window shopping in soho

Spring has sprung in SoHo!

L'Occitane

On my recent fabric shopping trip to NYC, I took a detour to SoHo for some window shopping. It's a cool high rent area famous for it's lofts and industrial past. The former factory buildings and warehouses look like tall wedding cakes to me. The don't make 'em like that anymore!

SoHo is short for "south of Houston" (pronounced How-ston- don't give yourself away if you're a tourist). It is bordered on the South by Canal Street where Chinatown starts.

click to enlarge the map

There didn't used to be so many chain stores, but all the shops make an effort with their window displays down here. I managed to snap a few with my suitcase full of fabric in tow (not recommended).

BCBG

BCBG at 120 Wooster: full-on spring with bright color and scarf pattern prints.

Lucky Brand

Lucky Brand

Lucky Brand at 38 Greene Street: Bright fuchsia balanced with neutrals and cheetah print thrown in. Love the macrame bag!

JNBY

JNBY at 75 Greene Street: I guess tutus are here to stay. The bright yellow + khaki + white is unexpected. I like it.

Tibi

Tibi at 120 Wooster: pastels made sophisticated by tempering with tan & black.

Kate Spade

Kate Spade at 454 Broome Street: as always, crisp, bright, & fun. It's hard to see, but the mannequins have tennis raquets in their hair ;)

Giggle

Giggle, the baby store for überyuppies at 120 Wooster: irresistibly cute & modern baby stuff.

Giggle

Giggle carries Jonathan Adler's baby bags, Dwell bedding, Tea company clothes, and the latest in high end strollers and gear.

Wink

Wink at 129 Prince: embracing the bright accessories!

Crew Cuts

Crew Cuts in the J.Crew store at 99 Prince Street: the kids collection can seemingly do no wrong. They are so good at their styling and modernizing preppy.

Club Monaco

Club Monaco at 520 Broadway: soft transitional colors that are perfect for right now, but I'll never do the sock + sandals thing.

 Liberty print at APC at 131 Mercer. That one's a classic.

Ralph Lauren

And finally, Ralph Lauren at 379 West Broadway, doing navy & white for early spring... again... but he can get away with it I guess. Still want to be her.

My next posting will be all about my new store crush in SoHo...

ins and outs 2012

floral new year card by thevysherbarium

Out with the old! I grew up in the Washington DC area and always looked forward to the Washington Post's in & out list on January 1. I don't now how long they've been doing it, but it's been a long time if I can remember it from childhood. Here is the famous Post list and a few others just for fun:

The Washington Post  (ie. OUT: Pippa's bum/IN: Kate's uterus)
Food Network
WTOP radio
Travel Channel
Mercury News

It's gonna be a good year, I think, even though the Washington Post says Etsy is "out" and Art.sy is now "in". Gonna have to check that one out...

hand block printed textiles by galbraith & paul

We couldn't stay away. Beth & I made the trek again into Manayunk, PA for Galbraith and Paul's annual sample sale on Saturday. I swore I'd never come back to Manayunk after getting 2 parking tickets in one day last time, but I was so bummed-out that my camera didn't work then, that I was able to be persuaded. I just am so heartened to see a handmade business thriving right here in the USA and on this scale. People fly in for this sale. The fabric is highly sought-after. I'm sure they've felt the pressure to get the price down by taking production off-shore, but so far the fabrics are all made here.

It was the usual feeding frenzy with the piles of pillows and the "by the pound" scrap table seeing a lot of action. I was tempted to start a new decorating project, but I only just finished the padded headboard  using the smokebush printed linen I bought here last year.

Originally, Galbraith & Paul were known for their handmade paper lampshades. Now the lampshades are fabric. Room and Board carries the pillows & lampshades. They have also ventured into rugs and wallpaper.

 So mod- so fab!

A complicated pattern like this takes either multiple blocks and/or requires hand painting more than one color on a block. It requires skilled artisans to execute.

These are some of the "blocks".

The ink is applied with these little rollers.

Just like at the paint store!

My friend Beth's new best friend: Liz Galbraith. Mr Paul was working the register. Even Liz's little boys were helping customers.

A glimpse of future designs on the pin-up board in Liz's studio. The loveliness continues...

into matryoshka dolls

I don't know why, but I'm into Matryoshka dolls, also known as Russian nesting dolls, at the moment. I guess I should say I'm STILL into them since I wrote about them a while ago here.

They just seem so festive for the holidays to me. I found these great matryoshka doll items browsing around on Etsy:
Antique Russian nesting dolls from amberfilikins (oh darn, they're sold!)
Matryoshka doll letterpress birthday card from dutchdoor
Mother-daughter nesting doll pendant set from shoplolli
Matryoshka doll bobby pins from MelissaAbram
Kokka Japanese import matryoshka doll fabric from MoonaFabrics
Hand printed matryoshka doll kitchen towels from CuddleCanvas
Matryoshka doll baby quilt from SweetnCozy
Tiny needle felted matryoshka doll from CattaDolls

And I've been working on my own items for chirp & bloom.

I made an applique onesie and big sister tee in time for the last Clover Market of the season two weeks ago, and I think they came out pretty cute. People liked them at the show anyway, so now they are in the shop.

It was fun to finally use some of the floral ribbons from my trip to the NYC garment district and it was my first time using ink jet printable fabric sheets by Jaquard. I really wanted something realistic for the face, so I created the image in the computer and printed it out. I did a wash test and the ink ran some which wouldn't do at all. So I tried again, and heat setting it with the iron, then soaking it in salt water. That brought the color down a bit, but I like the more antique look and when washed  again, the ink didn't run. See? Even in a small business you have to do quality control testing. I'll add to that that I've tested the best way to finish the edge of ribbons and ric-rac. Between Fray-Check and singeing, singeing wins as long as the content is polyester. I use a Darice craft wood burning tool for the singeing and it works great.

Back to those printable fabric sheets- they are so cool, my daughter wanted to try them too, so we had a couple of friends over to do her craft idea here.

the rainbow connection

I've had this sweet song in my head for a few weeks now. I seem to be into rainbows at the moment. They are so cheerful and remind me of my 1970's childhood. I am compelled to make some rainbow purses. (Just listed here in the shop).

The great thing about an indie handmade business is that whatever is percolating in my mind, I can make, bring to market, and get a reaction to in a relatively short time frame. There is no having to predict whether rainbows will be a valid trend a year from now, no justifying my rainbows in meetings with executives, no waiting weeks to receive the first of many prototypes, no risking of other people's money to see the idea through. The immediacy of handmade is so so freeing!

 

The rainbows are fabulously satisfying to lay out and appliqué.

With this batch, I tried a new fusible web and am completely sold. I was using Heat 'n' Bond Lite, but I've switched to Lite Steam-a-Seam 2. It's lighter weight, making the finished appliques less boardy, yet still has excellent staying power. It also has a slight tackiness to the backing that allows appliqué pieces to stay in place or be moved around before ironing them permanently in place.

The indie biz down side: making my own production runs. Since I have my first craft show coming up, I need to build up some stock. By working in batches, I hope to save at least a little time just on the cutting. Still, I have the constant interruptions of stay-at-home-mom life, so it's hard to measure.

More delicious rainbows found on Etsy...

clockwise from top left:
rainbow bunting- therainbowroom
rainbow clippies- allthingsgirly
vintage 70's rainbow dress- stylebook
vintage 70's rainbow tote- jessamity
nebula mobile- thewonderlandstudio
vintage rainbow suspenders (nanoo-nanoo!)- forestdaydream
children's rainbow stacker bowls- applenamos
rainbow stack of books- thevintagecup

Cheers!

marie claire idées: babouchkas

I recently discovered that my local Borders Books now stocks the French magazine Marie Claire Idées!

I used to get it from a fashion newsstand in the NYC garment District years ago. Back then it only came out twice a year. Now it's every 2 months which makes me happy, but unfortunately the foreign magazines are so delayed getting here to the US. This spread is from the Nov-Dec issue which just arrived and I don't think I'd do any better with a subscription.

This Russian folkloric matryoshka doll theme reminds me of one of the stalls I photographed at the Union Square Holiday Market. I see a lot of fabrics (mostly Japanese) printed with the doll motif on Etsy as well, so it's not a brand-new trend.

I still think it's a fresh-looking take on folkloric which never seems to go away.

My high school French is just enough to get the gist of the articles.

But even if you didn't know any French, this magazine can be appreciated just as eye-candy.

Charming even with the taxidermy animals!