Olivea Kazumi Shure is a photographer and collage artist based in New York City. Deeply inspired by the City itself, Olivea says that, when she takes photos, it’s like a new portal is uncovered and everything around her comes to life “dancing” through her camera lens.

Through her Etsy shop, she sells her lovely pics and a selection of very beautiful cards, which she happily shares with those who love to exchange words written on paper. Bringin’ mail (not e-mail, but regular and real mail) hip again.

:: Why and when did you started The Happy Avocado? I started The Happy Avocado last fall when I began planning and preparing for my wedding.  I love DIY projects, especially when it comes to decorations and thank you cards!  I invested in my own thank you card supplies and incorporated some collage work that included pressed flower petals, a little fabric glue and tissue paper.  It was around this time my friend told me about Etsy and thought I’d give it a try.  I’ve always wanted to have my own online shop to sell wares.  I later added photography and more collage work to the shop.  My husband and I have a photography business based in NYC called Thank You Carl Studios. As for the name, it was my sister and I who came up with the name The Happy Avocado.  We were looking around my apartment one day for ideas and both looked to my baby avocado plant for inspiration—it continues to flourish to this day.

:: Where do you get your inspiration from? New York City!  I’m continually inspired by this mysterious place!  I’ve heard it called the concrete jungle, with its sidewalks, stairs, massive buildings and structures—everything seems to be built to stay.  I love finding the “tender” more delicate spots in the city where people frequently gather to relax and just take a breather.  My breather place of choice lately has been the Highline Park in Chelsea.  It’s such a beautifully constructed park that overlooks the Hudson River on one side and Manhattan on the other.

:: Who is your ideal buyer? Anyone!  I love sharing my photographs with others.  My favorite is doing custom orders.  If you have an idea or theme for a photo series and or photo/collage, let’s talk!

:: What is your favorite NYC place? My favorite places are actually cute and cozy coffee and tea houses. I’ve always loved coffee/tea culture and love any excuse to take a friend out for a cappuccino and french macaroons.

:: Do you think New York can still be considered the place-to-be for young creatives? Absolutely.  New York and young creatives go hand in hand, much like peanut butter and jelly and McDonald’s and French fries!  Being young, unless you’re a trust fund baby or something, you HAVE to live creatively to survive here!

:: Where do you shop in NYC? I actually love shopping for food over anything else!  My husband and I love to cook and really enjoy coming up with new recipes to cook for each other and friends.  Best place to shop for veggies is under the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown.  It’s like a little underground farmer’s market with tons of cheap farm fresh veggies (and in close proximity to some amazing lunch sites!!). I love exploring the city and window-shopping with my husband.  No matter how well we think we know an area, there’s always something new to discover.  I love going into the vibrant little boutiques in the west village to see what’s new and sometimes score on an awesome sale.

:: If  I say Italy, you say…? YEAH! I LOVE ITALIA!!  Almost as much as I love NYC!  When I think of Italy, I think of three very important things:  amazing food, fine shoes and gorgeous people!  Italy actually reminds me to enjoy my life and to say THANK YOU daily… Also, fingers are crossed that I’ll get to spend my long awaited honeymoon  there!

Francesca Masoero

Dean Penn and Paper is Bill creative creature. A space all dedicated to designing, since -as Bill said- “It’s a great feeling when you can help someone make their vision come to life!”.

That’s why his cards are so simple and yet so evocative: because they are filled with animals, trees and love.

Plus 10 % of every purchase you’ll make on Dean Penn and Paper, will go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

:: Why and when did you started Dean Penn and Paper? I started Dean Penn and Paper in late November of 2009. I started it basically because I’ve always had an interest in graphic design (with no formal training) and I was also looking for a way to create some extra income for my family. I took this yr off of teaching to stay home with my daughter, while my wife returned to her teaching position. We’re trying to alternate years in hopes of avoiding putting our daughter into day care. So far, so good! Plus this way I have also manage to use my time in the best way possible: creating!

:: Where do you get your inspiration from? When I make these cards, I try to design them around things I see around me everyday. That’s why you see a lot of trees, birds, dogs and cats. I really like the ‘nature themed’ cards.

:: Who is your ideal buyer? My ideal buyer – although EVERYONE is welcome of course!- is someone that has a creative side and likes to have their cards personalized with their own touch. I do a lot of customized work based on ideas customers come to me with. I’ve had a lot of positive experience doing this…and it seems to be fun for both myself and the buyer!

:: What is your favorite NYC place? My fav place in NYC may sound a little odd. It is the Pronto Pizza on 36th between 6th and 7th (I believe). It’s where my wife and I had our first impromptu date…we were headed someplace else but got caught up in the rain and ended up there. It’s one of those great places where NYC plays the perfect backdrop to.

:: Do you think New York can still be considered the place-to-be for young creatives? Of course. In my opinion, NYC is the greatest place on earth. It’s the center of the world. There’s just so much life there, so much to experience and learn from!

:: Where do you shop in NYC? Ha! Ever since we’ve had our daughter we’ve been spending a lot of time and money at Toys R Us and FAO Swartz! Those two toy shops are just amazing for kids, not only because of the stuff they sell, but thanks the experience you get while visiting them too: think of the giant soft toys at Fao Schwartz or of the T-Rex at Toys R us, where else in the world could you find things so huge and fun? Only in New York.

:: If I say Italy, you say…? I just say “tradition” and “class”.

Francesca Masoero

E San Valentino a New York è un very big deal, per cui: meglio prepararvi in anticipo.

Per l’occasione tutta la città si trasforma e si riempie di cuori, di rosa e di cioccolatini.

I ristoranti preparano menù speciali con tanto di torta a forma di cuore (io lo scorso anno ne ho mangiata una buonissima da Philippe Marie, nel West Village) e le vetrine dei negozi vengono invase da una quantità incredibile di possibili regali (dai pupazzi alle magliette, dalle tazze ai cellulari) e, ovviamente, da tonnellate di carte d’auguri, di tutte le forme, i colori e i temi possibili.

Biglietti dedicati alla maestra, al vicino di casa, alla mamma della zia, all’ amico del papà, al cane, al verduraio: ogni cartoleria, drug store, supermercato, concept store (da Duane Reade a Barney’s, da Whole Foods a Urban Outfitters) vi proporrà una gamma quanto mai ampia di opzioni tra le quali scegliere the uber perfect card.

Se però pensate di aver bisogno di qualcosa di ancora più originale fate un salto su Engreet- The Greeting Cards Store, scegliete sfondo, tema, catchy phrase e disegno e… voilà: ecco che vi si materializza sul pc la versione 2010 dei bigliettini fatti a mano -con collages, porporina e colla Prit- di quando eravate piccoli.

La card potete  farla spedire (cartacea!) direttamente al vostro valentine, oppure farla arrivare da voi così che la possiate firmare (ok, siete anche autorizzati a disegnare un cuoricino a penna, se proprio lo volete) e poi spedire o consegnare di persona.

Poi, se tutto questo romanticismo non vi ha ancora nauseato, non siate tirchi e al biglietto aggiungete un bel date, magari per vedere Valentine’s Day che, proprio il 14, esce in tutte le sale degli US of A.

Meglio di così…

Francesca Masoero

Manca meno di un mese a San Valentino e su Nuok iniziamo a darvi qualche suggerimento per passarlo al meglio, nel caso voi siate a New York proprio in quel periodo. Iniziamo dal bigliettino d’auguri. Sia che lo vogliate consegnare a mano, sia che vogliate spedirlo, il greeting card store PAPYRUS dovrà essere la vostra prima tappa.

Si trova al 73 di Spring Street (Soho) ed ha un vastissimo assortimento di biglietti per ogni occasione, soprattutto San Valentino. I biglietti sono piuttosto costosi, nonostante l’offerta 3×2 a quasi 15 dollari, ma ne vale la pena per un’occasione così speciale. Ogni bigliettino è stato studiato da designer o illustratori di tutto il mondo.

Curiosate anche nella sezione della stampa personalizzata (accessibile anche online), potrete realizzare ogni vostro desiderio. Naturalmente, il negozio propone anche oggetti per la vostra scrivania, dalle cornici ($ 5 – $ 68) ai fermacarte ($ 32).

Se la selezione di PAPYRUS non è abbastanza, vi basterà attraversare la strada. Troverete un altro negozio fornitissimo.

Che vi troviate in Italia, o a New York, non fa differenza. Iscrivendovi a questo sito, potrete partecipare al più grande progetto di scambio di cartoline nel mondo. La meccanica è molto semplice.

”send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!”

L’obiettivo di Postcrossing è permettere alle persone di ricevere cartoline da tutto il mondo, gratis. Bè, quasi gratis! L’idea di base è questa: se spedisci una cartolina, ne riceverai almeno una in cambio, da un Postcrosser a caso da qualche parte del mondo.

In breve:

1. richiedete un indirizzo dal sito
2. spedite la cartolina a quell’indirizzo
3. aspettate di ricevere una cartolina
4. registrate nel sistema la cartolina ricevuta

Il primo passo è richiedere l’indirizzo di un altro utente al quale dovrai spedire una cartolina. Riceverete l’indirizzo del destinatario ed un codice identificativo (Postcard ID) della cartolina (per esempio: IT-738) via email. L’ID della cartolina la identifica come unica nel sistema. Il passo successivo è spedire la cartolina con l’ID ricevuto scritto chiaramente sopra. Questo permetterà al destinatario di registrarla su Postcrossing, rendendo così te la prossima persona il cui indirizzo verrà mandato al prossimo postcrosser che richiede un indirizzo a cui spedire una cartolina.

Il fondatore e sviluppatore di Postcrossing è Paulo Magalhães, un ragazzo sloveno – mentre Ana è la community manager e webdesigner.

Alphabets è la risposta giusta. Potete scegliere tra il negozio del Greenwich (da sapere: la pronuncia esatta è approssimativamente grènic’ e non a grìnuic’ come si crede) oppure i due (uno appiccicato all’altro su Avenue A!) di Alphabet City, da cui prende il nome la piccola catena.

Alphabets ha una vastissima scelta di giocattoli, postcard e souvenir davvero originali ed unici. Niente a che fare con le boule de neige con la Statua della Libertà! Qui troverete i migliori regalini e cartoline per amici e parenti, anche quelli più lontani! Ecco un esempio!

Happiness is having a large, close-knit family in anather city!