Etsy finds: Uloni’s crochet sculptures

I’ve been following this Etsy shop since my first days in Etsy. And I am always amazed by Uloni‘s creativity. She takes a most traditional, if not boring, medium (crochet) and completely reinvents it.

The forms she creates are organic, fluid and sometimes almost alive. And always unique. In fact, they are never replicated and once they leave the shop you can never find them again. thankfully, here is some of her best past work, from her flickr account:

Truly one of a kind.

Etsy finds: retrowhale’s indie portraits (and more)

Who’s your favorite writer? Your favorite movie director? Your favorite band? Animal? Chances are that retrowhale has already created a quirky drawing of them in a wood panel. The discovery that lead me to this shop was this portrait series of writers: Hunter S Thompson, Charles Bukowski, Silvia Plath and Jack Kerouac. Amazing, huh?

Or you can go all nouvelle vague and get a set of french directors:

And if this sounds a tad pretentious to you, there is lots of pop culture to choose from, too. For example this series of (mainly John Hughes) 80’s teen movies:

Or choose your favorite music band out of these almost infographic illustrations:

The rest you have to discover by yourselves!

Etsy finds: Claudia Varosio’s movie posters

This shop is a true find for the cinephiles. Claudia Varosio creates custom posters for some of cinema’s most iconic movies.

Minimal, wonderfully designed and coloured, these posters vary from the conceptual to the whimsical.

Also of note are Claudia’s series of cut-out paper dolls: the dude, Margot Tenenbaum, David Bowie and other surprising personalities.

Etsy finds: animal kingdom

It’s a jungle out there…

Etsy finds animal kingdom treasury list:

1. What are you afraid of – Sculpture by alfalfalovesme
2. the strange planet by thegoodmachinery
3. Fred- Large Moose Trophy- White by CardboardSafari
4. Mook with Aardvark Mask by ilovegreyskies
5. Elebee (Elephant Bee)– Contemporary Folk Art Ornament– MADE TO ORDER by cartbeforethehorse
6. Handmade Fabric Jewel Beetle Soft Sculpture – Coleoptera Made to Order by BlueTerracotta
7. Smoking chicken… by OhMafelt
8. Piergiorgio the whale – Handmade in Italy by contemori
9. Orwell Clutch – Penny Copper Piggy Purse by tsurubride
10. Retro rhinestone sparrow hat by janinebasil
11. Rusty Foks by celapiu
12. House Fly Pin by annarubyking
13. The Lovely Kitten Tee – Made to order by ThePetiteChouette
14. Heather Grey L/S Sweatshirt – Golden Owl by sealmaiden
15. Animal Farm (series of 3) by MissCrowland
16. Octopus silk screened cotton canvas throw pillow 18 inch black by utilitarianfranchise

Read it elsewhere

The Beatles, Social Media and more Japan aid:

• For mixtape nostalgics: Stereolizer is the app that turns your iPad into an 80’s cassette player – wired
• Etsy users find themselves exposed to world as a result of the new privacy policy – boingboing
• Taking a stand on the McCartney – Lennon feud – Though Catalog
• In other Beatles news Apple files to trademark the old Beatles Apple Logo – patently apple
• Fear of missing out in the social media – caterina.net via swissmiss
• Isn’t that a surprise: poor countries have more digital piracy – boingboing
• Happy people stick together in Twitter (so do the miserable also) – mashable
• The history of web browser (infograph) – bit rebels
• More designers come to the aid of Japan – this is colosal & imprint

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Etsy finds: geometries

Geometry is an endless source of inspiration from Ancient Greece, to tribal design to futuristic shapes. You simply cannot go wrong with geometrical shapes.

Geometries etsy treasury list:

• Geometric Carpet by EnRoute Studio
• Kart Chair by HarBenger2
• GEOMETRY SET JOTTER – Set Square by presentandcorrect
• Triangle Tank Dress by jessalinb
• Geometric Triangle necklace Gold by spoonfullofmint
• Triangle Array Pattern PERF Laser Cut T-Shirt by perfapparel
• Ascendant Earrings by LauraLombardiJewelery
• shapes necklace hexagon by cristinapires
• Warehouse IV – double finger ring by melaniefavreau
• Chunky Necklace and Earrings, made of copper brown leather triangles by SchickiMickis
• Ivory Towers Cuff by jewisaha
• Let’s Go – Away For A While by letsgoawayforawhile
• Paired Hexagons by locallibrary
• METAL GEO – Cuff Bracelet – Stainless Steel by arosha
• TWO TRIANGLES ring by marmod8
• wavy navy art card by MAKEatx

Etsy finds: helvetica

If you’ve ever met a designer you’ll know that they only worship one thing: helvetica,the sans-serif typeface that made history. It is of no surprise then that all those crafters at Etsy have created beautiful objects with it.

I ❤ helvetica etsy treasury list:

1. ASCII Heart Necklace by bekathwia
2. helvetica typography acrylic necklace (red) by plastique
3. Large Wood letter D by Hindsvik
4. Uppercase Scarf by TheLittleFactory
5. perpetual necklace – 8am by ofmatter
6. END WAR html by punkpatriot
7. Hellvetica Moleskine – Lined, Screenprinted by VictoriaGabrielle
8. Urban Throw Pillow – Style no17 – NYC – Pillow Cover Only by NestaHome
9. Helvetica for Typography Nerds – Choose your letter and color by Cupcakes and Mace
10. Doodle jewelry / Connect the numbers necklace in silver by tickette
11. Type Nerd 4-Color Process Card Pack of 6 by ShedLetterpress
12. You and Me – Ampersand pendant by melaniefavreau
13. Spell It Out for Me Clock by chromalab
14. Ctrl Alt Del – Black and White Typography Word Art – 8×10 by colorbee
15. TYPO-BAG: Helvetica by caratterino
16. Helvetica Hello Kraft/Ice Blue Note Cards by madebygood

See more etsy finds

Wasted time

We are huge procrastinators. As such, we don’t believe that there is such a thing as wasted time. No time is wasted, no matter the activity.

Alyson Provax, however, is self-conscious about it. She has created this witty series of one-liners, documenting the time she spent not being productive:

You can buy her print at her etsy shop. See more wasted time experiments after the jump.

Etsy finds: life’s a stitch

What I love about the hand-craft movement is how it has reinvented old crafts. Take embroidery, for example. It’s no longer just for grandmothers and old maids. Just look at these quirky stitches that find inspiration from such diverse sources as music from the Pixies and Tears for Fears, the paintings of Frida Kahlo, human anatomy, Twitter, and toilet etiquette:

Life’s a stitch Etsy treasury list:

• hand embroidery-connection no. 1 by marysgranddaughter
• Tears for Fears embroidery – Shout Shout Let It All Out by GraceyMay
• original embroidery by mummysam
• Bicep Muscle Diagram Handmade Embroidery Wall Art by itsastitch
• Subliminal Wall Wear by neawear
• CMYK Color Wheel Cross Stitch by youheartus
• Art Heart – valentine softie. art plush. pincushion. toy by DollsAfterDark
• Lady Marmalade by Moxiedoll
• John Hodgman Tweet Stitch by youheartus
• Embroidered Notebook Paper Love Note by cornflowerbluestudio
• PDF Mini Embroidery Pattern – Vote by wildolive
• Pixies Inspired Embroidery by coppywanna
• sprig – original hand embroidered artwork by Benandi
• stiched paper collage by kspago
• House 2 – Wall Art (6′ x 4′) by donnarule
• Je t’aime Embroidery by naomicayne

Etsy finds: origami fashion

If there is a place for origami in MIT and in space, then there is definitely place for it in fashion:

Origami fashion: folds, ripples, pleats, drapes etsy treasury list:

1. Honeycomb MADE TO ORDER by emilyryan
2. Grey Origami Fabric Necklace by chomelchomel
3. Rippled by MQuin
4. Origami Charcoal Top by LaBronz
5. Origami kurukuru necklace B/W by Homako
6. check print. kimono dolly. soft pleats top. by annyschoo
7. Medium Eggplant Leather Petals by HakNik
8. Pleated Batwing Tunic by emilyryan
9. cropped double t-shirt dress by takeoffyourclothes
10. CUORE Wave Statement Neckpiece – Cowl – Snood – Scarf in Pebble Grey by giia
11. Origami Curve Tunic Black color by isabelamyo
12. Red Recycled Origami Clutch by Relogyyy
13. starburst clutch – metallic by yorktownroad
14. Ruffle Dress by lizarietz
15. Ninfea in black. Vegan bag by ninu
16. Folded Top for Fall black white grey by outofline

January wrap up

January has been a month of obsessions.

Obsession number 1: the ephemeral. Unlikely collections, elaborate bento boxes, etsy treasury lists inspired by chalk writings on a blackboard and Polaroid snapshots. We just love the beauty in everyday things that shines for an instance and then quickly vanishes.

Obsession number 2: colors. We’ve spent hours aimlessly searching for flickr images by color. We ‘ve noticed the large gap between how men and women describe colors. We’ve tried to sense colors in their complete absence. And we heard colors synesthetically in the music of John Coltrane.

Obsession number 3: maps. We’ve roamed the streets of New York through Hip-Hop lyrics. We’ve revisited our childhood homes. We’ve compared our countries to the rest of the world. And we finished things off by completely deconstructing the map.

Etsy finds: snap it in an instance

Our obsession with the ephemeral is going strong. And nothing captures the trivial and the ephemeral better than an instant snapshot from a Polaroid camera.

Snap it in an instance etsy treasury list:

1. Polaroid Camera vintage style brass cuff bracelet by uniqueartpendants
2. Polaroid Coaster – Pink Monsta by justnoey
3. remember this album by OneFineDae
4. Aqua Polaroid Plush Camera by onelatenight
5. Polaroid Wood Brooch by craftyfolk
6. We Belong – Polaroid Love Card by lilyjanestationery
7. Polaroid SX-70 ring (Pick Your Color) by cbtscloset
8. Snapshot Necklace – Small by amybsjewelry
9. Snapshot Earrings by amybsjewelry
10. Polaroid postcard by GrandmaAndTheGnome
11. embroidered polaroid pocket journal by nowvember
12. Polaroid Camera Brooch by pannikin
13. Polaroid – iPhone 4 Decor Decal Skin Sticker by decalsworldofapple
14. Giant Coaster Table & Wall Art . Polaroid Camera by blueorder
15. polaroid camera stud earrings by wishbowl
16. Once Upon A Polaroid Brooch by TillyBloom

Etsy finds: put a chalk on it

We’re celebrating the ephemeral in it’s a small web.  What’s more ephemeral than writing on chalkboards?

Put a chalk on it etsy treasury list:

1. Shabby French Country Black Chalkboard Plaque by takintime
2. Your Face Here Chalkboard ceramic silhouette of YOU by cravenhome
3. Magnetic Chalkboard- Black in Unique Silver-Gray Frame by chalknotes
4. The Original Chalk Board Horse – Cassatt by HoundstoothDesign
5. Chalkboard Wall Calendar with Memo – Vinyl Wall Decal by SimpleShapes
6. Steely gray chalkboard skull by iamhome
7. Blackboard, ring by Evrydiki
8. Chalkboard Votive Holders – Set of 2, includes two soy tea lights by ClassyChicBoutique
9. French Country Shabby Chic Italian Glass 1 L Bottle w/ Chalkboard Tag by takintime
10. Chalkboard Black Distressed Pendant Banner System – 5 Piece by letsplaytag
11. Chalkboard Coasters – Set of 4 by ClassyChicBoutique
12. Chalkboard Piggy Bank by artas
13. CREAM Burlap Chalk Cloth Tag – original design – REUSABLE – 4 per set by bluepearls
14. Upcycled Chalkboard Globe by sparrow
15. Chalk Label Storage Jars by Hindsvik
16. Chalkboard Ornament by darlingnikki41