Friday, July 30, 2010

Papaververt Goes to the Renegade!


Some cute l'il hanging lanterns from Papaververt, we spotted (and were just too juicy not to post) that are on their way to the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend in San Francisco. Designer, Patty Benson was playing around with some cream wool that she had handfelted and used glass yogurt jars and made metal wire hangers. So special. Don't you love handmade? (Also see some more new items below! Beautiful things.

Handcrafted Modern + American Craftspeople

Studio of Henry Varnum Poor

I'm going to be glued to the blog of San Francisco based photographer, Leslie Williamson for the next couple of months as she randomly posts outakes from her upcoming book Handcrafted Modern launching October 2010. An intimate and revealing collection of underpublished photographs of mid-century interiors of architects and interior designers such as Russel Wright, George Nakashima, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, and Eva Zeisel, among others. (Via Bureau of Friends).

And also because she's started another new project on American craftspeople (and even some of the two projects collide). Visiting studios of artists, she has been posting some of her photo's as well of beautiful examples as seen below:

Work of Kay Sekimachi, fiber artist & weaver


June Schwarcz, enamel artist

Handcrafted Modern available for pre-order here.
Blog: lesliewilliamsonphoto.blogspot.com
Site: lesliewilliamsonphoto.com/

Have a great weekend!



Found this rather "beachy" scene this morning in my inbox from Pamela Viola. She's turned her photo into an August Wallpaper to share and I think it's going to help me through my work days this month quite well. Visit her blog to download! I'm off to meet Janis this morning for a little shopping/craft excursion. Hope to find something fun to bring back! In the meantime, wishing you all a "beachy" weekend! (It's a long weekend here in B.C., but we'll still be posting Monday with our new "Back to School" market)!

Don't forget the Renegade Craft Fair in SF this weekend! And Happy 3rd Birthday Renegade Handmade!

Bow Ties Everywhere!

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We are loving these bow ties (and the post that we read about them) from Headquarters Boutique + Gallerie out of Montreal. Basically co-owner, Angie Johnson got home from work one day and realized she had left her bow-tie making machine on. And now she has way too many. And did you know she had the machine set on "vintage"? Visit the blog to find more.

Headquarters Boutique + Gallerie

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BowTiesRefinery29Image from Refinery29

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Font Friday!


VTKS Comic





VTKS XTRA




Bullpen





Cowboy Slang




Oh Yeah





Florals 1




Vectroid

Last Day for Oil Spill Fundraiser

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer


Today's the last day of our "Oil Spill Response Market Fundraiser"! We had an amazing response from our online friends and we thank everyone who participated from the bloggers - thank you My Love For You, ReadyMade, Design for Mankind, Philadelphia City Paper and Fabulous Fabulous! Thank you to the participants who donated all their special handmade goods, and especially to our visitors who purchased something from the fundraiser to help this great cause. The cap has been secure for a bit now and we hope that things will only get better in the Gulf from here on in. If you wish to make a donation, we are suggesting Oxfam who is helping the communities who are affected by this disaster. The market will be open until Friday evening around 6pm if you still wish to take a look. Click here to visit.

We will be back this Monday, August 2nd with our brand new market themed "Back to School"! Always a fun one! Have a great weekend!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Dear Colleen Oil Spill Project for Charity



Dear Colleen is launching her first charity project this Friday (tomorrow) and would love to get the word out. Like most people she has been shocked and upset by the scale of the horizon deepwater oil spill disaster. As soon as she heard about it she reacted in a very Graphic designer sort of way and drew a logo in a notebook. She says she just had a very clear image of the word ‘spoil’ with the oil part running down the page. It would have stayed in her notebook if a friend hadn’t seen it and pushed her to take the idea further. She decided that a reusable shopping bag made the perfect home for her design, being a green item in it’s own right.

Colleen is giving 100% of her profits (around $8 from every bag sold) to the Gulf Oil Spill Fund. She is also putting a high res file on Flickr (links will be up on her blog (from Friday) so if anyone else wants to use the logo to raise money for the fund they can. It’s a free for all and she hopes and trusts that people will just do the right thing. Colleen believes this approach can raise more money that way than her alone from her small part time business. Click here to visit her shop!

Update: The tote is now up for sale here.

Mr. Yen Does it Again



Loving these handmade notebooks by Mr. Yen. Known for his paper-cutting (which we posted about this past year), Mr. Yen has created these unique notebooks with the word 'Notebook' hand cut into the front of the cover. The cover is a vintage map page and has a grey paper insert between it and the grid pages. They are one of a kind (with only a few left)! Also check out his beautiful original paper-cutting, like the whales below which were created for the short stop motion film "Lost Things" which you can see below and/or here. (Via cafecartolina.blogspot.com).

Mr. Yen is a graphic design student based out of Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Blog: mr--yen.blogspot.com/
Shop: mrYen.etsy.com




Link Love

Wall to Wall by Raw Edges Design (Via Pinterest).
• Amazing coloured floors by Raw Edges Design
A Chic Moroccan Pique-Nique
Swedish inspired V:King lawn game
• A market bag with a baguette compartment. (Via designmom.com)
• Need a little office inspiration?
Wallpapered Plywood Artwork
Poketo for Target.
• Collect Art? You'll love Sfgirlbybay's new weekly column.
• "A Guide for Better Blogging" by Creature Comforts
• Is this the future of food magazines? NPR explains

Rental of the Week



A Frederick Fisher & Partners 500 square foot, glass, wood and block house built in 2001 on 24 acres in west Sonoma County. The private oasis affords ridgetop-to-ocean views with an immediate raw and natural connection to the land through meadow and woodland trails designed by Roger Raiche (director UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens) and Dave McCrory of Planet Horticulture. (Via airbnb.com, $300/night). Occidental, CA

This Week with Abbey Hendrickson

By Abbey of Aesthetic Outburst

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I saw this book at the thrift store yesterday and almost passed it by. The cover was bad and the pages were falling out, but somehow I convinced myself to drag it home. Well, I'm so glad I did because it's a gem. It's full of great DIY landscaping ideas and interesting structures. My favorite part? It was printed in 1984! I only found a couple of copies here, so hurry if you want one. Who knew shuffleboard could look so cool?!

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On a side note, I'm sorry to announce that this will be my last post as a regular contributor. After much thought, I've decided to step back a bit to spend more time with my husband and our two babies. A huge thank you to Jan and Earl for their hospitality and support. Their talent and energy continually amazes me. Many thanks to all of you for your comments and encouragement. I'm still over at Aesthetic Outburst, so please be sure to drop by and say hello. love, Abbey

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Affordable Art: Vivienne Strauss


Mrs. Wesley Winchester and Walter arrive in West Palm in the same manner in which they always arrive everywhere - with lots of baggage.

I love the story-style titles that always accompany Portland soon NY-based artist, Vivienne Strauss's work. They always set the stage for what is happening or happened in the piece and allows the viewer to take it from there. Visit Vivienne at our market here (note her piece, Florence with Fish she's donating to the Oil Spill Fundraiser) and at her Etsy shop, here.

A Push for Continued awareness & assistance

As our Oil Spill Response Market comes to a close this Friday, and as we were reminded by one of our participants this week (Daily Memorandum), we along with them and our other participants would like to make a push for continued awareness and assistance with the Oil Spill issues in the Gulf. We are re-posting our initial post when we launched the market to help with this effort. If you are needing to pick up a gift for someone for a birthday or maybe even shop early for other gifts down the road (dare I say Christmas?), we'd love if you'd consider our special fundraiser market which helps communities affected by this disaster through Oxfam. The fundraiser ends this Friday, July 30th. Below is a list of the participants donating to the cause. Thank you.

Related: Daily Memorandum (one of our participants) would like to match the sale price of their two relief items for donation to Oxfam.


Line 1 numsi, susan schwake, mb art studios,
Line 2 aunt wilma, my zoetrope, bellalulu vintage,
Line 3 minoux jewelry, pamwares, paper sparrow,
Line 4 package in style, erinzam, sfgirlbybay


Line 5 matte stephens, triggerhappy, roll and tumble press
Line 6 k is calligraphy, junxtaposition, aisyah ang
Line 7 cake + milk paperie, vicki harman ceramics, kiki and polly
Line 8 satsuma press, slow industries, janelle lile


Line 9 birch beer boutique, laura macchia, skeptis
Line 10 theme fragrance, field trip, moxie doll
Line 11 study, mccheek's mayhem, sycamore street press
Line 12 the petite press, little korboose, vivienne strauss



Line 13 blackbird letterpress, tokketok press, tuulikki titine
Line 14 noteify, alysia cotter, tina j studio
Line 15 smitten kitten, cocoa chu chu, kg and ab
Line 16 things by slo, be charmed designs, lulu dee



Line 17 bliss in a teacup, leah giberson, daily memorandum
Line 18 dwyer, octavia & brown, pistachio press
Line 19 corella illustration, magic markings art, nest pretty things
Line 20 isphotography, blue bird lucy's, letterhappy
Line 21 spool and sparrow, moop, the great lakes
Line 22 june craft, redstar ink, gretchenmist
Line 23 backyard ink, dude and chick, bananasaurus rex

More Fabric Decoupage via ReadyMade



Over the weekend I posted about Melissa's fabric decoupage project and then it's funny how all of a sudden you seem more of the same. Today I came across a similar project in ReadyMade's new August/September/10 issue. Using fabric scraps they've created this beautiful collage-style fabric decoupage on old school chairs! Love.

Try Umeboshi! Quick Orzo & Baby Bok Choy Salad

By Jeannette Ordas of Everybody likes Sandwiches


A couple weeks ago I wrote about some pretty rad fish tacos. I marinated the fish in spices and olive oil and I loved that technique so much that I used it again a short while later for another dinner without the taco component & completely different spices. With the main portion of my meal decided upon, I needed a carb and a vegetable so I merged the two with this fantastic orzo and baby bok choy salad. It's vegan so while it went perfectly with the fish, it makes a nice lunch on it's own too.


The unique twist is that I used umeboshi vinegar – a salty and sour brine left over from making Japanese pickled plums. I found a small bottle for under $3 at my local Asian market. It's pink, it's pretty and it's quite salty, so make sure you use it with caution - go with your taste buds and let them guide the way. And don't add extra salt!



Quick Orzo & Baby Bok Choy Salad
1 cup orzo
1 bunch of baby bok choy, greens cut into ribbons & stems diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 large handful of fresh dill, chopped
1 small green onion, diced
1-2 teaspoons umeboshi vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of agave syrup
a few good grinds of black pepper

Prepare orzo in salted, boiling water until cooked al dente. Drain well. Add into a large bowl, along with the shredded baby bok choy, carrot, cucumber, dill and green onion.

In a small jar, make the dressing but please try only the smallest amount of umeboshi vinegar before adding more. It's quite salty and I don't want you blaming me that I've ruined your meal. Start small and add more if needed. Give everything a shake, taste and adjust if necessary. Pour over salad and give everything a good toss. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Janelle Lile



I was really struck by this piece (above) by Seattle-based artist Janelle Lile. Her current work is based on the creative spirit and the ways people release their creativity, layered with imagery from the era of steam trains. Her family history is closely entwined with railroads for several generations and she is fascinated by diagrams of their obsolete technology. Janelle has joined us this month for our Oil Spill market donating Process , a print of an original magnolia tree illustration. Visit Janelle's etsy shop here and at our market here.


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Home Ec: An online sewing class



Home Ec is an online sewing class perfect for beginners (no sewing experience needed) and those wanting to develop their sewing skills and create 26 awesome projects! The teachers are Leigh Ann of Freckled Nest, Rachel of Red Velvet Art and Courtney of Courtney Janelle Sews. This is a take it at your own pace class beginning August 10th that includes 3 Guides, 26 step-by-step Projects with at least 1 new Sewing Technique in each, and a tips post on How to Invent & Adapt projects of your own! Take a look at all the projects!...



Along with daily sewing projects in the private class blog, you can participate in live chats to get friendly with your classmates and enjoy Q&A time with your teachers. Click here for full details and registration information or e-mail LA with questions at FreckledNest@gmail.com.

Fresh From the Oven: Bobby McKenna

By Will Bryant



Bobby McKenna is a recent graduate of the Notre Dame design department. He's doing some really nice things with color, texture, and execution.





More from Bobby:

If you enjoy Bobby's work then you'll love Frank Chimero, Brent Couchman, and Richard Perez