M.Patrizio. So softies. My order from Marilyn brought this home: the most colourful array of lovely things ever! Gino Tangerino pouch · i´m lovely Pear notepad · character sticker set · lil´ notebook. M. Patrizio is great on patterns, all of them are her design! And please notice the tissue paper in the background, so charming! Get to know the girl, here. Get to know her work, here. Buy So Softies, here. ^.^
Lovely swap with Momo(Peach) from Japan: Cotton Friends mag, hairpins, crocheted booties and the loveliest bunny tenugui fabric. I love it all! ^.^
I´m going to continue with cute zakka artists found through Cotton & Paint magazine; btw, i´ve just got the latest issue and it´s awesome with lovely transfers by Poche, which i mentioned last friday.
Images from http://www.maminka.com/index.html Maminka works with fabric, wood, paper,...and she makes the cutest mosaics ever! My favorites are the Peas (girls with painted faces) and the pincushion/spool stand that you see above. The best part? She will ship internationally, so you can actually order something instead of just drooling over like with all the rest! Cute factor: 9/10
Images from http://monchou.cool.ne.jp/sentiment%20doux%20/main..html I´m not sure if i´ve seen this in C&P or somewhere else. Anyway this is a classic of Zakka style, appearing in a lot of Zakka books. For some reason there are like two brands involved, Sentiment Doux and Harara, but Sentiment Doux is my favorite: i love the brooches and pouches in the shape of birdies and the background she creates as packaging for the pieces. Sentiment Doux is soft, sweet, dreamy and lovely, just like i like it! Cute factor 10/10
Cotton&Paint is my favorite magazine ever. So bad it´s so expensive for us outside Japan, otherwise i will buy every number. So far i own # 22-23 and, soon, 24, so i guess, actually, i AM buying every number!. What i like about C&P, besides the cute factor, of course, is that they hire actual crafters for the contents of the magazine, that way the work you´ll find will always be fresh + genuine whilst, at the same time,contributing to help crafters be known. If there was something like this in my country it´ll be great, but we are like zillions of light years away from the development they have there in handmade culture, so i don´t suppose that´s going to happen any time soon; but think about it, girls, a magazine made by crafters for crafters, wouldn´t that be lovely? So C&P is a great way of finding the cutest japanese designers. I must say i´m so much into Zakka i could wear a badge that says "Zakka addict". It´s style appeals to me completly: it´s cute without being pop-ish, it has the right amount of nostalgia, at it´s best it´s elegant, understated, detailed...and it always makes you smile.
Oh, that pyramid of angels! Oh, the cute buttons! This japanese crafter works mostly with wood which she carves and treats and paints herself ( i´m assuming she is a girl, right?). I don´t know what you think but, to me, this are by far more adorable than Decole itself. Maybe it´s the vintage feel. I also love the fabric dolls with painted faces and details. And you do have to see the gift sets she puts together. Cute factor: 10/10
This is an old favorite. She specializes in quilt, patchwork. I like the way her stitches are a little bit off-center, drawing-style. I think she has something like a school or workshop. What would i give to learn something from Akiko! And don´t you just love the logo. Beautiful! Cute factor: 9/10
That´s Hot is the newest blog adventure by One Good Bumblebee, to talk about her current obsessions in fashion and design. She usually is very good finding great stuff, so this is a must! You can also find her "personal" blog here.
Go Fug Yourself is for the bad girl in me -does chicadecanela have a dark side?: apparently yes-. I think it´s so hilariously written that i´m usually rolling all over the floor when reading. I specially enjoy Britney´s Diary.
Modish is a quite recent blog (just 3 months in blogland), but it´s great for cool shopping finds, mostly indie shopping links, which are the best, don´t you agree? :). The girl behind it is also the designer from Curio J., a cool jewelry line.
As to my Friends´ List, just one new adition (friends are always hard to find, right?): Polkadots, a blog by a Japanese girl, in english, stylish because she is from Japan and everything they do is just cute. Beware, because she has threaten with opening an on-line zakka store: it could ruin some of us! ^^
Well, well, i have you all neglected, haven´t i?Too much to do? Too much procrastination, if you ask me.
Recently i ordered a couple of books from the Amazon: <52 Projects, Random Acts of Everyday Creativity> by Jeffrey Yamaguchi and <D.I.Y.(Design It Yourself)> by Ellen Lupton. They have been kind of inspiring in different ways. They are both about projects, really: Jeffrey Yamaguchi´s is more about ideas and the D.I.Y book is more hands on, so the first will get you thinking about projects you could make and the last will tell you how to actually make them. The 52 Projects book has make me think in all the projects that i´m actually into, because there´s no doubt my life is full of project-making right now: i have my own bussiness, and what bigger project can be than that? I had to get it started, decide what exactly do i wanted to do, where to find the money, find a place for my workshop...then, where to buy the materials to work with, how and where and when to sell the things i made...this is an on-going project that requires all my strength, and time. It´s the long-term project. Then there are other somewhat smaller projects: the project of designing a collection,for instance. It takes me around 4-5 months, since i start gathering inspiration (colors, fabrics, images, ideas...), drawing sketches, making false starts, until i have the objects in that collection all made and ready to show around. I´m making two completely new collections a year, so, i´m always on one of thismedium-term projects. And then there are the short-term projects, like what i´m doing right now: preparing my new catalog. This will usually take around a month: i have to have the items all ready, book the photographer (always my boyfriend, who himself has very little time, so it has to be done on weekends), prepare a brief story board for the photo shoot (which items go with which, what feeling do i want to achieve,lighting, interior vs. ext.), i might have to look for the props (even travel a few miles to get them),... well the photo shoot in itself is a very short-term project, taking up one day, two at the most. When i have all the pics in my computer i start to design the catalog: i look for a graphic image, think about the size, details i want to highlight...this can take so much time! Then the catalog will be ready for the printer, in case i am making printed copies, which will not be the case with the new catalog: this time the catalog will be at my website, i find this more convenient, since it allows me to update it easily, and it´s cheaper! But i will definetely be doing some kind of cute display advertising. Well, this is not ready so nothing to show here. I will be showing all of my new stuff here at my blog starting August, so stay tunned! So, what was i talking about?, procrastination, projects, yes, the Design It Yourself book tells you to think as a designer, which should not be difficult for me, since i AM a designer, can i call myself that? So there are a lot of projects from the book that i have already acomplished, without really realizing i was designing, like creating my own blog, or making a printed-book(my catalog), designing my own brand, complete with hand tags, sew-on labels and logo, designing my own bussiness cards, cd packaging, my own embroidery( you will see a lot of this in my new collection), thinking about invites, gifts, press kits...stickers, stationery, post-it notes...t-shirts,tote bags...i have even designed websites...i got almost everything covered! Maybe i should write a book myself: "chicadecanela: how to start a cute bussiness from scratch". This is a project/press kit that i have recently made: a kind of presentation for chicadecanela. It is kind of "cool school girl" style. It consist of a booklet in the shape of a journal, where all the info goes and a fabric-pouch ( fabric designed by myself), in which to fit the catalog, a chicadecanela pencil and rubber, my very own self adhesive notes and a sample of my products ( the little bear silk key-charm). It looked so cute put together that i hated having to part with it. I´m glad i took some pics to show you!
Well,no FRIDAY I´M IN LOVE this week, i´m exhausted...
I so much wish i had tried to find a design to submit to this last Call for entries at Fred Flare.I remenber the thrill i got when they contact me to tell me i had been selected and the hapiness to be there among some of my favorite crafters. And this year it´s even better, there are awesome winners! Here is my personal Nine Faves from Fred Flare´s Next Big Thing :
Spanish Vogue Children published an issue about handmade stuff and chicadecanela was one of the featured brands. What they say about us: "chicadecanela is a brand making personalized handmade accessories that are meant to survive next season and be kept and treasured forever".
chicadecanela is here surrounded by lovely friends. We are top image center: the flower brooch in red gingham fabric. On the same page, you can see a 40´s style gorgeous Otto et Moi shoe, and on the other page, on top, a cute Alice band by Anos Luz. And, see that cute Minnie Mouse skirt in big checkered fabric with red details? It seems we are bound to be together, see here too, and, i have one just the same in my wardrobe!
M.Patrizio. So softies.
Lovely swap with Momo(Peach) from Japan: Cotton Friends mag, hairpins, crocheted booties and the loveliest bunny tenugui fabric. I love it all!
