big letters for a little lady

Last spring, soon after learning she was pregnant, Tara Swain, a photographer based in Paris, Texas, emailed to ask about buying vintage sign letters for the baby nursery she was designing.

Eager to help her "long distance", we suggested she email us when they found out the baby's sex and chose a name for him or her.

So in August, Tara sent us the details: "Okay! I am ready to order the letters.... the name is Briley." The color scheme for her daughter-to-be's nursery was chosen -- lime green walls, black furniture, hot pink and turquoise for accents. "No brown, no pastels," Tara emphasized. She wanted mismatched letters, and since she planned to hang them over the baby's crib, "I'd like them to be fairly big, but not TOO big." And finally, she added, all the letters didn't have to be pink, green or turquoise. "I just like the 'junk' look." I can't WAIT to see what you work up!"

With that guidance, we chose three options for BRILEY from Timeless Treasures' current store stock, took snapshots on the sidewalk on Sutter Street for the excited mom-to-be, and awaited her decision.

As you can see, Tara chose the mix in the lowest row shown above. Briley arrived in December, and a few weeks ago her proud mama shared the photo of her snuggled in her crib beneath her name.

All we can say is, "Sleep tight, Briley!"

You can see more of Tara's work, which she describes as a mix of photojournalism and creative portraiture, here.