West Elm and Etsy's love-in

Hey there. Yep, I know I've been barely hanging around here recently (I'm blaming it on a combo of being blisteringly busy with work, travelling to both New York and Chicago within the past couple of weeks, oh, and getting kinda sick too), but here's something that you guys can really sink your teeth into>>>

West Elm's Toronto store will be hosting an Etsy We Heart Handmade Art pop-up event curated by Fieldguided - that's her smashing carryall pictured below - which'll feature a slew of other local Etsy craftspeople, as well as promising both drinks and tunes. I was in the store yesterday and they were being busy bees getting prepped and clearing space for what promises to be a very busy Saturday. All the deets are below, and yep, Bookhou (a local design fave of mine) will be there with lots of gorgeous gear, including the pillows and artwork pictured below, too.

I'm hoping to make it, but might be entirely exhausted after participating in our mega local neighbourhood yard sale (shout out to everyone who lives in The Pocket!).

{that one great thing} Michelle's store clips

While I'm wrapping my head around a particularly difficult bit of writing today (oh, deadlines), I thought I'd hand things over to the talented Michelle Carangi of Montreal design firm, Holley & Gill, who, along with her husband Conrad Buck, creates gorgeous cushions and headboards with hand-printed patterns - love their Feathers design - in water-based inks on 100% cotton. Anyway, after meeting Michelle at the Interior Design Show I bugged her into contributing that one great thing, and she picked some very handy-dandy vintage clips.

Michelle Carangi: On becoming home owners almost seven years ago, Conrad and I have collected many special little items that have allowed us to inject some personality into our decor. 

Most of our finds have been vintage as of late simply because our taste tends to sway more towards the traditional and classic. Having been lucky enough to have traveled quite a bit over the last couple of years, we’ve collected so many different postcards, business cards and photos from places we’ve been and from people we’ve met. And so, when I found this set of vintage wall-mount store clips from Etsy shop AM Radio, I knew it would be the perfect solution to display them all. 

We need to be surrounded by what we love, and we’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that buying things because they’re on trend will result in pieces that have no meaning and ultimately end up collecting dust. Whenever I walk by this display, I walk by all of our happy and unique memories and can add to it forevermore.

guest blog / Jenn Hannotte: What's behind door #1?

Arren has been Christmas-ized since July when the magazines do their holiday shoots. Thankfully for the rest of us we don't have to worry about the holidays until about...well...NOW. I've rounded up some out of the ordinary advent calendars to keep the countdown looking cool. 

This trendy pennant look finds its way into the holidays and on to the mantel doing double duty as an advent calendar and taking care of dressing the fireplace. You fill each number with your own treats and can re-use it each year. The second one here is more traditional, but I love it for its patchwork look and shot of turquoise. And for a little irony - if you love these last two you better hurry since they are limited to 50 and the seller says they go quick. For good reason, these gorgeous Amsterdam or Brooklyn streetscapes with a little holiday image behind each door or window will bring a little grin to even the grinchiest of us!

Oh, my darling

This a.m. - way before my first coffee - I was completely charmed by these Marionette pillows. Designed by Darling Clementine (of Etsy fame, see there gorgeous shop here), and inspired by 1950's finger puppets, the prints started life as a set of cards, and then, when ferm LIVING spotted them, they turned four of the six characters into pillows. Aristo Katt, Elle Elephant, Mr Frank Fox and Posey Panda are printed on organic cotton, and are available online at Branch. Oh, and I've also included a snap of that fantastic wallpaper, it's called Ferris and is from ferm LIVING too, hook yourself up with a few rolls here.

Guest blog / Julia Black: Me & Minagraphy

Julia Black: Photographer Mina Georgescu first got hold of a plastic panoramic camera as a child growing up in Romania, and I'm very thankful she never let it go. Sure she has a nicer camera these days, but it is her youthful eye that's definitely behind her magically captured moments. Mina’s latest collection, Coney Island and Other Magical Places, is a series of nostalgic snapshots that romanticize our memories of hot summery trips to the beach and time spent munching candy corn while riding a ferris wheel. The sensational textures, saturated hues and softly blurred motion make her modern-vintage prints perfectly refreshing (kind of like a cool glass of old fashioned lemonade!). I’ve ordered a set for my cottage, and I’m pretty sure they’d make a wonderful gift for a summer wedding (or two) that I have pencilled in on my calendar. You can shop Mina’s prints here on Etsy, and be sure to check out her fabulous blog too!

To read more posts from Julia click here, to check out her cool blog click here, and click here to see her new Get Fresh online videos for CTV!

In praise of zig zags

One pattern I don't have in the house, and believe me, I have a lot, is zig zag. I've always loved it from afar, and meant to incorporate it somewhere, it's just never happened. The pattern works brilliantly in floorcoverings - The Madeline Weinrib Zig Zag rug has gotten miles and miles of coverage (and is adored by, well, just about everyone), West Elm has their version, and now Nate Berkus has gotten in on the act with one for HSN (currently on sale, too!). And, while a graphic black and white zig zag feels the most classic it's also a little bossy, I fancy it a fair bit more when the colours are softened slightly, like in a couple of the interior shots below. Oh, and for fun, I thought I'd start things off with my current fave in zig zag patterns that have a messier, more painterly and hand-done vibe to them - which I would L.O.V.E. to see turned into fabric, wallpaper or rugs, btw - TOMS Black Tangier Men's Vegan Classic slip-ons, and the Zig Zag tea towel by The Near Future over on Etsy. [Image 3 here, 4 here, and 5 here]

Guest blog / Julia Black: Shopping for Seventies

Julia Black: On a recent Etsy shopping spree I was overcome by an urge to shop for retro-style stuff so, when I came across a talented ceramic artist by the name of Jill Rosenwald, I knew I had struck pay dirt. Jill’s work is totally chilled out and playful, and completely on target for the 70's colours, patterns and shapes I was after, and, after more digging into Rosenwald- land I found out that it was her time spent as a kid at summer camp in Vermont - surrounded by a hippy-ish arts and crafts culture - that set the creative ball rolling for her. Now Jill calls Boston home, and you might spy her work on the shelves at Barney’s and Nieman Marcus, in mags like In Style, oh, and not forgetting my personal fave, on the desk of sexpot/PR maven Samantha Jones in HBO's Sex and the City. Sweet!

To read more posts from Julia click here, and click here to check out her cool blog.

3 for the framers

I could totally blow the bank on artwork, and have fortunately/unfortunately found someone new on Etsy to jones over. I don't know much about Hocus, except she has a bit of a thing for vintage Danish pottery, and that she (?) is a designer/illustrator based in Toronto. Her work is sweet, but not too sugary, and I love all the textures and detail in each piece. Below you'll find all three of her limited edition, signed and numbered prints - Key Finder, Feathers and Snyder Goes For Walkies. For my money I think they'd all look brill in simple white gallery frames, hmmm, now to find a spare wall to hang them...

A split style personality

We have our house, which you can check out in various states of disarray here on the blog, and then there's my other house - a white painted cottage. It's imaginary of course, lol, but it's where I can indulge in more of the modern country side of my personality. It would still be filled to the brim with vintage and thrifty stuff, but would feel more kicked back and definitely more on the 20's, 30's and 40's side of things. I'm thinking white painted floorboards, slipcovers, mix and match painted furniture, a fireplace and a vegetable garden.

Well, as I keep on dreaming, I occasionally stumble across perfect additions for this make believe home. Check out the work of photographer Yvette Inufio's work. The compositions, colours and moods are perfect. And yes, I recognise a fellow magpie with a vintage shopping addiction when I see one, lol. You'll find Yvette's very affordable work on Etsy right here, and her portfolio on Flickr here.

   

Colour clash

Take a boo below at the brill home of Andrew Bannis; it just makes me drool with all that stunning African wax print and batik fabric. Love the crazy patterns and odd colour clash combos and how they work so well together, and I especially love how they don't match. Check out Royal Hut - the firm Bannis and his business partner Louise Kay are behind - to see gorgeous bed and bath linens trimmed with the patterntastic fabric (love the Java Collection, btw). And, to get even more wax print into your life, look up Foundation4 on Etsy to score those great pillows. [Interior images: James Merrell, via the Telegraph]

       

UK okay

Yep, I've hopped the pond and I'm in the UK on my hols. So that means perhaps a few less posts over the next bit while we run about shopping at markets, hitting my fave stores and hanging out with family and friends drinking tea and beer (though not necessarily at the same time). In the meantime, here's a cool Union Jack pillow I found on Etsy.