Snapshots from London

Just got back to London late last night. We had a great time overthere, despite having very limited time to walk around the city, taking care of/ keeping company to some elderly relatives. So we stayed mainly in beautiful Islington where we still encountered a few treasures such as these bird houses:

Also went to the recently opened sewing store / cafe Ray Stitch, ran by some ex Selvedge employees:

Couldn't resist these strips of woven fabric which are in fact selvedges from the weaving shop Wallace + Sewell:

I'll probably turn them into pillow covers at some point.

Also got this postcard to post in my studio:

Voila... on these words, heading back to the studio!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A quick hello from Berlin where we are spending a few days in between two weekends in London. Funny to be in a place where you don't understand a word.. We havent found the alternative Berlin yet but are enjoying exploring the city, eating wurst and kraut, drinking gluhwein, walking around the various holiday markets and visiting a few museums (great Saraceno installation there

Really thankful for the opportunity to see this place... and for all the good things that have happened this year, big and small.. Hope you are all having a good thangsgiving! Thanks for visiting, as ever.

p.s.: free domestic shipping this weekend in the etsy store.

p.s.s.: and check all the great offers from other makers on Poppytalk Handmade there

Pod Brookline & Regine Ramseier Dandelion Installation

So many good things at once.. Last week I had the great suprise to be contacted by Julie of Pod, one of my top top top favorite shops EVER... to show her some of my leather accessories. If you ever come to the Boston area, you must pay her shop a visit, it's really one of the most pleasant shopping experience around. Be warned, you will be tempted to buy the store, from Fog Linen towels

to slightly glittery thigh high's

to lavender filled kantha pillows

and now some Stitch and Tickle clutches which picture would go

there

if I hadn't forgotten the camera at the studio :(

To follow soon...

Well,  not only is the shop fabulous, but Julie also has a most inspiring blog where I found this other German artist, Regine Ramseier:

Yep... I can't tell you much more because I don't speak a word of German but you can see more images on Regine's website  here.. And while you are at it, check her whimsical  bra/bug installation there...

Less than a week til Berlin..

November already?

It seems this fall is just flying by and I haven't had much time to post or follow what's going on out there.

Since I last wrote, my sister came to visit from France for 10 days, we had our first snow storm while trees still have leaves, I went to a great opening at the ICA where my friend Niho Kozuru  had a piece included in their  75th anniversary show,

(note: the piece shown is actually not the one shown in the show but I don't have a good picutre of her work there but that should vouch for the quality of her work..)

 I moved my studio to a slightly larger one & one floor up (photos to follow as soon as I can move around..), and I added a few new items to the shop such as those:

I'm looking forward to be settled in my new space to focus on new groupings.

Oh, and here's some eye candy from yesterday's NY Times:

17th Century Tantric drawings

The book looks amazing -you can order it or see more drawings there.

Ok, gotta to go unpack my boxes.. have a good week everyone!

2 Weeks later..

Oh my... Hard to believe it's been over two weeks since I last posted on this blog..where did the time go? Here's a random update:

We went back to beautiful Truro for last week end:

I think it's my favorite time of the year to go there, there's hardly anybody and the light and colors are beautiful.  The weather was so gorgeous we were even able to do some kayaking on the Pamet. Lovely..

I finished a group of bags and smaller leather accessories to bring to the beautiful Michelle Willey store in the South End:

This group is made using reclaimed upholstery leather - super soft!

In my continuing search for German artists, I found this beautiful painting by Ulriche Panhorst (b. 1965 in Germany, lives in Holland) on Art Propelled:

 Found via ArtPropelled:  Ulrike Panhorst; “no 325 watcher and watched

It reminds me of Cy Twombly.

A huge thanks to  Kathryn Clark for showing my indigo  teabag panel in her article on Boros on Handful of Salt:

Make sure to read her article there and to visit her blog regularly if you aren't a regular follower yet; she always finds great fiber artists.

Have a good week everyone!

Stitch and Tickle Bags Featured on Daily Candy!

Yeah! Daily Candy just did a write up on my bags, no better way to start the day!

 

Put Your Money on a Stitch and Tickle Handbag

One-of-a-Kind Leather Accessories

 

'To-do lists. Budget spreadsheets. Calorie-counting apps. Regimen is your mistress — but you’re secretly dying to go rogue.

Sophie Truong sees your need for spontaneity and sews you a leather bag. The designer works from pure instinct to stitch freewheeling yet functional purses, messengers, and clutches.

A onetime Museum of Fine Arts buyer, the self-described bagaholic lit upon her new vocation after failing to find her own consummate carryall. French-born Truong soon sourced soft, colorful cowhide in an NYC fabric shop, and the rest was histoire.

Truong ad-libs as she goes, forgoing patterns for a gut feeling. The oversize, teardrop-shaped black tote has outside pockets for easy access to keys; a ruby pleated satchel has contrasting cream handles. A silver, ribbon-bound iPad case recalls a 19th-century daybook, while the wee red wristlet demands a wallet upgrade.

Each piece is so singular, we bet you violate that yearly accessories allotment. What the hell, right?

Available online at stitchandtickle.etsy.com, $65-$280. "

Sati Zech (German, b. 1958)

I have my mind on Berlin because we decided to go around Thanksgiving (yippeee..), so what better time to post about artist Sati Zech, who I found somehow in blogland (via the Visual Influence blog?)..

“The thick, viscous red-hued paint shaped and scrapped upon strips of naked cloth emanates feelings of femaleness: her power and passion, her cycles and repetitions. The layering, the gluing, tearing and sewing all gives rise to the idea of labor specifically woman’s labor, a kind of thoughtful, painstaking never-ending work that manifests itself in tactile visions of strength, beauty, necessity, serendipity.

The objects are very much themselves, independent and unbeholden to any specific tradition, yet they contain the emotional dynamism of Louis Burgeois, the semantic materiality of Joseph Beuys, the subtle tactility of Eva Hesse and the symbolic charge of African art. "

Source: Howard Scott Gallery

I unfortunately can't read (or speak) German so I can't share much more, but the Howard Scott Gallery is representing her in New York and has some beautiful works on paper:

I find her work so lose and powerful. I've been so focused on making things for the Stich and Tickle store, I don't think I realized how much I miss making art. How beautiful they are..

See more of her work on her website here or at Howard Scott's gallery website there... Way too beautiful for words.


And if you can recommend anything good to see in Berlin or London in November, let me know!

Stitch and Tickle included in Mix Tape Lookbook by Poppytalk

I'm delighted to have my Brown Leather Clutch included in Poppytalk's newest lookbook, Mix Tape.

I'm in awe of the work they put into selecting items and putting these books together, on top of their everyday blog. Thanks Jen!

And there are a few new items in the Etsy store:

Ultrasoft lambskin messenger bag in Wine

Oversized Black Metro Bag

Thank you!

We had fantastic Open Studios last week end with record attendance and very constructive feedback. Thanks to all who came - their continuous support is always greatly appreciated.  For those of you who didn't make it, here's a peek inside my studio, cleaned up - despite what you may think (yes.. it was worse before..):

Stitch and Tickle Bags

Pillows on Stitch and Tickle, Soft Sculptures, Teabag Panel

Soft Sculptures

Soft Sculptures

Hand Knitted Paper Yarn Lamp & Teabag Sculpture / Installation

Panel with dyed doilies (in progress)

Hand Knitted Paper Yarn Panel

Linen window panel

Now back to work...

Miscellaneous treats..

As I started toying with Tumblr and Pinterest in the past few weeks, I've barely had the time to check the my usual favorites, and boy did it feel refreshing to find so much good stuff out there! I am still debating if Tumbler & Pinterest are for me, since it has you browse through millions of images to find a few good ones, and time is so limited...

Anyhow, here are a few of my recent finds from some of the blogs I check regularly:

A beautiful blanket or textile photographed by Carline van Oel via the always inspiring blog Jokemijn

Which led me to discover Carline's blog, Pompoon, where I found pics of the new Mina Perhonen  collection which I wish I was wearing right now:

Via Alabama Chanin, I found this beautiful movie on the making of linen, which I have yet to finish watching...


BE LINEN MOVIE from Benoit MILLOT on Vimeo.

Natalie wants to make one on cotton and I have no doubt she will.. because who wouldn't want her to make one when she can do this with cotton t-shirt material:

And by the way, on top of designing new collections, being a mom, making a third book, she's going through a serious detox to make her look even more fabulous.. (so what's a little film about cotton...)

Ok, that's really only a few but I have to get into the studio and do some work so have a good week end everyone

Lari Washburn: Daily Drawing - The Gallery at Spencer Lofts, Chelsea, MA

I'm delighted & very excited to have Lari Washburn's first solo show here at the Gallery at Spencer Lofts. Over a year ago, Lari started planning for this show setting out to make a drawing a day. This exhibition shows  a selection of the body of work she produced during this past year, adhering to that routine.  Her work evolved significantly from sketchbook doodles, whimsical monkey drawings to large abstact paintings.  You can read more about her process on her blog here, under Drawing Project.

The show  looks amazing: come see it, it opens this Saturday, September 10, 2011, from 6-8pm.
Directions here.