work is not work

 I now "work" VERY part time at the studio/warehouse/office. It sounds funny to call it work because I enjoy every minute of it!

I go down to the studio while the two oldest are in school. And I have an amazing sister-in-law that helps out with the youngest little guy. (All my sister-in-laws are amazing!)

 I have been working on a little something for you all. It was time to start making the Puj Booti in some bigger sizes. It's tough work but someone has to do it.

I just keep pinching myself that I am working in my own studio at my own crazy strong industrial sewing machine.

PS- we just may be doing a little test run this May with the Puj Tub in a store called Target....ever heard of it?   

Ouch!!!! Just pinched myself again : )

Go Puj!

Storenvy

I wanted to tell you more about Janette Crawford. 

Don't you love her necklace!

We met at Alt Summit and she is absolutely adorable. She and her husband are the master-minds behind Storenvy.com (kind of like etsy, but better!) Have you heard about it? I asked Janette to tell us about Storenvy and share some of her current favorites:

Storenvy in a Nutshell 

Storenvy is a social marketplace for buying and selling goods of all kinds from independent businesses all over the world. Storenvy charges no fees to buy or sell and gives merchants a fully customizable online storefront in addition to placement in the shopping marketplace. 

Storenvy is changing the face of the e-commerce experience by enabling anyone, from the owner of a fashion boutique to a guy designing skateboard decks, to create their own completely customizable store at no charge and with no programming knowledge required. And by combining all the stores' products into one big marketplace, stores make more sales through the natural discovery process. (Current stat: Storenvy stores make almost 15% of their sales through the marketplace rather than through direct store traffic.) For shoppers, a well-categorized marketplace makes it easy to browse all stores at once, allowing them to save their favorite items for later and follow their favorite stores and users.

 

My Storenvy Picks

 

GIFT FLAGS from IN HAUS Press

http://www.storenvy.com/products/20547-gift-flags

Letterpressed in San Francisco on 2-ply birch veneer, using scraps that are an excess of the Denver, CO, furniture industry. 

"santio eduardo vega" print (a4) from cardboardcities

http://cardboardcities.storenvy.com/products/17245-santiago-eduardo-vega-print-a4

Laura Redburn is a young illustrator from Wales. 

MUCHroom Wall Hook from Workerman

http://workerman.storenvy.com/products/6087-muchroom-wall-hook

Handcrafted by Adam Brackney in Minneapolis, MN, of reclaimed + sustainably harvested woods. 

Love is Waiting T-shirt (Seafoam) from Love is Waiting

http://www.storenvy.com/products/36176-love-is-waiting-t-shirt-seafoam

All proceeds help fund (our friends) Aaron & Heather Hale's upcoming Ethiopian adoption of a baby boy. 

Beaded Fringe Necklace in turquoise & red | by: Noble Town Vintage from Blonde Grizzly

http://blondegrizzly.storenvy.com/products/24565-beaded-fringe-necklace-in-turquoise-red-by-noble-town-vintage

Handmade by Noble Town Vintage, sold by Blonde Grizzly, an art boutique in Salt Lake City, UT. 

Spring Bangle from Kianga Project

http://www.storenvy.com/products/14437-spring-bangle

Each bangle is handcrafted by, and benefits, a man or woman living with HIV in the slums of Kenya. 

+++++++++++

Thanks for sharing with us Janette!

What's your favorite Storenvy find?

potatoe stamp throw pillow

Are you wanting to add a little refresh to your room? I have a little project for you that only takes a couple hours.

 You only need a few supplies

• fabric
• pillow stuffing
• potates
• acrylic paint & textile medium

 Measure and cut your fabric to be 1.5 inches longer & wider than your pillow (allowing for 3/4' seam allowance)

 Mix two parts paint with one part textile medium (this makes the paint soft and flexible)

Lay your fabric out on a flat surface with paper shopping bags underneath.  Dip potatoes into paint and stamp away. I used three different sizes of potato.

 You can even section off the area you want to stamp with masking tape.

 Dry the paint with a blow dryer until it is completely dry.

 For a quick and easy solution use an overlapping flap on the back (overlap the fabric about 4"). You can even use glue-tape for the flap seams instead of sewing them (it has a more minimal look)

 sew your edges and.....

you're finished! Wasn't that so easy. 

Now you'll be wandering around your house to see what rooms could use a refresh with some fun throw pillows.

prepared

winding clock : no batteries necessary.

 

given the choice, i would much rather use this radio in an emergency than an ugly black one. 

find it on sale on moma

moleskine

do you find yourself coming up with a brilliant idea and then lose that brilliant idea to mind numbing distractions like your 2 year old that insists on wearing his big brother's shoes that make him trip, fall & cry? well here is a little secret my husband taught me.....

write it down

the moleskine is so small that you can keep it in your purse at all times. or you can even use it to announce a birthday present to a loved one.

this is changing my life

i know this is a very bold statement, "this is changing my life." but i have been using teuxdeux.com (to-do list app) for a whole 23 minutes and I am getting so excited to make my list and check things off.

I first heard about this from Suann at Alt Summit, and then later that day from the designer herself, the Swiss Miss.

heart cake tutorial via Swiss Miss

the user interface is amazingly simple and intuitive.

watch a couple of their videos and then start making your list.....its even FREE!

you can thank me later!

summit summary

Altitude Design Summit was like going to college again, only this time I LOVED every one of my classes!

(Jaime of Design Milk, Kelly of Design Crush, Me, Suann of Simple Song, and Kirsten of Simply Grove)

 

 These ladies had great advice on balancing work and life. My main takeaway was to have a schedule and to use post-its! They also had some website that can help with organizing your life so I will be sharing those later.

 There was a wealth of knowledge amongst the group and they were all so willing to share their own experiences. And of course it was fun to meet all these fantastic people that I have only known through the world wide web.

 Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom fame was such a fantastic host. She made me feel so welcome and introduced me to some fantastic people. I am so excited for her BIG move to France.

I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes from the conference.

(and please excuse my blurry discolored pictures. But thanks to the great instruction of Blue Lily Photography they should only get better from this point on)

Seth Aaron and Mondo, both of "Project Runway" fame were the speakers at lunch one day. They shared something that Michael Kors had said once, "When listening to criticism, take 20% and hang onto it. Throw the other 80% away. Know who you are and your voice and stay true to it."

When asked about up and coming trends, Mondo said, "Don't listen to or follow trends. If you like it wear it!"  (I fully agree Mondo.)

 Wendy and Danny were some of the first ladies I met at the conference. Danny introduced me to wabi-sabi, the art of the imperfect. I LOVE this philosophy.

 Sara Jane is just as adorable in real life. We have a lot of mutual friends so it was great to meet in real life.

 I loved DJ Spooky. He was just a wealth of knowledge and it was fascinating to see his creative process.

 Jeanette of storenvy.com fame.

 The Grand America was so fancy, they even had fabric on the walls.

 The Girls With Glasses teamed up with Kate Spade for this party.

 Some of the lovely ladies I met at the conference.  Be on the look out for some beautiful AND functional diaper bags from Crystal (on the right). Her company is called "Ness" which means miracle in Hebrew.

That's it for now. I will fill you in later on the websites and iPhone apps that some of the speakers suggested.

Cheers!

+Katie

Alt summit

Hi everyone. I left the laptop at home so i am trying it from my iPad. I am at Alt Summit. There are so many amazing people here that I am learning from. I can't wait to tell you all about it next week when I get back into town. Some highlights to wet your appetite, I was fascinated by DJ Spooky, Blue Lily Gave some great instructuion on how to best use my camera! I also met Seth Aaron. Who knew we live 10 minutes from each other? Wouldn't that be so crazy to run into him at Trader Joes!
Enjoy your weekend!

photo book

There are so many companies out there who make photo books. For me, I don't just want a book with my pictures on it. I want a book where the colors are vibrant, the paper feels nice and thick and the presentation is above par. 

 

I figured I didn't have to look any further than Apple. They deliver quality work every time I have purchased one of their products.

I knew they couldn't mess up my pictures, and they really did a great job. Above and beyond in fact!
This is the book I made for Ben this Christmas.

This would also make a great Valentines Day gift. Pricing is about $1 a page and you don't even have to scrapbook ANYTHING!

Do you have a photo book company you love?

alt summit

This week I will be going to SLC for the Altitude Design Summit!

I can't wait to meet so many of these women face to face.

PLUS, a big bonus is that I get to stay with family. Hooray for business trips that are fun!

Will you be there? We'll have to meet-up, drop me a line!

wellies + color pop

What's not to love about wellies + some color pop. Especially when you throw in a tall zipper and a buckle.

You can find the Tsunami boot here.

desk chair

Is there a chair the you have been coveting? 

 

 

  

I am needing a new desk chair. What do you look for in a chair?

wool

I am loving these handmade wool felted bags.

 They are handmade in Lithuania.

 

spotted on onstail.