Ahoy, pilgrims!

Hi there, staunch readers! I bet you've been wondering where I've been hiding myself over the past six weeks. Well, my friends, I have a surprise for you: I am launching a jewelry line. Gears, cogs, and bones crafted into beautiful adornments. Very steampunk, neh? I have been busy as a little bee in my studio. Being snowed-in has no doubt assisted my laser-like focus.

I also received a kind note from Julie of Virtu, who informed me that Laura Zindel will be coming out with a brand new line of ceramics sometime this year. Her works flies off the shelves, so all of you insect addicts, be warned. Thanks, Julie!!

Also, I wanted to compliment Grace of DesignSponge for her always excellent taste. I fell in love with her Karin Eriksson votives and spent a very productive morning hunting online. Karin's Etsy shop is empty as of this writing, but you can go here for her full sellers list. Lots of great shops here, and many of them have online stores. I found Lille to have a very nice selection, and many other lovely things besides.

Happy New Year!

My Life, It is a Movie. . .

Wow. What a weird couple of weeks. In a good way. The boy and I have decided to renew our vows on our ten year anniversary. Hah! Some of our friends haven't even figured out that we're married yet. We never had a real wedding or honeymoon (we kind of eloped -- sorry, Mom and Dad!) So we've decided to rectify this and do both. We've done enough events that I don't think a wedding will be too much trouble. (Oooh, I can hear you guys now. . . I'm sure I will look back at this entry in a few years and LAUGH.) I've been hunting around on Etsy to find a nice engagement ring (who wants an icky generic ring?) and I found this:

Isn't it cool? Understated, yet obviously special. It is in my top three for sure. So now I need a dress. Since I just gave mine to Juniper for her wedding in June. I can't think of a better excuse to buy two wedding dresses, can you?

I also wanted to show you this: wallpaper custom tweaked to your wall and decorations. I remember seeing things like this one time at Burning Man (ha ha). I found it on BoingBoing. I am addicted to BoingBoing. Did you know it started in Boulder? Yeah, you probably did.

Here's another BoingBoing find, although the designer I have been watching for a few years:

She has a whole new line out now, but I haven't been able to find the original store where her regular dishes are sold. Anybody know of it? if so, i am definitely registering there for my wedding. That would be some fabulous dinner party-ware.

And guess what else? I quit my full time job! (Like I said...weird couple of weeks.) So now I can put some time into the new Boneflowers online store. I will post details as soon as I can. Let's just say, as a hint, EGGPANTS. Thanks, Andie and Liz!

It's not hitting THIS fan, buddy. . .

The curse of surrounding yourself with high-end design magazines is that you invariably find things you wish you could afford and are too cool not to drool over for minutes at a time. I think I may have found the first ever Steampunk ceiling fan. So all you Girl Genius fans with surplus cash, hop on over to Matthews Fan Company and buy one.

They also have really cool glass lighting. So pretty!

And for my next trick. . .

Just so you don't think I spend every spare moment shopping (not that there's anything wrong with that, mind), I thought I would showcase some other things of interest.

Linda Berkvist is, without a doubt, the most talented digital painter I have ever seen. That is some incredible detail. My god.

She has a lovely self portrait on her site as well:

The whole thing is well worth rumaging through; she has her portfolio divided up, rather unusually, by colors. She has also thoughtfully included some tutorials in case you are sufficiently inspired to have a go at this style yourself. I understand she is also working on a book of fairy tales, and is posting the occasional sample from this body of work on her site:

Another artist that I really like is Audrey Kawasaki.

She has the most delicate style of painting on wood. It reminds me of my own favorite ways to work, which is probably why I like it so much. I've always been more

comfortable with gouache, so I tend to use oils like watercolors, building up layers of depth instead of working up towards highlights like you're supposed to.

I actually did a shameless copy of this picture for myself

because I surely can't afford to buy an original, and her prints tend to sell out almost immediately. It hangs in my entry way, where I can look at it everytime I leave the house.:

Audrey has been incorporating skulls and bones, as well as insects and moths, into her recent work. Pretty girls and decay--how can you go wrong? You should check out her blog for upcoming shows as well as peeks at her newest work.

Speaking of bones, take a look at this. Jessica Joslin (I think I saw her on BoingBoing originally) has a fabulous collection of, um, alternative solutions to taxidermy. I have a small prize for the first reader to have their pet preserved by her.

Aren't they cute?

Silver Bells and Cockleshells. . .

I found a wonderful resource guide to metalsmiths on Etsy. So the next time you are desperately seeking adornments based on cellular structures or internal organs, you need look no further. This is Nanopod's Heart necklace.




She also makes
shirts:




If you're in the mood for something slightly more dangerous looking and you have a few grand burning a hole in your pocket, I suggest you take a look at DiscoMedusa.

If $2500 is not quite in your budget this week, she also has dozens of affordable baubles, like this cell necklace:







I love the different layers in this necklace. The lacey center is a bit of a theme in this shop.

For the unrepentant (but stylish) nerd in your life, Beaujangles has these cufflinks:

Space Invaders! Man, you just can't get away from the inevitable retro-dork reference, can you? No, I didn't think so.


Oh, and just in case you are wondering feverishly what on earth to do for Halloween, you can always go as an Amazonian warrior princess:


You can thank me later. With pictures.

By the throat. . .

I love ephemera, as you may already know if you have been commiting these posts to memory. I have recently found several online vendors with really, really lovely things that I just had to share with you. Behold, Mood Swing Studios:

These little baubles are double-sided and hand soldered. Each has two different pictures from old storybooks. So cute, so versatile!

And for the fancier days, take a look at Erica Weiner Jewelry:

Charming, a little odd, and cute little skulls. My style to a tee. I love that little hummingbird skull.

I like this one too, although the phrase "sucked into a jet engine" keeps going through my head.
.

A Belly Donssah, A Snake Charmah. . .

Oooo, I'm going to spoil you now. I have a huge backlog of links to show you. Including a new obsession, and an excuse to make more costumes. Because one steamer trunk is just not enough, people. Not enough. That's right. May I present my absolute favorite tribal fusion belly dancer (of course), Rachel Brice. She moves like a snake.
And her costumes are too fabulous.
How can I not love that? Check out her set with my pals the Yard Dogs who are coming to the Fillmore with Devotchka on 10/27 AND I EXPECT TO SEE ALL OF YOU THERE.