fabulous felter–umbelliffer

today on the front page of etsy, i spotted these excellent coasters, the work of uk crafter umbelliffer. coasters created by needlefelting, nice!

wrist warmers

they are up in my shop. cozy cozy cozy.

wonderful drawings for monday morning

this are a few of the works of one of my favorite illustrators, janice jong. you can get your own in her etsy store. janice is in the u.k, and her amazing creations seem like a story you could step right into.
this is my absolute favorite, titled 'there is a blueprint', it's based on the city of thekla from italo calvino's novel 'invisible cities'.

fall and coffee

today it feels like fall has definitely arrived. i rode my bike to the post office this afternoon, and there were huge gusts of wind and swirling leaves everywhere.

it's the perfect weather to cozy up inside with a cup of coffee or tea. i am happy to announce my newest felt item over in my etsy shop–the felt french press cozy! it combines two of my all time favorite things, felt and coffee.

trunkt

well, i was accepted into trunkt, but i have just the basic portfolio for now. and it seems a little cumbersome that you can only have a portfolio in a single category...

i'd love to hear from people who use trunkt, are on it, love it, hate it, etc.


through design sponge, i discovered the work of inklore who created the lovely table runner above. i love the hydrangeas. for more pretty prints, visit inklore on etsy.

oh my, i am in the etsy autumn gift guide!

look, there are my acorn coasters right in the top row of the autumn gift guide! and they were even mentioned in the highlights from the fall guide on etsy finds for today. thanks etsy:-)

final renegade post

last but not least, i wanted to blog this wallet from eana apple. here's the outside...
and here's the inside. she reuses newspapers, laminates them, and folds them into origami wallets. i like mine more every day.craftyplanet was there too, with a selection of the independent crafty goodness that they bring to minneapolis and now their online store.

i met jennifer from craft sanity, who gave me nice write-up on the craft sanity blog: including a silly picture of me here. i think actually i probably look something like that most of the time.

renegade roundup: jewelry

recycled poppy pins from betsy carr at foundling.

sweet bird earrings from figs and ginger, eco-friendly husband and wife team.alisa miller is inspired by honeycombs. love that.
pretty necklace from sprout jewelry, available on etsy

renegade roundup: textiles and fiber

first up, the work of k studio, above. beautiful spare line drawings on pillows. you can even customize your own family pillow by choosing from their selection of people and pets (scroll down from the options page.

original handmade bags from nam kim (ab0ve).

super soft and stretchy clothing from jo clothing.

custom made uk makes lots of adorableness, like the owl pouch above.

five trees creates all sorts of critters and monsters.

and fiber! this yarn is spun and dyed by vera videnovich. vera is a farmer, knitter, spinner, and fiber arts instructor in the chicago area. i remember seeing her spinning at renegade chicago 2 years ago before i got my wheel, and it was nice to see her again.
more handspun by betsy ply
and traveling rhinos who carries all sorts of goodness in the shop.

renegade roundup: cuteness on paper

first up, 16sparrows. with a tag line 'sarcasm folded in half' you know they it's gonna be clever. that's their moving announcement card above.
and polaroid themed thank you cards.

rhymes with twee is another clever card maker, featuring artichokes (above), pirogis, croissants, and other characters expressing sweet sentiments. oh, and they're gocco'd!

renegade roundup: beautiful objects

kindling is the chicago-based collaboration of brother and sister aaron and megan pahmier, who use local reclaimed wood to create lovely objects, like the vases above. you can see more of their work, including vases, vessels, picture holders, and candle holders at kindlingshop.com and in their etsy shop.
aaron is a furniture designer and builder, and megan is an artist and teacher (that's her work above).

up in the air somewhere is the work of chicago-based artist and designer susan dwyer, another renegade vendor with a striking display of gorgeous works. trained as a sculptor, susan creates ceramic and paper vessels inspired by industrial architecture, like the silo pitchers above.
and these simple pitchers as well. available directly from the up in the air somewhere website.

renegade roundup: prints

i'm not as organized or timely as i hoped, so i think i will do a series of short themed posts featuring renegade artists. today's 2 are both printmakers whose work i've been following on etsy since i was in japan an discovered the gocco. the top image is from circa ceramics, who i talked about in my earlier renegade post, and the bottom image is the work of michelle brusegaard, who has a website here and an etsy shop. the photos above are from her website, showing works on linen. and they are just lovely.

shop update

my etsy shop now has hand felted merino naturally dyed baby booties in various colors (above, indigo)
and hand felted naturally dyed iphone sleeves too!

chicago

last week i was in chicago...
for the renegade craft fair (as seen advertised on this blue line train!)
felt cafe shared a booth with my dear friend angela of les glaneuses, gleaner and repurposer of jewels.
my handfelted merino, naturally dyed baby booties were the hit of the weekend. this one is dyed with indigo.

i love visiting chicago, and i love the renegade craft fair. unfortunately, we had the worst weather over the weekend. seriously, like the most rain the city has ever seen. which makes for a less-than-ideal outdoor market, as you might imagine. however, i have to say that all things considered, it was great. the folks that came out to shop were an excellent bunch–obviously very dedicated and super supportive. and on sunday it even stopped raining for the last few hours!

because of the rain, i didn't spend as much time checking out all the other venders as i would have liked, but i got a chance to chat with a lot of wonderful and supportive creative people, and it was great to see that even as renegade continues to grow, it still feels like an amazing community of independent crafters. i hope to share more info here about other crafty folks this week, after i unpack and sort through the cards i collected.
but i cant wait to post this mug (above) from circa ceramics. as i am busy today making lists of the million things i want to do and and drinking coffee (of course!!) i am loving this new mug more and more (and not just because it's filled with coffee). i've known about circa ceramics for quite a while, as they are a popular etsy seller, and use cool print gocco technology to print decals that go onto their ceramics. i love their bold retro designs and colors, and after meeting them in person i also have to say they are THE NICEST. you can get your own circa ceramics piece in their etsy store.

a little time away

i just returned from a camping trip with an old friend in the hoh rain forest on the olympic peninsula. it's one of the most beautiful places i've ever been.
and in a few weeks i will be heading off to chicago for the renegade craft fair! i am so excited to be participating in this fair again, which has continued to grow over the last few years. it's on september 13th and 14th on division street between damen and wood–stop by and say hi!

locavores

i finished reading this book several weeks ago, and it was wonderful. it's barbara kingsolver's story about her family's adventure–eating locally for a year. the storytelling makes it a great read, and the message, about the broader impacts of our food choices and the power that we do have as individual eaters, rings true and vital.
it made me remember how lucky i am to live in a place like seattle, where there are 3 farmers markets a week close to my home, and local foods available at my local grocery store.

dying yarn

my first batch of indigo-dyed yarn. half of the yarn was heathery jacob to start with, and the other half was white merino, both of which i spun myself. i'm hooked, obviously.
indigo-dyed merino yarn
handspun natural merino dyed with madder.
finally up in my shop!

and now for something a little different

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

i think this video is lovely. i'll be back with more craft-related posts soon, promise.

april in europe

after i returned to the states from japan, i quickly wrapped up and submitted my masters thesis. then, i took advantage of some frequent flier miles i'd saved up and visited some friends in europe. it was absolutely fantastic. i saw some art, some crafts, visited excellent cities and wonderful people that i hadn't seen for quite a while. it was all about relaxing, catching up with friends. and food and coffee of course! the photos above and below are both brunch plates from copenhagen, where brunch has been taken to new levels.

this is smorbrod, the danish open-faced sandwich. DE-licious.

rhubarb crumble at a natural foods cafe in london.
this is actually a cafe in london, but its name, fika, is the swedish (very key!) concept of a cozy coffee break.
veggies grilled in the backyard on a sunny sunday in belfast.
the dogs in a sunny patch in the house on the sea in scotland.