What won't be on the Bakery D'Amour coffee bags

Just like the last declined design post I shared, this work was done for Bakery D'Amour. And it's not that they're not going to sell whole bean coffee anymore or not put labels on their whole bean coffee bags....it's just that we have something else in the works that will do the trick. So for now, these are being archived into the StudioM declined design digital vault. But not before I send them out to blogger-land to be enjoyed. They need at least 15 seconds of fame.Stay tuned to see what we do end up slappin' on the coffee bags. It's going to be delicious.

Bakery D'Amour Gift Cards

The chosen design - Now you can gift the bakery experience to family and friends!

Some preliminary layouts

Bakery & Bistro | Now Open

This is not the first time I've sung the praises of Bakery D'Amour. And it won't be the last. If you're in the Salem area and haven't modified your route to accommodate a bakery stop, you're missing out. That's exactly what I'm trying to prove with this post. Feel free to salivate/drool as necessary. Just stay clear of your keyboard.

Turkey Cobb Salad. Scrumptious.

Turkey Pot Pie. Comfort Food at its finest.

Ruben Romance. Really.

This was my Grand Opening gift for the bakery. It came from Every Day is a Holiday on Etsy. They were recently featured in New York Times Magazine for this piece in particular. You can read more about it in the online article. It's a very cool idea. And perfect, I thought, for the bakery.

I generally try to follow directions, but instead of a cupcake for dessert, I got....

...2 lovely cookies, a chocolate-dipped macaroon, a cannolo, and two florentine crisps. I'm pretty sure we made up for the directional deviation in proportion. And each item comes highly recommended by me and my tasting team! Ha.

One of my darling dates for the day. My mom. Because a trip to the bakery should be a family affair.

Bakery D'Amour Party!

I'm exhausted and still full of pastries from last night's party at the Bakery. My girlfriend Amy graciously joined me as my date to attend Bakery D'Amour's Opening Party. It was a private affair, so we donned our baubles and skimmed past the 'Private Party' sign posted on the entrance. Being one of the elite is fun! What we found inside was delightful: the dining area packed with people, a pastry buffet, and lots of shiny new equipment and beautiful woodwork to admire. And that's what we did. We admired every little swirl of frosting and polished inch of stainless steel.

We mingled with the pastry chefs, newly-hired servers and project masterminds. We made new friends and caught up with old ones. (Yes, that's you, Leah! Love you.) We taste-tested eclairs, peanut-butter-and-chocolate cupcakes, pistachio cannolis, lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies, raspberry-shortbread dipped in chocolate.....

Yum-o.

Pastry Chefs are my new favorite people.

Supplies galore.

A glimpse of what's to come.

Me and Mrs. Fran Berrey - the Interior Design Mastermind

I heart you, Bakery D'Amour!

The Bakery official opens this coming weekend. It's located at 2577 South Commercial in Salem, OR. Call 503-779-1011 or email info@bakerydamour.com for more information. Or....check out these previous blog posts: Opening Soon, Bread-Lovers Unite!, Bakery D'Amour Wall Art, or Sneak Peek. (To read more about Amy and Megan's post-party adventure, go to Amy's blog.)

Art Show Process | 'Voices' at George Fox University

You might have seen my call for help last week. I needed to get all my ducks in a row ASAP for an art show: 'Voices' at George Fox University. It's an alumni art show. Obviously, I studied there. I'm so honored they've asked me to come back with several projects in tow. After sifting through countless files and print samples (see above photo), this is what I settled on showing:

• French Press Wall Art #1, 2x2’
• French Press Wall Art #2, 2x2’
• 2008 Rosey Awards Call for Entries Poster, 28x40”
• Livengood|Nowack Snowboard, 6' snowboard
• A Business Card Series of 6

For a split-second I thought, "Great! I'm done." And then I remembered I still had to prep all of the work. Boo. I forgot how much work this involved until I tacked it this week. Thankfully my husband lent a couple extra hands and eyes to get it all centered and mounted. Thank you Bryce and all my informal editors! My work is finally ready.

Rulers and mat board and frames, oh my!

The show will be up from Tuesday, Sept. 1st - Tuesday, Oct. 20th. There will be a closing reception on October 20th from 5:00-6:30pm. You can view all of the George Fox gallery schedules here.

Bakery D'Amour | Opening Soon

I scampered down to Salem this morning.

My agenda included the following:

1) Deliver printed menus and business cards.

2) Decorate!

3) Drink a copious amount of French Press coffee since the Bakery is going in just next door.

4) Pick up some more French Press goodies.

Done, done and done. Oh! And there was a tapioca + strawberry crepe with real whipped cream from French Press to top it all off. Not on the agenda, but a necessary deviation. Here are some preview photos...

The architectural awning over the drive-thru.

Love the striking design.

An amazing French platter Fran Berry found to hang in the bakery.

I'm jealous of her shopping skills. Go, Fran!

Bakery D'Amour Wall Art by StudioM

Bakery D'Amour collaborative wall art by StudioM and Christine Zollner.

I could fit in that mixer bowl. I should have climbed in there to give you a sense of scale.

Bread-making requires serious tools.

Jay Farmen, the Bakery Boss-man.

Ladders and boxes soon to be replaced with tables and patrons.

Until then.....Au revoir!

Bread-lovers unite!

Bakery D'Amour is coming. Soon.

Here are some images of the printed menus. They're planning on offering some of the most amazing menu items. You can walk-in, sit down, drive-thru or cater-to-order. How's that for options!? Get ready to eat some bread.

Bread-Lovers Unite!

You can read more about the bakery's design process here.

Bakery D'Amour | Wall Art

This is what you will see on the walls of Bakery D'Amour in Salem, OR. (If you missed what you won't see, click here.)

Contrary to the proportions you see here, the bike image will become a 2x2-foot stretched, gallery-wrapped work of art on canvas. The below work will be featured on a 6x3-foot gallery-quality canvas. Huge. If you've been to French Press, you've seen the 7x3-foot piece we created earlier this year. That's really huge. Bold and beautiful is the only way to go for this culinary endeavor; it's backed by some very brilliant and very brave people. You know, they say "La chance sourit aux audacieux" or "Fortune favors the brave" (literally translated: "Luck smiles at the bold"). Bakery D'Amour, you are going to be showered in smiles. I just know it.

One of the client's family members got to join in the fun, too! Christine Zollner did the sketch of the picturesque bakery woman in the piece above.

Here's the bakery's address if you'll be in the area: 2755 S. Commercial, Salem, OR 97302

What you won't see on the Bakery D'Amour walls.

We've been busy preparing all of the necessary pieces for Bakery D'Amour as their grand opening in Salem, Oregon is swiftly approaching. One of those pieces is wall art. Below are some early comps I presented for a large wall art piece. The final print will be 6x3', printed on canvas with 1.5' stretcher bars. (Keep in mind these are comps; please excuse the watermarks and low-resolution of some of the elements. Purchases have to wait for approval.) Even though none of these comps were approved as-is, there's a lot of good stuff here I wanted to share. And there's even better stuff on the way!

Stock images and illustration from istock.com , Jim Ward Morris and veer.com.

They say that the kitchen is the heart of a home. I'm pretty sure this bakery will become the heart of the capital city in no time. Good work, team.

And the winner is......

Ta-da! The Bakery D'Amour team chose a logo! We went through several rounds after reviewing what I originally presented, but we didn't stray far. I'm very happy with the solution and see many head-over-heels delicious dreams coming true in the future. So stay tuned, all you bread-lovers; there's a lot more that just hasn't come out of the oven.

This is where it all began. My sketchbook, the 'oven'.

The creative process is delightful.

Bakery D'Amour | Sneak Peek

There's something new and exciting coming from the same people who brought you French Press in Salem, Oregon: a bakery! It's going to be the best bakery on the West Coast. For. Sure. When we started the logo-creation process, I had the team give me a list of adjectives they would use to describe what the bakery will be like. (It's currently under construction.) This is what we ended-up with: French (obviously), Delicious, Quality, Creative, Classy, Top-Drawer, Family-Inspired, Tucked into the Neighborhood, All Made From Scratch, Friendly and Fun (and we knew we wanted a bakery bike in there somewhere). What a great list. I used these adjectives along with lots of research to inspire me along the logo-creation road. And inspired I was! As you can see below, we've got a lot of options. Some are very similar; all are rooted in the business goals and objectives. This is more than I usually show a client for the first round, but seriously, how could I cut any of them from the running!? Any one of them could be successful, but the challenge is choosing only one to take us forward. So.....tell us what you think! What's your vote? (You'll probably have to click on each set so it enlarges to really examine them enough to decide.)

I am so honored to be working with the French Press + Bakery D'Amour team. They've got a exceptional vision for some extraordinary additions to Salem. I can't wait to see Bakery D'Amour come to life. Stay tuned....and cast your vote! (If you'd like to see more identity work from StudioM, visit www.studiompdx.com)