Last Stop Before the Holidays

Last weekend, I visited the Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Market - a really good showing this year of fun housewares, art, and delicious food items. I got to meet one of my fave designers, Tara Hogan. I've been reading Tara's blog, INK+WIT, for ages so it was super to meet her in person and chat for a while.


Tara was kind enough to feature my yoga tees and prints on her blog recently, and I am now the proud owner of one of her lovely letterpress prints (below) which is now making my home office a cheerier place to work! If you haven't already checked out her blog or shop, get on over there!


A few other faves from the holiday market: (clockwise from top left) ceramics by jennifer fisher, artwork by Kristiana Parn, handmade plush toys by Zooguu, screenprinted moleskin journals by fisk and fern

Hey Mati

Came across these excellent collage/painting prints by Mati Rose over on PaperNStitch's site today. I love elephants and happen to have quite a few of them around the house, including a pink elephant watering can that I also turned into a painting, so of course these struck a cord with me. I visited Mati's website and learned that we share a love of artists Margaret Kilgallen and Louise Bourgeois. You can see lots more of Mati's work in her blog and etsy shop. Cheers!

Magic Crystal

Here's another fave from the MS Holiday Craft Sale. I totally fell for these spun-cotton ornaments by Vintage By Crystal. Made by the same techniques used by old-world German artisans, these quirky creatures have some serious charm and a certain timeless quality that eludes description. And really, who wouldn't be charmed by a spun-cotton narwhal or a dapper bendable giraffe (below)?

They also remind me of the much-beloved 1960s Rankin and Bass holiday specials - i.e. Rudolph - that inspired the cool creatures for Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Crystal also crafts these groovy vintage-inspired bottle brush trees that would make a really cool holiday display. You can find lots more interesting characters in her etsy shop and on her website!

Etsy faves

In honor of that holiday marketing invention, Cyber Monday, here are my picks from just a few of my favorite sellers. Buy handmade this season!


From top: Metallic linen pouches by Marketa, Crochet and felt cuff by kjoo. Below: Say it loud and proud with this HANDMADE pillow by
Going Home to Roost; Keep it cute with this cozy Squirrellicious iphone sleeve.

Monday Inspiration

If you've seen the recently-published compendium Naive: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design, then you're familiar with Helsinki-born, Barcelona-based illustrator Pietari Posti, whose work adorns the cover, shown at the end of this post. His pieces remind me of the 1950's era of illustration that I love so much but with a mod, less-innocent twist. I'm particularly fond of his "GIANTS" series, above, a personal project depicting oversize animals in minimal, brightly-colored cityscapes. I'm also digging the slightly moodier Olivia series (below).

Have a happy Monday!




Naive: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design

Nushka Dolls

Check out these excellent nested wooden dolls and their super-cute website home, created by Melissa Gardner of Brisbane, Australia. I'm drawn to the colors in the Lena version, shown here, but you can choose from several different "personalities" of her hand-painted lovelies, or she will even do custom versions.

I'm also loving the friendly, bubbly vibe of Melissa's site; a fun place to visit on this rainy, dreary NYC morning!

Happy Animal Time Indeed

Love this postcard set by Junzo Terada, a Japanese artist, designer, and illustrator who worked as a graphic designer for many years before starting his own studio Comes Graphic, and retail store of the same name, in Osaka.

The geometry of his illustrations reminds me of Charley Harper, but combined with a cheeky, irreverent tone and some really interesting textures, appealling to my collage-loving sensibility. I have a series of animal illustrations only at the sketch stage that I've been longing to develop; this piece is great inspiration!


I picked this up at the new-ish Fred Flare store in Greenpoint (below). Be sure to visit the store if you're in the area, lots of fun and funky gifts and fashion-y items.

Nice!

I love these hand-silk-screened stuffed animals by Vancouver-based designer, Mia Hansen. So charming and friendly!

Love.

Yes, it's true, I have a penchant for all things kitty. Or owl-y. Or bunn-y. And I DO generally try to restrain myself from oohing and ahhing too much over all things cute. But these... who could possibly resist these friendly egg-shaped kitty crayons?!? Look at them, just look at them, sitting there all polite and patient in their little egg carton pods, waiting to create art with you! It's futile to resist their charms. I give in.

Handmade by KittyBabyLove.

cats and covers

PART 1



PART 2

Cutest. Ever.

Ending the week on a cheery note here, Fern Animals by Ashley Anna Brown was my absolute favorite thing at this summer's Renegade Craft Fair at McCarren Park. My friend Liz and I, who share a love of animal-related items, were both dying over her wonderful lions with the frou-frou feather manes. Sure enough, later that afternoon, both our little lion friends had been taken home by some lucky buyers! Glad to see people buying great work.

The details in her work are just impeccable, and she uses the sweetest patterned fabrics for the animals' "outfits" (pajamas?). In the red hooded guy above, you can lower the hood to reveal his cute little head, amazing! I couldn't find any images of the feathered lions from the craft fair, but from what I gather on her blog, AAB is recovering from the craziness of a recent move and the craft fair, so I'm sure we'll see fun new stuff in her etsy shop soon!