LeMuse

After dropping by laimikis this morning I was inspired to use Etsy’s “shop local” search to hunt down new designers from Vilnius. Lucky for me I found LeMuse, the work of designer Lina. Here’s how she describes her work:

It all started with the fabric… I bought a wonderful cloth. It was so cozy and beautiful, that I didn’t need to do much with it. I started to drape it in different ways and I’ve noticed that it falls in wonderful waves. Every time I moved, it changed and curved adapting to the lines of my steps and gestures. I kept on wondering how could I catch those curves and flux of the fabric… Well, I believe I did it. And that’s how LeMuse was born.

Every time a woman would dress in LeMuse, I would notice how differently it looked. It adapts to individual body and moves with that person in its own unique and beautiful way.

Each Muse has a name:  SandMuse, LoveMuse, PassionMuse. And every Muse creates a different mood when you wear it.

Take time out to visit LeMuse.

meeganp :: buckle and button bracelet

As an NEPA resident and a fan of “The Office”, of course I was interested to read about Meegan Possemato, Manager of Business Development  at our local office supply company, One Point, which happens to be errily similar to the fictional Dunder Mifflin.  But what caught my eye was Meegan’s sideline business of making bags “crafted from vintage, recycled and agonized-over materials” to sell at crafts fairs and online at her Etsy shop.

In addition to her bags, Meegan has a line of one of a kind “buckle and button” bracelets. Pictured above is my favorite made with mother of pearl and rhinestone. The buttons and buckles are sewn onto a piece of elastic which is wrapped in vintage linen so it would be soft against the skin.

In my piano teaching I see many styles of bracelets and rings on the students – along with nail polish and fingerless gloves – but this unique bracelet is a beauty.  Someone will be lucky to get it for Christmas!

All Chic :: Jonathan Logan Vintage Sheath

I just added this classic 60s (or early 70s) Jonathan Logan sheath dress to my Etsy shop. It comes with the colorful paisley scarf. Add some black boots and a Twiggy style hair cut and you’d look like you just stepped out of Carnaby Street!

idea2lifestyle :: Jungle Flowers

I’ve had my eye on idea2lifestyle for quite a while now. This amazing skirt is made with 26 feet of floral print chiffon and accented with two REAL peacock feathers on the end of drawing strings. Plus, it is fully lined! It was so hard to choose just one of these skirts to post here – they have so many amazing pieces in their Etsy Shop.  Dresses with names like “be beautiful like summer flowers” and “I am a spoiled child” together with the beautiful photography and very reasonable prices make this shop a “must see!”

beautifulbridget :: skinny spring scarf

If i keep finding these beautiful scarves, I may just find myself going out on a shopping spree for crochet hooks and yarn. With so many other projects in the works right now, that’s exactly what I don’t need. This one-of-a-kind soft fuzzy scarf is made of an acrylic blend yarn in shades of blue, brown, teal, purple, camel, beige and cream. Yummy! Beautifulbridget blogs here and sells here.

Etsy :: June Stamps - Stash

We all have them… those boxes of stuff leftover from projects never finished, impulse buys, bits from party favors and gift wrappings, buttons from who-knows-where. A quick search under ’supplies’ on Etsy comes up with 45 pages tagged stash.

June Stamps has some of the prettiest stash I’ve seen. She’s been collecting for over 50 years. A crafter and artist, she’s owned two shops and is now selling online at her shop – June’s Forget-Me-Not Creations.

I learned a new word today while I was perusing June’s shop. Junktique. Or Junktiquing. According to the Urban Dictionary, junktique is

…an antique of questionable value. These are often seen for sale at flea markets, yard/garage sales, thrift stores, or in the dumpster. Occasionally one will find real treasure among junktiques.

Just when I had made yet another New Year’s De-Cluttering Resolution…now I have to ask myself if what I was going to toss out is “junktique” or not. Argh!

I was just reading about the fashion influence of Mad Men - particularly the popular Wiggle Dress style and I was reminded of this cute Pop Dress from Desira Pesta which I came across yesterday over at Etsy.

Desira Pesta uses top quality fabrics sourced from the best NYC designer fabric stores in the Garment District, including bamboo, organic cotton, satins, and beautiful cottons. She also uses materials acquired from estate sales and antique shops. Each piece has been professionally-constructed using industrial machines and perfect sewing, ensuring longlastingness and beautiful craftswomanship.

Visit her website and online shop and I dare you not to be inspired by this woman’s creativity!

I just relisted a bag that I sold at Etsy – YIPPEE!.  (I happen to have two of a kind.) Of course I had to spend at least another hour there drooling over all the Etsian creativity. I love chunky scarves and I found this one by Yokoo. It’s 8 feet long and 8 inches wide! Makes me sort of look forward to winter. Check out all of her scarves and wraps in colors like oatmeal, sweet-pea, and midnight blue.

Now here’s something you don’t see very often. Gaiterettes! These are handmade by LesFrivolites from Quebec.

Here’s what the designer has to say about them:

This pair of Gaiterettes or shoe embellishelent is inspired from a fancy antique pair of victorian boots. As a victorian boots collector, I found this alternative to have the victorian look without causing damage to my collection. Its an easy way to totally change the look of your favorite pair of summer shoes. Be creative and try them with a colored pair of stockings! They are made of black leather with a wax finish, lined leather. The open pattern let s show your leg. The 2 metal shank buttons are functional.The buttons imitated a greek silver coin aged.An elastic under the shoe hold the gaiterettes.

What a great way to dress up a pair of plain black pumps!

See more here:

• LesFrivolites Shop

• LesFrivolites Blog

Label of Hope is a line of OOAK (one-of-a-kind) clothing started by Hope from Southern California in 2005.  Each design is created with a custom-made pattern and just about all of the items are made only once. 

Who is Hope?

I’m from Southern California where I remain happily. Art, in general, has always been very important to me and I consider sewing & crafts a great outlet. I also love: good causes/charities, painting, spending endless hours goofing around on Photoshop and Illustrator, eating EVERYTHING in sight (literally), thinking of quirky quotes and haiku poems, web design, html, and taking time for tea.

Shown above is the Zebra-print Indie top which was made completely from scratch using new and recycled materials. It has a cowl neck and is green, blue-gray, rust, and zebra in color with uber OOAK button tabs.

And here’s Label of Hope’s Brown Plaid Recycled Cowl Neck Indie urban Japan Top.  This top was also made using new and recycled materials.  It has a loose cowl neck and brown plaid and sateen with a red button and topstitching. I love the long sleeves and over-the-hips length of these tops. And of course, the fact that they are OOAK!

Find more Label of Hope designs here:

• Label of Hope - homepage 
• Label of Hope – on Fashionspace
• Label of Hope – portfolio
• Label of Hope – Etsy shop

There are some fashion designers on Etsy that are truly artists and LeAnne Marshall (aka leanimal) is one of them. Ms. Marshall is a graduate of The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco and the recipient of their Levi/Dockers Fashion Designer of Tomorrow award. According to her website, she began designing her own ballet costumes at the age of 12 and has been designing clothes ever since.

Creating beautiful, conceptual garments that are ultimately wearable remains the focus of the line. Leanimal’s signatures feature structural tucks and pleats, non-traditional combinations of fabrics and textures, and always figure-flattering silhouettes. (read more)

This is a view of her Gezane Dress which was displayed in the Contemporary Museum of Craft in Portland!

See more here:

• leanimal on Etsy
• leanimal.com
• leanimal Spring 2008 Collection

Today twenty-one of my piano students performed in their Spring recital.

I don’t tell the kids what to wear, only that they shouldn’t wear high heels to pedal at the piano and no jeans. Up to about age twelve, the girls wear what their mom’s want them to wear, usually poofy frilly dresses.

Around age thirteen they wear their mother’s clothes. My daughter accessorized with a necklace I bought in Peru, and her best friend wore her mom’s sage green wrap dress. They both looked surprisingly mature. The high-school girls went casual with long shorts and capris.

It was the green wrap dress that caught my eye and I immediately thought of Treehouse28. Since I’ve been struggling to find the right settings on my sewing machine to sew a knit wrap top, I wish I could spend some time with her and learn how she creates such amazing designs.

The designer, Alix, is from California. She’s the mother of two, and started her business at Etsy a little over a year ago. All her pieces are designed from scratch. She does custom work… turnaround time is two weeks. Details here.

And here’s a top by Treehouse28… just because I couldn’t resist.

Today’s Etsy find is this colorful scarf-top is made from an Adrienne Vittadini satin polyester scarf. It comes from Seed Clothing, an Etsy shop I’d marked as a favorite weeks ago.

Designer and owner, Amy Blea, studied fashion design at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology. She found inspiration through her mother’s closet, trying on clothing from the 1940’s and 50’s.  (This I can totally understand. My own mother’s closet is this subject of another post.)

Seed Clothing now has Seed Street Label - a special collection where all items are priced under $99. This mod-style dress is made in polyester gaberdine-like stretch fabric and has a small embossed herringbone pattern on the fabric. So chic, for only $65.

- Don’t you love the lighting in these photos?

Find more info here:

• Seed Clothing Website
• Seed Clothing Online Shop
• Also available at EMandCO

After I found the Sidonie Pleated Variation I’ve been noticing pleats all over the place. This cute pleated mini-dress  comes from SRBDesigns.  Each dress is custom made from a heavy quality wool blend. (I think this style would also look great in a crisp cotton, worn as a mini dress over jeans.)

Based in Brooklyn, Ms. Bohl’s work has been featured in DIY City the mag. Here’s what she says about her work.

I love tailored clothing and loud plaids. I like bold stripes and funky mod 70’s inspired designs. I adore big buttons and snaps and huge notched collars. I have a passion for exaggerated details with a minimalistic effect. I like subtle interesting design elements that make a piece a little bit more adventurous. My enjoyment is in making people happy to stand out of a crowd.

Be sure to check out SRBDesigns at Etsy for more clothing (and jewelry).

It’s Sunday and my day to mine Etsy for creative inspiration. It didn’t take long. I clicked on the White bubble bootie dress that was featured on the front page and discovered Gaia Conceptions. Actually, re-discovered, because I remember admiring these Thai Fisherman Pants a few weeks back.

Andrea Crouse, the designer, is from North Carolina. She’s studied sculpture and fashion design at Appalachian State University and fiber arts at Savannah College of Art and Design. Her clothing is truly eco-chic as she uses only natural fabrics such as Organic Cotton, Raw Silk, Wool, and Hemp. Her dresses and tops are simple and flattering.

For those who think they can do it themselves, MediaTinker has a free pattern posted for Thai Fisherman’s pants. Kristen (MediaTinker) currently resides in Tokyo and is working on a jewelry project for Etsy…. 365 Necklaces. Here’s what she has to say about it…

A diary in binary messages, a challenge to myself, and an excuse to buy beads, 365 Necklaces is a year-long project to create 365 individual necklaces. Many will encode a daily memorandum – a topic I pondered, a word that caught my eye, my mood, the day’s weather, or maybe what I cooked for dinner. Some will be old mathematical friends and foes. Although I plan to give some of them as gifts, I don’t have 365 friends, so all those not spoken for are for sale. Each is dated and numbered in sequence. Thanks for looking. Profits from my sales go to environmental and social charities in Japan. Your purchases are deeply appreciated.

For more inspiration take a look at these two talented women’s work here:

• Gaia Conceptions - eco-chic for the urban nomad
• Gaia Conceptions Blog
• Gaia Conceptions - at Etsy
• MediaTinker - the blog
• 365 Necklaces - at Etsy

This great short paisley jacket comes from French Designer, Malam, using ”ancient, rare, vintage or unexpected fabrics, hand embroidery, paint, antique lace, prints, and quilting.”

The jacket shown above features a Goblin Hood and is made of black and gold paisley patterned milleraies velvet. It has terrific long flared sleeves, vintage red buttons and is fully lined in red.

Find more of Malam’s one-of-a-kind items at Poupees-Perfues.com. 

Garments from Malams “Lost Dolls” collection are all unique and handmade in her Paris workshop. Dresses, Petticoats, Frock coats, Slacks, are all inspired from a mix between memories, the world of fairy tales, and various techniques of painting, printing, etc. which give a modern look to the clothes…(read more)

Beginning today I’m going to use Sundays to post my favorite Etsy sellers, particular those with a Street Style sense.  Featured today are Moop and Wildewear, two Massachusetts-based designers.

Moop specializes in made-to-order bags. Simple, modern, hand-crafted, and a bit-understated.  Moop designer (photographer, model, etc), Wendy, works out of a converted mill building in Western Massachusetts. Be sure to check out Moop’s shop, website, and blog.

My favorite is The Fraulein Tote (shown above). It’s made with a deep brown canvas and is lined in burnt orange ripstop. The outside has two deep pockets. The inside has five pockets of varying sizes, perfect for carrying phones and ipods. There’s also two pencil slips and a d-ring for clipping keys and smaller pouches.  Ordering information available here.

Wildewear features the eco-friendly work of Tricia Wilde. Tricia grew up in Ireland but now lives in the Boston area with her three sons.  She’s a single mom and created her home based business so she could stay home with her kids.  Tricia also takes vintage clothes and reworks and embellishes them to create a new modern look.

The skirt shown above, is her Ginger Berry Skirt. This skirt is very comfy with stretch jersey knit roll over top and tie around belt. You can play with how much to roll over the top and can even wear it as a dress if it fits. Fits size small to medium fits waist up to 32 inches and is 28 inches long. All handmade original wildewear design. Cotton jersey knit. Totally washable, very loveable. Ordering information is available here.

In keeping with my historical theme of last week, I couldn’t wait to post these two bags from Pursecution. This Minneapolis-based designer uses hides of leather, fabric and antique brass bits to create beautiful one of a kind bags and leather accessories.

On the top is the Joan of Arc bag:

This is the first of a new line/slate for Pursecution. Who better to start with than Joan of Arc? How does one sum up the life of such a young and powerful woman in this limited space? From the age of 12 until the age of 19, when she was burned at the stake for a trumped up charge of heresy, Joan of Arc followed her own head strong path, making history with every step. This purse has been designed with her strength, beauty and grace in mind. It is 100% genuine leather with a sateen interior. The dimensions are 11″ wide, 7.5″ tall and 2″ deep.

On bottom is the Mary Queen of Scots bag:

Mary Stuart’s life had all the elements of a Hollywood movie 400 years ago. There was romance, murder, scandal and finally her beheading by Queen Elizabeth I. Although Mary Queen of Scots may not have succeeded as the Queen of Scotland, her beauty, strength and grace were world renowned. This purse has been modeled after such assets. The top is made of 100% genuine leather, the interior of cotton, and the bottom half of the exterior is from a fine upholstery fabric.

You can find Pursecution on the web at Indiepublic or MySpace.  

American Idol rock chick, Amanda Overmyer, wore a terrific long knit scarf last night. It was at least down to her knees. So where do you look for a long long scarf that isn’t too bulky to wear in the spring? Etsy, of course.

I found this pretty pink knit scarf at LauraCraft for only $10!

The Telegraph had an article about Stella McCartney at the Paris Fashion Show last week. Although I’m not crazy about this particular frock, I’ve always been drawn to the time of castles and kings.

From the Telegraph:

McCartney offered an ode to the modern medieval woman with long cloaks and cardigan coats in wool-felt, handmade by village artisans in Somerset, which were printed with heraldic symbols and faux coats-of-arms. Blanket-inspired knits, in earth-toned stripes enfolded the body. Suits and coats with wide, kimono-sleeves were in the same wool-felt, in muted charcoal and metallic silver… (more)

Need accessories? Here’s a chain maille dice pouch bag for dungeons and dragons fans. I’d use it for money, lipstick and car keys.  You can see more of Janine’s metalwork at her shop – Athena’ sArmoury.

Turn any outfit into a regal affair with this ”Young Elizabeth“ collar made from a mix of soft mohair yarn and chenille yarn. It comes from the studio of Ellita, a group of artists skilled in all crafts of life. One is a dreamer and another is a weaver. One is a thread knitter and another is leather knotter. See more at their shop – Ellita’s Flying Snail.

The latest All Chic messenger bag just posted on Etsy. I love the long straps that can be worn across the chest and the bead trim on the flap.

And speaking of messenger bags, I’ve been exploring this wonderful site from Prague, my favorite city that I haven’t been to… yet.

BabaStudioPrague features bags decorated with wonderful artwork. Victoriana, Steampunk (see above), Bohemian, Gothic, Fairies and Flowers…and if you’re a cat person, you’ve got to check out their Bohemian Cats.

For inspiration….

• Baba Store
• Events in Prague
• Prague Cafes
• Prague Photo Tour

I just posted this messenger bag on Etsy. My daughter doesn’t want me to sell it – I would make another but the fabric was a remnant and I doubt I’ll find any more like it. It reminds me of a Jackson Pollock painting.

These are the beads that decorate the flap.  Aren’t they pretty? Click here for more photos and purchasing info.

Just registered at Etsy. Not with a shop just yet… but that will be the next step.

On December 16, the NYT had a comprehensive article about Etsy, the Buy Handmade Pledge, and crafting as a business.

Etsy does not fulfill orders from an inventory; it’s a place where sellers set up virtual storefronts, giving the site a cut of sales. While eBay rose to prominence nearly a decade ago as an endless garage sale for the auctioning of collectibles and bric-a-brac, Etsy is more of an online craft fair, or art show, where the idea is that individuals can sell things that they have made. How many such people can there be? At last count, more than 70,000 — about 90 percent of whom were women — were using Etsy to peddle their jewelry, art, toys, clothes, dishware, stationery, zines and a variety of objects from the mundane to the highly idiosyncratic. Each seller has a profile page telling shoppers a bit about themselves, and maybe offering a link to a blog or a MySpace page or a mailing list; most have devised some clever store or brand name for whatever they’re selling.

Read the entire article here.