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Lost in Jakarta

July 20, 2017 by Emily Anderson 1 Comment

This week was the final episode of Lost. There are may fan sites where people hypothesize about the details of the show, like where the island is supposed to be. We know it’s somewhere in the Pacific, some say Bali. Jakarta is also a pivotal location to the storyline, so I thought I’d showcase some local sellers from this magical place. Oraber is an Indonesian painter and printmaker who studied painting, but has evolved her craft to doing mainly printing, especially woodcut. This piece is a great image of many themes within the Lost series, which I attribute to the mystical energy of this part of the world.

As designer Maria Theresa says, the clothes we put on can be inspired by our constant changing moods, and can inspire or subdue them. This dress reflects the ethereal nature of the Lost story, if I were on the island trying to sort things out I think it would be just the thing to don. The designer wants each piece to be an extension of the wearer and reflect who that person is.

This pillow is named the “Tree of Life,” and it called out to me as I sat and watched the final moments of the show. Jakarta resident, Kainkain, is a talented embroiderer who now calls design her fulltime job since she discovered Etsy. This particular design is a fitting end to this story. The tree is both delicate and stand sure, and as such, it is a perfect reflection of how each and every one of us experiences life, no matter what far corner of the earth we find ourselves.

Far East Style, Home Town Goods

July 13, 2017 by Valerie Williams 1 Comment

Normally my shopping instincts are sharply honed onto pretty things to wear: clothes, shoes, jewelry, anything I can sew a flower on to, that sort of thing. But every now and then my eye is caught by beautiful home accessories, and I get the itch to beautify my living space, not just my closet!

Sue Henry is a sculptor and ceramic artist whose work moved over to textiles when her children came along. A dusty studio filled with fragile, breakable things was no longer practical with little ones running about. She decided to take up carving linoleum blocks – the tactile experience reminded her of her first love, working in clay.

Sue has been an artist all her life, and remembers her first creative instinct being about creating comfortable places to live. As a little girl, she wanted to be an architect and an interior designer. It just seemed like a natural next step to print her designs on textiles to create beautiful, functional home goods.

Seeing the lovely things that Sue makes really got me thinking about how I’ve been neglecting my living spaces lately. Her designs are full of movement and energy, and I love the bold colors she uses, which really make the designs stand out.

Every item at Tulusa Home Goods begins with a linoleum block hand carved by Sue. She is inspired by her travels to India and South East Asia, and her love of cooking, architecture, and design. The designs are printed on cotton or linen canvas with solvent-free block printing ink. The pillows are stuffed with organic kapok, a fluffy, soft, and environmentally friendly alternative to polyfill. The textiles are designed to be functional and durable, and are machine washable.

Included in the collection at Tulusa are pillows of all sizes, including large meditation pillows, and table linens of all types. Sue’s favorite part of the creative process is carving the linoleum block, so there’s really no limit to what she can print on, once she completes a design.

Right now, the most popular item at Tulusa Home Goods is the Ganesha pillow. Ganesha is a Hindu deity who is the remover of obstacles, and the bringer of good fortune and new beginnings. A good friend to have around as we approach the busy holiday season and the new year, wouldn’t you say?

You can find Tulusa Home Goods at Sue’s online shop, and you can also contact her for custom orders or to be invited to her December pop-up shop in Alexandria, Virginia.

Art Appreciation Starts Early

July 12, 2017 by Ciaran Blumenfeld Leave a Comment

There’s so much lame art out there for small people. And that is a terrible thing. I’m convinced bad art rots little brains. It’s why I ended up eschewing popular mass market toddler art for framed pages of retro books for my kids. I spent ages hunting down old books from the 60’s and 70s with interesting line art, decoupage prints etc. Lucky for you now, there is Etsy and Jonty Bloom.

Let’s face it. Babies, toddlers, etc look at their walls a lot, what with all the time they spend hanging out in their rooms. Do you really want to trap them in there with nothing good to look at? With some insipid cartoon-y depiction of jungle animals and fairy ballerinas? Or do you want them looking at something a little better, more thought provoking? The kind of art that tells it’s own story and gives you more to look at each time you examine it?

I thought so. Chances are you’ll spend a fair amount of time in the room with your kid too. Buy something that you like, that they like, and that your grand kids would probably like too, if you save it for them. Good graphics make the world a better place. Let’s work together to make ugly primary colored vinyl dinosaur wall appliques from mass market chains, go extinct. Yay art!

Papaver Vert

June 19, 2017 by Erika Jurney Leave a Comment

Papaver Vert: Patty Benson started Papaver Vert in 2007 making her small apartment shared with her husband, into a small creative studio in Northern California. Based on form, function and bold color, Patty’s work utilizes the time consuming technique of crocheting and wet felting wool to create tactile pieces with a contemporary twist.

Learning how to crochet a few years ago, she immediately found a medium that combined her love of wool with her love of home decor. Feeling that home accessories shouldn’t just be limited to ceramic or glass, and that felted wool doesn’t have to mean something old-school, she loves the idea of taking the ancient technique of felting to design something entirely new.

Patty loves that wool is a renewable resource and she stands behind a non-mass produced sensibility. Each piece is lovingly handmade in her studio and she figures the more attention put into the craft, the better the quality, the longer it will last and the less need to buy more, more, more.

Michelle Prosek

June 12, 2017 by Erika Jurney 3 Comments

Michelle Prosek: I am inspired by the flowing organic forms of nature and the clean lines of geometry and architecture. I love experimenting with new ideas and pushing the boundaries of what glass can do.

I personally cut, carve, fuse and shape every single one of my designs to ensure that they are all one of a kind works of art. Each finished piece can take up to 90 hours to complete. I often feel like a pioneer in the glass fusing arts, because I am constantly creating new techniques and methods for working with kiln-fired glass.