I'm a sucker for sewing and quilting, then throw in a bit of D.I.Y aesthetic and I'm in love. Cathy Cullis' patches, brooches and birds seem like they come from another era, yet the patches would be perfect on a hoodie of mine! I love her delicate sewing ornamentation. Linen, cotton, felt all joined together and sweetly sewn on top are pieces from old novels. Her patches will surely make crafty D.I.Y lady delighted.
my good friend helene (who's band you should give a good long listen to, for sure.) sent me a link to kate broughton's etsy site, squealing that she had bought a meerkat and gold crest bird felted brooch while she was on her latest tour. ummm, meerkat? brooch? click! it's true, meerkat brooches are available along with kate's other handmade animals like a hedgehog, chicken, and a ring tailed lemur (a lemur!). those are just a few brooch offerings on her etsy shop, she's also got totes and more. but don't just stop at kate's etsy shop, check out her site where you'll see her illustrations as well. girl has got a talent bone for sure.
ma magasin's etsy shop is subtitled brooch heaven, boy is it ever. she says she's a little obsessed with brooches, i'm okay with that, as i'm pretty obsessed with brooches as well. sarah the nimble hands behind ma magasin is a crafty wiz when it comes to cross stitch. there are so many adorable brooches to pick from i'm not sure which one i like best. however, not only are they cute as all get out they're totally affordable so i don't really need to narrow down my choices. what economic meltdown?
gocco print by peskimo.
here shop and gallery just celebrated their 5th anniversary, what better way to celebrate then by having a party with some talented people and the print gocco?
we feel that the accessibility of print gocco reflects our own DIY ethos in running a gallery, and so have chosen to celebrate our 5th anniversary with a group show of gocco based artwork. to accompany the exhibition, we will be releasing a portfolio of gocco prints, produced in a signed and numbered edition of 50, collected in a custom made presentation box.
we’ve selected artists who look beyond the limitations of the device, to show that it can also be used to produce fine art works. those involved are from a range of disciplines; textile design, fine art, illustration, graphic design, and animation.
the artists invited to take part and show their gocco talent are as follows: arctic circles, jill bliss, simon dovar, andrew groves, yellena james, xtina lamb, magic jelly, mark pawson, nigel peake, peskimo, aaron sewards, lucie sheridan, yee king tuit, jazmin velasco, julie west. the show will run through november first. see opening photos on flickr here and here.
gocco print by nigel peake.
gocco print by simon dovar.
gocco print by magic jelly.
gocco print by yellena james.
i am blaring edge of seventeen by stevie nicks as i write this post, it just has to be done. stevie is a style icon whom i just never seem to outgrow. looking at my friend's liz and aidan etsy store featherwitch it's hard to not want to blare stevie and braid feathers into my hair. i love the intro on featherwitch's page:
"crafted with love by a couple that spends too much time doing their hair and listening to fleetwood mac."
so good. featherwitch makes earrings, medicine pouches, headbands, haircharms and necklaces that are totally affordable for city dwelling bohemian or calico country mice types like you and me. with names like "witchy woman", "tiny dancer", and "dear prudence" i can't help but want every single piece. check out this month's BUST fashion spread featherwitch is all over it...and goddang those girls look hotttttttttt.
handmade nation is a book and film documenting the rise of DIY, craft, art and design culture that will be arriving in book stores in november this year and film festivals for 2009, respectively. do you heart craft and diy culture? do you attend craft fairs? organize your own stitch and bitches? well, you should pre-order the handmade nation book, it's a must have. (which you can do here.) many indie artists and movers and shakers of the diy/craft culture will be featured in the book. peeps like jill bliss, nikki mcclure, monica canilao, needles and pens and the list goes on! to help out w/ production costs for the film you can shop at the handmade nation etsy shop. where you can purchase this awesome craftifesto poster illustrated by kate bingaman-burt. what a great way to support craft community! (don't wait on this one folks, it'll be gone quickly for sure!) stay tuned to my love for you in the coming weeks for a q&a w/ the lady behind it all; faythe levine. in the meantime you can find out lots more info on the handmade nation blog.
