Stilliben

I discovered the beautiful Danish shop Stilliben via Ilemarini's Instagram feed this week. Located in Copenhagen, the shop is run by two ceramicists and features hand curated items from Danish and international artists. The aesthetic is right up my alley and I feel in love with so many items in the shop. Below are a selection of my favorites, but there's much more to see in their online shop. Enjoy!

American Field

Last Saturday we took a little trip out the American Field pop-up market on the Boston waterfront. American Field is a once a year show featuring all American made clothing, accessories, goods, and furniture. The show was chock full of hipsters, so thank goodness I happened to be wearing my plaid flannel shirt that day. I would have felt unbearably uncool otherwise.

The selection of goods was fantastic for a small sized show, with a concentration on great items for men. Trends included beautiful leather goods, handmade shoes, waxed canvas bags of all types, candles and tonics in manly scents, and camp-inspired clothing. Crafty cutesy markets don't do it for me, so I was psyched to see a more modern selection of goods. Below are a few shots from the show, enjoy!

Below, said stylish folk

Colorful moccasins from Itasca Leathergoods. I may still snatch up a pair of these, They were beautiful and the leather was so soft.

Handmade shoe demo booth from The Brothers Crisp

Artisan painted canoe paddles from Sandborn Canoe Co.

The market was held outside an industrial building on the waterfront. Someone was giving men's haircuts and shaves in the back of Ball and Buck's old F250 truck.

Hand tooled leather bracelet workshop

Home

Welcome to the house I grew up in. Many of us romanticize the homes we lived in as children, and there's certainly a lot of that going on here, but I'm telling you there's something special about this place. It's simultaneous open and cozy, airy and warm, and makes me feel like no other place ever has. It's just home, and home in the best way possible.

My family moved to this house in 1985 when I was 3 years old, and my parents have lived here ever since. It's a mid century post and beam house built by the architect Eugene Weston. Our house is part of an enclave of five mid century homes he built for his family on a private, dead-end road in the foothills of southern California. The house is more or less one large open living space with tall cedar plank ceilings, white walls, and huge glass sliding doors along the entire front of the house. A wide deck off the front looks onto the trees, creating the feeling of being in a treehouse. The kitchen and bar are covered in cobalt blue ceramic tiles that are so retro and I absolutely love them.

Ours was the kind of house neighbor kids traipsed in and out of without knocking. Weekends were spent roaming free around the neighborhood with a dog or two trailing behind. An old horse trail passes next to our house, and riders often passed by the window. A hiking trail out the back door leads into the mountains in one direction and down to the elementary school I attended as a child in the other. My dad and our dogs walked me to school every morning down that trail.

Spending the past few days here has been incredibly restorative. Vermont winters are hard, and I really needed a break and some sunshine. Even though I grew up in this climate, it's still blowing my mind that the trees are green and flowers are blooming in February. Feeling so very thankful to be able to visit this place!

Behind the Scenes with oh, albatross

A handful of shops on Etsy have completely captured my imagination, keeping me coming back week after week just to check in and see what's new. Today I am so honored to share a behind the scenes look into one such Etsy favorite, oh, albatross.

For those of you who have yet to discover this gem of a shop, you are in for a treat today. In addition to stocking her shop with impeccably curated vintage treasures, owner Regina Groleau produces a line of the most perfect soft sculpture animals, each one unique and made by hand from vintage fabrics, needle, and thread. From birds and foxes, to owls and polar bears, Regina is somehow able to give each creation its own unique personality.

A little while back I got in touch with Regina to see if she would share the details of her process and a peek into her work space. Below is the interview along with a few shots from Regina's beautiful, light filled work space in her swoon-worthy brand new house that she and her husband just finished building and moved into earlier this month.

Little Dog: When did you start making soft sculpture animals and how did the first one come about?

oh, albatross: Some time back in 2008 or so, I had the strangest urge to sew an animal. I had no pattern or planning process, just a strong desire to see what would happen with a needle, thread and a few scraps of fabric. I made a tiny green mouse. I named him Henri. He was nothing short of a disaster. A few days later, I tried again.

Little Dog: Can you talk a little bit about the creative process for making a new animal? Where does your inspiration come from?

oh, albatross: Stories, fables, folklore and myths are a huge source of inspiration for me. Both solemn and sweet, they are threads woven into our everyday experience. Strong cultural totems like Zuni fetishes are a great source on how we view animals and imbue them with certain traits. And classic illustrations seem to stick with me for years, and I’m slowly coming to understand how often they provide an archetype for how I view different kinds of animals. I do keep a list of descriptions of animals to work to or feelings to express. (For instance, I had a strong need to make a fox who found a spiderweb. It was a piece I loved dearly and an idea I may have to revisit soon.)

 

Little Dog: Do you create patterns or prototypes for animals, or just start from scratch and keep going until the animal feels right?

oh, albatross: Both, really. I very often prototype, but I find that the shapes change quite a bit with each different fabric. The direction of the fabric and the amount of stretch in a fabric can create very different shapes, even from the same patterns. I’ve learned to embrace those changes and work with them. I love to see how the stances change or the heads twist…it’s a very nice way to meet a new animal.

Little Dog: Where do your materials come from?

oh, albatross: I love working with vintage fabrics (though I can never pass up a good linen remnant at the fabric store). In my vintage collecting forays I’m always keeping an eye out for fabric. Estate sales, private collections and vintage clothing have been wonderful sources. It sometimes kills me to cut up a perfectly good wool skirt, but when it’s the exact right color for a fox, I get over it in the end. (On the flip side, I’ve been known to rescue almost destroyed linen shirts, or moth-holed knits, because that worn texture is truly lovely and impossible to recreate.) 

Little Dog: There is a wonderful likeness-without-being-too-literal that your animals have. Is this an intuition that flows easily through your fingers, or do you spend a lot of time experimenting and tweaking to get the expressions and proportions just right?

oh, albatross: I’m always drawn to simplified art that indicates a movement or expression rather than hammers you over the head with an overly detailed rendition. Particularly when sewing facial expressions, I find less is much more. It doesn’t take more than one thread in the wrong place to make an animal look angry or startled. I always liken it to a slow form of people watching, every stitch creates a whole new expression.

Little Dog: On average, how long does it take you to make each animal?

oh, albatross: Oh, goodness... hours and hours, really. It’s a question I’ve never been able to pin down an answer to as I tend to have several animals in the works at once. The nice part about a rotating menagerie is that if I’m unsure how I want to detail a fox or a rabbit, I can let them sit there au natural until I’ve figured exactly who they want to be.

Little Dog: What's next for Oh, Albatross handmade? You had a One King's Lane sale this year. Any fun projects or collaborations scheduled for the future?

oh, albatross: 2013 was a year full of experimentation for me and I hope 2014 will bring some of the same interesting opportunities! I did a cover project for Mollie Makes magazine that came out in January, and I’ve been working with selling via different websites or providing collections for small brick and mortar stores. I’ve also been designing pieces for Christmas collections…but it’s so hard to think about next winter already! Right now I’m settling into new studio space, digging through piles of fabrics, and enjoying working on both old favorites and some new pieces too!

If you'd like to see more from Oh Albatross, head on over to her shop or check out her beautiful and thoughtful blog. Thanks for giving us a small look into your world, Regina, and best of luck in 2014!

Make It Yours via Etsy

Last week while browsing Pinterest I came across this image from Modern Thrifter. Not only do I like this little vignette, but it struck me as completely attainable due to the fact that I have spotted similar or exact versions of every piece in this photo at thrift stores numerous times over the years. I even had that little gold Tensor lamp in my shop at one point.

I popped over to Etsy to see if I could find similar pieces, and had no trouble rounding up a set. Of course these prices are higher than what you'd pay thrifting for the items yourself, but if you're like most people and do not have hours of spare time to dig scour junk shops each week, these prices may do.

1. scale model bridge kit, $5
2. starburst clock, $72.75
3. orange shell chair, $50
4. mid century walnut desk, $775
5. mid century brass lamp, $65
6. vintage ceramic vase, $40