for pockets deeper than mine

Art Youth Society is a creative collective based out of New York, NY. A gold jewelery line was made by the founder, Ays Yuva, to celebrate the launch of Art Youth Society in December 2012. 

Yuva says the jewelry line was inspired by "street savvy women about town: creative, diverse, good-humored and whip-smart."

They sound like my kind of women. 

  
All photos from Art Youth Society. 

very exciting

I follow several vegan Instagram accounts for food inspiration and, through Nom Yourself, I found some very exciting shoe inspiration: Nicora Johns. 

Nicora Johns is an American brand founded by shoemaker Stephanie Fryslie. The brand is a reaction to two things: (i) unemployed American artisans who could be benefiting from having full-time fulfilling work as craftspeople making shoes yet are out of work while Americans spend billions of dollars annually on shoes, and (ii) between the chemicals required to treat leather or make synthetic materials, and the agricultural destruction caused by overgrazing livestock, shoe materials make the top ten list of the world's most polluting industries every year. 

Nicora Johns is a project that hopes to pave the way for an eco-consious and socially-conscious US shoe industry comeback. 

All the shoes are crafted from high quality man-made materials (i.e. they are vegan, people, no animals harmed). Since the shoes are handmade locally and the materials are bought from local suppliers, they are able to make custom sizes for little or no extra cost and the customer can choose custom materials and colours. To add good news to good news, the average price point is under $100.

All photos from Nicora Johns. Shoes can be purchased on Kickstarter.  

put a bird on it

... Or a fox, or a rabbit, or a hedgehog, or some carrots, or a camper van. I don't care, they are all lovely! 

My sweet and charming friend Dan sent me a card in the mail for my birthday from the other side of the country and inside the card was a small square of brown cardstock covered in tiny owl nail stickers created by Kate Broughton. I really dig owls. 

Of course, he managed to find one of the only shops in Canada that sells this stuff so I went online. On Kate's site, you can find all types of lovely things. All the drawings are hers and she handmakes each item. 

rabbit pocket mirror

 cacti writing set

 caravan tote bag 

 

hedgehog notepad

veggie gift wrap 

whales of the world pins 

woodland creatures nail stickers

All images (except the nail photo) from katebroughton.co.uk. Nail photo by me, filter by Instagram.

adventure

Something I keep planted in the back of my mind is to take a sabbatical, load up the van with my (future) young family, and drive away for awhile.

Obviously I am not alone in this. 

Adam and Emily Harteau are artists and are currently engaging in an "experiment in living simply while working to create great things" on the open road with their young daughter. 

Learn more here. Watch the concept video here. See the adventures unfold here (I love "Waking Up" and Con and I have been to Big Sur!). 

All photos from Our Open Road.

is this real life?

There are things that I wish I could do. Like whistle. And draw really well. Draw from my heart and mind. Without an image in front of me to replicate. It is funny how we all have somewhat equal drawing prowess as young'uns but then, suddenly, a rapidly growing disparity between the regular people and the artists develops. 

I read that human beings that produce things with their hands are happier. It has to do with experiencing the fruits of your labour, physically in front of you. 

One artist I want to share with you is a young Frenchwoman named Marynn. I first saw her work about a year ago but something reminded me of it today. I don't know what it is but I love portraits and I love black and grey. You can see in her work that she is young but I had a fine time in high school so I don't mind what it stirs up for me.

Crap, did I just reveal that I don't know how to whistle?

All artwork by Marynn.

ben giles

Category: Things you can buy on Etsy.

A collage-maker and all-around-artist by the name of Ben Giles puts together some clever pieces of art that make me smile. He sells on Etsy and a place called Society 6, both of which seem to have a different selection so check them both out. The i-Phone cases are super neat. Now I just need an i-Phone. 

All art by Ben Giles. He is also profiled on Miss Moss - that woman has really been on it lately...

a beautiful mess

Spring is in the air. And what that means is it smells like barbeque and sunscreen outside. The sunscreen might be in my imagination but I swear I can't walk more than a block without smelling someone else's dinner sizzling.

But what am I doing out and about, really? You know and I know I am hitting the books right now and my jaunt outdoors was in the name of groceries. And maybe a small tea. And maybe a small chat with a friend.

While I am getting my learn on, I wanted to leave you with some craft-inspiration because that is what spring really is about. Creating. Eleven more days, and I will get to join the real world again. You're all invited. 

Enough about me. Meet the babes behind A Beautiful Mess. 

Photo from a beautiful mess. 

le papier

I should probably tell you about these two adorable American girls, who are self-described paper and design enthusiasts, named Bre Radermacher and Emma Robertson. Together, they run this very cool paper shop. Their clean and creative designs make me want to dramatically alter my workspace (which would not be hard since it is currently the living room couch). They have no stores. Place your order online, baby.

Postscript: If you check out Bre's blog, you will see a post about Vancouver's own Strathcona Stockings!

Photos from Our Paper Shop via Miss Moss.

guerilla historians

Fourteen minutes ago I found out about Miru Kim. And I have to share. She is an American-born, Korean-raised artist who studied in Massachusetts and New York. She photographs the underbellies of international metropolises. Her fictional character is naked in order to avoid "cultural implications or time specific elements". She says, "I like doing more than just exploring these spaces. I feel an obligation to animate and humanize these spaces continually in order to preserve their memories in a creative way before they are lost forever." Her series is called Naked City Spleen. She also has worked with film and theatre.

revere sugar, brooklyn

old aqueduct, bronx

les catacombes de paris

river tyburn, london

morgue, letchworth

farm colony, staten island

nursing home, brooklyn

The last image is my absolute favourite.

Images from http://www.mirukim.com/. Quotations from Miru Kim @ 2008 EG Conference, courtesy of TED, "Miru Kim: Making art of New York's urban ruins" (11 December 2008), http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/miru_kim_s_underground_art.html.