Poppytalk archive

Alicia of Dismount Creative created this fun and super-easy necklace project using polymer clay and a little glitter. Check it out here and some earrings she made as well here. (Via Craftzine).

We are sponsoring Abbey from Aesthetic Outburst's project called 20 in 20, where she's making 20 projects and giving them away in 20 days. Seriously it's amazing. Here's just a few of things she's creating. Word on the street is she's going to host another 20 in 20 in April! Yay! Click here to see and enter!

Brandi of Fantasy Floorplans draws/drafts (by hand) fake floorplans of TV's most popular (and maybe not so popular) shows. Inspired by a book she was given, she started drawing floorplans at about the age of seven. Using old school drafting tools to produce her drawings such as a drafting table, parallel bars, vellum and triangles, Brandi takes a few liberties in the designs but has done her very best to preserve the most televised parts of these TV homes and businesses. Visit her at our Mad March market here or online here.

shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/fantasyfloorplans

website: http://www.fantasyfloorplans.com

twitter: http://twitter.com/tvfloorplans

I Dream of Jeannie

The Brady Bunch

Contributor post by Elisabeth Dunker of Fine Little Day

Breakfast in Sweden. Maybe some organic yoghurt or curdled from Milko, and some energetic cereals or museli from Ica? Or we could make some oatmeal porridge and eat some wholemeal bread with it. Or we could just sit there and look at this great packaging, and eat later.

A couple of more nice packaging here. /Elisabeth

I received a few books from Raincoast Books recently to review and was completely enamoured by this simple yet powerful little book by Paris-based author/illustrator, Hervé Tullet . Called PRESS HERE, the book asks the reader to poke it, shake it, and even blow along it's edges, and in turn each page transforms the scattering of coloured dots into a fun visual narrative. Simple enough to captivate a two-year old, yet brilliant enough to garner the attention of an adult, this book will bring some magic into anyone's day who reads it. Available through Amazon.ca in Canada and in the U.S. through and Chronicle Books.

With spring finally upon us, thoughts of gardening are starting to sprout and I just had to share a couple cool garden things with you. I'm absolutely bananas over this potato planter bag (have you seen it yet)? It's a reusable planter for growing potatoes (great for patios, balconies and small gardens like we have). With handles on the side for easy handling, the velcro flap on the side opens up so you don't have to dig up the potatoes when they're ready to harvest. Just open the flap and voila ($9.99).

And how fun would it be to have a time lapse plant cam? Watch your garden grow in fast-forward; the camera is weatherproof and automatically takes photos and videos at set time intervals. You can also use it for other things such as bird watching, events, etc. So fun.

(Via the Marilyn Denis Show)

One of our vendors at Poppytalk Handmade, Galit Mastai is offering a 10% off sale for the last week of our Mad March market. Her knitted blanket is amazing and her thunderbolt earrings were worn by Sarah of Arcade Fire at the Brit Awards in London this past February. Enter code is POPPY2011 for 10% off anything in her shop! Her sale starts Saturday, March 19 and ends Friday, March 25/11.

A Day at the Beach, Janis Nicolay (Pinecone Camp)

Today is also the deadline to submit to our Eco and Spring Market which will run March 28 - April 22, 2011. We are looking for spring-like things (think Easter, flowers, bunnies) and eco things - things good for the earth. If you're interested in the opportunity to help brand your handmade or vintage goods please email us with the words Eco + Spring Market Submission in the subject line.

Today (Friday, March 18th/11) is the reception for Lisa Congdon's book, A Collection a Day. It will be held at The Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco, from 6-9pm. See the exhibition (many of the collections and drawings she photographed during this past year) and celebrate Lisa's incredible project and book. Below sneak peek photos (taken by Lisa) from the exhibit. The book can also be ordered online through UPPERCASE.

Contributor post by Will Bryant

My friend Mary Kathryn is a young lady with style and ambition. She recently started her on own floral design studio called Loretta Flower.

The name Loretta Flower comes from her favorite Townes Van Zandt song, Loretta.

Currently she works out of a studio in her house in south Austin, but is hoping to open a shop/studio of some sort in 2012.

Miss Mary Kathryn creates arrangements/bouquets/garlands/you name its for weddings and events, as well as weekly arrangements for many businesses here in town (Congress, East Side Showroom, Hotel St Cecilia). You can purchase her dried arrangements at one of my favorite shops in town, Spartan and of course you could get your very own custom arrangement delivered to your door!

More on Loretta Flower:

- blog
- Facebook
- website

(Via Kate Spade)

Contributor post by Lisa Solomon

Untitled (doors),1996
oil paint and wax on paper
11 x 19 1/2 feet [from david zwirner gallery]

i was first introduced to toba khedoori when i worked in a gallery. my co-worker talked about her with awe in his voice.

i looked at some images of hers but wasn't convinced at first. NO IMAGE will ever do her work justice. i didn't really "get" her work until i was fortunate enough to view a room of 5 drawings at MOCA in los angeles.

khedoori creates these really amazing GRAND SCALE [think really really really big] works on paper. i'm not going to call them simply drawings or paintings because there really is a whole process involved in their creation. she joins huge sheets of paper and covers them in a layer of wax. then she makes maquette drawings and carefully transfers those to the wax - basically carving them in... and then painstakingly paints the imagery.


Untitled (Seats), 1996 Oil and wax on paper 11'6" x 25' [from david zwirner gallery]

these drawings are about completely mundane everyday things that we might normally ignore or not be interested in: windows... doors.... chairs..... but these - these are the stuffs of our daily lives. and i think in some ways it is in these small choices that perhaps our personalities lie.... certainly what we choose to pay attention out of the millions of things that we pass on a day to day basis says a lot about who we are, what we notice, and how we might operate in the world.

there is certainly a meditative quality to these. a meditative quality that links khedoori to the minimal masters [like agness martin, or early frank stella]. these pieces spotlight something singular - these "things" exist in this humongous space - these pieces are so much bigger than you or me. and in the lusciousness of the surface [which unfortunately will never photograph] the images almost start to appear and disappear as you walk and blink in front of them. i also like the humility and humbleness of the paper. i don't think i'd be as interested in these if they were paintings on canvas - even at this scale. i am a true believer in the power of negative space - what you choose to omit and how much space you surround an object with has just as much weight and meaning to whatever it is you are actually representing.

i get lost in trying to imagine how she must repeat the same gesture immeasurable times. if you look too quick these will seem perfect - but really there are small subtle shifts - more or less pressure- a dark or open window... there is evidence of the hand [and our hands are wonderfully and perpetually incapable of making everything perfect or exactly the same].

i think, though, that one of my most favorite details that you can't see at all here is that the seemingly empty and perfectly quiet negative spaces of these work are in fact filled with footprints, dog prints, dust, lint and other detritus from khedoori's studio. how can you not be instantly charmed by a paw print? and how quickly does that shatter the illusion that these are "perfect" and sterile pieces of art? [very very quickly i'd say].

so which one do i want [and i wonder what she has been up to of late because in all my internet trolling i couldn't find anything more recent than a 2008 piece]....


Untitled, 1997 Oil and wax on paper 11.25' x 30'

i want this one. it belongs to the broad art foundation [which if you haven't checked them out - you should]. to me these benches are in dialogue - with themselves and with the space surrounding them. and i love park benches. you might suggest they are sad, but really i see them as pairs. together, not lonely. contemplative. and lovingly depicted.

you can follow my collection so far on pinterest [and can i just say that in my most recent peek the work thus far goes really well together... i might have to break out of this matchy matchy color scheme for my next pick !]. till next time....

en pointe photography

One of my newest followers, Cailen (who happens to be Irish) led me to this lovely shamrock today (taken by en pointe photography). I remember as a child searching for hours for a four leaf clover; never finding one, have you? Wishing you all a lucky day! P.S. - a link to some adorable free "Lucky Brew" printables (see below) via How About Orange

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCt-N-VJRbUD7DY1lr_p-vcjrB_jTWvsWBS_2EBv8uZkw0XTdCWE1SfLL5EAjSv0pOa3Zt3mPfr94Jlh028fxeGFbAreCUQdwUGjKDqmcUVrlfCdGFAyql3Tp4tDzsFqDfcd-rcg/s1600/st-patricks-day-labels.jpg

Alicia Bock

Everywhere I turn, I'm seeing more and more artists responding to the disaster in Japan. It's incredibly heartwarming amidst such tragedy. My inbox is filling up with individuals sending out their info, and I would like to do a post here. If you are doing something similar and wish to add yourself to this list, please do so by leaving a comment here in the comments section. Here is what I am aware of so far:

Alicia Bock is giving proceeds from the photographs in this collection to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Japan.

Pinecone Camp is offering 50% off for the month of March on all sales in her etsy shop to the Red Cross.

scottelbot is auctioning a print of this image to help.

Pikaland will be giving 100% of their net profit from the sale of Tokyo-based artist Mogu Takahashi’s Chotto Omoshiroi poster to the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Society.

20x200 is offering all the proceeds from the print, Shinjukuku 6:43 by by Joseph O. Holmes and Imperial Palace Gardens with Wall, Tokyo, by Emily Shur, benefit Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund.

Mike Perry - Buy from his online store and 100% of the money raised will go to help Japan This will go until the end of the month. via Pikaland

The Working Proof and Susan Schwake has teamed up to produce a print where proceeds will go to Médecins Sans Frontières. via Pikaland

Tinyshowcase is raising money via The Rising Sun — a print by by Jesse LeDoux via Pikaland

The students at a local University here (UBC), have created a few ways to raise money. One I particularily love is they are selling paper origami cranes to raise funds. I love the legend that promises anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. Lets hope this legend helps those in need now. Click here for more information on all the ways to help (a comprehensive list).

Check out Handmade for Japan who's mission is to raise money through an online auction on March 24-27 for relief efforts.

Hello Sandwich is selling the PDF of her Hello Sandwich Gift Wrapping for $5 and all money raised will go to the Red Cross to support survivors and rebuild Japan. Click here for info, here to view the PDF and here to buy (it's super cute)!. You can also donate through her friends' raffles here and here.

Write for Tohoku (Call for submissions)

Ez from Wren and Chickadee (Creature Comforts) is currently donating 100% of their profits to help the relief efforts in Japan. Click here for more info.

Samantha Hahn has made a watercolor cherry blossom print to benefit Doctors Without Borders who are currently helping people in need during this crisis in Japan. Click here to see.

HEARTS + HANDS is a community effort organized by Lynn Russell of Satsuma Press. In 48 hours, fifty independent artists and studios have agreed to donate prizes for the raffle – and that list is still growing. Raffle tickets are for sale now at www.heartsandhandsforjapan.blogspot.com for $10 each.
100% of the proceeds from the HEARTS + HANDS raffle will be donated to relief efforts in Japan in the aftermath of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Please feel free to add your sale/auction, etc for Japan here in the comments for others to read. Thank you.

Photo: Andre Rider

It's sort of like when you own a volkswagen, all of a sudden you notice all these volkswagens, so as we continue on our kitchen search, all's I notice mostly these days are kitchens. So please bear with me dear internets. These were all in the same issue (from April's issue of House and Home). My wishlist at the moment:

1. I love darker hardware against lighter painted wood. So maybe a blackish iron drawer pull (like above only black), I love black faucets too, but I also love white (so confused).
2. I like white and grey cabinetry (at the moment). With different colours on the lower than the uppers or shelves.
3. I would like an apron sink, but they just seem scary heavy. But I do like them.
4. I love the stoves where all the knobs are on the bottom.
5. Tiles all the way to the ceiling.
6. A big table in the middle of a kitchen, like my grandma had (they are a great place to gather and chat while you cook). But we don't have the room and will probably have a nook.
7. Open shelving with chunky brackets

What do you like in a kitchen? I need suggestions/opinions.

Photo: Donna Griffith

Photo: Stacy Branford

Miranda van Dijk out of the Netherlands has created these stunning fabric memory leaves from a digital scan and then printed them on unbleached cotton. She calls the collection Hidden Memories (these from her own history), however she is happy to make a special ornament (brooches or necklace) for you from your old picture. Email: info[at]puuranders[dot]nl for more information.

via All the Mountains

Melanie Favreau

Loving these sweet little arrow earrings by Montreal-based jeweler, Melanie Favreau. So adorable. See more of her beautiful work here.

Red, black, white and grey were my school colours. I still have a soft spot for them. Red Letter Pillow, Jonathan Adler, Grey LUDDE Sheepskin, IKEA, Mary Teresa by Dermot Flynn (via Creature Comforts), Chevron Shoes, Christian Louboutin (Fall/Winter 2010), The Seeds of Today, ink illustration, Suffragette Design, Old Time Sling Shot, General Store

1. Redstar Ink
2. Lettergirl
3. Amy Blasco Jewelry
4. Pretty Things by Meg
5. Un Lieu Sur Terre

Photo taken and shared by Shawn Thomas.

Photo taken and shared by Patrick.Larson.Photography.

Apparantly this public knitta display is happening in Austin, Texas right now until March 18th! 99 trees covered in beautiful yarn. This is the work of KnittaPlease (Magda Sayeg) – more details here and here. (Via WhipUp via knitkacker.com).

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