Forgive me: I once feared the headband.
All of the pieces above were entirely handstitched and created with elastic, sewn fabric flowers and leaves, vintage floral fabric and thread. I’m a fan. Be sure to follow them on twitter (@catFlowers) to see snaps of new projects and updates!
This week in Philly etsy…
OK, Justin Arawjo’s not from Philly, he’s from Harrisburg. But we saw his Communitea booth at a craft fair at the Piazza a few weeks ago and liked it so much that we grabbed a business card AND a reasonably priced T-shirt.
What’s going on here?
The coolest thing about this shirt is that it depicts an actual historical event! On May 3, 1808 Monsieur de Grandpre and Monsieur de Pique ascended over Paris in hot air balloons to duel for the affection of a famous dancer. One source clains they chose to duel in balloons because they believed they had “elevated minds”. In any case, after ascending to about 2000 feet, they fired at each other from a distance of 80 yards. De Pique took the first shot and missed. De Grandpre, however, scored a direct hit on his opponent’s balloon and De Pique was tipped out of his basket, falling to the rooftops below. I have yet to find any information regarding how this impressed the dancer they were fighting over.
Balloon duels? Clearly I was meant for another era. Here’s a detail if you’re squinting:
Kiss the Chef!
Bon Appetit asked if there was such a thing as a cool apron. My answer? Absolutely.
I love to cook. I also apparently love to spill stuff all over myself. I’m especially fond of spilling stuff all over myself near a grill and open flame… so it’s a good thing I’ve done my homework for BBQ season, which — by the way– officially started on Memorial Day.
If you’re looking for aprons that are chic on either sex, check out The Conran Shop.
Even if you consider yourself a more serious chef …but like to look as hot as the food, (a la Betty Draper ) …try surfing around on ETSY for a cute apron! If you’re getting domestic, do it right.
These gems I found by momomadeit.
This week in Philly etsy…
Today in local craftiness: a gift for a lady who loves her dog but also loves art brut, opera mustaches, wedding invitations are gorgeous if you can afford them and Washington, Washing-TON.
It may be a bit too late to get one of these for Mother’s Day, but if you’ve got a dog-lady birthday coming up in the future, send konane a photo of her favorite doggie and 60 bucks and you get a hand-painted scarf that… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but actually looks pretty modern and cool despite having a pet and its name on it. No mention is made of cat or other pet scarf portraits. Personalized dog portrait scarf by konane, $60.
Local Crafter Is Eco Etsy’s Featured Artist
Local gal and PR maven Paige Wolf—known in the Estysphere as Brass in Pocket Knits—is today’s featured artist on the Eco Etsy Street Team blog, a well-known spot for cool, sustainable crafts.
Paige specializes in knit handbags made from organic cotton and other sustainable yarns and finished with repurposed household items. She creates linings from pillowcases, sheets, and scarves and uses vintage jewelry for clasps and handles.
Check out the Q&A with her here to learn more about her designs.
This week in Philly etsy…
Philly landscape jewelry, arachnid cross-stitch, vintage lace necklaces and a notebook that overshares.
From Jen McCleary’s shop, you can wear Philly with you all the time with this pendant, made from a vintage optician test lens.
Erin Go BRAAAGHhhhhh uh hey sorry about your shoes bro
There’s an Irish bar a block from my house on my route to the subway, so for the last couple of weekends I’ve been dodging screeching verge-of-vom co-eds dressed in green every other time I leave the house.
There’s just something about St. Patrick’s Day that’s so goddamn pathetic (at least, the parts that are ferried into my life via the Erin Express). The lightweight dudes that smell like vomit before 2pm. The embarrassing Irish-themed pick-up lines. The green Cat-in-the-Hat hats. The girls wearing the totally sexy green costumes, about 20% of whom look good in them and 80% of whom looked good in them four years and 25 pounds ago but are squeezing into them anyway, because hey, it’s St. Patrick’s Day!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of large crowds and public drinking. I just prefer it to be caused by some sort of event. Election night? Awesome! The Phillies stuff? Awesome, except for how my friend got his car flipped (but it was all OK, he had riot insurance). St. Patrick’s Day never seems like a celebration, just a yearly excuse for all the people I disliked in high school to take over the city for a day, binge drink and wear blinky lights.
That said, I still think this silver-plated shamrock necklace by Philly-area etsy seller briguysgirls is really beautiful.
This week in Philly Etsy…
The neatest things posted this week by Philadelphia etsy sellers. If you’re an etsy seller in the Philly area and want to be considered, drop me a link to your store at emily.guendelsberger@gmail.com and I’ll add it to my feed. But if you listed your location as Philadelphia, I’ve probably got you on the RSS radar already. Anyway, let’s… commence…
Oh man, I was trying to figure out which image was best to use for elloh’s shop, but I like so many of them that I had to arbitrarily decide on this one based on my visit to the Wall of Swayze in POPE’s ladies’ room last night (I may have to start taking pictures and doing a top 10 places to pee in the city or something. Send in nominations!). More »
PW Presents: Philly Crafters Hit Hard By New Legislation
This week, PW had an online exclusive about a problem facing local artisans.
According to new legislation, anyone making products for children—including crafters on sites like Etsy—will be forced to submit their products for testing in order to minimize harm to the youngsters. The law comes in the wake of the 2007 controversy surrounding recalls on millions of Chinese-made toys.
“The rules apply both to big businesses and the ‘mompreneurs’ making bibs to sell on Etsy. Mattel can afford to pay $550 to test a toy, for Philly’s community of knitters, woodworkers and other artisans—as well as the stores … that sell their goods—that same cost could be a deal breaker,” writes Becca Trabin.
It’s an interesting piece and makes me wonder, if this legislation is enforced, what will happen to stores like Spirit of the Artist (mentioned in the article)? Also, some of the city’s best boutiques—Art Star, Mew Gallery and so many more—often carry items that could be considered toys. Will the effect them?
Philly artist featured on etsy
Philly cermaics artist Yasha Butler, of Old City’s the Clay Studio, is a featured seller on etsy’s front page today. There’s a short interview up on the site. Yay! Way to go, local artists!
I’m seriously liking the clean lines and palette of Butler’s jewelry and dinnerwares. Check out more at her etsy shop, yashabutler.
thanks, Philly Etsy team!