beautiful Archives - Try Handmade

Far East Style, Home Town Goods

May 10, 2019 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.

One Girl Circus

May 5, 2019 by Erika Jurney 6 Comments

One Girl Circus offers delightful, versatile designs you won’t find anywhere else for girls and boys. Every day is a special occasion for your little ones; they should dress the part!

I make all clothing items to order with my own two hands, and it is important to me that each piece is as beautiful on the inside as the outside, as well as being comfortable and durable for everyday adventures.

All of my clothing is washable and crafted with care, so that even the most sensitive little ones don’t feel scratchies or itchies. Seams are entirely enclosed where possible, any exposed seams are professionally finished to prevent fraying, and tags are stitched down for comfort.

Handcrafted with heirloom-quality construction means that these are the clothes you will save for your next children, or the next generation of children.

Bees, please.

April 27, 2019 by Rebecca Hadfield 6 Comments

Now that winter is making its inevitable approach and days are starting to get shorter, I find myself lighting candles almost every evening. There is nothing like the golden glow of candles to add a little romance and warmth to a room. It has been said, though, that “we breathe what we burn”. In the case of paraffin-based wax candles, what is burned is a mix of petroleum, chlorine bleach and several other potentially harmful additives. As the flame flickers, toxic soot is released into the air. This soot contains a myriad of dangerous compounds including benzene, ethanol, acetone, toluene, formaldehyde and naphthalene.

You don’t have to be a chemist to understand that this is some pretty nasty stuff to be inhaling. In fact, the soot released by the paraffin candles is very similar in chemical make-up to diesel exhaust! One way to avoid introducing airborne pollutants into your home is to forgo paraffin candles and choose those made of 100% natural beeswax.

floral pillar

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Delaware, USA

April 24, 2019 by Tara Gentile 6 Comments

[hTara]

I’m in the first state, for the first time, for vacation. So I thought it fitting that I should bring you the best of Delaware for this week’s shop local post!

On our first night here, we stopped in a tiny little building set just off the main boulevard of Rehoboth Beach. Heidi Lowe Gallery is an “Innovative Jewelry Studio” that houses small exhibitions of jewelry art throughout the year. I got to see a display made up exclusively of earrings!

The inside of the gallery is quite simple and the displays change with each exhibition. For the jewelry exhibition, Heidi had affixed black silhouettes to the cream colored walls. Each silhouette displayed a single earring.

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Lost in the Stacks…

April 23, 2019 by Amy L. 4 Comments

Photo from Love and Squalor Photography

It’s not uncommon that while watching a movie – I’ll turn to the person next to me and say – wait, isn’t that Vancouver? We’ve got a bustling movie scene here – so much so that we’re often called Hollywood North and it’s not so unusual for there to be reports that Kristin Stewart or Dakota Fanning or some other star has been spotted out and about town. I’ve got my own celebrity run-ins that I could share too, but I’ll save that for another post. Because this post is about our downtown public library – as libraries go – it’s breathtaking. So beautiful that it’s not uncommon for movies to be shot inside – and they’re not usually library scenes either, one recent film of note that was shot here – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. As I write this post, sitting in the library, I can’t help but look around at all the wonderful architectural details and feel lucky that this library has been built in our city.

Photo of Vancouver Public Library – Battle Star Galactica Set – Via: The Pocket Square

But really, what’s infinitely more important than the design or look of any library is it’s contents. I think I’ve always known this to be true. As far back as I can remember I have been obsessed with books. It must be due, at least in part, to influences in our home. There were always books strewn throughout it and one of my earliest dreams and desires was to be able to read like my brothers could. It’s even possible that this lifelong passions roots can be traced to one of the first books that was read to me by my brothers, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – to this day I fondly remember the twists and turns of this delightful tale. From the golden tickets to the wonders and quirks of Willy Wonka’s factory. When I finally did learn to read my mom would take me to the library where I was allowed to check out a stack of books as tall as my little arms could carry. I’d excitedly bring them home and quickly read through each and every one before returning to check out many more.

Librarian glasses from Je Sophi

I think one of my greatest delights will be teaching my children to read (when I have children of course). Who’s to know if they will share my passion for reading but I do hope that will be the case. I also know that while we may never be able to travel to all the places or meet all the people we’d like to in this lifetime, inside the pages of books so many adventures and experiences are waiting for us.

Library Ladies from Janet Hill Studio

Today – with libraries on my mind, I’ve gathered a number of handmade finds to share – I hope you enjoy them. Please do feel free to share a favorite book either from childhood or one you’ve read recently, I’d love to hear about them!

Bookends from Knob Creek Metal Arts