a visit to the gallery of bc ceramics

i made a fast visit to gallery of bc ceramics this weekend where i noticed a few beautiful pieces from local potters, kathleen murphy (vases above); i'm loving the muted colors and shapes, maggi kneer (floral pieces below) - who's work reflects nostalgia for her childhood days of afternoon teas with her grandmother and the bottom photo featuring a poppytalk favorite, laura mckibbon. thanks to gallery manager, brenda beaudoin for letting me take these photos!

last week of october's poppytalk handmade market!

we've extended the october poppytalk handmade market to the 31st as a thanks to all the vendors out there who participated this month. the response has been tremendous and thanks to all of you who visited our vendors and supported these amazing artists! november's market will be launching next monday with many new vendors along with many returning ones for a holiday and gift themed month of handmade goodness! mark your calendars for november 5th!

cipolla: hand-sewn treats

the three-way: wristlet, handbag, clutch

you naughty thing. if we could find *that* sort of three-way on etsy they'd call it craigslist.

so much in this toronto-based shop could be made in sets for unusual gifts (for self or others) -- clutches, scarves, totes -- worth coaxing marina the cipollamistress to sew a few of a kind. cipolla also makes gift sets *and* you can have them gift wrapped and ready to go:


gift set duo: caramel floral clutch and eyeglass case

if that fails, give a gift certificate for something handmade with love. more at cipolla.etsy.com

inkylivie: paper goods

black and white save the date cards -- set of 25

fan-ceee. but what saves them from frouffery is the textured paper and the bold red envelopes. could be superformal or supergoth. you be the judge.

her wedding stationery is mostly formal (with this exception), but her other designs are a bit more freewheeling -- she does custom work, so you might browse the shop for ideas:


merci bird square card

love the textured paper! more at inkylivie.etsy.com

back again redux: go sox!!

forgive the delay, friends -- was in boston last weekend for fort point open studios, an incredibly great year this year -- thanks to all who made it! here are a few of my ridiculously talented friends from that community:

michael hammecker (paintings)
kate gilbert miller (paintings, hair portraits)
jim kalambokis (transfigured books + web design)
marie galvin (phenomenal headwear)
andrew woodward (paintings)
adam yothers' dyslexic press (screenprinted gear)

all even better in person. for more info on the 'hood, check out fortpointarts.org.

then followed a week of magazine shipping and sudden dire head cold and interminable world series games. but that's not what you're here to read about! getting back to business...

ruth gurvich

i came across the beautiful porcelain work of ruth gurvich recently in the october issue of marie claire maison. she forms first using a paper model and then reworks their volume using porcelain, still resembling the look of paper including measurement markings. her art is based on a continuous exploration of the codes created by different cultures in their artistic production. from a formal point of view, her field of investigation is based on the study of volume and its relationship to space.

stitchable journals

stitch your initial in needlepoint on a brightly patterned journal. each kit includes a 4.5 x 6.25 inch journal (192 unlined pages), easy-to-follow instructions, a needle & needle threader, cotton thread in coordinating colors, and a chart pattern of all letters for the initials. project takes less than 1 hour to complete. pick patterns such as marrakech, monte carlo (below), rio (above) and rome. from amh design out of brooklyn, ny.