lisa congdon + shiny squirrel

this is such a great little piece of affordable art that i just spotted over at the shiny squirrel of lisa congdon's work. they are featuring her work there right now and there are some sweet pieces to be had. this one, entitled, two boys and a cow is $40. lisa also has some new work at her etsy shop this week from her "nature walk" series that hung most recently at the swallowtail in san francisco.

lisacongdon.com

hey canada, designspotter wants to know...

DESIGNSPOTTER, a daily design web magazine out of Germany is doing a Canada Lifestyle Tour 2008 in just five weeks! And they have some questions for us Canadians before they begin. They will be visiting Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Banff or Edmonton. They want to hear from YOU and help answer a few questions. Just drop them a line with:

– exciting people
– interesting locations
– important and unimportant information about our travel cities
– your tour tips
– your suggestions, ideas or comments:

and email to gogolin@designspotter.com

favorite artist: emmanuel polanco

i think i just found another favorite artist. how many favorites is one able to have? his name is emmanuel polanco out of paris, (ile-de-france) and he's up there in the edwardo recife land if you're asking me. beautiful hand-lettering along with intricate and mysterious illustrations against vintage ephemera backgrounds.

www.emmanuelpolanco.net

baby bird houses

adorable one-of-a-kind handmade bird houses by tamar mogendorff out of brooklyn. made with vintage cottons and linen, they would look so sweet in a nursery or any room for that matter. around 17 cm x 17 cm. C $185.00. available at enfant terrible.

phm studio spaces: rifferaff

Artist Name: Shannon Riffe
Shop Name and Url: Rifferaff, rifferaff.etsy.com
Blog: rifferaff.typepad.com
City: Cambridge, MA




Where in your home/apartment is your studio located?

My studio consists of the dining room table in the one-bedroom apartment I share with my boyfriend, with little nooks and crannies used for storage through the rest of our home. I love the open layout of the apartment, but as a result my mess and my work is always out in the open. I try to keep things tidy as much as possible.

What equipment/tools do you use?

Very large silkscreens (30" x 40" in size), lots of large paper (19" x 25") and alot of ink containers. I recently purchased a swing arm paper trimmer and it has been amazing. Much better than using a metal ruler and an x-acto knife, which is what I had been using up until last month.

Do you have an inspiration board, and can you tell us what is inspiring you now? Actually I don't have an inspiration board. Because the screens are very large and expensive to create (and hard to store!), I only have 3 designs. So I try to think creatively in terms of color, since I will only add new designs one to two times a year. I love seeing color combinations in all places, a pair of socks my boyfriend is wearing, an ad on the train or in the paper. I also read design and craft blogs daily and always take note of what types of colors seem to be popping up regularly. Mostly, I go with my gut and do what feels right.



How do you create best (e.g. do you listen to music while you create and if so what?)
I come up with my best pattern designs at my day job while I'm doodling at my desk. Sometimes I think that if I was ever lucky enough to work on my art full-time, I'd lose my best designing time because nearly my entire portfolio of designs were dreamed up at a desk job, doodling while in a meeting or on a phone call or a lunch break.

List (3) of your favorite artists
Lotta Jansdotter
Orla Kiely
Mark Rothko

If yours isn't, what would be your perfect studio?

I'd love to have the space and equipment to create my silkscreens myself. Right now I outsource that work to a local screenprinting shop. So I'd love a large space in a converted factory building with lots of natural light, wood floors, and room for a drying rack, flat files, an exposure unit and a washout booth. I'd also love for it to be a shared studio space with creative and fun studiomates.

Thank you Shannon!

art by harry

i've been coming across some amazing artists as of late since we started publishing the studio spaces series. each artist participating was asked to list three of their favorite artists and i've been having so much fun reading them all. i subsequently received an email from a reader all the way from cape town, south africa (leanne) who had to tell me how blown away she was by a specific artist, harry underwood out of nashville. harry's work was mentioned by dolan geiman in his studio interview recently and when i went to investigate leanne's claims, i was also impressed by his work and had to find out more.

his work has the essence of margaret kilgallen's folk illustrations, something retro with some really fine hand-lettering here and there. almost vintage tourist ads with storytelling going on. he says "my work has become like advertising for my own desire to relax, and take it easy. vacation. but there isn't anywhere i really want to go, so i invent one... i call it "ardmore". the dream of beaches and palms seem to be universal nowadays. "

when we contacted him, he mentioned he was heading for to l.a. soon (following a mermaid there) to check out the art scene and to look for a gallery (anyone?) for those of you arriving or departing nashville international airport, you'll be lucky enough to see his paintings at american airlines gate section c this summer (june - august). these are some of his early paintings entitled, "ligeia". that show leads up to a solo exhibit at estel gallery in nashville and the intuit show of folk and outsider art, chicago, il.

artbyharry.com

phm studio spaces: nightjar books

Artist Name: Amy Borkwood
Shop Name and Url: Nightjar Books
Website: www.nightjarbooks.etsy.com
Blog: www.booksireadandbooksimake.blogspot.com
City: Toronto


Where in your home/apartment is your studio located?
My studio is located awkwardly in the corner of my living room, beside a gorgeous bay window.

What equipment/tools do you use?

Small, beautiful tools: bone folder, awl, needles and thread, heavy straightedge, etc etc.



Do you have an inspiration board, and can you tell us what is inspiring you now?

Right now: hand-drawn maps from fantasy novels, linen and wool, Caroline Gaedechens, root systems, short-short biographies, letterpress work (Trip Print Press, Etsy letterpress art), Katy Horan, more and more.


How do you create best (e.g. do you listen to music while you create and if so what?)

Combination of: constant music (this instant: grizzly bear, ohbijou and forest city lovers, beach house, one heart many hands), constant busyness around the apartment, paying close attention to/losing myself in details, singing loudly, taking constant strawberry breaks.



List (3) of your favourite artists

dot handmade
anatomy of a skirt
Nuit Blanche
Jennifer Graham
Hillary Webb
(there are 3000 more artists I want to mention)


If yours isn't, what would be your perfect studio?

My studio isn't perfect – I'm still young and in that phase between student housing and true home. I (very) recently moved in with a beautiful, wonderful roommate, we have a house in the middle of Toronto with a small garden and we are incredibly lucky, BUT I would love an entire room for my studio, to put up art on the walls, to line the room with shelves. I would love to have a table big enough to cut bookboard so I don't have to use the floor, and I would love to have an actual dark room to make silkscreening work (rather than painting the screens in a bathroom at midnight, and drying/burning in a mini-closet). In short: more space!

Thanks Amy!

emunique: jewelry empire

{ white pearl wrapped in silver earrings }


{ white peacock earrings }

brooklyn-based milda sedra has not one but *three* etsy stores. the largest, emunique, has colorful wire-wrapped and crocheted gold and silver jewelry; simplemunique is a pared down version of the same, and her wedding line, bridalemunique, is a relatively new offshoot. she takes on custom work as well, maybe sets for the bridal party or special gifts.

samples below are linked from all three stores:





more at emunique.etsy.com, simplemunique.etsy.com, and bridalmunique.etsy.com

evapaul redux: modern invites

{ custom calendar save-the-date }

since my first post, evapaul has added some lovely things -- here's an update!




more at evapaul.etsy.com

love: beirut

off-topic! here's my obsession of the week: this sweet, sad, mournful, joyful, intimate series of single-take videos from beirut:



"i'll gamble away my fright..." --

le sigh. makes me want to fall in love, move to brooklyn, and play the french horn.
there's one for each song on the album at flyingclubcup.com
what's your non-traditional love song, friends? maybe i'll start a series.

helsinki tents journal & cozy by jill bliss & lina rennell

these limited edition journals are a joint effort between lina rennell (beklina founder) & blissen (jill bliss) exclusive to beklina. the "helsinki tents" fabric is 100% organic chambray, silk screened by hand in small batches in san francisco. big-sur-meets-helsinki.

journals details include: recycled gridded paper, 2 pens pockets and 2 larger pockets & elastic band closure. Aprox: 7" x 5"

www.beklina.com

phm studio spaces: round robin press

Artist Name: Shannon Lowry
Shop Name and Url: Round Robin Press
shop: roundrobinpress.etsy.com
Website: www.roundrobinpress.com
Blog: www.shannonlowry.typepad.com
City: Austin, TX



Where in your home/apartment is your studio located?

We converted our detached garage to my studio. It took a grueling 7 months
of working on the weekends but the day it was finished was the day my
business truly started. I can't imagine being able to run Round Robin Press
from my living room as I did before.


What equipment/tools do you use?

1916 Chandler & Price 10"x15" letterpress
Chandler and Price Pilot
My computer
Pencil and paper
Encaustic medium
Heat gun
Electric skillet
wood


Do you have an inspiration board, and can you tell us what is inspiring you now?

I don't have an inspiration board, I wish I did. I get inspiration from
everywhere: My friends, design blogs, magazines,
movies, books, nature, my children, my husband-who is my rock, everything
that surrounds me.



How do you create best (e.g. do you listen to music while you create and if so what?)

I obsessively listen to This American Life and would love to have a little
Ira Glass of my very own! Ha. I also listen to music, and the sounds of my
back yard.

I never know when inspiration is going to hit me - it doesn't come when I
want it to, it sneaks up on me .


List (3) of your favorite artists

Tara Donovan
Jacob Hashimoto
Sodalitas


If yours isn't, what would be your perfect studio?

Even though my studio seems to be shrinking as my paper business grows I
can't imagine ever giving up this space. I love it's minimal modern feel and
great light. I feel fortunate to have a backyard studio, it enables me to
be flexible and within close proximity while my children are young. Having
my own business is extremely important to me and at the same time I don't
want to miss those priceless childhood moments. It's, at times, the hardest
yet most perfect place for me to be.

Looks like a perfect place to be to us too! Thanks Shannon!

it's autumn down under

i just received an email from erin of blossom creations with her new autumn cards, which made me do a double take. and then i remembered. oh ya, it's autumn there. and these are so beautiful, a limited edition autumn card set. click here to see more.

we got us some mail!

we're loving this little hand drawn poster that just arrived in the mail from mississipi state university graphic design student, will bryant. along with it, a very cool mixed tape and some rad buttons! thanks will, for the awesome package! we think ur neat!

phm shop highlight: modish handmade goods

Shop Name: Modish Handmade Goods
Website: www.shop.modishhandmade.com

modish handmade goods is one of our participants this month at poppytalk handmade. i've been reading jena's blog for as long as i can remember and she's always had great taste picking out unique handmade pieces ranging from accessories to paper. since her studio isn't set up just yet (she just moved), instead of doing a studio space post we're highlighting a few fun goodies that are new in her shop this week instead! starting out with these animal glass pins (above) by happy owl glassworks. each one is individually hand-crafted from fused glass in fun bright colors! she's also got some cozy cozy neckies from reno knitter, kristen ashbaugh of marinade (like this one below).



and although this print (below) by swallowfield isn't new in the shop, i just had to feature it! a beautiful illustration by jennifer judd-mcgee on a page from a vintage book entitled, "ecology of flowers", it's a limited edition print, hand-signed by the artist and frame.



modish's table at popptyalk handmade is filled with some gorgeous prints, pins, pouches and totes! you can see more here or visit her online shop directly here.

pocketfullofpoesy: engraved rings

{ hand-engraved silver ring }

"my life and my love" -- sounds beautiful in any language, no?

victoria of pocketfullofpoesy is new to etsy but has been creating beautiful rings in sydney for 14 years. not to mention she addressed me as 'ms. smallstar' -- how can i resist? you know how i feel about hand-engraved or stamped jewelry -- am in love with words and with the idea of creating something so intensely *personal* and meaningful. victoria works in both gold and silver and happily takes on custom wedding work, and prices with shipping from australia are quite reasonable.

her shop announcement says she's away until the 6th of april, so hoping this will be a nice surprise when she returns. check out her lovely, lovely things:



more at pocketfullofpoesy.etsy.com