oh, you pretty things.

a break.

2006-09-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

i am tired of looking at websites right now and i have a ton of paintings/work to catch up on, so i am taking a short break from here. be back soon.

cutxpaste : bags.

2006-09-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

it's time for another cutxpaste update, this time focusing on their bag/purse collection.

the following designs are by: lime, rip mutha, mary ink, and rose deniz.

chiasso.

2006-09-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

i am in love with a ton of the items featured on the chiasso website. especially those cuckoo clocks.

inhabit.

2006-09-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

so very very sleepy tonight. i wouldn't mind curling up under one of these bedding sets from inhabit.

augustine.

2006-09-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

after watching tonight's episode of project runway, i'm in the mood to spotlight a couple designers i like. augustine is a line of clothing from the combined talents of lisa elliot and lisa wurzel. their clothing has an old-fashioned feel to it, but also looks quite modern and beautiful. simple lines and great additions to any wardrobe.

safe.

2006-09-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

rebecca turbow of safe clothes is beautiful, innovative, and extremely talented. the obvious inspiration for her clothing is the mod and space-age look of the 1960's, which i absolutely adore. she describes her clothing as "organized chaos".

modern seed.

2006-09-12T00:24:00.000-07:00

i could probably go on and on about how amazing i think modern seed is, but i will let you see for yourself. i recommend requesting a catalog from them - it's always so nice to get it in the mail.

jeeto.

2006-09-12T00:17:00.000-07:00

a couple baby/kid's-related posts tonight, since i am in baby mode. jeeto is quite great. it's a site specializing in kid's clothing and wall decor featuring pirate, rocker, and animal themes. everything is designed quite simply and is mostly all in vivid colors. it's splendid.

rare device.

2006-09-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

rare device is just another one of those online shops that contain a nice assortment of pretty little things, from housewares to purses to jewelry. it's always nice to look through places like that.

stitch pixie.

2006-09-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

stitchpixie is run by a very inspiring girl by the name of cheryl chudyk, a canadian artist based out of vancouver, bc. she makes beautiful bags and pouches, as well as jewelry, all from vegan materials. she also donates 10 percent of all her proceeds to a child in zambia that she sponsors through world vision. quite inspiring indeed.

whimsy press.

2006-09-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

as a lover of nice patterns, whimsy press makes me swoon. the company consists of a team of talented designers who create bold patterns for gift wrap, note cards, stickers, and notepads. the gift wrap is my favorite of the products, double-sided and creatively themed.

my favorite mirror.

2006-09-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

i really love every little handheld mirror that my favorite mirror produces. they are perfect to stick in your bag, give as a gift, or use as party favors at your wedding. my favorite ones are designed by some of my favorite illustrators. check them out.

above designs by: kathleen habbley, daniele young, jen corace, heidi kenney, brandon reese, susie ghahremani, s. britt, and saelee oh.

anti-factory.

2006-09-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

stephanie syjuco of san francisco started the company anti-factory out of her frustration of sweatshop labor and mass-produced cheap clothing. as someone who believes in reusing, she has chosen to create every one of her pieces from 100 percent recycled materials. on top of that, every item is hand-constructed, making each one unique. and they are all just so very pretty.

rose & radish.

2006-09-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

tonight i am feeling quite short-of-breath, dizzy, and queasy, so i have very little to say on here. i will, however, direct you to the rose and radish store, a place of nice little toys and home accessories.

lovely design.

2006-09-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

i found sharilyn wright about a year or so ago through livejournal and was instantly inspired by her. she is the master of collecting such a huge variety of beautiful papers and patterns and making extremely lovely items from them, such as journals, address files, and letter sets (the name of her company, lovely design, is quite fitting).

jack & lulu.

2006-09-08T01:20:00.000-07:00

if you like soft colors, polka dots, and sweet illustrations of animals & confections, jack and lulu is the place for you. custom design notecards and gift wrap to suit your taste, all quite lovely. and just look at the ice cream spoon gift tags!

zakka web.

2006-09-08T01:16:00.000-07:00

if i could read japanese, i would know a lot more about zakka web, but all i can tell you is that there is some mighty cute stuff on there.

blik.

2006-09-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

blik is awesome. it is a line of surface graphics created by and for people who like to change their minds. simply-designed self-adhesive wall decals to easily change any space into something you love.

poketo.

2006-09-07T00:46:00.000-07:00

a couple years ago at a local los angeles craft fair, i purchased a poketo wallet from the lovely saelee oh. i looked through their website afterwards and found that many of my favorite illustrators had designed wallets for them, including susie ghahremani, jill bliss, and s. britt. poketo is a collaborative of artists designing wallets, apparel, bags, and stationery. their wallets are indeed some of my favorite things.

hello lucky.

2006-09-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

i must say that eunice and sabrina moyle of hello lucky are my two new favorite stationery designers. based in san francisco, the sisters sell their cards at stores (such as anthropologie) nationwide, and currently have a baby book and a photo album printed by chronicle books. their designs are timeless and extremely adorable.

design public: part two.

2006-09-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

following my previous post, more items from the folks at design public.

design public: part one.

2006-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

design public is like a candy store for people into design. it features a huge assortment of colorful, sleek & beautiful items for the home.

i am always interested in well-designed items for children, so i thought i'd start off with some pieces from their collection.

pancake meow.

2006-09-05T13:04:00.001-07:00

not only is leslie behind pancake meow beautiful, but she is just so incredibly talented. her jewelry easily looks good enough to eat, and even smells that way. she is a pro at the art of clay design, specifically making very tiny desserts & yummy foods that look exactly like the real thing. you can even pick which scent you'd like your necklace to have (what a menu!). plus, she's married to the owner of happy happy birthday to me records and her site has illustrations by my dear friend missy kulik. yay!

twenty2.

2006-09-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

more beautiful wallpaper can be seen at twenty2, a design company based in brooklyn, new york.

girlshop.

2006-09-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

i've been busy and also feeling overly exhausted lately, so i have been bad about updating. for this i apologize. but anyways, girlshop is always fun to browse around on. a ton of clothing & accessory designers to look through.

good on paper.

2006-09-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

with not much time to update at the moment, here are some lovely goods from designer lisa wong jackson of good on paper.

pare umbrella.

2006-08-31T01:29:00.000-07:00

portland, oregon is known mainly for three things: roses, bridges, and above all, a whole lotta rain. roughly nine months of the year it sprinkles, drizzles, and pours. generally, without an umbrella, you are going to get wet out there.

living here over a year now, i still don't own a good umbrella. we have a pink leopard one, received as a gift, and a brown one from the local grocery store (purchased on a very wet night amidst a storm). i always dreamed of owning a 60's plastic umbrella with plastic flowers inside. now i have found umbrellas just as lovely: pare umbrella. located in seattle, they also know what it's like to be surrounded by rain all the time.

dutch by design.

2006-08-31T01:23:00.000-07:00

dutch by design is a website dedicated to provide lovers of modern design with beautiful home accessories, all designed by some of the best dutch artists. everything is simply modernistic and the items displayed can easily make anyone's home look a whole lot nicer.

rosy little things.

2006-08-30T02:16:00.000-07:00

alicia paulson is someone who knows beauty. she takes fabric, wire, and everyday objects and turns them into some of the loveliest things i have seen. just take a peek into her studio: how could you not feel inspired there?

motel gallery.

2006-08-29T01:19:00.000-07:00

one of the things i was very excited about seeing when i first moved to portland was motel gallery. it's a very tiny little art gallery north of west burnside downtown, containing prints, paintings, embroidery, jewelry, and other handmade items by extremely talented illustrators that i have loved for quite a long time. they have beautiful exhibitions each month that i always try to make an effort to check out.

the following are some examples of artwork that have been prevously shown there.

above: "untitled 2" by carson ellis, "tunnel of love" by jen corace, "defense mechanism" by caroline hwang, "spies surround us" by jessie rose vala, "thinking about (heavy shit)" by ryan jacob smith, and "day dream" by orly cogan.

honey for the bear.

2006-08-29T01:14:00.000-07:00

of course, i am already spending my late nights looking at baby apparel websites. the other night i came across honey for the bear, a site i remember looking at while i was last pregnant. i wish they had a registry on the website- i love all of it.

jill bliss.

2006-08-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

i can't believe i've gone this long without doing a post on the ever-so inspiring jill bliss. i first discovered jill years ago, when i picked up the book she did for shelflife records. i fell in love.

"my life and work are naturally full of color, sly humor and hand-tinkered style. with a penchant for collaborative endeavors and sharing, my world grows a little larger as each new co-conspirator hops aboard."

i encourage you, if you haven't already, to search through everything there is in her portfolio. it's beautiful.

her lovely work can be purchased at blissen.com.

marimekko.

2006-08-28T02:16:00.000-07:00

basically anyone who is into pattern design knows the magnificence that is marimekko. marikmekko is a finnish design company specializing in textiles representing "design inspired by beautiful everyday life." amen.

these designs, among others, can be seen on mugs, bedspreads, bags, mousepads, towels, and much more.

flight 001.

2006-08-28T02:10:00.000-07:00

i really dream about traveling abroad someday (hopefully not all too far in the future). destinations i would like to hit include: vienna, london, tokyo, stockholm, prague, and various parts of france. if you are a traveler, flight 001 is the place for you. everything from good-looking luggage to relaxation products to places to keep your food while in the air.

kate spade.

2006-08-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

i feel like such a yuppie, doing a post regarding kate spade. but nevertheless, she is quite a good classic designer. while running through macy's (we were passing through there to get to another destination), her dishware caught my eye. i don't know what it is with me and dishware lately, but let's just say i'm a sucker for it. i guess it just goes along with my deep love of good patterns, in any form.

hannspree.

2006-08-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

i am generally not someone who is into electronics, especially things like fancy television sets. my husband is usually the one who ogles at them in store windows, dreaming of the day we'll have a huge screen tv that he can watch his hundreds of dvds on. but when i came across hannspree, i fell in love. perhaps it's just because i generally love anything shaped like food items and objects that look like they're out of cartoons.

mahar dry goods.

2006-08-26T02:23:00.000-07:00

big news: earlier this evening i found out that i'm pregnant with kid #2. i'm excited and scared and not looking forward to another long nine months. since i am keeping myself up late tonight, i already have gotten back into searching the internet for very cute baby goods.

mahar dry goods is a site created by robert mahar. it's full of very nice children's items that i just love.

you'll probably be seeing a lot more baby links as my pregnancy progresses. but for now, i will just leave you with one more image, easily the cutest baby outfit i have ever seen, found at art bebe:

rock scissor paper.

2006-08-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

yet another set of awesome designers: susie & heidi bauer of rock scissor paper. they are very sucessful designers (mainly of paper goods), having their products featured in a whole lot of magazines. they are great at combining illustration with pattern.

moma.

2006-08-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite things about visiting art museums is getting the chance to browse through their stores, especially when visiting museums dedicated to modern and contemporary art. i can remember the last time i visited moca in los angeles with my good friend ellie, who is a fellow design nerd like myself, freaking out over every little perfectly-designed item in their gift shop. the museum of modern art in new york city is no exception. their shop is jam-packed with a whole lot of good stuff.

betsey johnson.

2006-08-24T02:49:00.001-07:00

i am someone who hates to admit that they are actually into fashion. i guess it's just that i am always trying to find balance between two completely different sides of my personality. there's one side that feels silly dressing up, that thinks a hoodie & jeans is always the way to go, that believes that no one should spend more than $10 on one article of clothing, and that wonders if "fashion people" are all shallow and therefore shouldn't be a part of that. then there's the other side that sits up all night looking at pretty clothing, can see the art of a beautiful dress, and waits all week for the next episode of project runway. i can remember spending my days off of high school watching fashion & model programs on e! i actually started college majoring in fashion design, only to go off and switch to women's studies. that just shows you the contrast of my personalities.

but yes, deep at heart, i do like it. a lot. and ever since i can remember getting into it, betsey johnson has been one of my favorite designers. sure, i think she goes a bit too far sometimes (i'm really not a big fan of neon pink mixed with animal prints), but i like that she is much more playful than a lot of other designers. i used to live right near the betsey johnson outlet, where i can remember purchasing a pair of extremely tight stretchy gold sequin pants. i wore them to high school and felt like such a rocker.

here are some of her designs that i like from fall 2005 to fall 2006:

madam edgar.

2006-08-23T01:53:00.000-07:00

as someone in my mid-twenties, i still love toys. a whole lot. i'd like a huge bookcase filled with nothing but toys and stuffed creatures. i just recently discovered madam edgar, a place of fluffy, soft, sweet, evil, and almost-edible friends.

the above creatures were designed by: heidi kenney, melanie baillairge, zupton, and tania sanhueza.

naked & angry.

2006-08-23T01:49:00.000-07:00

the folks over at threadless are seriously awesome. not only do they run threadless, but now they also have naked & angry, which is the same concept as threadless, only with wallpaper. send in your design/pattern and it will be voted on to turn into wallpaper. amazing!

cutxpaste.

2006-08-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

for the past few years, cutxpaste has been one of my favorite websites. founded by a girl named jenny in 2002, it's a huge collection of clothing, accessories, books, stationery, and more all made by independent designers across the globe. my only problem with it is just how quickly things sell out.

since there is so much on there, tonight i will just focus on the stationery portion of the site, since i am rather obsessed with well-designed paper goods these days. i dream to own a print gocco and make my own someday.

the goods above were designed by: jill deluce, ashley alexander, leigh batnick, rose lazar, susie ghahremani, and jill bliss (whom i plan to feature tomorrow).

fishs eddy.

2006-08-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

brookyn's fishs eddy: so much pretty dishware. playful, elegant, simple, and with lovely patterns. i am really itching lately to toss the hand-me-down mismatched dishware sitting up in our cupboards.

i know my mom will flip out over the new york city set. she's obsessed with the big apple.

bittersweet genevieve.

2006-08-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

the work of vancouver designer genevieve dionne is extremely sweet and delicate. her silkscreen designs and mixtures of photographs & fabric are just so stunning.

ikea.

2006-08-21T02:13:00.000-07:00

there is one thing i miss about living in southern california: living within twenty miles in any direction to an ikea. nothing beats beautiful scandinavian design at extremely low prices. not to worry though- one will be opening in the summer of 2007 in portland.

baby geared.

2006-08-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

i am always interested in new awesome kid items. i just found this "lunch tote" on baby geared. i think of vegan lunchbox when i think of packing lunches someday for riley.

along with that, here are some other things i'd love to own.

plum party.

2006-08-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

i've always been one who loves to throw parties. dinner parties, potlucks, slumber parties, birthday parties, etc. (i even threw a huge birthday bash for a doll at chuck e. cheese when i was a little girl). now that we live in a house, i dream of throwing parties with good music and fanciful decorations. and what better place to buy party accessories than plum party. note: most of my favorite items sold there are made by french bull and the warhol store (which will be my next post).

shinzi katoh.

2006-08-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

if you're into very cute japanese illustation, you must look into the work of artist shinzi katoh. very adorable images of landscapes, animals, and people. his illustrations can be purchased on tote bags that would be great to carry anywhere!

wallpaper.

2006-08-20T02:23:00.000-07:00

ever since i graduated from my bubblegum pink unicorn wallpaper and border at age nine, i have generally had the outlook that wallpaper is always ugly (even though i have a deep love of the vintage velvet variety). recently, though, i have found that there are some really nice ones out there. here are some examples from london's cole & son, a company that block prints all of its wallpaper.

etui.

2006-08-20T01:44:00.000-07:00

i am on an updating spree this evening. i can't sleep, so i am spending my alone time browsing through online shops.

etui is a small business created by julie meredith, where she sells gorgeous tiny prints of her illustrations. i'd love to own them all and hide them in small corners of my home.

mini jake.

2006-08-20T01:37:00.000-07:00

my son is currently fifteen months old. i dream of someday, perhaps if we ever finish the basement, turning the upstairs into a very stylish & fun kid's area. there are so many really great websites of very well-designed kid's furniture, accessories, wall hangings, and toys. mini jake happens to be one of those.

today's ebay dresses.

2006-08-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

just some dresses currently on ebay that i really like.

day-lab.

2006-08-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

day-lab is a website that was launched by the beautiful amy shutt in 2005. it is a shop filled with jewelry/housewares/clothing/etc. made by extremely talented independent designers. a really awesome aspect of this site is that each month, a percentage of the profits go to the world society for the protection of animals. i bought two pillows from them right when i was moving to portland and i love them, even though they have been dirtied up by my cats and year-old son.

sprout.

2006-08-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

i came across this website today: sprout home. really great household items.

i would love those cloud decals in my son's room!

foxy & winston.

2006-08-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

i have a deep love for really lovely simple-colored screenprinted designs, especially ones featuring animals like deer and birds. here are a few from designer jane buck of foxy & winston.

sock dreams.

2006-08-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

if you know me, you would probably guess that knee-socks are my favorite accessory, and you'd be right. nothing compliments a short dress or knee-length skirt quite like a pair of knee-socks. my sister-in-law recently sent me to sock-dreams.com, a site i remember looking at awhile ago through bust magazine. so many amazing pairs of socks that i would love to own. note: check out the "sorcerer's socks", the perfect socks for a huge harry potter fan, like myself.

threadless.

2006-08-17T13:04:00.002-07:00

threadless.com is easily one of the best places online to find awesome well-designed t-shirts. it is a collective where random designers send it their really amazing work. here are some of my favorite designs of the moment.

rosanna dishware.

2006-08-17T00:22:00.000-07:00

i own quite a few issues of budget living magazine, most of which i purchased for extremely inexpensive prices at scrap here in portland. while browsing through the june/july 2005 issue, i came across a page of awesome glass dishware resembling throwaway take-out dishes & containers. sadly, the only set i could still find online was this one, but i did come across a lovely dishware designer named rosanna bowles.

best of flickr.

2006-08-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

i spend a good portion of the night on flickr, viewing photographs from random people all over the world. here are some of the photos from my favorites of things that i would love to own.

spectacles.

2006-08-14T00:32:00.000-07:00

due to the fact that i need glasses to see past a couple of feet in front of me (and partly because i think people generally look good in them), i have grown to loving really beautiful glasses. these are all vintage ones from allyn scura, which is one of the most impressive websites for unique eyeglasses.

sukie.

2006-08-12T02:12:00.000-07:00

it's past two in the morning and i am quite sleepy, but i thought i would post a few lovely things from sukie before i go to sleep. must prepare for day two of the sixth annual portland zine symposium!

earthworks.

2006-08-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

sussex's earthworks store is just the place to satisfy my love of colorful mugs. you can browse through their whole collection here. cup of tea, anyone?

also, check out their sweet looking lunchbox. i wish i had one of these when i was a kid:

copacetique.

2006-08-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

copacetique is an online shop/distro filled with handmade goodies by independent artists, such as susie ghahremani, missy kulik, and katey nicosia. they sell a massive amount of absolutely lovely notecards & stationery, like these:

teapot & plates.

2006-08-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

i've always had a deep love of teapots, most likely because i am an avid tea consumer. i currently have a very old & beat-up black metal tea kettle, but hope to own one as lovely as the above someday. the "vert teapot" is sold at herb & ginger, an online tea shop that sells such varieties as peach-icot, red chocolate, queen's caramel, and candytopia. delicious!

these plates are from lena corwin, who sells a beautiful selection of dishware, neckties, and pillows, mostly all with colorful floral designs. i have been quite keen on reading her blog lately.

bg shop.

2006-08-09T11:07:00.002-07:00

absolutely adorable posters. the first is designed by two are designed by by raymond savignac (check out his website) and the last two are designed by lefor-openo (i highly recommend looking through their work).

some other items from bg shop. it's worth it to look through the site's vintage wallpaper panels.

scandinavia stock.

2006-08-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

i'm obsessed with pretty cups these days. these ones are from scandinavia stock. i can imagine throwing tea parties with them.

cute goods.

2006-08-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

cute, or "kawaii", items can easily get me, especially when adorned with japanese children's illustrations. these items are from quatre leaves.

mod livin'.

2006-08-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

damn hot items from mod livin'. the entire site is absolutely stunning. pieces by eero aarnio, george nelson, and charles & ray eames, to name a few.

posh girl vintage.

2006-08-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

lovely clothing from posh girl vintage.

a minor thread.

2006-08-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

handmade items by my friend charlie @ a minor thread.

kitsch kitchen.

2006-08-07T00:51:00.000-07:00

colorful things from kitsch kitchen.

chocosho.

2006-08-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

items from chocosho.

the small object.

2006-08-06T02:10:00.000-07:00

handmade beauties by the small object.

nelda's vintage.

2006-08-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

clothing from nelda's vintage.

vintage bowls.

2006-08-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

vintage bowls/tupperware from ebay.

my my!

2006-08-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

items from the wonderful my my distro.

marc jacobs : sometimes i have a weakness for fashion designers...

2006-08-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

beautiful clothing items designed by marc jacobs.

modern.

2006-08-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

ultra-expensive items from retromodern.

vintage aprons.

2006-08-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

vintage aprons found on ebay.

elsewares.

2006-08-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

little things from elsewares.

little paper planes.

2006-08-04T03:31:00.000-07:00

beautiful goods from little paper planes.

sur la table.

2006-08-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

items from sur la table. i'm a sucker for pretty baking things.

ebay : housewares, etc.

2006-08-04T02:10:00.000-07:00

more treasures from ebay.

giant robot fun.

2006-08-04T00:56:00.000-07:00

goodies from giant robot.

ebay : artwork.

2006-08-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

random big-eyed art, from ebay.

ebay : dresses.

2006-08-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

dresses found on ebay.

sew darn cute.

2006-08-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

handmade items by sew darn cute.

sweets!

2006-08-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

all of these made by the lovely heidi kenney. yum!

lovely fabrics.

2006-08-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

all fabrics from reprodepot.
oh, what i could make with these!

fred flare.

2006-08-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

all items from fred flare

cupcake pans.

2006-08-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

ice cream cone cupcake pan & heart molds : from williams sonoma