Heavens to Etsy

2010-07-20T11:47:00.002-04:00

Drum Roll Please!!!!

2007-11-13T11:17:00.000-05:00

Ahh, Thanks to jury duty, wifi, and an impending sense of guilt, here I am posting about my fav Etsians again! Thank you very much folks! Glad to be back. So I have something feisty to return with: In the right corner we have..(drum roll please!) tinkerer extraordinaire Mike Burnett and his masked toy Men!!!
WOW... well..ok, they aren't all masked. They are an odd assortment of Mexican Wrestler, old man on the corner, and Atari figure gone mad. They are wonderful.. so go.. put your dukes up and take a look-see!

And don't forget to take a look at his packaging.. that makes me even more of a smitten kitten!

Family Love

2007-11-13T08:46:00.000-05:00

I know, Its probably not the best idea to do a post about someone in my family. The chances of being blinded by love and not seeing poor quality are great, but in this case I know family love has no influence. My sister has started her own Etsy site and it is great! Full of photographs with a vintage aesthetic. The prints are lovely and affordable. And as quite a few wonderful people out there in the design blog world have mentioned recently....She is one Talented Chic!

So without further ado: Raydel Photography

ps- a little birdie told me there will be some originals in the shop soon too! So be sure to check back!

Oh, and take a quick look at what some other people are saying:
Decor8
and here

reduce, reuse, recycle: remake

2007-10-15T23:47:00.000-04:00

It's late, but it's still blog action day and since we could use some serious street cred I thought it only appropriate to do a quick green post. It helped that I knew exactly what I was posting about too... remake who's philosophy is quite simply "to create beautiful things using mainly salvaged and recycled materials". While I keep my fingers crossed for another round of font mini notebooks there are still plenty of fresh used paper products to tide me over.

PoppyTalk Handmade! Our first -Out of Etsy- Post!

2007-10-15T09:52:00.000-04:00

We certainly aren't the only ones loving all things Etsy. With more than a million users Etsy is a force unto itself. One of the problems with searching through a million users is the amount of time it takes. Thats why we started Heavens to Etsy. To talk about our favorites and share our love of our favorites with others.

Well, Jan over at PoppyTalk took that idea one step further this month when she opened PoppyTalk HandMade, an online collection of some of the best artisans and crafters out there. You don't actually buy work though Poppytalk Handmade, it's more like a gallery with direct links to the artists themselves.. Now how nice is that? Oh, Most of the artists are Etsians (although not all) and Jan has a wonderful eye for the most lovely items.. so check out her site and her blog and be sure to go back again and again because she'll be changing it up every month from here on out!

..and in the spirit of full disclosure I have to mention that my little shop is in the mix as well.

campfire and scary story optional

2007-10-11T11:53:00.000-04:00

Well the cool weather has finally kicked in here and I'm finally feeling fall again. Witches got me thinking about Halloween! I think Owly Shadow Puppet's are a much better treat than candy! The angry bat pack will add the perfect touch to your front door 'spook'orations.

Quiet Hushed Voices

2007-10-10T09:33:00.001-04:00

That title is from the lyrics of a song, isn't it? Well, those were the first words that came to mind when seeing these lovely prints by isofoto. This might date me, but I have to say: they feel like vignettes from my childhood. Beautifully curated groupings of polaroids of everyday objects from the 70's. One look and I am in the back seat of my Grandparents Dodge Aspen, riding cross country on a soft focus road trip. My Grandmother is whispering, 'look Jenny, look out the window, isn't it beautiful?"...

To see more, take a good look at the work of Ally and Rob right here. Oh, they also have a site outside of Etsy with many more images: Robert Reader Photography

Glühmonster, Glow!

2007-10-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how I overlooked NuitBlanche - one of my first Etsy favorites. Well friends Caroline Gaedechens art is all up for sale on etsy and I can't get enough of it. Illustration, sculptured magnets, and dolls that are all beautifully creepy together. The plush dolls and monster magnets glow-in-the-dark (hence "Glühmonster")

Her astesthic is fringe, but contains a mythology I'm always a sucker for: strange European folk lore with dark fairy tale twist (and no happy ending). For instance of the Mandragora doll she writes:

The mandrake or mandragora is a root dating back thousands of years, which was covered with mysterious and wonderful legends over the ages. The plant grows natively in southern and central Europe, especially on uncultivated fields and stony wastelands.
The belief was, that the mandragora would hide when men approached it, and it was very dangerous to pull the plant from the earth, because it would let out a horrible shriek, that could deafen or even kill somebody.
To avoid that fate, a black dog should be tied to the plant and lured with some food to pull the root from the earth.
The person, who wanted to possess the root, would plug his ears, and the scream would kill the dog instead.

Ps: I'm a little reluctant, on the heals of yesterdays view into my medicine cabinet, to share another side note, but here goes: if you dig this mandragora mythology momobo, you should check out a movie by Jan Svankmajer called Little Otik (Otesanek). Enjoy!

Mothers Little Helpers

2007-10-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

It's not news to my nosy house guests, but since you probably haven't been over to my apartment you might not know that I'm borderline OCD about the way my medicine cabinet looks. I pretty much have a strict rule about no labels in the bathroom (serenity now) so if I can't coax the label off at Target, it's usually not coming home. Now, personal neurosis aside, I have to say I would make the happiest of exceptions for byreed's etched pill bottles. They come with such drug appropriate quotes as: Mothers Little Helpers, Heartache, Someday I won't need these anymore, and many more! Placebo or not, I feel better already!

Heavens to Betsy! We've gone shopping!

2007-09-30T20:43:00.000-04:00

Yup, it's true, we're both going to be gone all this week for some much needed R&R (and of course that includes a little shopping). Check back next Monday, October 8th as we get ready to kick off the early bird holiday shopping season with new posts! See ya soon!

Ode to Fall...

2007-09-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

Oh Fall how I've missed you.
Your crisp air and fresh apple pie.
The brilliant colors your bring to the trees.
The friends you bring back to me...
My Office staff.
My doctors at Seattle Grace.
I don't thank you enough and I'm sorry.
Summer gets most of the glory,
but you bring so many wonderful gifts!
Like your early darkness
so I can see my TV glare free.
I wish I could celebrate your return
with a lovely flat screen
and this cabinet from MeliaDesignUK.
But alas,
only my avatar can afford either!

Pot Luck

2007-09-26T08:07:00.000-04:00

As Kit mentioned below, our posts have been influenced by some recent personal events. In keeping with that theme I'd like to focus a little on the things that people do to help those in their times of need. As long as I can remember the first thing to be done when someone had a family tragedy was to cook: casseroles to be frozen for later- for the those with loved ones in the hospital, rolls for the table after a funeral, sandwiches for the road- for those traveling for family matters. As my husband made a wonderful beef stew for my Grandfather the other night, I searched for something to place it in for the trip. My gladware container though...well, they just left me with a bit of a extra sadness on a rough, rough day.

So here I am, filled longing for the potluck containers of days gone-by. Vintage is alive and well on Etsy, and those lovely old containers can still be found. Buy one, or two, and connect with the ones you love in tough times.

You can find them {and an old time sense of connectedness} here.

Fractured Vertebrae

2007-09-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

It seems lately our posts are very influenced by everyday life and this one is no different. It goes straight out to Jens grandmother, who's fractured vertebrae has landed her in rehab (Get well soon Mary Jane!). While most of Tresijas work seams geared towards the cute crowd, I find the 'LP's Remastered' jewelry to be quite lovely. I think the Twisted Vertebrae Recycled LP Pendant would make a nice protective amulet for Gram — don't you!

interconnectedness

2007-09-24T08:08:00.000-04:00

The amazing thing about the internet is that sometimes {although very rarely} the very thing you are looking for finds you, just when you take a break from looking. I've had a tough time lately, finding specific items on Etsy: I go looking for something (say, a really modern looking quilt) only to find that I am searching for hours. Well, imagine my surprise when out of the blue someone comments on a post here on Heavens to Etsy, and I decide to take a look at their site only to find it is PERFECTION.

Working Class Heroes is a team of 2 from Austria who make THE most lovely utilitarian objects. Leather and felt Laptop wallets, Compact camera bags, ipod cases.. all are lovely and {from the photographs} the quality is impecable. To top all that lusciousness off their Etsy site is incredibly well put together and their personal site is Amazing.

GO, Shop, let us all be working class heroes..

Thank You! {the flu has left the building}

2007-09-21T06:35:00.000-04:00

Well, by now you all know I've been sick for the past week and a half or so. ITs been a miserable, miserable time. Get your flu shots kids! Do it NOW! Well, to celebrate my first night to actually sleep 4 hours straight without getting up to hack my lungs out I have a little something special for my friend KIT. Most of you might not have heard this little~known secret about my counterpart: he LOVES fonts. His nickname for the first four years I knew him was FontBoy. And yes, you DO have to say that with a special lilt in your voice ... ugh - huh.. you know the one. Just like SUPERMAN. FOnt BOY!

Fontboy has been extra special nice to me over the past week, so this post is for him. I think I might have found someone who likes fonts just as much as he does...

caution: pigeon sh*t

2007-09-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Living in New York I deal with my fair share of pigeons. I guess it was the blend of the iconic "I (heart) NY" logo with one of those things you hate about new york (pigeons) that immediate drew me to Kate's Shop's "I (heart) pigeons" pins. Kate's Shop (by UK illustrator Kate Sutton) doesn't have a mess of items, but the dozen or so that are up are pure genius (i mean come on: stuffed pirate pigeons!).

Ps: Pigeon's aside how cute are the 1" monochrome camera pins mounted on a kodak photo lab card! ADORABLE!

I've been ill..

2007-09-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

And the best thing I can think of when I'm sick is a good quilt to curl up under, so I can concentrate on the cozy business of resting to get better. So, while sniffling in my bed I thought the perfect thing to do would be to search Etsy for some comforting covers. Etsy would be a hotbed of crafty quilts, right?? Surprise! Would you believe I had to search through hundreds of pages until I came across these? So I'm putting the shout-out too all you Denise Schmidt style quilters... Etsy is a nearly untapped market!

In the mean time, check out these lovelies from Shelece's Etsy shop. Now these quilts are so beautiful they could force out even the nastiest bug. She only has 3 in stock at the moment, but aren't they beautiful?? I know I'm going to be checking back to see what else she comes up with in the future...

Better than jello and ginger ale

2007-09-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Jen's been a little under the weather lately and I think I found just the thing to cheer her up: the paintings and prints of Portland artist Betsy Walton. Her paintings remind me of two artists I know Jen (and I) love: Charlie Harper and Henry Darger.

I Don't Cook!

2007-09-14T09:23:00.000-04:00

But my husband sure does. He is one mad-scientist in the kitchen and I love to outfit him with anything that supports his crazy cooking ways. After-all, we do need to eat around here. All I ask is that we do it with style. And Purpose Design is the place to go on Etsy. I love all their sets and might consider them as a gift someday soon!

Mid-Century Home Sweet Home

2007-09-13T08:06:00.000-04:00

Well, I am so happy Kit is back from vacation that I am celebrating with thoughts of home too. Even though my version of home lacks a mustache and the bitter sentiment (Which I SO LOVE, btw) I have some great ingredients to throw into the mix...

Now its no secret that my favorite home-furnishing aesthetic is mid-century modern with good dose of nature included. Well, no one depicts that better than Jill Dryer. Her paintings are a treasure: full of beautifully designed furniture and charming creatures. I already have two up in my studio, but can imagine a grid of 8 or 12 as being a wall of perfection. You can see more of her work here at her Etsy Shop, and be sure to check out her personal site too.

A little added note for those of you in the LA area: From Oct.6 ~ Jan.8 the Orange County Museum of Art is presenting an Exhibition called:"Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Mid-Century". Focusing on Mid-Century art, architecture and design, it looks to be a wonderful show. If you are in the area be sure to take a look, and don't forget to browse the Museum store where several of Jills Paintings will be for sale!

home sweet home

2007-09-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to be back from vacation and finding new Etsy treasures. But does a trip home really ever count as 'vacation'? If you're like me, a week at home is more than all it takes to remind you why you don't live there anymore. I guess that's what drew me to these hand panted vandalized vintage plates by trixie delicious. They're so "Multi-family Yard Sale" it hurts (and it hurts so good). It's like Apartment Therapy meets Mom's dinning room walls.

Link warning: Mullets

baby food

2007-09-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I get back from vacation and my first thought is "what no baby posts". After Jen's shout out on apartment therapy I thought that she'd be all over the other delightful baby makin's on Etsy. So if Jens modern design isn't your cup of tea, peep these crocheted cuties... i hate to say it, but Chet and Dot's sweetly crafted "happy cappiccino" and "happy/sad creamsicle" are so cute I want to eat them up!

Embodied Grace.

2007-09-10T10:45:00.000-04:00

Sara Palomas vases are perfection. I know what you are thinking: What a bold, bold comment! How can you be SO sure? Well, I reply, just LOOK at them! Look at the lovely forms, the tall tapering necks like swans, the rounded bottoms. Graceful and elegant, yet somehow fertile and very very womanly....

Shhhh... Its a soft, quiet world.

2007-09-09T10:12:00.000-04:00

Soft and quiet: Those are the first two words that comes to mind when seeing Hadley Huttons artwork. In a world where the hard edged vector program illustrator has defined a large segment of visual aesthetics, there emerges a new softness in this lovely, lovely work. They seem very soft focus, atmospheric, almost velvety, in appearance. Reminiscent of ancient Chinese watercolors, yet infused with a modern color palette, with references to that aforementioned hardness, and other modern subjects {birds, deer, flowers}, they are nothing less than charming.

Not Your Typical Couch Painting

2007-09-07T06:27:00.000-04:00

So often, we look for the standards in art: prints, painting, photographs... Things that are framed and cherished, kept for years, mobile from house to house, protected in their glass and wood framed enclosures. Well,.....EllyNelly, a mother and daughter team from New York and Australia respectively, say bully to that! Their self-adhesive wall designs are clever and stylish, and oh- so easy to use. I love the birds on the window, and the fluid vines of flowers erupting from the base boards. So put the art directly on the wall: Be Brave.

Open letter to William Wegman

2007-09-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Mr. Wegman,

Remember the 90's? I do. I used to like it when you would pose your dogs in simple setups. However your recent onslaught of children's book have taken your poor dogs to Anne-Geddes-levels-of-nausea-inducing-cutesyness. You could take some inspiration from mareikeauer's simple monochromatic prints. i think the weimaraner's are crying out for something elegant and simple again (see mareikeuer painting Dogbird below).

Best regards,
Kit

The Beauty is in the Details

2007-09-06T06:40:00.000-04:00

We both studied photography in school. Actually, between Kit and my husband (who helps out here by critiquing work over my shoulder) and me we have a combined 23 years of photo school. Although none of us wanted to become commercial photographers we all still share one thing: a passion for the art of photography. For me, a classic Black and White photo, with amazing tonal range, and an elegant composition, is where it is at. And simple subjects, the things we pass by each day and may never view as beautiful until they are taken out of context, are always winners. The modernists created the dogma decades ago, and lucky for all of us, there are some still practicing today. Visit tiinateaspoon's Etsy shop to see the perfect example.

Leigh Wells, illustrator extrordinaire, joins Etsy!

2007-09-05T06:35:00.000-04:00

She has had work in every major magazine you can think of, and it is all so very, very good. Now you {lucky, lucky YOU!} can buy an original here, at an affordable price! Go, look, and buy. And if you're extra lucky you might come across your new purchase on the pages of a magazine while waiting at the doctors office or dentists sometime in the future. Now wouldn't that be a nice surprise?

Steps back in time...

2007-09-05T06:16:00.000-04:00

Candyland, my Grandmothers sewing patterns, an old color photo where everthing is just the slightest bit flat and the date is stamped in tiny black numbers along the side of the white border. They are scraps from all of our pasts and MaizieJane paints them in luscious oil paints, each and every one is an original. No reproduced prints here. What her Etsy shop lacks in quantity she makes up for in distinct high quality. A quick hello from her yesterday promised more to come though! I will be waiting excitedly!

Rocking Sketchbooks & Journals by Tyler Bender

2007-09-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

I love my moleskin but I would be pleased as punch to log my work meeting notes in one of these recycled books from Tyler Bender. Especially "The Origins of Evil". Or if your not into rocking the boat around the office, bookmaker and cutie-patootie Tyler will let you send in your own book to be converted. So while everyone thinks you're reading Proust (or whatever else will win you big points around the water cooler) you can be doodling away!

The Simple Things

2007-09-03T23:44:00.000-04:00

There are some images that you want to take into your life and make your own. To have those experiences, those interactions. Blogging has led to the creation of an entire segment of the population who Art Directs their lives. They make the beauty of everyday. Jennifer Causey goes a step further and sells her brilliantly simple, elegantly framed vignettes. and I, for one, wouldn't mind buying in....

Lowbrow and Lip Gloss...

2007-09-02T22:01:00.000-04:00

I grew up in the 70's and 80's and I seem to remember talking about Playboy with some of my friends during those formative years. The consensus of our young female minds? Most of our fathers had them hidden somewhere in the basement, or garage, or under the bathroom sink: and we were all intrigued, repulsed, and impressed by the level of lip gloss and feathered bangs. Times sure have changed but I think that dichotomy sure hasn't. Mr. Smuttons understands... and little 70's and 80's girls nod our heads right along with him.

Hello Stranger, Fall is coming

2007-09-01T23:07:00.000-04:00

Well, It is official. September is here...soon there will be leaves, falling and blowing, in nearly every location but mine. For as long as I can remember Fall has meant New York: walking hand in hand in Central Park, Kicking leaves with my main sweetie. The crisp air, the cooling of skin and hands warmed only by holding. Sigh....I live in Florida, and won't be able to visit New York this fall, at least not in person. I am going to settle for 2nd best: One of DKIMS prints. Enjoy!

Vladmasters handmade ViewMasters

2007-08-30T11:00:00.001-04:00

If you're too young you probably didn't have a stack of ViewMaster disks like I did. But none were as surreal and avant-garde as these "Vladmasters" sets designed, photographed, and hand-assembled by Vladimir. They make use of toys, neglected household objects, and other miscellany to tell 28-picture stories. I'm sure I'd like them all, but from the stills my favorite is "Actaeon at Home":

Actaeon, to the ancient Greeks, was a hunter unlucky enough to get a good look at Artemis bathing naked amongst her nymphs. For his trespasses, Actaeon was transformed into a stag and then devoured by his own hounds. Our Actaeon is a small man in a room with striped wallpaper and antlers and a typewriter and a collection of Currier & Ives prints. It seems that he is being attacked by his surroundings. Later, there is a train chase.

The dreamy photos of Alicia Block

2007-08-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

Am I feeling nostalgic for the end of summer this week or what. I have to admit that I find these photos by Alicia Block to be quite lovely. They are like breezy memories of a soft pastel dream.

Baroque Modernism for the new millenium

2007-08-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

I know summer is practically over, but Jasper Van Grotel's "Plastic Fantasitc" indoor/outdoor furniture for ModernFront should have you looking forward to next summer already. So start saving your pennies cause you're gonna want to update that drab patio for some kick-ass parties and design this vibrant doesn't come cheap.

Moody Monday: Prints with an attitude

2007-08-27T07:44:00.000-04:00

They have big eyes and short skirts, pouty lips and ruby cheeks, and they are the lovely, lovely characters of ' The Black Apple'. Emily Martin is a very focused painter who has captured the heart of many an Etsy shopper .

Check out her shop, and start out your work week right: With a little attitude!

Faux Friday: Everyone needs a Log

2007-08-24T14:26:00.000-04:00

These cast log's by something hiding in here are faux-tastic and so (k)not wood. So save a tree and pick up a few. Perfect for summer fireplace displays.

ES Designs : Jewelry by Elizabeth Scott

2007-08-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

With the proliferation of jewelry makers on Etsy you would think it would be hard to choose an immediate favorite. Not so! ES designs was the first that came to mind. And the quality of her work is only one part of the puzzle that makes her Etsy shop so successful. She has the whole package: lovely work, beautifully photographed pieces, clear information, a nice banner, a cohesive page and fabulous feedback...

Obviously inspired by nature, she creates hand- wrought rings, earrings, and necklace pendants that are somehow both elegant and earthy. You could imagine these in an artists shadow box as well as on your ring finger. An added bonus, each purchase arrives in a beautifully packaged gift box. How could you resist?

To see more work and hear her daily goings on, check out Elizabeths blog.

Make everyday... fabulous!

2007-08-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

Aaron Thomas has many hand made pillows but this little guy caught my eye as being much more than a your average pillow. It's a cozy little faux suede pick-me up!