Hello MLE,

I hope you are doing well. As you know, I have been away in the beautiful English countryside for a week to recharge my batteries and now I am back and full of energy!

This week I would like to tell you about anchovy packaging.  Overall, it is a beautiful thing. Though I do not eat anchovies myself, I have always admired its packaging... for some reason it tends to have a bit of a retro look and the tin is usually that lovely square shape with rounded corners and the little opener on top...

Well, the Portuguese company Conserveira de Lisboa particularly strong anchovy packaging.  I discovered this in a shop here in London on Columbia Road called, "A Portuguese Love Affair," which claims to share some of the best things made in Portugal. They do not have a site, but here is their FaceBook page. Evidently, the Conserveira de Lisboa shop is a true traditional store, almost 100 years old, and a must-see when in Lisbon.

The Conserveira de Lisboa site.

Suzan xx

 

Happy Friday MLE!

Just want to announce that the gin we designed is now not only available in Sweden, but also here in the UK. So, if anyone wants to try it out, please do. Should be on the shelves at Sainsbury's "affluent" stores. Which is not the one in my hood.

Read about it in the press here.

Talk soon!

Suzan xx

Hello my friend!

I'm back in town after a lovely, long vacation back in North America - what I'm now calling the 2012 Atlantic-Pacific family tour. Was so good to be home and see the family, swim in lakes, walk in the mountains, and of course stuff my face with as much delicious food as possible. I know you will disapprove of my rampant seafood consumption – but oh, it was so good! Seafood and travel.... the environmental crimes that I really can't give up. Anyway! This year, our gift of choice to bring over for family was handmade toffees from Pärlans, a confectionary in our neighborhood. It's just such a nice example of fantastic all-around branding – the delicious candies are made from an old recipe from the 1930's, and everything is styled in the spirit of that period: the packaging, the shops, even the girls wrapping toffees in the shop window are dressed to a tee with perfect hair and makeup, like a live installation. The cafe serves tea and coffee with proper porcelain cups and saucers, they play jazz music, and the interiors make you feel like you're sitting in a Hercule Poirot film. It's all just done so well. And of course the toffees are fantastic, with flavours like lemon & vanilla, almond, raspberry, salt licorice, blackcurrant, chocolate, and peppermint. Lovely!

Hey the MLE,

Was in a great wine shop here in East London the other day called, "Bottle Apostle." And was quite surprised at the number of interesting wine label designs, so I took a couple photos to show you. As you can see, I really appreciate the minimal designs, as 99% of all the other wine labels try to cram as much as possible onto the label, so these really stand out and look elegant. The Novello lavel is minimal and rough, and features a nice black waxed cork seal. The Moon label is amazing too - just a printed moon shape on the bottle, I believe it glows in the dark. The Reyneke name is etched right into the glass - no label required. Not sure what the name of the fourth wine here, which is why I really like this label - no name at all, really makes a statement by including this image and no text at all.

Suzan x

MLE!
Naturally as we run up to the big 2012 Olympics here in London, we've been seeing more and more athletic-themed products hit the shops, varying anywhere from corny to quality. Definitely on the more quality end of the spectrum is this lovely soap packaging from Sting in the Tail. The packaging looks screen printed, though I did not carefully inspect it. Looks great as a collection on the self, it is so bold and colourful.
Suzan x

Available at the lovely barbers and male grooming specialists Murdock here in London.