It’s been a work in progress but the shop is really shaping up! Reclaimed pine countertops are installed, vintage chairs and tables have replaced the dining table (just in time for holiday dinners, too!), and a final installment of shelves are under way. And while Pop was taking care of those things, I’ve been curating a small collection of handcrafted items from some favorite vendors for the season:
Chase Studios: Fellow coffee addict, Heather Ossandon, invited me into her studio to co-design the custom mugs for the shop. She also brought in some of her recent pieces – vases, carafes, mini cups – and has some more exciting things in the works for us. Currently based in Haddonfield, New Jersey, but she’s actually a native of the Medford area where the shop is located. Small world!
Chez Sucre Chez: Kimberly Scola’s “handcrafted miscellany” has been on my fave list for years. Her embroidery work is simple and perfect every time, but she’s been getting some high praise lately from Martha herself with her pretty and functional sewn goods. But I don’t need Martha to tell me that her bowl covers, mulling spices, and other goodies are great, because I already knew that. And it happens to be that this Thornton, Pennsylvania, transplant is yet another native of the shop’s location. Even smaller world!
Melo Studios: I met co-owner Olivia Lotz through Craigslist. After an exchange of quality furnishings, we soon realized our meeting was meant to be – her husband, a contractor, and I started networking for future projects, and I knew I’d find a way to get her candles into my possession (muah-ha-ha). She and her partner, Jess Lee, hand pour each candle in their Germantown studio – not Medford, but still local.
To put it all together, I spent an afternoon with Stacy Jackson at Meadowsweet Vintage in Manayunk poring over her treasures. The various crates and hardware drawers assembled on the wall are from her shop, as well as the Neapolitan flip coffee pots added for good measure. So one wall down, one wall to go!
Tags: ceramics, display, easy, eco-friendly, handmade, interior design, sewing, styling, vintage, wood
Bloom Room debuted a truly revolutionary line of high quality furniture… for pets. The French line, called Chimère, consists of a rocking birdcage, a kitty litter box, a “sofa” for small furry friends, fishbowl, and a hutch for even smaller furry friends (think bunnies, hamsters, and mice), appealing to lovers of all creatures, great and small. My favorite is the hutch because so little attention is ever paid to the habitats of tiniest furballs, often left to live in mud rooms and other places only seldom visited by its owners (I’m referring to the children who pinky-swore they would take care of a new pet).
Perhaps what us good parents need is a better way to incorporate the family pets into our living spaces… and add a not-so-subtle reminder to feed or clean the cage before picking up the remote. Chimère‘s sophisticated dwellings offer a new perspective on making all the members of your family live in harmony and beauty.
Via Fast Company
Tags: handmade, pets, wood
Stacking Tracy’s Trestles by studiomama: great for table legs or a perch by the counter. Bonus points for stacking up and keeping slim.
Tags: chair, furniture, wood
Here’s another little gift idea: Sanna Annukka’s new Soul Bird, handcrafted in England from sustainably-sourced oak.
In Karelia there was an ancient belief in the Sielulintu or Soul bird. The Sielulintu was thought to deliver the soul to newborn babies and also to transport the soul to the afterlife at the moment of death.
It was believed the Sielulintu protected a persons soul at it’s most vulnerable; when dreaming, and it was tradition to keep a carved wooden bird by the bedside to keep the soul safe during sleep.
Tags: art, handmade, heirloom, sustainable, wood
Pixelated sculpture by Shawn Smith, made with balsa wood, ink, and acrylic paint. Awesome, eh?
via Anthology
Tags: art, sculpture, wood
Nope. I have no good excuse for leaving you the way I did. I even went and joined the 21st century and got internet on my phone when Verizon and Apple finally hooked up. Rather than be submerged in constant interwebbing and social networking, I’ve been overwhelmed. I’d blame it on the winter blues, but Jersey has had some fine 60+ degree days. So we begin a new month and I’m pushing myself to at least do the bare minimum, hoping to sprint past and maybe accomplish something on my resolution list. I did bake nutritious oat bran muffins today – that counts, right?
Oh yeah, I decked out my pretty new phone with a white bumper and a walnut skin from Recover. I usually go with the basic free one when my plan allows an upgrade so I feel spoiled with such a cool new gadget!
Tags: etsy, technology, wood
Hello. I'm Jamie. Welcome to my happy place – where past meets present for meaningful design.