written September 17th, 2009 ·
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I was in the Etsy email! Oh yeah! I was actually online for alllll to see:) There was an Etsy newsletter that was sent out entitled All Over The Map where they feature a few sellers from chosen cities around the world. And this time, they chose Berlin! And guess who was featuered?!?! As soon as I saw Berlin in the email my heart was pounding so fast, I was wishing and hoping and yes, I was there! Then before my eyes, as I was online an old friend of mine snatched up the earrings that were featured:) My 4th sale. So yes, that was the best part of my Tuesday. You can now find my feature on Etsy’s blog here. Documentation:
My earrings among some other fun Berlin sellers.
I check this website craftcult everyday to see if I have been featured anywhere in the Etsy world and it finally says something other than ChicHandmades is not featured… when I check it. What a nice feeling:)
Posted in My Jewelry
written September 16th, 2009 ·
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So yesterday was a very exciting day! In the morning I was actually feeling a bit overwhelmed because I am juggling a few things on my plate right now. I am trying really hard to get my jewelry sold in a few shops in Berlin. My process for this includes walking around the city visiting shops to see if my jewelry will fit in and then usually calling back afterwards because the bosses aren’t there to make any decisions. I’ve also been trying to find some more markets to sell at, so I’ve been visiting them on the weekends. And then last week I was given an exciting offer to teach a Pilates class for 5 weeks while the regular teacher is at a training in Thailand. So I have to learn the class by heart and be able to teach it in German in 6 weeks! And then of course, there is my Etsy shop and my design work for my masters application portfolio, which has been a bit neglected lately. So many things.
Then I went to the yoga studio where I am working now in exchange for free classes and I was talking to the boss and he kind of mentioned that he might want me to teach some classes next year as the studio is expanding and doing really well. I am not getting too excited about it, but it would be a great experience! So that brought my spirits up. And then we had a huge attendance at our vinyasa class that day, when we normally have about 8 in a class. So that was fun and the energy in the class was great! So I really pushed myself and it felt good.
After yoga I went to the art store to buy some supplies for a display stand for my jewelry. A store in my area picked out about 20 pairs of earrings of mine to sell! Anyhow, they were having a 20% off sale a the art store. That made my day even better. I got some fun fluorescent paints and some wood beads to make a crazy huge statement necklace. A girl has got to do some experimental projects once and a while!
I got some paper for my stand and started building it when I got home. I had made a really rough prototype out of paper already, but it was looking seriously weak. So I decided I would attach the Ikea frames I had for selling at the market to the front of my paper constructions. Anyhow, I wanted to do a kind of step by step process for the making of this stand for my blog, but unfortunately I have no step by step process. It was very experimental and I just made the design decisions as I went along, solving problems one by one. So here are some images. This is my very first promotional/presentation stand for my first retailer in Berlin!
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Posted in Life in Berlin, My Jewelry
written September 13th, 2009 ·
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Fabiola Arias is a Cuban born (Miami raised) fashion designer who just recently graduated from Parsons and is showing her collection during New York Fashion week as an installation of still life models. I wanted to post some really beautiful images of her latest collections here and share some of her process and my thoughts.
Her Fall 2009 collection was inspired by the winter in New York, which includes designs that are beautifully textural and sculptural. Combining the contrasting images of fallen leaves and snow with broken glass and rubble from the streets of the city, Fabiola created a chilled palette of black, pine green and silvery beige. Her sculptural dresses are elegant and expressive and her pieces are formed by layers of bunched fabric in an attractively organic way. The fabric resembles an organism that has attached itself lovingly to the wearer’s body, which is what I admire about her work, that it is structural with a deep sense of the body underneath.
Her Spring 2009 collection shows traces of her love of structure and layering as well. She designed a lovely pink top that has bunched fabric clusters along the collar and sleeves, which gives it some weight and then the rest just drapes light as a feather and relaxed down to the waist (see pictures below). A simple yellow mini is transformed into a textural beauty by large stitches that curve around the hip area in a seductive and flattering way. She also worked with a very organic print on a lovely dusty rose colored dress, the form of the dress hovering between structural and amorphous in a feminine and charming way.
Fabiola’s line was picked up by the store Ikram in Chicago (a favorite of Michelle Obama’s) before she graduated and she will be presenting her Fall/Winter 2010 collection in Tokyo. So watch out for this rising talent!
Posted in Fashion, Fashion Fall 2009
written September 10th, 2009 ·
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I had to smile when I found this type sample in my email inbox from Font Shop. This American Life rocks!
Posted in Typography
written September 10th, 2009 ·
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I wanted to post about a few recipes I recently tried out (really simple ones) and some unsuccessful cooking endeavors. First off, here is what we ate last night for dinner. Bruschetta and chicken covered with melted mozzarella, tomato and pesto (homemade).
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Posted in Food
written September 9th, 2009 ·
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I made this last night. It is a collection of some very inspiring products I have come across lately with a bit of a Fall touch. Enjoy! Check it out for the next 2 days on Etsy here and leave comments!
Posted in Etsy Treasuries, Inspiration
written September 8th, 2009 ·
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Ikea Ikea Ikea. Yesterday, my mom brought my attention to the chatter that is going on about Ikea’s typeface change, from Futura to Verdana. She heard about it on NPR. Honestly, I just received the new catalog last week and I flipped through it so fast that I didn’t notice the change. But when I went back and looked at it, I did notice the change, and it stood out so very blatantly.
Futura is one of the most beautiful typefaces ever created and so visually pleasing because of its geometry and symmetry. Ikea has built its identity around this typeface, which reflects the kind of design sensibilities Ikea has in its modern, sleek and simple products. At first glance the catalog set in Verdana looks cheap and totally ordinary. Futura has the ability to stand alone (see first image below) on the page, beautifully, without any frills. A page with text set in Verdana just doesn’t do it for me. The only thing that saves the layouts from completely bombing is that Ikea has good graphic designers. If you are good enough you can typeset any ol’ font.
Take a look. The images are every other old design, new design. The first image is from an old catalog.
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Posted in Typography
written September 3rd, 2009 ·
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I have been bitching a lot lately about bad typography, and I mean baaaaaad typography, so I decided to share a few layouts that make my heart sing. Well, they definitely make my heart pitter patter a little faster. I don’t think I will write individual commentary, instead I will just say up front that I like these layouts for how they treat the page, how they respect the text and are creative with the placement without killing a good idea. I really like when a designer creates a relationship between the heading and the body text and when they incorporate the photographs so that they don’t have that slapped on or “oops I almost forgot these” look. It’s all about respect for the content! Enjoy:)
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Posted in Graphic Design, Typography
written September 2nd, 2009 ·
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Today I rode my bike to Mitte and left flyers that I designed for my jewelry collection at shops in the area. I asked really nicely and told them I made my own jewelry and it was no problem mostly! I left 80 in total. At one shop the girl was really interested and asked what I am making and I showed her the images on my flyer and also the earrings I had on! She was really into them and asked if I would want to sell them at her shop. She would have to clear it with her boss, but that should be no problem, they are always looking for jewelry! This might be my big break!
It was fun walking around Hackescher Markt again. I used to work in that area and I would walk around there a a lot on my breaks seeing what was new in the shops and collecting postcards and free magazines. I came home with tons of stuff today! I left 80 flyers, but I brought back a pile of postcards for earrings, gallery guides, shopping guides, Vice Magazine, Electronic Beats Magazine, Grafik and Style and the Family Tunes. Fun fun! I love getting that boost of energy from having new magazines around. My new issue of IdN magazine just arrived too! I have lots to read and to inspire me now:)
Posted in Life in Berlin
written September 2nd, 2009 ·
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I discovered one of the best, no I have to say the best cookie recipes ever ever ever! I made these World Peace Cookies from the baking book a good friend gave to me after I moved to Berlin. It’s called Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The magic about these cookies is, as she writes in their description, the grainy chocolatey-ness and salty taste! They were super easy, fun and fast to make. Writing about them makes me want to make them again, but then I think about all the food (and desserts!) I ate this past weekend at multiple dinner parties! Maybe I should work out a bit more this week and then make these as a reward:)
Posted in Food
