handmade love

one of the funnest parts of doing craft shows is trading with other exhibitors.  at the last couple shows i've done i traded with people whose work was so in demand that they had to ship their portion of the trade to me later, which i don't mind at all because i tend to forget that it's coming and then have such a fun surprise when it shows up.

the handmade stars seemed to be aligned today cause when i got home from the dentist (yuck) there was three packages waiting for me!  one was a set of two handmade bowls from peterman bowls, that are absolutely gorgeous and are already serving as fruit bowls on the counter.  the second was this darling but of course very fierce bunny from sonja ahlers:

and the third was a small pouch i just bought online from bookhou:

it's actually made from the drop cloths arounna uses for her silkscreening. i love bookhou's clean and geometric prints (i use their lines and rain pouch so much, sometimes as a clutch purse, sometimes to hold my ipad and sometimes as a travel embroidery pouch), and i really liked the idea of these pouches made from a by-product of their production, and how un-geometric they are.


i'm always intrigued to see how other makers package their wares when shipping them, and both sonja and arounna did such a good job of packing in a way that reflects the aesthetic of their work, something that i'm definitely still working on for my hats.

the bunny came wrapped in recycled clothing patterns, with a doily and pink ribbon to bundle it up.

the pouch came simply and carefully wrapped in kraft tissue, with a stamped sticker and handwritten thanks - so reflective of the clean and careful aesthetic that makes bookhou so popular.

i have lots to learn from these lovely ladies!

time for indigo again?

the weather in toronto has turned gloriously spring-like this week, and it's got me thinking about dyeing again.  i never feel much like dyeing in the cold weather, and since it's my busy season with the hats, my dyepots often get put away for much of the winter.

we just spent the weekend in montreal visiting mohssine's family, and sunday was so warm and sunny that we spent hours and hours just walking around the city, being happy to be out and about, people watching and window shopping.

i saw quite a few things that got my dyeing juices flowing, including this bag in the window at the gap, which i actually think is kind of ugly, but is clearly inspired by shibori.  it's likely printed fabric made to look like shibori though, rather than the real thing.  one of the mannequins in the window at harry rosen was wearing an indigo coloured ombre scarf just like in the photo of me up top.  mohssine had on another version of the same scarf that i had made him, but his is in a beautiful unbleached linen so the blue is even deeper and richer.


anyways, like i say it all made me want to get the dyepots cooking again.  i was even thinking about trying to wake up my indigo vat, which may be a bit premature, since it will likely not stay this warm for good.  


what about you?  does the spring weather inspire you to dye?

the great gatsby

i'm getting ready to do a new photo shoot of my hats, and have been looking through some photos and fashions from the 20's.  somehow this led me to a re-read of the great gatsby, and i ended up devouring it in just two days.  it really is a great book.

then of course i thought it was time for a re-watch of the movie as well - the classic 1974 version with robert redford and mia farrow.  despite the fact that everyone is incredibly sweaty throughout the entire movie, the costumes really are spectacular.

only about 5 minutes into the movie i had to google to figure out who the actor was playing tom, since i knew i knew him but couldn't figure it out.  of course it's bruce dern, who i know is a great actor, but i can no longer see as anyone but frank from big love - ew.

in the process of googling, i discovered that there's going to be a new version, by baz luhrmann, who i love.  i'm not sure how i feel about the choice of leonardo di caprio as gatsby, but casey mulligan as daisy and tobey maguire as nick both seem perfect.

i can't wait to see the costumes for this version - it's fascinating how the portrayal of period costumes changes depending on when the film is made.  i found this small sneak peek: