by MissMalaprop on August 23, 2010
Local company Casart Coverings recently found me by way of my recent mention in Wish magazine in the Times-Picayune. I’m so glad that Lindsey Wood from Casart contacted me, because this is a cool local home decor company that I wasn’t familiar with before. (I like to stay on top of knowing about local businesses, and I love discovering new ones!)
Casart Coverings is a family business, and they offer what they call “Magnet-like slipcovers for your walls.” Lindsey tells me, “Our coverings are original decorative faux finishes that have been printed on removable, repositionable and reusable high end canvas-like material.” I love the before and after on these stairs, where they used the coverings to create a tile-like effect:
They’ve got a time-lapse video on Youtube if you want to see how the whole process of applying these coverings works. Casart has also created some beautiful Gulf Coast inspired murals, and 10% of proceeds from these designs will go towards organizations which work with the ongoing restoration, rehabilitation, and endangered wildlife efforts for coastal Louisiana.
Want to learn more? Check out their website, or they’ve also got a blog, Facebook and Twitter.
by MissMalaprop on August 20, 2010
Next week at my day job, I’ll be helping out with one of our events, Katrina 5.0: A Symposium on Technology & Blogging. It’s sort of a blogger / Twitter / tech geek meetup with some guest speakers talking about how blogging and technology was used during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to disseminate information quickly. It should be pretty interesting, and it’s free to attend, so if you’re in New Orleans stop by – it’s next Wednesday, August 25 from 5:30 – 8pm at The Presbytère (the building on the right side of St. Louis Cathedral if you’re standing in Jackson Square).
We’ve also got another cool event coming up next month – the Friends of the Cabildo is one of the non-profit fund raising groups which supports the Louisiana State Museum. We’re partnering with them to do a cool behind-the-scenes tour of one of our collections facilities. (Aka the place where I get to work every day that houses stuff like 19th century medical equipment, antique guns, Mardi Gras costumes from way back when and much more.) You have to be a member of Friends of the Cabildo to come (a regular membership is only $35 a year), and you MUST make a reservation to attend. Apparently they’re almost booked to capacity, so if you want to attend, get in touch with FOC fast! (Email Rachel AT friendsofthecabildo.org) If this is popular, they’ll hopefully do it again, so let them know you’re interested.
I had a guest post up this week at the clothing menu. Kristen asked me “Who are some of your favorite independent designers and why?,” and while it was really tough to narrow it down, I went with 3 of my favorites from my own wardrobe.
I’ve posted about the cool halterneck hoodies by Dressed by Danni before, but now Danni has decided to close that part of her business to focus on her true passion – illustration! Check out her new site, doodlesbydanni and her online shop Stitch & Ink, where you can find her illustrations available for purchase on t-shirts and stickers.
Paper Treasure is a fun jewelry line I just learned about, created by hand by Jesseca McCloskey in Portland, Oregon. She combines vintage and antique bits and baubles with new chains to create unique and limited edition designs. Jesseca is fascinated by shipwrecks, as you’ll see if you visit her website, and each of her necklaces is named after an actual shipwreck and comes tagged with information about its namesake. Pretty cool, huh? I really like the way she does her product photography too.
Have a great weekend! I’m off to see Human Centipede at the Prytania tonight!
by MissMalaprop on August 13, 2010
The lovely Bonnie of Going Home To Roost is a successful crafty businessperson in her own right, and now she’s sharing her expertise and experience with others. She’s just announced a new 7 week e-course called Selling the Handmade Way. In Bonnie’s words, “It’s for beginner/intermediate sellers of handmade goods to learn more about their indie biz and how to make a name for themselves.” The course starts on September 6th, and in it, you’ll cover everything from product photography to website SEO, all while taking a very hands-on, personal, workbook style approach to learning and growing your business. For a taste of what you’ll learn, Bonnie has also issued a FREE e-book to go along with the course. (Anyone can download the free e-book, and if you like what you find inside and want more, you can sign up for the course.) You can find more info on the course and a link to download the e-book at Selling the Handmade Way.
Plueys, the super stylish indie rainboot company, is hosting a fun contest via their Facebook page. They’re accepting your rainy day photos, now through September 28, 2010, and winners will receive new unreleased Limited Edition Plueys rainboots. Sound like fun? Head to their website for more details.
Check out the cool art, seen above, by Lynne Mori, a Long Beach, California based artist who specializes in small, postcard-sized, mixed-media collages. I like this piece, titled EL BANDOLON (the mandolin). Find more of her work in her Etsy shop or on her website.
Looptworks is a great new sustainable fashion line for men and women that takes the leftover, excess materials from big fashion companies and creates new garments from material that would otherwise be thrown away. They’ve also got some cool accessories, like laptop sleeves made from excess wetsuit materials. Personally, I’m a fan of this Ningxia Cowl Neck top – I love a great cowl, and this looks so soft and comfy for fall! (I love the colors it comes in too!)
by MissMalaprop on August 11, 2010
Is it time for another giveaway?? Yep, you bet it is! Today’s giveaway comes to you from UPrinting.com, an online printing company based in Los Angeles. I bet you think that all these printing companies do is business cards and fliers, right? Not quite – UPrinting also offers canvas prints of photos and artwork, which is what’s up for grabs here!
I know that a lot of you are either artists or art lovers (or both!) and canvas prints, either rolled canvas or stretched canvas, can be a great way to turn digital photographs or digital art into beautiful home decor. Just think how nice your favorite wedding photo or family memories would look in canvas form! UPrinting.com is offering up a 16×20 Rolled Canvas Print to 1 lucky reader.
To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment here and let me know what you would get printed on your rolled canvas print if you won! Post your comment by midnight on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 (Central Standard Time – go here to figure out what time that is where you are).
This particular giveaway is limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. The winner will be chosen at random from the comments. Please use a valid email address, as that’s how I’ll be contacting the winner. (I won’t share it with anyone, I promise!) If you are chosen as the winner, you must respond to my email within 1 week from the date I send it, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
So tell me, what images would YOU like to hang on your wall??
by MissMalaprop on July 30, 2010
There’s so much cool stuff going on in this town, I had to share some of it with you.
Verre Eglomisé Moorish Wall Panels by Miriam Ellner
Internationally known artist Miriam Ellner will be in New Orleans in October to teach a 3-day workshop in conjunction with the 2010 Society of Gilders Conference. I believe these folks have done some really generous work to help out the Louisiana State Museum when they’ve been in town in the past, and I think Miriam’s work is really cool. She’s been working in this medium for 20 years, and in her upcoming workshop, she’ll be explaining the ancient process of gilding precious metals on the reverse side of glass, etching in a design and setting it off with color. Class participants will come away with the knowledge and tools to successfully gild and paint on glass.
I met the founders of The WorkRoom New Orleans last month at our New Orleans Craft Mafia birthday party. Right now they’re in the fund-raising stages, trying to gain money and support to create a community art space where people can come to create all sorts of art and use the equipment and space provided. The girls will be at the Arts Market of New Orleans tomorrow, letting people know about their plan for a space which they hope will offer the equipment and space necessary for screen printing, photographic processing and printing (both analog and digital darkrooms), video editing, graphic and web design, sewing, pottery, glassblowing, and metalworking, among other mediums. You can also find them on Facebook or Twitter, and if you’re inclined to donate to their cause, you can support them on Kickstarter.
Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge Kicks Off: REpurposingNOLA is partnered with Edna Karr Secondary School students
My friend Traci from REpurposingNOLA is participating in the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge and has been teamed up with 9 middle school students to help them learn what it takes to become an entrepreneur. She was telling me about the challenge recently, and it sounds super cool. The project is a partnership between the Brees Dream Foundation and the Idea Village, and will work with kids from various area schools for five months to develop a for-profit business venture that will allocate the proceeds to support a school project. Students have until October to brainstorm their business and action plan and in December they’ll get to pitch their successes to panel judges that will include Drew Brees. The winning school will receive a matching donation of up to $10,000 from the Brees Dream Foundation, based on revenue generated from the kids’ entrepreneurial project.
by MissMalaprop on July 27, 2010
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you probably realize how much I love bright colors. And anything recycled. So… it’s no wonder I like the work of Atlanta-based Christopher Paul, who rescues and redesigns objects and gives them a bright, modern feel. Check out more of his work on his website or in his “mod mood” Etsy shop, cpstudios.
