Michael Kors
Proenza Schouler
jovovich-hawk
erin fetherston
Derek Lam
Carolina Herrera
Behnaz Sarafpour 
Anna Sui
Adam Lippes
Calvin Klein
3.1 Phillip Lim
Baby Phat
Alice + Olivia
Adam Lippes
Calvin Klein
Heartache Tonight
Second Hand NewsDo you feel like San Francisco is a factor in your designs? - San Francisco is very much a factor in my designs. It is such a wonderful progressive city with such a huge interest in enviromental issues. And it is the birthplace of the whole hippie movement. I started making my clips on the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love- the city was just awash with this crazy vibe.
While we're on the subject, how about sharing some of your favorite San Francisco haunts? - My favorite haunts- Painted Bird (those girls have the best taste). Thrift Town on Mission- they always have such cute stuff. Bernal Heights- my new neighborhood. Cute shops and cafes- lots of babies and dogs. St Francis Fountain- a breakfast joint in the mission. Legion of Honor- a museum specializing in French art overlooking the bay.
To what do you attribute your success on Etsy? - My success on Etsy? I think I've done well because I make things that I'm proud of. Each item is unique and made with love.
Over the Hills and Far AwayIs there anything else we should know about you or your shop? - I really want to make band merch. You can take the girl out of music but you can't take the music out of the girl.
What is your favorite item in your shop right now? - My favorite item? Either my Brandy necklace ( I debate daily whether I should take offline and wear it myself) and my custom feather headdress- I just made one for a lady in New York and they are beautiful.
Brandy You're A Fine GirlWhere can we find your work outside of etsy? - You can find me in SF at Painted Bird, Wasteland, RAG, Still Life and in the East Bay in Pretty Penny, Shark's and Down at Lulu's. I also do the SF Indie Mart once a month and will be at the Noise Pop Trunk Show ( I' m pretty sure).
mel
And second, this cute little owl notebook:
I'm excited to finally be putting new stuff in the old shop. I guess I was just in a big rut after the holidays, but I'm starting to snap out of it. Don't you just love the owl notebook? It's really different from the notebooks I usually make; for starters, it's much smaller, only 3.5" by 4.25" and it only has 46 pages. Also, the cover is just a page from a book, it doesn't have any sort of hard backing. I'm interested to see if/how people respond to it.
I'm trying to make myself do more with flickr these days, everyone always talks about what a great tool flickr is, and I really haven't done all I can to take advantage of it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't find it to be the easiest site to navigate, and my computer at work is very slow at opening it for some reason. But I will give it a chance. I've been uploading pictures to it almost everyday, so if you'd like to see what I'm working on, that's a good place to look.
One last thing; look out for upcoming interviews! I have a couple done that I'm really excited about. They're all ready to post, so look for them in the next day or two!
mel
So, the gist is that these two kids from Connecticut love sweatpants (just like me) and screen print their totes cute designs on to thrifted gear. Or, I guess in some cases, ie the sweatshirt, they applique.
I just finished up a little questionnaire (that I should have done like last week) for another etsy sellers blog, so I will link to that when/if he publishes it. It, in conjunction with writing about Red Sweatpants Blue Sweatpants got me to thinking that I really should be attempting to interview the peeps I'm featuring on here like I promised long ago. I think that would be really cool. So, maybe some day I'll get around to it.
Oh, also, I am going to have to do a professional visitation for my graphic design class before march. I was looking around etsy today to see who I could call and I am pretty excited about my prospects. If you know anyone working in the graphic design industry who would be cool with me asking them some questions and visiting their place of work leave me a sweet little comment and I will be eternally grateful. and comment if you think the blog's new look sucks/is awesome/ could be better/whatevs.
mel
it comes in black and gold and white too, but i think i love orange the best. i wish someone would buy it for me, but it is 96pounds. a lot of money. sigh. it reminds me of a time when i told steve that he smells like dinosaurs.
mel
Yeah, that guy was awesome. And that picture is sooo totally creepy. I'm posting it because I am really sad about last night's game, in which the first contestant to win more than 5 consecutive games in 2 years (or something like that) lost last night. Dan Pawson (I think that was his name, isn't it cute? Makes me think of little puppy paws) was a really good champ, very gracious and only the teensiest bit asshole-y and, at times, painfully dorky. He will be missed. Maybe I'll find a picture to post soon, because he is pretty awesome looking. Like a bear. I hope it's not bad form to write RIP in the title there, since he's not actually dead. I just hope he'll be resting peacefully now that he has all that moolah. That's ok, right?
It's an elk! I wish I had a plain white tshirt to wear this with, because i think that's how it would look best. I think I need to go buy one. But you know, everytime I get a necklace I wish two things: 1) that i ever wore necklaces, and 2) that my neck were slimmer. 
Hello. It's a polymer clay pepperoni pizza slice pendant with GLOW IN THE DARK CHEESE! I think I need to also buy one for myself because it pretty much blows my mind with it's amazingness every time I think about it. Actually, you know what? I just did. Buy it, that is. I mean, come on, how could I not?
These are all by featherwitch. The shop has all kinds of feathery things, like things for your hair and other things but I like the earrings the best. Which is kind of strange, because I didn't expect that I would be drawn to these kind of hippie-ish accessories, but, there you go. The pictures they have of the feathers against hair look really pretty. Oh, and also the store is based in San Francisco, which is also cool.
It's tough and western-y but girly at the same time. I think I've always been a tooled leather fan. Luckily, it's too expensive for me, because I think it would probably make Steve throw up. 
The thing about this movie is that it is SOOOOO long. It's like three hours long. The other thing about this movie is that it has the best fight scene in cinema history. I used to give that distinction to Class, with Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy, but The Big Country's fight scene is in a whole other category. It's in a whole other galaxy for that matter. Just a The Big Country is an almost ridiculously long movie, the fight scene, between Peck and Heston, is ludicrously long. As you're watching it and it's going longer and longer you're thinking, "what the heck is going on? This is insane. How much longer can I watch these two grown men tussling about in the dim light of evening? There hasn't been a close up since this thing started." But as it goes on and on and on you slowly come to realize that it is the greatest fight scene ever comitted to film. I can't explain it. You just have to watch it. I know I haven't been painting the most flattering picture of the movie, but it is one the best movies I've watched this year. So, to recap, I am recommending Pandora.com, Big Country the band, and The Big Country the movie. Now it's all up to you.
mel
I really like this one, it's from this really old atlas (1942!) that I bought a long time ago, but I had never used before. I am really happy with how they turned out, I think they look really great. You can see that I did these a little differently than usual, they have "wrap around" covers and I think they're cool. And since the maps are interesting because they are so old; the world looked pretty different then. I think on this one you can see that there was no Vietnam yet, it was called French IndoChina. These would be perfect for history buffs, they would really get a kick out of them I think.
Not too much else going on, just chugging away making books and knitting a lot. In fact, I taught Steve how to knit! It's pretty cute. He asked me to teach him, I think, because he can't stand that there is something I'm good at that he can't challenge me at. He's very competitive. And I'm happy to report that he's doing really well, he's picking it up very quickly. All my success with teaching people how to knit tempts me to start offering lessons on craigslist or something. Steve is the seventh or eighth of my friends that I've taught the knitting basics, but probably it's different teaching your friends than it is teaching strangers. It's something to think about though, I guess.
Oh, just one more thing. I've been really enjoying this blog lately: mccain blogette. It's written by John McCain's daughter, who is on the campaign trail with him, riding the "straight talk express" or whatever his bus is called. Don't be scared, this is NOT a political blog, it is pretty much 100% fluff, but Ms. McCain is strangely winning. And she has the cutest clothes. But mostly I like it because it is a look at campaigning from a point of view that someone like me (early 20s, female, not particularly interested in politics) can appreciate. And it makes John McCain look really likable, which is a feat; you would think the McCain peeps would be pimping it a little harder, they could probably win some lady voters.
mel
mel
