I don't do gift guides & shopping posts (though I enjoy reading them) & I'm certainly not paid for anything I recommend. Occasionally, though, I like something so much that I do link to it. I've loved Canadian Irene Suchocki's photographs on flickr for ages, enough to click 'contact.' People use her photographs quite a lot without mentioning that she has an Etsy shop, Eye Poetry. {finger wag}
Eye Poetry features three calendars this season & some discounted prints; there's a Cyber Monday discount on other prints as well. These are excellent prices, though, even without the discounts. Her subjects are like a round-up of what-I-love. Italy & France, animals, New York, fairy lights, carousels.
The holiday order deadline is past for Europe (& obviously Australia:) but as I said on Giulia Geranium, subscribe to the idea of the Twelve Days of Christmas & relax, man. The deadline for the States is the 5th, Canada, the 6th. Love those calendars. This bridge in Central Park is featured on a small black & white vintage-photograph holiday card that I've sent twice. I really love these, too, though they are mass-produced.
Cheers all...
(photograph by Irene Suchocki)
I cannot take a man seriously if he does not own a real coat. This bothered me way before Mad Men was a twinkle in Matthew Weiner's eye. I'm tired of walking amongst 6' tall toddlers. If you are a Canadian lumberjack (I just looked at Googley-tube Analytics, eek), no offense. You shouldn't be reading this anyway. It's not (or shouldn't be) a class thing. My maternal grandfather was a steelworker & he always wore a coat & hat. If that makes me a cranky whining baby boomer, I do not care. I've no idea if Paul Newman was left or right-handed but I notice that he's carrying a monogrammed leather portfolio (or notebook?). Here's an Etsy seller with excellent feedback who has a left-handed journal. I'm sure there are vegan alternatives but this isn't a shopping post. It's just a plea for some men (you know who you are) to smarten up. (I saw some wonderful coats at a secondhand thrift recently--no excuses.)(Gordon Parks for LIFE)
A bit of cross-pollination with Giulia Geranium & Made4Aid's new Etsy shop. I hope whether you buy anything or not, you'll check out the shop, the website, & also Sally's personal photography blog, Lettuce-Eating, from London. Many of her most popular photographs are available as cards. There's a nice badge that you can scoop up for your blogs & websites, too.
It's enough to prop up my faith in some humans (humanity? I don't know about that...) for the next several hours. This beautiful messenger bag is but one of many hand-made bags for sale. That color. (As always, I don't recommend anything that I have not already checked out. I purchased several things from Made4Aid last year via their auctions. Everything went smoothly. No drama. At all.)
Important: if you have something that you want to donate to Made4Aid, please read this guideline list from the Made4Aid organization site. Any questions after that, please contact them. (Of course, they take cash donations, too.)
(photograph via Made4Aid)
Look at what arrived from England for my recent birthday. (The headband, silly!) Thinking, thinking, did I order something? In my State of Penury? No & it was not a familiar UK address either. Ta da! It was a Chatham Girl gift from a fellow Alice fancier. I am thrilled by the eccentricity.Zara Carpenter is the witty woman behind Chatham Girl. I meant to ask if she is the redhead wearing the Alice Bow but she is busy fine-tuning her new autumn line*, so I'll leave that for another time. Zara is definitely one-of-a-kind & I wager a fabulous person with whom to take tea, mad or otherwise. If you fancy something custom-made, contact Zara--she'd be happy to make something special for you.I so wanted to be photographed wearing this but if I wait to corral a photographer, it could be months. How did that happen?
*Chatham Girl is currently busy working on lots of fanciful treasures for the Autumn/ Winter season. Inspiration comes from artists and writers such as Mark Ryden, Edward Gorey, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Angela Carter to name just a few. (photograph via Chatham Girl, used with permission)
It is no secret that I suffer from sleeplessness.
I just removed 700 words of fairly amusing drivel but it needs to be edited. As the tree near my desk is being whipped to a froth, the silvery undersides of the leaves showing, & the prospect of another power outage looms, I shall simply go straight to the shopping bit. The edited drivel will magically show up (in Parts I & II) next week.
In early June I finally tired of washing out a navy silk made-by-enslaved-masses sleep mask & needing it before it dried. So I went looking for another one & did so much better by visiting Bonnie, mask-maker extraordinaire, of BibBon on etsy. Bonnie has over 100 hundred masks to choose from, including a plain black one (which is important, I think, not just for men but for minimalist moods). I chose the one above, Persian Garden.
The two adjustable straps idea is wonderful & the sewing is sturdy & tightly done. I will never ever ever buy a mass-made sleep mask again. Not only that--it was less expensive than buying that popular navy silk deal in Whole Foods, ULTA, or wherever you found yours. Yes, really. The version I chose was $12.00 (yes, you read that correctly) + shipping = $US 13.30.
Bonnie will ask your choice of inner linings & guide you to what you want/need. That's it. It arrived quickly, washes beautifully, & I feel more glamorous than I should. If I am able to begin working (for money) again soon (please), I'll climb BibBon's luxury ladder for one of the silks.
Oh & a major side benefit about these masks from my perspective: Julie the Cat cannot budge the thing off my face as she can the other. While she seems to feel this has diminished her quality of morning mischief, I could not be happier (about that, at any rate). Go visit Bonnie at BibBon.
Have a great Sunday/Monday & I'll be back soon (if the power is on). Cheers & here's to a good night's sleep.
PS: Un grand bisou, Phoenix Olivier. Bon anniversaire!
[photographs via BibBon with permission, all rights reserved; Shell Cure for Insomnia via LIFE Archives]
