Ceramic love on Etsy

Retro Butterfly Teapot by gonetopottexas

Porcelain Drop Lamp with scallop  by Mgmy

 

Porcelain Vase Sack by Wappa

Cup and Saucer by Ashley Kim Clayworks

In Vino Veritas Decanter by Carnevale Clay

Here are a few of my recent ceramic finds on Etsy.  In a sea of the good, the bad and the ugly in the ceramics category, it's so great when I actually find something I love:  great and unique design, amazing craftsmanship, and glazing that is so suited to the choice of material, method and design. 

Vancouver Etsy Shop Local: April 9/10

 Subway Roll Inspired Sign, Vancouver, by Signs of Vintage: $43.55

Owl Nesting Set- from the Great Grey Owl to the Smallest Saw Wet Owl by SavageArtworks

 Beach Fun vintage photograph from Drawing Room.

I'm off to the studio for the day.  For those of you with special orders- they are all coming along really well- going in the bisque kiln this weekend and being glazed next week!
Have a great weekend!

baby up-date & Etsy finds

My sister's pregnancy is in it's final trimester now- she has about 7 weeks to go and the latest ultrasound said that her baby is already 5.5 lbs- such a big baby!  Here she is around 6-7months pregnant looking so lovely with her baby belly!
I've started getting some ideas of gifts for this new little baby and found some lovely ideas for baby gifts on Etsy that I've marked as my favourites!

Tiny and Happy Hedgehogs with blue butterflies for $52  

by apple and eve

Blue and Lime Baby Booties for $18

by Caramel Diezel

Hooty Hoo Owl Onesie for $38

by Small Threads

Turquoise Wooden Boat Set for $54

by Friendly Frairies

Counting Bunny Clock for $30

by Decoy Lab

That's it for now, have a beautiful weekend!

Charming Phaulet

I first met Paula Gonzalez from Phaulet this past March at a 2-day show that we were in together and right away noticed her warm smile and her beautiful jewelry.  We keep bumping into each other around town, and then I found her on Etsy the other day and asked if I could feature her on my blog! Her resin pendants and earrings with collaged images from old books are different and lovely- I think the pairing of the modern format and the classical or vintage imagery is really feminine and playful.  There are two sides to each pendant, with two different images that seem to tell a story when put together.  Phaulet recently got featured in the Georgia Straight in an article that describes how her concept and background from Columbia play an important role in her designs!

shop Phaulet
website

Local Etsy Outfit...

It's nice to make connections online, and the other day I thought I recognized Heidi Denessen's name through her husband Ron, who I went to Art school with. Heidi has a sweet Etsy shop where she sells some of her artwork along with some great practical items such as fingerless gloves, hats, notebooks and decals.
On November 29 12-5 PM at 1495 Richards Street in Yaletown Heidi and her friend Jody of the Etsy shop Nanna are hosting a Holiday Sale. I think their work goes so great together, don't you?

Hold: for the Home

I'm excited to introduce you to a new local Vancouver Etsy shop called Hold! I think what first caught my eye when I stumbled on this shop were the great colours that Maria uses in her felted bowls! Modern and minimal but at the same time soft and cozy looking, I love the idea of giving these as gifts for those hard-to-gift people on my list, filled with nuts and a nutcracker at Christmas time.

I asked Maria to fill me in on some of the how and the why she started her shop. Here's what she wrote:
"I love the feeling of wool in my hands, and magical transformation of stitches into a felted fabric, sturdy and durable. It's a practice that allows me the equal satisfaction of working on a contained project from beginning to end. For the bowls, it takes several days to complete each one.
The process begins with colour selection, then wools are then crocheted into a floppy bowl. The bowl is then agitated in warm, soapy water, which causes the wool fibers to interlock more and more tightly. The result is a thick, felted fabric, a sturdy container. To complete, the bowls are blocked, dried, trimmed, then steamed one last time."

What a cool process and transformation the wool goes through to get to it's finished product! Thanks for the insight, Maria!

Shop: Hold

needle, hook, wear

I caught myself at the library the other day, picking up and looking through a 'teach yourself to Knit' book. Who am I kidding?
That said, I love hand-knit scarves and with the chilly fall weather coming up, this 'Nomad Cowl' by Seed Knits is exactly the sort of thing I want around my neck! I'm loving the grey hues and soft Peruvian wool! I also love the fact that you can pull it over your head like a hood as one side is wider than the other. It doesn't have any long scarfy bits that could get in the dishwater or clay, so I could wear it indoors too.
Stephanie from Seed Knits informed me that she will be at the Portobello West Market here in Vancouver November 28th & 29th! (I'll be there too:)
blog- seedknits.blogspot.com
Etsy- seedknits.etsy.com

Orange on Wednesday

Continuing in line with Poppytalk's Autumn Colour challenge today with Orange! Fall orange colours are starting to pop up everywhere and what a better way to celebrate, but with some Etsy finds using the key words rust and orange!
The list from top to bottom, left to right:
Vintage Orange Paper Pumpkin from Opendoor Studio for $3.50
Closet Mob Rust Cowl by Vintage Etc. for $28
Poppy Orange Creamer from Callooh Callay for $20
Gaggle of Geese Pillow by Olive for $29
Autumnus 2 Photograph by J.Beaudet for $20
Mims Nap Sack/Shoulder Bag by Mims Maine for $89
Beaded Journal by Prairie Garden for $22
Harvest Hoodie by Modest Maven for $56
Harvest Tupperware from Iones Attic for $9.99

The Letter 'L' is for Lovely!

I got some really great news on my birthday this summer that I feel I can start to share with others! My only sister & her husband are having their first baby in March!

So when I came across The Letter K Design on etsy, a North Vancouver mom/designer & maker named Kate Whyte, I was pretty smitten! These little wall blocks have a vintage, yet contemporary feel, great for the baby room, but also very sweet for other little corners of the house! The custom letters are personal and classic, but I think the unexpected letter pairings are what really caught my eye! 'A is for.. Artichoke'?! Ok, the kid probably can't pronounce artichoke, but won't they sound cute for trying? These hand-drawn images transferred in limited editions on Birch blocks with Nursery Rhymes and even Anniversary Blocks are an amazing gift idea for your next baby shower, wedding gift or for yourself! The details (sides and backs have lovely little images and words) are really amazing and definitely worth checking out!

Blog Kindness...

I almost forgot to post about some of the blog kindness I've been getting these days! First off, a nice little package greeted me from Cafe Cartolina when we got home from our holidays last week! Lucky me- I won these beautiful posters, designed by Doug, in one of their blog give-a-ways! You really ought to go over there and enter their next give-a-way: some great new greeting cards that Fiona designed!
And then, over at the Kind Over Matter blog, they posted my turquoise poppy mugs along with some other sweet etsy stuff!

Tick Tock Clock

Tick tock, apparently we need a new wall clock. Lots to choose from on Etsy... advice anyone? Which one do you like best?
1.Doily Clock by andfurthermore for $28.50
2.Blue Circle Clock by Chromalab for $75
3.Clock made from a Recycled Bicycle Wheel by Stuff Made from Stuff for $109
4.Retro Spinning Wheel Clock by Blended Splendid for $24
5. Modern Grey Wall Clock by Uncommon for $32
6.Vintage General Electric Clock by Seaside Vintage for $15
7. Striped Wall Clock by Bliss in a Teacup for $25
8.Wall Hanging Clock- Cuckoo Clock by Decoy Lab for $28

I heart BC & Lucky Troll

BC Day, our Provincial August 1st long weekend holiday is coming up and in honour of this beautiful province of ours, I thought I'd highlight another great Vancouver Etsy shop: Lucky Troll! Since Canadians are notoriously provincially-minded, I thought the 'Home is Where the Heart is' Pendants were extremely clever and sweet. Each one is hand cut by jewelry designer Katty, out of silver in the shape of provinces or states, even Islands or continents for custom orders! I love the abstract, yet familiar shape of these pendants and with a cut out heart... well home really is where the heart is! I was really smitten with many other things from the shop and will certainly be back!

Organelle Design

Your in for a real treat today in my 'local etsy finds series'! Organelle Design is the collaboration of Vancouver environmental and architectural designers Alexander Witko and Courtney Hunt, who have a flair for re-inventing the everyday object. I'm feeling some Brian Jungen in this work, but love that it's practical, clever, and environmentally conscious! A combination of discarded bike rims and hangers or waterbottles make up the materials for their 'Hangelier' series of Chandeliers. While the concept for construction remains the same, various bike wheel sizes create small changes between each individual 'Hangelier'. Their interest in salvaging material to re-use has also led them to community-minded approaches including some non-profit projects in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Check out their etsy site and their website for more purchasing info!

Feel Fuzzy for Dad

I'm shopping local again on etsy and with Birthday season and Father's Day on it's way, Feel Fuzzy has some great little items to add to any gift in the works. Temporarily based in Vancouver, (heading back to Scotland after the summer), this shop has a lot of vintage remixes at play! I love the buttons and lapel brooches, the magnets out of old puzzles are so great, and the packaging is really clever! I'm also intrigued by Debi's willingness to do a custom order... hmm, perhaps a vintage scooter set of cards for my husband, an old 'Ford' button for my father-in-law, and a vintage horse magnet set for the 'cowboy' in my dad. Check out her blog for more info about Feel Fuzzy, Debi's time in Vancouver, and more great photos from such a sweet etsy shop!

Ellen from The Long Thread posted some lovely etsy finds on her blog this past week and included my turquoise poppy teapot!