Nathan Turner’s Last Minute Thanksgiving Holiday Table Ideas

Classic Design and Effortless Entertaining

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you’ve been focusing on your menu so much that you’ve forgotten to plot how you’re going to decorate the holiday table. Don’t stress it; there are quick and sure fire ways to make your table beautiful in no time flat.

Draw inspiration from the whole Bloomsbury aesthetic, it’s all things cozy, and when you zero in on the look, I think it really makes for easy entertaining. This style is all about not worrying if things match or not, and combining great textures and lots of earthy colors. I feel that most of us have many of the elements needed for this kind of entertaining already on hand at home. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. The possibilities open up without the pressure of needing a complete set.

Cover Evolution of John Brown

Behind The Scenes With Creative Director Chad Beckerman

Illustrator and author John Hendrix posted the ‘Anatomy of a Jacket’ on his Blog Drawing on a Deadline. John discussed the process of making the jacket for his latest book JOHN BROWN:His Fight for Freedom. This entry is a follow-up to his but from the view of the art director. Let’s begin.

Designers & Books Fair 2012

The ABRAMS Experience

The month of October is always exciting here at ABRAMS, from the epic festivities of Comic-Con to the colorful crowd—both two and four legged—at The Sheep and Wool Festival, it seemed like every weekend was filled with excellent events, sights and sounds that spanned the genres of all our books.

And in that final October weekend, ABRAMS had the distinct pleasure of being a part of the first annual Designers & Books Fair. The show, held at New York’s own F.I.T., was produced by Designers & Books founder Steve Kroeter, and featured a grand assortment of publishers and panels from all over the world.

The Painted Home by Dena

Photos From Author Dena Fishbein's Book Signing Event

Hello! I’m Dena, author of The Painted Home, and I’m so happy to be a new part of the ABRAMS family. My book debuted in September, and it’s been wonderful seeing the supportive and positive responses growing over time. John Ellis took amazing photographs, styled by Sunday Hendrickson, of each room of my hand painted California ranch home. The book features 20 easy to understand and very customizable DIY how-tos for all kinds of projects from paper-lined vases to hand painted curtains. In addition, there’s a stencil at the back of the book for painting a wall of your own home.

Dazzling Design

A Visit To The Office Of Dazzling Design Author Amanda Nisbet

Dazzling Design by Amanda Nisbet one of my favorite books on the fall interior design list for a number of reasons. Partially because I love working with an interior designer whose style I can actually draw inspiration from for my own home and also because the pages are stuffed with vibrant colors that make my head spin. Color and its many iterations is what Amanda is known for. It’s her calling card and clients flock to her doors to get a chance to have a home designed by her. I have visited her offices and can say that her use of color in clients’ homes translates to her own office also.

The Joy of Decorating

NYC book launch and party recap

Phoebe Howard is not only an incredibly talented decorator, but such a warm and fun woman that everyone who knows her can’t help but volunteer their support and good wishes in whatever new endeavor she’s taking on. And so, Phoebe found herself in the very enviable position of having not one, but TWO, A-list designers hosting her for her first NYC book launch of The Joy of Decorating: Southern Style with Mrs. Howard.

On April 24th, Charlotte Moss and Bunny Williams co-hosted the launch party at Carolina Herrara’s Madison Ave store. The store graciously devoted window space to a large display of the book cover – and included a gorgeous color-complementary evening dress in the mix!

The Joy of Decorating

Southern Style with Mrs. Howard

I had the pleasure of working with Phoebe Howard this past year on her book, Joy of Decorating: Southern Style with Mrs. Howard by Phoebe Howard (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2012). What I love most about Phoebe Howard (or Mrs. Howard as she prefers to be known) is not the way she does interior design, but the way she seized her dream of starting her own business after raising four children. Phoebe and her husband opened the first Mrs. Howard design store in Jacksonville, Florida and through clients at the store Phoebe quickly became one of the most sought after designers in the South. Her very first project was featured in a twelve-page spread in House Beautiful! So you can imagine I was so excited to edit this book and to work with someone whose work I had read so much about.

The cover evolution of Peter Nimble & His Fantastic Eyes

The designer (and author and illustrator) recount the work that went into creating the beautiful cover

We decided that we needed to celebrate the cover art of one of our amazing Amulet titles that’s just released. It’s called Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, and our in-house designer (and creative director) Chad Beckerman shared the various iterations of the cover on his blog. We’re excerpting a bit of his post here but feel free to jump to his blog to see more. I also highly suggest taking a look at author Jonathan Auxier’s blog, where he also discusses the cover evolution.

The Laser Cut Intricacy of Tattoo World

Our executive art director talks about the ups and downs of her gorgeous design

Question: How many people, hours, emails, conversations, cups of coffee and glasses of wine does it take to make a seemingly effortless laser cut in the shape of a dragon grasping a heart for a book cover?

Answer: Lots.

PS–Get Inspired for Summer!

Crafting a sailor shirt with ‘PS—I Made This’

Rebecca Kaplan, senior editor here at ABRAMS, introduces us to Erica Domesek’s PS–I Made This and a crafty summer project just in time for the warm weather!

For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with one of New York’s most creative, fashionable and seriously fun women: Erica Domesek. The author of PS I Made This and the creative force behind PSIMadeThis.com and the PS—I Made This brand of the same name, Erica is constantly creating and inspiring everyone around her to get involved and get crafty! Even her apartment houses a craft closet like nothing I’ve ever seen and is filled to the brim with supplies for any and all “craft-mergencies.”