Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.
Sally of Sally Rags lives in Salem, Oregon. She and her husband, Jim have three kids, all adults now, and two dogs, a Doberman named Dave and a Black Lab named Wanda. Sally loves flowers, butterflies, and bubble baths and surrounds herself with fabrics and yarn. Her store is filled with wonderful things she’s made from recycled yarns and fabrics. Check out all her items at her store.
A friend recently told me I should: “become a foodie” after learning that I’m not really into cooking! I thought this was pretty funny… If you’ve been reading my posts you’ll know that I’ve been on a bit of a health kick lately. So far, so good – though this last week I’ll admit work took priority over yoga and eating right. I figure this week’s a new week though! (Hive Honey Set from Biodidactic Designs)
We’re heading to a friends house for dinner tonight and I urged her to have me bring something so I could “flex my domestic muscles”. She didn’t crack the whip though, and just suggested we bring salad and ice cream (she’s pregnant)! All the same it got me thinking about my hope of becoming a foodie one day… From time to time I find myself looking longingly at all the fun handmade products available online for the culinarily (is that a word ;)) gifted.
Here’s a roundup of a few of my finds from Supermarket, I hope some of these will find their way to my kitchen one of these days.
Showpony is urging us to Eat our Greens! With this adorable kitchen towel. Emma Henderson is the creator behind Showpony and her business is run out of her studio in Glasgow. With the environment in mind Emma uses organic and fair trade fabrics whenever possible as well as water based inks and recycled card and packaging.
Inhaus brings us these beautiful, minimalist letterpress kitchen notes, perfect for keeping track of all of our favorite recipes. All of their beautiful work is created on their very own Adana Eight-Five letterpress.
And my last find from oooms – which I think is pretty clever, these fun wooding cutting boards that also double as the perfect plate at a cocktail party (featuring a spot for both your wine glass and an appie too)!
How about you, are you a foodie extraordinaire, or more like me, hoping to get there some day?
Today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite photographers! Some of you may already be familiar with her work – though I still wanted to celebrate it and write about it here today. I think that’s because after a tough couple of days creating, I am ready to take it easy for a couple days. I’m not really known for my patience, so when I’m learning something totally new – either as I design websites or creating for my Etsy store, I do get a tad bit frustrated at times. Particularly if things aren’t going well. Something to work on for sure, but it also made me think about how we recover from these moments. Taking a break from the situation is always good, but I also like having a few nice things right around my desk to look at to take my mind off things.
So that brings me to the work of Irene Suchocki, whose photos I have posted next to my desk. Her use of color and the vibrant details of life she chooses to feature in her work are wonderfully soothing and oh so beautiful. From her own profile Irene explains: “I like to explore the ethereal, the surreal, the whimsical, the mysterious, and the beautiful. I enjoy creating little poems for the eyes.” And for me her work certainly is poetry for the eyes!
Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and tv shows including Extreme Makeover, Country Living, Canadian Geographic, and many many more.
I’d love to hear from you – when things aren’t going your way – what’s your favorite way to get back on track?
Image of Banksy Art – Bethlehem 2005, Public Domain
This week I’m asking the age old question, what is art? And more specifically – do you consider street art (more popularly known as graffiti) to be art?
For myself, I’d say that while I don’t feel necessarily qualified to decide what is art and what isn’t – if something is created with the intention to be art – then it is, by the very definition of the artist. The motivations behind street art are varied, I’m sure. For some it’s likely just a form of mischief, for others a means of self-expression- yet arguably a more aggressive and politically charged form. For those whose work may never have found its way into galleries – this is one way to find a potentially huge audience, if only for a day until the work is painted over. Now – many of these artists have found vindication as street art has gained popular acceptance in the art world, with the work of pre-eminent grafitti artists such as Banksy taking in as much as half a million dolllars at Sotheby’s auctions. And the irony of this is not lost on the artists themselves – as is clear in Banksy’s own documentary, “Exit Through the Gift Shop“, which I saw this weekend.
Arguably the most well known name in the street art genre, Banksy’s film is a must-see for anyone interested in art, graphic design or any related field. Banksy – for those of you not familiar with him – is the pseudonym of an artist who has chosen not to reveal his true identity. Over the years his work has ranged from stencil art pieces on the side of buildings (uncommissioned and created under the cover of darkness) to displaying his own work (unsolicited) in art museums next to the works of the greats and beyond- featuring popular themes including politics, culture and ethics. What one might expect from this film at the outset – perhaps a chronicle of the street art scene from 1980’s to present or an in-depth look at Banksy’s inspirations – aren’t to be found. Instead we are taken down a different and possibly more entertaining path – and in the end the careful viewer is left wondering if they have truly just witnessed a documentary or if Banksy is even more of a showman than we previously thought.
My name is Tara Turner and I am a fine art photographer and digital artist who has a driving passion to capture the beauty of my surrounding environment, whether it be a misty landscape, a moody sky or an old brick wall with a hundred stories to tell. I focus on combining my two favourite genres of photography- landscape and urban. By merging these two mediums I hope to make a statement about how as people we affect the environment around us. As well I hope to evoke emotion by creating a visually appealing, unique and imaginative piece of work, as ultimately in the end, some things can’t only been seen…they must be felt
