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Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Craft Hope

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Craft Hope: Handmade Crafts for a Cause
“It started with a pillowcase dress…and grew into a worldwide movement: crafters using their passion to help those in need. The Craft Hope blog-which organizes crafters to make handmade items for charities-has attracted followers around the world. This book, written by the site’s founder and featuring crafting’s hottest start, celebrates the cause and encourages others to join in.
Each project is matched with a specific charity, with alternative suggestions for local places to contribute the item. The projects-all with beautiful photographs, step-by-step instructions, and templates-include: cheerful quilts for hospitalized children, soft dolls for Nicaraguan orphans, tug toys for animal shelters, knit gloves for homeless shelters, a cloth backpack for schoolchildren in Africa, a stylish purse for women moving out of abusive relationships, and knit scarves for fostercare teens heading off to college. Contributors range from fabric designers Amy Butler and Heather Bailey to popular authors and bloggers such as Amanda Soule (www.soulemama.com, Handmade Home), Karri Meng (French General), Amy Ray (Doodle Stitching), Celine Dupuy (Simple Sewing with a French Twist), Vickie Howell (Craft Corps), Cathie Filian (Creative Juice), Susan Wasinger (Eco Crafts), and Betsy Greer (Knitting for Good).
In addition, there are plenty of helpful tips on how to give locally and globally, how to give thoughtfully and appropriately, and how to empower those you are helping.” → more info

April showers

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Jill Popowich Designs: Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved jewelry and was intrigued with designing and making it. I attended the Maryland Institute College of Art where I received a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. Since 1994 I’ve been working as an Environmental Graphic Designer having the opportunity to travel the world working on large scale retail environments designing signage, sculptures and architectural details. It is this large scale 3-D work that re-sparked my interest in jewelry design and the opportunity to build something that can be interacted with on a personal scale.

All of the jewelry in my shop is handcrafted by me. Since each piece is hand made they will all vary taking on a personality of their own making each one unique and special. Please wear and enjoy each of my creations for its individual personality, shape, texture, material and craftsmanship.

Love, Nature, Earth

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three-wished-detailBlue Poppy Jewelry is created by pairing the beauty of fine metals with raw, organic elements from the earth. Each piece is created with a heartfelt compassion for life, love and nature. All elements of our jewelry are made within the United States with environmentally friendly choices made wherever possible.

The goal behind many of our pieces is to create stylish jewelry with a very subtle significance — jewelry that has a strong personal connection with the wearer without being obvious.

We, as mothers, sisters, wives, and friends, strive to create a line of fine jewelry for women…to honor those in our lives who mean the world. Enjoy!

Miss Malaprop

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Of course you know Mallory from her blog, but have you seen her clothing line?

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MissMalaprop.com is where modern handmade meets sustainable design. On my website, I spotlight the best in independent designers & artists, eco-friendly and sustainable products, New Orleans & Gulf Coast based businesses and issues, and people & organizations who are working to make the world a better place.

My own creations reflect those same principals. I began selling my creations under the name “dismantled designs” in 2004, after arriving home from a study abroad program in London where I saw the amazing artists at Portobello Market and where I was inspired to begin selling my own reconstructed clothing & accessories.

My designs are all one-of-a-kind, handmade and original. Most are made from used or vintage clothing, or remnant fabrics and trims. Each piece is meant to have a slightly unfinished, rough-hewn, well-loved look about it. I hope you enjoy!