Above: Sita is enamored with the golden deer. (Unbeknownst to her, it's actually a demon in disguise.) Below: Sketches of Sanjay's work in progress.

When I was little, I heard the story of Ramayana sooo many times. When I got an email from illustrator Sanjay Patel about his new book, Ramayana: Divine Loophole, I was floored with his new work. I love this modern retelling of the story. The book contains over 100 brilliant illustrations along with a detailed illustrated list of the cast of characters and sketches of his work in progress. Absolutely gorgeous.

And for you all on the left coast, Sanjay will also be at Super7 in San Francisco tomorrow, February 27 starting at 6pm signing copies of his book.

Stella the Squirrel, $90. Bruno the Bulldog, $84. Donatello the Deer, $84.

I love these quirky collectible toys by Los Angeles artist Chika. Designed especially for Maher Dry Goods, these are so intricately detailed and done entirely by hand. “Details are appliquéd and embroidered including french knot pupils and eyelashes.” Lovely stuff.

Alexander Girard Alphabet Blocks, $100 for a set of 28 wooden blocks.

Peeped these alphabet blocks over at House Industries and immediately fell in love with them. There’s something lovely about tactile, carved childrens’ toys. These are exceptionally beautiful with different suns, letters, words and a puzzle piece on each side. (The puzzle forms a cute picture of a factory inspired by the work of famed Herman Miller textile designer Alexander Girard.) Fab stuff.

Hop Along Bunny Mobile, $24. Butterflies Mobile, $35.

Adorable baby mobiles from Flensted at Modernseed. I absolutely adore those frolicking bunnies. Such simple and classic shapes for a nursery.

Clockwise from top left: Celebration Suitcase, Vol. I, $38. Sweetnellie Elephant, $60. Lilly Bean Play Food, Brown Bag Lunch, $34. I Scream Rattle, $24.

I received a wonderful email from Robert Mahar of Mahar Dry Goods and after visiting the shop I had to post about it. The items available are all handcrafted by artists, designers and crafters for children. There are some really luscious things available… I especially love all the stuff that’s done in felt. One of my favorites is the Celebration Suitcase that contains a felt piece of cake, a little plush “I Eat Cake” monster from Fishcakes and a gorgeous one-of-a-kind card made from vintage children’s book illustrations. Beautiful!

A birth announcement for Baby Rowan.

Lovely & varied work from Elizabeth Hubbell Studio. Gorgeous calligraphy is letterpressed onto cards, sweet illustrations adorn baby announcements. Some really great formats here including a little baby announcement book about a little girl born in the year of the monkey. Too cute.

The Ella and Avery announcement styles.

Beautiful work from Oliver Brinn. Delicately designed baby announcements with a vintage feel. Love all the flourishes lately and gorgeous scripts. The above are two of the four styles available. The announcements come with matching envelopes imprinted with return address and sticker seal. Lovely!

So fresh, so clean!

The work of Yamauchi Kazuaki is so beautiful. Love the transparent quality of the inks and all the playful animals and people. Look for the less playful but still beautiful illustrations at the bottom of the list of work in the portfolio. The children’s fish illustrations and the literal illustrations of fish are both beautiful in their own right and shows the flexibility in style of work. Kazuaki mostly illustrates childrens’ books in Japan and oh, how I wish I could get some translated into English.

An illustration from the childrens book, Another Perfect Day.

Ross’ work is gorgeously retro. I love the line quality in his illustrations and his color choices. Great letterpressed work and childrens’ book illustration. Funny website, too.