Modish

Site of the week: the ECI Studio Shop

ECI stands for the Emily Carr Institute which is a leading art and design school out of Vancouver, BC and they just opened up a Studio Shop featuring the work of their alumni, students, faculty and staff!  Yay for art schools supporting their artists and their careers!  The shop is great and already has a heady collection of handmade goods including artwork, of course, but also tees, totes, vases, books, journals and more!   

They have things to wear and carry:

Things for your home:

And, of course, some incredible things to look at!

Take a peek at all the goodness that the ECI Studio Shop has to offer and support a starving artist near you!

Site of the week: essimar

What happens when I fall in love with absolutely everything someone has for sale?  Well, first off, I make them site of the week.  Secondly, I hide all my credit cards so as to not go on a massive spending spree.  And thirdly, I get giddy with joy at the thought of sharing their work with my lovely readers!  Case in point: essimar.   The colors, the shapes, the style, the cutouts, the designs, the animals!  Oh my!  I find myself sitting here smiling as I search through the pages of gorgeous paper wonders by essimar, and hopefully you will too.

I want to send these incredible hand screen-printed and hand etched cards to everyone I've ever met:

I want all my friends to have babies so I can present these special children's cards at their showers:

I want to cover my walls with these paper cutout collages so I can smile all day long:

There's life in these goods, colorful and palpable, can't you feel it?  For more paper creations and inspiration, visit essimar, and "make someone smile today."

Site of the Week: Kanibal Home

What do I love as much as handmade shopping finds?  Vintage ones!  The only thing covered on this blog other than handmade goods are vintage ones (which will lead me to a poll question later today- stay tuned!) and I've found a source for some great vintage finds for your home, along with a few handmade goodies, Kanibal Home!  The combination couldn't be better and the sampling of goods is great-the kind of finds you only wish you could score, but alas, Kanibal Home must've picked them up first!  Good thing they're offering them up to us and are willing to ship them right to our door!  No muss, no fuss- vintage wares at their best!

Take these gorgeous chairs for instance, just begging to be placed in a corner of your room so you can curl up with a good book:

And you can use these beautiful glass lamp bases as lights to read by:

And don't forget the snacks!  You must have a table nearby for tea cups, snack plates and candy dishes:

And when you're ready to put the book down and venture out into the world, don't forget to accessorize with these handmade necklaces by Laura Rosenbaum:

To deck out the other corners of your home, as well as yourself, check out Kanibal Home for more with one-of-a-kind vintage and handmade goodness including pillows, wall art and much more!

Site of the week: Showpony

Showpony just rocks for so many reasons- #1- everything is handmade from start to finish- hand sewn and finished with hand screen-printed designs or made with hand printed fabrics.  #2- everything is eco friendly, using organic, fair trade cotton- yes!  #3- they're based in Glasgow, Scotland and I love discovering and bringing attention to indie companies beyond these US borders and #4- they're stuff is cute.  I mean, really really cute.  It's light-hearted and original and brings a smile to my face, and hopefully to yours too:

Just look at these wonderful tote bags, perfect for your grocery shopping needs, you can reduce and re-use and stay stylin' at the same time!  A must have for everyone these days.

And these complementing little clutch printed pouches and those made with pretty, nature inspired, handmade fabrics:

And how can you not love these wonderful pooch printed pillows and cool hiding place pillows?

Get a closer look at all of these designs, hip, fun and good for the earth, at Showpony!

Site of the week: The Paper Princess

If you have a pretty paper related need, The Paper Princess is there to fill it for you; bursting with a veritable wealth of papery wonders as far as the eye can see, (or the finger can click!) each vintage inspired item is more lovely than the next.  They have, of course, the usual fare of note cards that you'd expect to find at a paperie, although even theirs are unusually cute, but The Paper Princess appeal, I think, is in the wealth of their other offerings- who knew you could find so many wonderful papergoods, all in one spot!

From darling bookplates:

To pretty gift tags:

To adorable and unique petite pennants:

And new 2008 desk calendars to keep you on track:

And there's even more!  Notepads, journals, calling cards, tote bags, pens and pencils, and more more more!  Take a peek at all the fun stuff for yourself at The Paper Princess!

Site of the week: Betty & Jeff

I love consignment shops that bring together a wealth of creative, independent designers so you can shop all of them in one spot (obviously I love them, I own one!) so it's nice to see such shops that focus on designers from different countries, especially since it's often hard for customers based outside the US to find online shops that are also based outside the US, but I've found a good one: Betty & Jeff.  Bringing together an eclectic mix of British designers and hand-crafted goods, Betty & Jeff is a great place to find jewelry, handbags, accessories and home goods by and for the British sect (but since they ship worldwide, anyone can enjoy some Betty & Jeff cuteness!)

The jewels:

The bags:

Accessories:

And home decor:

Find all this and lots more British based crafty goodness at Betty & Jeff, and support indie designers worldwide!

Site of the week: Queen Bee

Filled with handmade bags that are fun and funky, vegan friendly and eco-conscious, Queen Bee's cup runeth over with splendidness!  Celebrating 10 years in business, this Portland based company, with their small team of seamstresses and office helper-outers (gotta get me some of those!), has established themselves as your go to place for fun vinyl bags of all sizes and now, has introduced recycled wool into the line!

There's cute, embroidered vinyl handbags:

Waterproof vinyl flapped bags to carry your laptop and other daily needs:

Handy dandy wallets to stash inside the bags:

And my favorite, the new line of bags made from recycled wool felt!

No matter what Queen Bee creation you choose, you can rest assured that it will be quality made, guilt-free and filled with a whole lotta love!  Find your perfect bag now!

Site of the week: Julianna Holowka

I've seen Julianna Holowka's goods available before at little e-boutiques and always admired them, but was happy to see that she recently opened up a little etsy shop, where you can find all her fantabulous goods, all in one spot!  Filled with gorgeously funky housewares that will inspire oohs and aahs from anyone who enters your home, Julianna makes some mean stuff, and I'm not just talking about her cards.  Read on to see what I'm talking about!

These lamps have edge- super unique, they'll be the funky centerpiece your room needs:

And these pillows are lovely and lush, hand-sewn with flowering pods:

Then there's these gorgeous wall panels that shimmy and sparkle in a breeze, the likes of which I've never seen before:

And last but not least, if you have something mean to say, look no further than her mean cards to tell the truth in style:

Find all these wonderful, fun and funky, stylish and funny creations at Julianna Holowka!

Site of the week: Hammer & Daisy

Great googlimoogli, I've hit the motherload of handmade, Australian goodness.  Yes, I've discovered, Hammer & Daisy!  With incredible goods that are handmade from start to finish by a talented few ladies, and range from journals to pencil cases to pouches to plushies, you can find one-of-a-kind items with style and personality.  Take a look for yourself!

Let's start with their incredible journals in many different styles and wonderful fabrics:

And move on to their pretty little pouches and handy dandy pencil holders:

And don't forget beauuuutiful blank cards, vibrantly printed just for you:

Or their wonderfully cute plushies and handmade felt and knit goodies!

There's even more to see on the Hammer & Daisy site, these items only scratch the surface of their fabulous offerings!  Check them out for yourself- a feast for the eyes and a treat for your shopping urges!

Site of the week: Sidedish

I'm getting a really late start today, oh geez!  Well, at least I found a cool new site of the week- better late than never!  I bring you a wealth of wonderful vintage goodness from Sidedish.  With tons of great new finds all the time, especially in the home decor and kitchen goodies department, Sidedish is a great place to look if you're searching for a unique, one-of-a-kind, vintage find.

They have beautiful housewares and cute ceramic goodies:

Cute vintage purses and wallets:

And wonderful goods to color-up your kitchen!

Find all of these and lots more wonderful finds, for sale now at Sidedish!

Site of the week: Snoozer Loser

The words oooooh, ahhhh, wowwww somehow escape my mouth as drool starts to pool beneath my bottom lip.  The thoughts ooh I want, ooh I NEED shortly follow.  That's right, I've found the new Snoozer Loser fall line and I am head over heels in love with it.  Featuring loose and feminine shapes with the added goodness of some vibrant colors, like peacock blue and a bright coral, with gorgeous and fun nature inspired prints layered on top, Snoozer Loser is pushing the boundaries of handmade clothing into an etsy designer chic!  Take a peek at some of their wonderful designs!

New for fall:

And still available from the summer line, now ON SALE!

It's true indeed, you snooze, you lose!  So don't wait for these incredible styles to sell out, head over to Snoozer Loser now and give your closet a little pick me up!

Site of the week: Zanisa

It's always especially encouraging to find sites that elevate handmade items to a place of chic style and art, sites that tout the ideas of "handmade", "environmentally friendly" and "personal" as the basis of their selling points, sites that look like any big online boutique in terms of professional appearance and product quality, but have that little something special that tells you they are different than all of those- sites like Zanisa.  Offering gorgeous accessories, goods for the home, for your tootsies and even for your furry friends, Zanisa is sure to become a new top spot when searching for that perfect gift for anyone on your list.  With handy reference illustrations that let you know at a glance whether the item you're looking at is handmade, fairly traded, organic or recycled (just to name a few) you can be confident about where all these beautiful items come from and choose based on what's important to you.   Searching specifically for handmade items, look what you can find!

Some incredible jewelry:

Stylish bags:

And awesome pieces for the home:

There's even more amazing finds at Zanisa including spa goods, fun stuff for pets, stationery and more!  Check it all out for yourself, you surely won't be disappointed!

Site of the week: Divine Rose

I have checked out the Divine Rose site before and, of course, loved everything I saw, but with the recent giveaway which has you all exploring these sites, so many of you pointed out the spectacular, colorful, vintage inspired goodness at Divine Rose, that I just had to make it site of the week!  With a flair for combining unlikely colors, feminine and chunky styles,  sparkly and matte beads and vintage and new items together in a unique, eye catching way, Divine Rose has jewelry that's sure to make any lady drool.  From items that remind people of their grandma's jewelry box to ones that would look oh so hot with that new little black dress, the styles span ages, each having a contemporary look combined with a vintage feel.

Like these gorgeous, feminine necklaces, some one-of-a-kind:

And these fun, colorful earrings, all under $25:

Even some funky, vintage flower bracelets:

Feminine and spunky at the same time, visit Divine Rose to find your perfect jewelry combination!

Site of the week: Hammerpress

The art of letterpress is one of those which I always wish I had learned or can learn still, but with no real graphic design skills, no small presses nearby and no time to actually turn this dream into a reality, I'll just leave the letter-pressing to the professionals like Hammerpress, because, oh, they do it so well.  What started as a small operation printing "for a handful of penniless art school rock 'n roll friends" has turned into a full line of amazing stationery, postcards, art prints, notebooks, and to keep it close to the roots, concert posters, all of which are colorful, beautiful and just damn cool.

Like these wonderful cards to say how you feel in style:

Some art prints to color your walls:

And my favorite, these rockin' concert posters:

 

Find your sentiment/band/art piece of choice from all the incredible options at Hammerpress!

Site of the week: Krista Raak

Well, judging from the last giveaway contest, many many of you fell in love with the feminine dreamland of the Krista Raak boutique, so I thought it a fitting choice for the new site of the week!  Hailing from Estonia, Krista Raak creates pieces that reflect that Bohemian traditions of her home with bright, bold colors and romantic embellishments.  Each item she creates is one-of-a-kind; each hand-dyed silk flower, sequin, lace, fabric piece and bead embroidered by hand making each item feel like a special treasure, one that could have been discovered in your own grandma's trunk.  Delicate, flowery and oh so pretty, Krista Raak's bags, brooches and fabric jewelry celebrate the feeling of being a girl, and that's okay. 

Take these pretty fabric cuff bracelets, necklaces and headbands:

And these pretty brooches to add a splash of color and funky fabulousness:

And, my favorite, the bags- from clutches to handbags to evening bags:

Perfect for a wedding, a garden party, or when you just really feel like being a girl, the Krista Raak boutique could have a one-of-a-kind find that fits you!

UPDATE: Enter "MODISH" at checkout and receive a 10% discount!  Offer good from 8/27/07- 9/7/07!