Some lovely things...

I have been looking at so many beautiful things in thinking about a Specks & Keepings store and perhaps working on a children's book and some new etchings. Here are a few of my favorites:



I love Mieke Willems blog & shop . I admire their fantastic collections made up of beautiful found and made objects.




Bitty kitchens filled with much loved goods crammed in imaginative nooks and cupboards: found on Renilde De Peuter's wonderful blog, AT SWIM-TWO-BIRDS




Renilde De Peuter's Metropolois, 3



Work & images by Mina Perhonen

Dutch Darning Sampler

I found this Vintage Dutch Darning Sampler featured on a fun blog called Aesthetic Outburst. I keep thinking it would make a wonderful drawing. I am excited by it's larger grid structure as a way to organize the stitched grids within. I think it is very beautiful and exciting to think about in the context of designing a Specks & Keepings logo.

A Forest Story

A friend shared a link to a blog featuring illustrations from A Forest Story, a beautiful book by Josef Kozisek and illustrated by Rudolf Mates. I think I may look for a copy. The creatures remind me a bit of my dolls. I love the whimsy, pattern on pattern, bold outlines as well as the simply and beautifully considered compositions.

Specks & Keepings: An Online Store!

I have been working on some new dolls, even though I have been terrible about posting as of late. Mostly, I've been busy planning a new Specks & Keepings online store. I am so excited! I will be selling my dolls, mobiles, and a few prints along with rebe clothes and some other special handmade objects for the home by a few other artists. I've been sketching out some logo designs...which is always a challenge. Maybe I'll post a few ideas...

Matt and I are planning a photoshoot for the end of February so there will be lovely pictures of all the products for sale! Everything should be up and running by the end of March at the latest.

Happy 2011 & Rebe Sale

I had a lovely holiday and I hope each one of you did as well! I spent Christmas in CA with my family this year and as always, it's hard to say goodbye. But I am happy to be home with Matt, Eleanor, and Mordechai and I am very excited for 2011!

Rebe Sale

To celebrate the new year, Rebe's Maryjane Coat is 40% off for one week only starting Monday January 3rd! It's one of my favorite coats. The Maryjane Coat is made from recycled fiber, it ties in the back, and has two bucket pockets. It's soft and cozy like a sweatshirt but with a feminine fit. Shop now....

soft play

Mobile & other soft sculptures by Cocon Shop.


A pillow case by Sally Nencini : at Le Train Fantome.

I stumbled upon some beautiful soft sculptures this morning.

Holiday Renegade

I will be selling next Saturday and Sunday, December 18th- 19th at the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco! Come all...

Chinese Textiles

I happened upon these Chinese textiles when browsing the internet. Clothing without its person often looks lifeless, but these pieces seem to come alive in their flatness, like shaped characters or paintings. You can see more...

Holiday Heap 2010

Holiday Heap was amazing! Thanks so much to everyone who came and fought the crowds to come by my table. I saw lots of friends and met many nice people. It was so exciting! I hope to do it again next year.

On another note, I have more holiday goodies for sale at the MICA Art Market which started today and runs through Saturday. I will be working all day on Saturday, so please do come by and pay me a visit. It's a great place to do a bit of stocking shopping.

Just a holiday reminder...

The holidays are just around the corner and I wanted to remind you all that I will be selling new work and festive bits at Holiday Heap. I will also be selling a handful of rebe goods as well: Paula Pockets $60, lunch sacs $30 & hand-embroidered circle ornaments $10!

Holiday Heap
Saturday, December 4th
10:00-5:00pm
2640 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD 21218
Free & festive
Look for me in the back room!

Eatable of Many Orders

A friend who often sends me wonderful things to peak at just sent me to a Japanese site called Eatable of Many Orders. Most everything is in Japanese (at least I think it's Japanese) and it is all so wonderful! I would love to know more about this artist...like their name. I think everything here is madly beautiful and very inspiring. Lots of drawings made real!

So weird J. Crew...

So weird! J. Crew had me make some ribbons for them to maybe feature in their kids campaign, Things We Love, as something exciting you can buy from Reform School this holiday. But I just saw the photo on the J. Crew site and was dissappointed to see that they used a bunch of my ribbons as decoration for the teepee, but didn't feature them along with the rest of the goodies pictured.

I think they transformed the ribbons into Turkeys with construction paper feathers, which is a bit exciting, as I do love to re-imagine things. Even so, it would have been wonderful if they had been featured. I think the campaign looks great though and am happy my ribbons are there, even if they are disguised as Turkeys in the back!

If you are interested in purchasing any ribbons for someone fantastically special this holiday, you can absolutely do so at Reform School, which is one of my very favorite stores! Reform School specializes in hand-made goods and and it is one of the most beautiful stores I have ever seen. They also carry some of my single strand bird & horse mobiles along with my collection of hand-colored farmscape etchings. If you ever make it out to Echo Park, you should pay it a visit.

In the studio: Holiday Time

I am busy making lots of goods in preparation for the Holidays. I have Holiday Heap coming up on December 4th along with the MICA Art Market and the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco. I spent all day cutting and sewing stockings yesterday. They are full of pattern this year! I am also making lots of new Gods-Eye mobiles, dolls, and ornaments. So exciting...although I would really love to make some drawings. I think I will set some time to work on drawings again once the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over. The quiet of January is always so exciting for me.

I will post some pictures of my work in progress soon.

Betty Coat Sale

The Betty Coat is 50% off! It's marked down from $215 to $107.50 from November 8th - November 10th. Check it out!

Halloween

Erika made Agnes' very first Halloween costume. She is such a beautiful Raggedy Ann!

Turkey

Matthew and I had such a wonderful time in Turkey, we didn't want to leave! Istanbul was fantastically vibrant and Cappadochia was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I loved the tile work in Topkopi Palace and the dress styles of some of the elder Turkish men and women were simple yet rich in pattern...I loved them! We went in a hot air balloon and explored Goreme with our new French friends, Sophie and Florian. Above is a photograph of the spice bazarre. I will post more pictures soon...as there are many to sort through.

Tiny Toadstool Goods

A friend turned me on to the work of Japanese artist, Shan Shan. Her collection of finely felted and embroidered soft objects are a new favorite of mine. Visit her Tiny Toadstool shop.

New Dolls

Here are two new double-sided embroidered dolls I just finished. Please excuse these poor photographs, I took them myself. I will have some better photographs soon!

More Chicago times..

Here is a picture of Rowley & Michelle's home, the very sweet couple we stayed with in Chicago. Their home was very simple and it seemed as though everything in their space was chosen with care.

Studio Times

Matt was working in the studio the other day and took this photo. I thought it was lovely, even though there isn't tons happening at the moment.

Rebe's Spring 2011 Collection

I just finished designing Rebe's Spring 2011 Catalog. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the new collection.

Rock Stories & Farm Figures

Shop my Rock Stories & Farm Figures at Sodafine online!

Agnes Kisses

Kisses for me from Agnes in Grand Rapids. This is my favorite video.

Bitty Viddie

My sister sent me this video. It made me very happy. I like it's smallness.

Chicago times...

The Chicago Renegade Craft Fair was wonderful! We met so many lovely people and we sold lots and lots! Everyone couldn't be nicer. Thanks to all of you that made it out. I will post pictures soon.

My mom and I stayed with the sweetest couple, Rowley Kennerk and Michelle Vondiziano. They had such a beautiful home and are expecting their first baby! Rowley owns a lovely gallery, called Rowley Kennerk and Michelle makes wonderful drawings and adorable baby booties, pictured below. Each set is one of a kind and is handmade entirely from felt. They sell for $30 a pair and if you are interested in purchasing a set you can contact Michelle at mvondiziano@gmail.com.

The Rebe Sample Sale at my house, here in Baltimore, went amazing as well. I think I will try and host one every year. It was so much fun and everyone seemed to find something(s) Rebe they loved. I got a Rose dress that I adore.



Michelle's handmade felt baby booties.



Browsing through some rebe raincoats and other goodies...



This booth was all hand built and featured three different artists whose work looked lovely together. The bags, caps, scarves, aprons and pencil cases are by Winter Session. They make all their goods out of reclaimed clothing. Their objects were very simple and practical, but also very elegant. Their work reminded me of things you would find in a general store. The hats are my favorite! Another artist sharing the booth was Mary Katz of Flora Fauna. She makes beautifully crafted soft sculptures with embroidery, a bit of beading, and some applique. She had such a magical way of talking about her work, drawing you into her world of farmland critters. She says she has been making all her life and it was her very first craft show. That made me happy. The third artist made beautiful hand crafted felt garlands for the home, unfortunately I didn't get her name..