A day at the Open Market.

Market day began at 6:30 this morning. It was still dark outside, and I was still half asleep. But as soon as people arrived the rush of excitement took over. It was a good day for MAKE.GOOD studio. Tonight I'm home and tired and happy. Another day of knowing that everyday is a new and amazing experience!

Sometimes, it takes a friend.

It has been a week filled with mistakes and mishaps. Fortunately, from them came a few successes. Yesterday I finally finished the Envelope Bag which has been in the making for some time. Today, the Cuff Bracelet was born.

A few days ago by amazing friend Rebecca called to share with me her thoughts on a new accessory. It came to her one morning that I should do a cuff bracelet, something pretty, but modern and inexpensive so that every girl could have a fabulous accessory from the MAKE.GOOD collection. It was brilliant! And so I took the idea back to the studio to work out the details.
The Felted Wool Cuff Bracelet is my version of pretty, just enough detail to catch the eye, yet understated and unabashedly modern.

The Cuff also works perfectly with the new Envelope Bag! I can't wait to debut them both at the SOWA Open Market this sunday, October 24th!!! Let me know if your coming by.

A new bag in the making.

It's always fun and challenging to develop a new bag. The ideas usually brews for a while in my brain before materializing into what, at first, is a rough version of what I intended. But with refinement and detail and a lot of patience, something does eventually emerge.
In the case of the Envelope Bag it has been in the works for awhile. It started a couple of years ago when a coworker and friend moved away to Seattle. I wanted to make something unique as a gift for her. How to capture the personality and character of a person in a bag?
Katie is bright and spirited, but at heart a workaholic and super organized. The Envelope Bag was born from the idea that a fun carry-all in bright summer colors could double as a corporate envelope to carry papers or go along on an interview.
Then last year another friend, Alyson, saw a photo (above) of the Envelope and wanted one. So a bit of refining and reworking, the second iteration of the bag emerged. Very similar to the first, but the proportions got refined a bit and the materials also changed to work for winter.

The result is an elegant, but still fun bag that seems more appropriate for that interview I mentioned. We are in Boston after all and not the beach, so Charcoal Felted Wool accented with a pretty bright orange detail is just perfect! The final step will be the custom stencil to complete the bag. I'm struggling with this decision. I love the leaf pattern, but keep wondering if it will still work with the more stark, serious fabric. Maybe the contrast is just what it needs... After all, life often is a lovely combination of both.

A new camera to see the world with

The Blackbird Fly 35mm TLR Twin Lens Reflex Camera is the latest little gadget to catch my fancy. You may remember at the beginning of this year I got the gift of a lovely Lumix LX3. A wonderful digital camera that is not only intuitive to use, it takes great pictures without much effort. I use it to take all the photos for this blog.

What it can't do is replicate the feel of a photo taken on film. This beauty promises atmospheric photos bursting with color and character. It also has a few super cool features; square format capability, double exposure option and the ability to expose the entire film to the edge! (check out these results!) I'm in love! Of course there is human factor to consider, and with my photographic abilities being limited at best, I'm wondering if the results would be worth the investment. For now I'll remain content to look at the gorgeous photos that others have taken with this bold looking little camera. Have you ever used one of these?...do you love it?

(Images from Amazon.com)

An evening of handmade art at West Elm

Last night I ventured up to the Fenway area to attend the West Elm Handmade Art Event. This pop up shop featured local artists showing their wears among the loveliness of the West Elm Collection. I was greeted at the door with a Boston Iced Tea and 20% off card to use on a later purchase. I was smiling already.
As I strolled sipping my tea, already being familiar with West Elm's products, I search and searched for the artists who's work I had excitedly come to see. It took a while to find the first, and this a while longer to find the second. In total, there were about 9 artists present with a small, but lovely selection of work on display. There were stationers, printmakers, a soap maker and jewelry designers. But it wasn't until I arrived at artist Alli Herrmann's table that I got really excited.

(Golden Glow2010encaustic4"x4")

Her beautiful and tiny little gems of layered seeds and wax are lovely in their translucent, almost underwater quality. I bought one of these encaustic pieces immediately for fear of the few that were left would be gone by the time I made the rounds.

Another favorite of the night was the fellow Jamaica Plain-er rennes. The designer's sensibility to line and detail was spot on and her use of bright color was something I identified with.
I spent a fun few hours chatting and browsing and eating mini crab cakes that were too delicious. It's nice to see handmade goods coming so far as to gain the attention of a design giant like West Elm. The future is looking bright for the handmade nation and I'm so glad I get to be a part of it!

A new direction

A one year anniversary happens and suddenly I want to change things...
I have been guiltily plotting to take my blog in a new direction. It has been feeling somewhat insular and devoid of tidbits the world offers that inspire and motivate my creative process. After all, nothing comes from nothing. I'm a big believer in that statement and have deciding to share more of the inspiring somethings that fleetingly pass me by or have been lingering for years.
I am also hoping to make this a more interactive forum, one that invites comments and feedback, something that has also been sadly lacking this past year.
So, to start, let's talk about flowers!
Winter is coming. I can feel it in the crisp air of night, and see it in the rusting of the leaves.
Spring seems too far away and fresh flowers a thing of distant memories. To me, these flower arrangements capture this fleeting moment between blooming warmth and the deep freeze to come. Which is your favorite?

(Via WeddingAces)

(Via Modest Craft)

(Via ModernGardener)

(Via Design*Sponge)

Is that me in the window?

A couple of days ago, strolling down Center Street, window shopping my favorite spots, I look up and see my Saddle Bag perched on a "man"-equin's hip, peeking out from under a very cool jacket! Of course, I know my bags are at Salmagundi, my favorite shop in JP, but seeing one there in the window was unexpected and so exciting!

If your wondering, 02130 is the zip code in JP! Fun and graphically cool too.