Craftiness at its Finest

[from Pursuitist]

Happy NYC Fashion Week!  

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending a gallery reception at the 

Hermès boutique on Madison Avenue showcasing photographs by 

Koto Bolofo.

[from Wallpaper*]

A fashion photographer originally from South Africa, he is the first to gain access to the famous and historically secretive Hermès workshops where the beautiful leather, silk and other objects are hand-crafted.  Over seven years he documented and compiled his work into La Maison, a collection of 11 volumes: Horses, Saddles, Kelly Bag, Clothes, Perfume, Bugatti Veyron, Gardens, Special Orders, Silk, John Lobb and Collection Émile Hermès.

Vacation Day 1: Blogger Meetup!

Heading out the door, but writing a few quick e-mails before shutting my phone off for a week and having limited internet access -- yikes!  But I had to do a quick post about the awesome blogger meet-up yesterday in McCarren Park.  I felt met Helen from Helen Hearts, yay!  First though, I did some morning baking. 

Popovers really DO pop up!  Had them with some of my strawberry jam.

And made some jam-filled cookies from a recipe by Mrs. Fields for the picnic.

Helen and I also made some new friends!  The Delightful Dozen hosted and I'm so happy I met Yanil from thenewyorkerstyle (check out her handmade jewelry!), the totally stylishly fabulous Monroe from Fashion Steele NYC (love her twirling in her latest post) and the totally fun Nicole from Black Shoes Diary (she had the most adorable shoes on that she got for FREE!  And thanks to whoever made the spectacular spiked punch...

The girls took me vintage shopping at beacon's closet, which I have NEVER done before and I can't believe how fun it was!  

Got some dresses from Calvin Klein, J. Crew and Kimchi Blue for such great prices.  Uh oh, I may have found a new obsession...too bad this cute, pink wall sconce in the dressing room wasn't for sale.

Also loved these colorful chairs lining Bedford Avenue.  Helen said they're all over Paris too, so can't wait to see them in person very soon.

We also passed the biggest Scrabble game.  Too bad I am so so bad at Scrabble.

Well, my posts never end up short or quick, but there you go.  And to my new friend who I sent a link to today, hope you visit soon!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Been sooo m.i.a....still need to blog about the giveaway winner but Fashion Week struck and I've been without a work computer, learning to use my new phone and set up wifi at home to get back into the world.  I know, excuses, excuses, no one wants to hear them, but here's a bit of what I've been up to lately.

And I have to share this video that someone amazing sent me today because the blog cracks me up and now there's a book -- very crafty indeed -- what a lot of work it takes!  But it just makes me smile.

So back to the world now, shortly...

I Left My Heart...

...in SAN FRANCISCO...That's where I saw this cool graffiti last year and we're heading back next week: Justin to speak about cookbooks at the BlogHer food conference, me for some much-needed vacationing, so if anyone has any cool, fun, crafty, foodie SF tips I'd love to hear some recommendations!

I've finally completed a (small) sewing project: a little drawstring bag with pink lining and silk ribbon, just in time for the end of National Sewing Month.  It isn't as awesome as the Wonder Woman costume my Mom made, but it's a start and the pattern is perfect for my next bout of car crafting and to take some supplies along for my trip west.  What to do with all that plane time?

There was a bump in the road when my worst fears were realized and my beautiful machine jammed: the very thing that had made me hesitant all this time!  Fortunately, Justin stepped in and I didn't need to carry it into the city for a check-up and she seems to be running well again, phew...

I also had time to package up all the bath fizzies: it's good to not be working until midnight these days!

I can't wait to give them to all the hard-working ladies who helped me so much during Fashion Week, thank you, all, I couldn't have done it without you!

Happy National Sewing Month and...a Winner!

I just found out that September is National Sewing Month and this is 2 bunches of fat quarters from Purl Soho, a birthday gift from my boyfriend "for encouragement and inspiration" as he says, very sweet, as he's also contributed to my crafty endeavors before.  There is a fantastic selection of projects you can make from fat quarters on Sew, Mama, Sew! and I'm definitely picking one soon.

Walking down by South Street Seaport this weekend we passed a fence adorned with sewing spools that stretched for blocks and blocks...until we came to a description:

noting that it's a temporary installation by Katherine Daniels: check out her site, amazing work with fabric, beads, wire and more.  I'm so glad I passed by this!  We also saw some cool graffiti in the East Village.

And I started a new project on the way up to Northampton, Massachusetts for a little trip.

We saw a Crafts Avenue:

and while there weren't craft shops on that block, there were 2 yarn boutiques in town:

and we had such a nice time browsing through the fantastic gifts, cards, books, Japanese and Korean design products and great craft section at Essentials where we had the pleasure of meeting owner Sydne and manager Colette: so lovely to chat with both of you! 

For dinner we had a sushi Love Boat for 2...

which brings me to the winner of the Knit Sushi Giveaway:

Thank you to everyone who entered...the futomaki prize goes to entry #4: Small Burst! 

So, I will be sending this along to Small Burst just in time before NYC Fashion Week, which will mean lots of work for me, culminating in the 2nd year of Fashion's Night Out on Friday, September 10th:

And next week on Tuesday, September 14th, CBS will air a special behind-the-scenes look at the planning and the parties, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (who I'm watching sing about suits right now on How I Met Your Mother).

Calming Calendars

I've been all about the recaps this month since there's been so much to do. 

I stopped by a photo shoot for the new cookbook by Allison Fishman, cooking school founder and host of Lifetime's Cook Yourself Thin, where I also met Abby, the designer of Institute of Dress and I love the dreamy, drapey style of her clothing,  

next was a celebration of paper creativity from event designer David Stark's new book and installation of THE (purely paper) FLOWER SHOPPE at West Elm,

then went to a launch party for Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces at the Clic Bookstore and Gallery, 

and saw "No Man's Land" by Christian Boltanski,

an art installation at The Park Avenue Armory (through June 13th: I highly recommend it), attended Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, and yesterday did an event for hundreds that took all day to set up, so I'm definitely TGI-Fing today.

When the going gets tough, I get planning and organizing calms me down so I've been making calendars. I made my first batch back in January and I'm so excited (and relieved) that summer's almost here.  For June I used my Martha Stewart eyelet lace punch-around-the-edge set.  I've been noticing in Martha Stewart Living each month there have been 40% off coupons for Michael's, nice!

There are quite a lot of birthdays to celebrate this summer, especially in July and August, including Martha Stewart (8/3), Julia Child (8/15) and more than a few fam and friends, so I have to get crafty.

And not to think too much about it yet, but when summer's over September's probably going to be a killer work month once Fashion Week hits, so I strung 30 seed beads like an abacus to remind me that each of the 30 days will be different, but they too shall each pass in their time.

Crafty Couture

Silk scarf, leather journal and enamel bracelet by Hermes of Paris

Monogram Vernis bag by Louis Vuitton

I feel lucky to own a modest few pieces of high fashion and to have attended a few events that showcased the craftsmanship involved in creating them.

Last November Louis Vuitton threw a party at Saks Fifth Avenue to showcase their personalization services by featuring artisans painting, hand stamping and monogramming right at the event.  I love this bag from the limited-edition Takashi Murakami collection.

And there's a cute display at their 5th Ave store now for spring.

In February of this year, Hermes of Paris opened its first Men's Boutique on Madison Avenue and the event was attended by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Katie Holmes and Martha Stewart.  I'm not usually an orange person, but the Hermes shades are very special.

I got to meet Eddie who does tailoring and watch him work on the fine fabrics for a little while.  

I also took a peek at his sewing area -- I would be so nervous sewing Hermes silk!

And last week, Gucci brought its Artisan Corner event to NYC where craftsmen from Italy set up a workshop to show their hand stitching, stamping and embossing skills.

They had a pretty cool sewing machine.

And it was a great weekend for craft fairs, which I'll write about soon.
Hope it's sunny where you are :-) Happy May!