http://www.alyssanassner.com/betty-dupree/ 

Osian Efnisien

We are launching three new card ranges for Spring 2013.
First up, and appropriately enough for St David's Day, we have eight cards by Welsh artist Osian Efnisien.

Brought up in the isolated mountains of Snowdonia, North Wales, Osian would spend the dark winter months indoors watching cartoons, playing Super Mario Cart, and drawing.

Influenced by the 'Superflat' culture of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, his work has progressed from street art ad campaigns for fictitious brands, to solo gallery shows exploring two dimensional character variations, and geometric patterns.

Osian's work featured in the latest Pictoplasma Book, and he will be speaking at the Pictoplasma Character Conference in Berlin this April, alongside Jon Burgerman, and Feltmistress.

Here he is being interviewed about his practice, for a Welsh news channel.

If however, you're not fluent in Welsh, you can find out more by visiting Osian's website: cargocollective.com/motatomi