by MissMalaprop on March 3, 2010
Picked By You! is back! Below you’ll find some great handmade goods recommended by you, the readers!
This handmade Extra Slouchy Beret in Lemon was crocheted by Softspoken and recommended by MariaHug (who I recently featured here). She says, “Yay for yellow and the coming spring!” I agree! Love the bright color and the way this beret is styled in the photos.
Carol Bradley suggested the soy candles by Kenny CoOp. She told me, “I’ve used 8 of their candles… The scents are original, crisp and clean. By “clean” I mean that it’s just right. One small candle fills a small room well without being cloying or overpowering. My favorite is Frog!”
zJayne said this about this handmade stuffed blue gorilla toy made from recycled wool sweaters by sighfoo: “I melt when I click on this listing. The face, I tell you, it speaks to me. Adorable as all get out. (What does that even mean?) In fact, I bought his buddy, spumoni gorilla. May have to have this one too.” I agree, this gorilla is pretty cute, but it’s hard to choose which animal is the cutest out of all the adorable stuffed creatures in sighfoo’s shop!
Got your own amazing handmade or eco-friendly shopping find? Send it my way! You can email me a link to the item, one or two sentences about why you think it is so special, plus your name and a website/blog link so I can credit you to mallory [AT] missmalaprop.com and let me know it’s for Picked By You!, or you can post your picks in this thread in the Etsy forums or at my Facebook fan page. Designers, while I definitely encourage you to let me know about your own work as well, please note that Picked By You! is to showcase the work of other artists, so show some love for your favorite fellow artisans!
by MissMalaprop on March 1, 2010
I spent most of the day yesterday adding product listings for Sublime Stitching to my new online shop (coming in mid-March!), so I’m on a bit of an embroidery kick right now.
Beth from diffractionfiber just let me know about some new embroidery pieces she’s been working on. Her new embroidery series is called “Out of Place”, and in it Beth explores feelings of isolation and being removed from your surroundings. She’s incorporated original photography into her embroidery work, from which she has removed the subject. She then prints the photograph on cotton and embroiders the subject back in. I love this intersection of art meets craft, and I think Beth’s pieces have turned out beautifully.
Helen of Thimbletop has her own unique take on embroidery with her hand-embroidered housewares. Helen first picked up a needle and thread when she was about nine years old. Helen told me this story:
“My mother first taught me how to sew a basic rectangular pillow. When I was ready to stuff my first project, she tried to teach me how to turn the fabric inside out to hide the seam. I refused, arguing that I had worked hard on my careful stitching and wanted to show it off, not put it inside the pillow where no one could see it. As the years have gone by my sewing has changed and advanced, going through stages of dresses and shirts and bags. However, it seems that I have finally come full circle. Through embroidery, I have once again discovered my love of creating stitches that everyone can see. I think that my nine-year-old self would approve of the fact that I try to keep a sense of humor in many of the items I make.”
These talented ladies are making me want to find the time to pick up a needle and thread again. I’ve had some projects bouncing around that I’ve wanted to start for awhile, so maybe I’ll get back to stitching soon!
by MissMalaprop on February 25, 2010
Maria Huggler is an artist based in nearby Mobile, Alabama. I love her design style… clean and modern, sweet and fresh. Her prints put a smile on my face, and I love that they’re super affordable. ($15 for a signed 8×10 archival print.)
Maria also offers her prints in other sizes and is happy to do custom color variations to fit your mood or decor! Check out more of her work in her Etsy shop.
by MissMalaprop on February 2, 2010
The handmade jewelry and textile designs of Marianna Dorkas Jamadi, aka i am dorkas, have been making the rounds of the style savvy blogosphere as of late, and with good measure. Miss Ashe Mischief recently did an interview with Marianna on her blog, and I found it fascinating and inspiring. Marianna pulls inspiration from her Finnish and Indonesian cultural heritage and collaborates with both her Finnish mom and Portuguese boyfriend on her collection of modern kitchen textiles and eclectic jewelry.
The napkins and dish towels designed by Marianna and her mom and inspired by the classically colorful Scandinavian designs of Marimekko are absolutely smile inducing. (I wish there was clothing available in these fabrics!) Her recent jewelry designs incorporate clock hands into earrings and her hand-carved wooden rings are a perfect way to get back to nature. All of these pieces are available for purchase in the i am dorkas online shop.
by MissMalaprop on January 15, 2010
by MissMalaprop on January 13, 2010
I just saw this shop on the front page of Etsy, and I thought these were too amazing not to mention immediately:
Platform stiletto stripper style shoes have been reimagined and transformed into quirky planters. The shop announcement explains all: “The concept is about hard-working women, the increasingly artificial nature of American femininity, and the impossible images that women face in our society. It’s a prickly, spiky, sticky situation…”
I think this is such a brilliant transformation, and I absolutely love these. Check out more at giddyspinster on Etsy.
