Modish: the blog

De Colores

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!  Today has become a day to celebrate Mexican culture in the United States- although I'm sure you'll see many examples of the capitalization that has made Cinco de Mayo so popular here ($1 margarita happy hour anyone?), I hope you'll also find celebrations of the Mexican heritage, art, music and culture that have helped make America what it is today.  To help celebrate some of that talent, here are some handmade goods by Mexico based artists and crafters that I found on good ol' etsy!

{cyrano doll, set of 5 cards by Cara Carmina :: Pink strawberry charm by allen! ::  hedgehog march notepads by micasita house}

{Fungi print by Rosie Music :: tulips wallet by ziazia :: Mexican embroidered bag by That Retro Thing :: Mexican embroidered tunic by Aida Coronado}

{filigree flower and bird earrings by tutarubli :: city lights necklace by Colibri Dreams :: seashells box by Sea Debris :: "remember" print by Geninne}

Softening

I'm about to hop in the shower after a sweaty yoga workout, which I successfully kept up with all last week and again this morning, hoping to keep it going every weekday morning to start my workdays fresh and invigorated.  I've done yoga off and on for 10 years now, and think that the best part of it is going on with your day after your practice, feeling yourself lifted and open, you stand taller and your feet feel more grounded, you feel soft, secure.  And a side benefit is that clothes seem to hang better on your elongated, toned torso, like these beautiful tees and tunics by Flux Productions-

I wish I had one to slip on after my shower, made from slinky soft burnout material, thin and drapey and oh so yoga-ish, with hand screen-printed designs on each that give a nice nod to nature.  There are some tees for guys too along with some beautiful jersey scarves...find all the lovelies at Flux and add a little more softness to your days.

Eco-Friendly Find: Re:made

Continuing with our weekly eco-friendly finds (which I try to post every Wednesday, just fyi), I discovered this new artist on today's front page on etsy- Re:made.  They make old things new again crafting skirts, dresses and tote bags out of pretty floral pillow cases, and making cute leather bracelets from old belts.

Everything they create is made from something else, reusing and recycling with vigor to bring new things into the world without using up anymore of earth's resources.  Re-make yourself over with a pretty new diddy from Re:made, and keep your fashion eco-friendly!

Tulip hunting

It's supposed to be 75 degrees and sunny here in Portland tomorrow and I'm so excited!  The boy and I are planning on going to check out a tulip farm nearby to take in all the gorgeous color and enjoy some sunshine.  I feel like wearing something girly and frilly, something to run through fields of tulips in, something to introduce my long forgotten legs to the warm sun again; something like these dresses, skirts or shorts from machine machine!

Handmade in Hawaii with a fun island flair, these pretty garments are perfect for a sunny day wherever you are (I just with I had a tan little body like these to put in them!)  While I tulip hunt with my pale, wintery legs, I'll be dreaming of sunny days ahead and more opportunities to bring some lovely machine machine into my life.  Hello sunshine!

Eco-Friendly Find: Orangyporangy

Orangyporangy isn't a delicious kool-aid flavor from the 70's, no, it's better!  It's a line of clothing and handbags, much of which is made from re-purposed fabric from the 70's, 60's & 50's- it's recycling at its best, and that tastes even better than kool-aid!

What you see here are shoulder bags, clutches and pouches made from vintage textiles like old curtains, tablecloths and sheets given a modern and utilitarian twist.  There's also beautiful skirts in the vintage remix line that combine vintage fabrics with new ones for a pretty layered look, and simple a-line skirts made entirely from funky vintage polyester fabrics.  Fashionable and earth friendly, drink up some orangyporangy today!

The devil made me do it...

I just went on a little etsy shopping spree and got some cute new things for our cute new apartment (and one thing for my not quite so cute body) and thought I'd share!

What you see here is:
- a kitty-rific pillow cover in blue for my office chair, and a mushroom themed kitchen towel for our (kinda) mushroom themed kitchen from PataPri.
- a wicked awesome wall art clock in orange to match our yummy orange sheets in the bedroom, by Decoylab.
- two mustard-fantastic pillow covers made from vintage fabric to cuddle up with on our couch, by absoluut.
- and a cute little hand silk-screened top to strut down the Portland streets with, by noisedesign.

Alright, time to finish unpacking boxes and get our house ready for all the new goodies!

Eco-Friendly Find: Funk Divine

Finding cute clothes can be hard enough, but cute clothes that are eco-friendly too?  Well, that's just impossible, right?  Well, not with Funk Divine!  Bringing you city friendly, casual clothing out of San Francisco with a little bit of hip-hop edge, Funk Divine clothing is made primarily from hemp, a sustainable, durable natural resource that is very low polluting, can be grown organically and leaves little impact on the earth.

As you can see, this hemp clothing isn't the typical "hippie" style stuff you might expect- it's fitted and stylish, screen-printed with beautiful scarab/Egyptian themed graphics.  You can see the full line, including styles on natural colored garments, in the Funk Divine shop, and learn more about hemp and why it's eco-friendly on their website.

Tees that aren't fishy

Sam Trout is sick of seeing t-shirts with the same ol' clip art images placed squarely in the middle- tees that are lazy, uninspired, cliche.  So, in an attempt to change those woefully generic t-shirt ways, he's thrown his hat into the ring with soft, fitted tees that feature hand-drawn, original screen-printed designs with off-kilter placement, tees that speak to folks who are looking for something a little different aka: modish readers! :)

In fresh colors with contemporary designs, if you're a tee and jeans type, Sam Trout is sure to become part of your daily rotation.  Find more designs for both women and men on Sam's site where you can also shop online, or head to buyolympia for even more options!

Eco-Friendly Find: Ruby Pearl

Miss Ruby Pearl was a gun totin', hog riding, sailor talkin' grandma that inspired her granddaughter, Sunny Haralson, to create a line of clothing that embraces women of all shapes, with sizes that range from 2 to 22, and encourages them to dress with individuality.  Each dress she creates is one-of-a-kind and made from vintage slips that she either finds at thrift/antique stores or that people send to her in droves.  She then embellishes those slips with layers of lace and fabrics from vintage scarves and kimonos, re-using and recycling clothing from the ages, incorporating the stories of many women into unique new pieces.

Find more from the Ruby Pearl line in their etsy shop, including really cute little girl dresses, and see a little behind the scenes action of the artist who creates them in this video, here.

Fly, fly away

Sometimes when you're extended in too many directions and you've calculated that it's humanly impossible for one person to finish all the tasks you have on your to-do list before, say, 2011, and you have to somehow find time to move to Portland (just, ya know, as an example) during it all, well those are the times that you may wish you were a butterfly that could just flitter away with the wind, your only responsibility being to decide which beautiful flower to suck some nectar out of today.  But, since that can't happen, I'll live vicariously through these beauties:

1. Hand Painted necklace (£26)  2. Butterfly collage necklace ($58)  3. Butterfly Lavender Sachets  ($14/set of four)  4. Porcelain Butterfly Bowl ($65)  5. Butterflies at Dawn babydoll dress ($145)  6. Butterfly panel painting ($45)  7. Follow Me II photograph ($25)

Color your world with every step

I just found these shoes by Ndeur via Design for Mankind and hot damn, I am in LOOOOOVVVVVE, painfully so...

They're wild, vibrant, and the coolest damn things I've seen a long time.  They're each one of a kind, hand-painted designs- you send in your shoes and they'll paint the design right on them, or they can find a great pair of vintage shoes for you.  They're so creative, unique and inspiring!  My stomach is getting butterflies just looking at them...  I may have to actually learn how to walk in heels for a pair of these! :)  Find more incredible choices at Ndeur!

Party like it's 1999!

Okay, so 1999 wasn't as cool as we may have expected- how was Prince to know, huh?  Even though we're not flying around in hovercrafts yet or wearing clothing made entirely from lamé (or are we??), you can still add some fabulousness to your upcoming 2008 with some fantastically frilly clothing by PINaR ERIS!
Certainly not for the faint at heart (I know I couldn't pull off any of these looks) these incredibly detailed party skirts and dresses are for Cyndi Lauper lovin' party girls who embrace all their frill and femininity, the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" girls that can rock hot pink fishnet stockings and think that the 80's fashion revival is the best thing to happen to fashion since well, the 80's.  To those girls, I salute you.  And I think PINaR ERIS is perfect for you.

Shopping's not a drag

Not at Bona Drag, that is!  Filled with unique and contemporary handmade clothing creations from some great indie designers, Bona Drag will have you stylin' in no time.

They also happen to have a lot of clothing on sale right now, some at as much as 60% off!  So head on over and don't forget to get a little something for yourself this holiday season.  Ya know, to reward yourself for shopping so well :)

New goodies in the shoppe!

Have you stopped by Modishoppe lately to see what's new? 

There's cool wood panel paintings by Dolan Geiman:

Gorgeous new jewelry from Prismera Design:

New calendars from JHill and Wolfie & the Sneak:

And new tees and jewelry from Underdog Ink:

There's lots of giftee goodness to be had!

Ka-ching!

If you come from a gambling town, like me (good ol' Reno, NV!), when you hear the word "ka-ching" you think of slot machines pouring out money or the sound of a cash register ringing up your 5th mixed drink but you definitely don't think of adorable hand-screened clothing and totes, and original art.  Well, it's time for a little re-definition, because Kaching Design's original creations are too cute to ignore:

With apparel for babes and babies and whimsical art for your walls, you can adorn yourself and your home at Kaching where it's no gamble that you'll score something cute!

New goodies in the shoppe!

I have some wonderful new things in modishoppe that would be great as gifts or as fun treats for yourself!

First up, vintage inspired jewelry by Tryst Jewelry:

And some gorgeous new glass animal pins and pendants, as well as some tees by Happy Owl Glassworks:

As well as some pretty new cards and a 2008 calendar by Good on Paper, printed on 100% recycled paper!

Check out all the new items, and here's a special tip for you: use code "modholiday" at checkout and you'll get 10% off your order over $50!

Have a super fall!

If you've been waiting longingly for the release of the new round of scarves by Supermaggie, the wait is over, they're here!  They're here!  And if you haven't been waiting, you don't know what you've been missing, because these amazing, handmade, hand-felted, one-of-a-kind, crazy scarves are super cool and highly covetable- check them out!  Once they're gone, they're gone, so get one now!

Also out now are Supermaggie's new fall women's tees designs, filled with nature inspired, lovely and luscious designs- I'm all over that tree design in hoodie form, and the flower engraving pattern (as pictured) is so pretty against the brown background.  There's many more designs to choose from and lots of color and sleeve length options- check it all out at one of my faaaaavorite places to buy tees, Supermaggie!

Super Tees!

Formed by a team of graphic designers in Greece, Supermandolini makes some super rad tees for both guys and girls!  With designs that vary from wild mustangs to gladiator rocket riders, these super vibrant and fun tees come in a range of contemporary color combos with lots of great graphic choices to choose from:

Step on over to Supermandolini for lots more great tees, as well as neato jewelry and poster prints!

Crafty men are the new feminists?

I've been reminded by modish reader, David, that guys are crafty too and they tend to get overshadowed by the ladies in the realm of craftland.  Tis true, David, very true.  So, today I bring you a wealth of goods from crafty wonders that all happen to be of the male-kind.  I think of this new indie craft movement as an expression of feminism, redefining the "typically female" roles of sewer, baker, household-maker into women as talented, creative, independent entrepreneurs and idols to admire, and I suppose, seeing men take on those same "typically female" crafty endeavors, only helps to further the notion that the words "typical" and "female" really have no place in the same sentence.  So, thanks David, and to the rest of the men below, for helping this craft movement along!  Let's hear it for the boys!

{wee prints by Ubiki}

{dewdrop earrings by Wired}

{Sunset/Dandelion photo by Jared in Kansas}

{Japanese school-girl tee by 57 Thirty Three}

{the Hirsute Hedgehog by John W Golden}

{handbound falling leaves book by xxrobot}

{Radiant Forest print by Andrew Daniel}

{customizable messenger bags by Stilleto}

{Appliqued recycled sweater by Cubist Literature}

{Owl print by Matte Stephens}

{3-inch paper boxes by Dingo}

{Solar jar by Easy Being Green}

{the World is Flat print by Eddyizm}

I found all of these items through the links on the men of etsy blog- I know there's many more men making more great stuff, and modish definitely supports craftiness from men, women and manbearpigs alike!

Modish Trendwatch: Geodes!

Geodes, geodes, it's all about geodes- what are geodes exactly?  In short, they're crystal formations or banding that occurs naturally within geological rock.  In the long term, they're sparkly, shiny, immensely beautiful gifts from nature that have hit it big time in the design world this season- from jewelry to housewares, geodes are making a comeback (they were also super cool for awhile when I was a kid!) and there's no reason to wait until the big box stores catch on- you can support indie designers and shop geodes the modish way!   

{Geode necklaces, handpicked in Uruguay, by Natural Historie}

{Agate photo frames and Coaster Set by Anna Rabinowicz at Uncommon Goods}

{Geode Link Necklace and Sword and Stone Necklace by Erica Weiner}

{Hand carved agate druzy rings by Zula Surfing}

{Burlap Geode Jerkin by Heir Apparel}

{Agate Slice Necklaces by Piebell}

{Glycerin Soap rocks by Soap Creations}

{Geode earrings by Ampersand by Ali}

{Living in a Material World necklace by Erin Gotz}

So there's a little sampling of geode goodness from the indie world to keep you stylin' this fall.  Do you make geode jewelry?  Know of a cool handmade geode creation?  Share them with us in the comments below!  Nothing's better than nature and hands coming together to form beautiful creations like these!

Fall, please come fast.

1. the Gobi Dress by Paperdoll Fashion
2. Beatrix the Brown Bag by Franz
3. Amber Floral Top by Snowflake 66, at Cut + Paste
4. Spellbound Luxury Cowl by Fringe
5. Open Thread Earrings by Art Lee Makes
6. Wool Felt Burst Necklace by Conn Brattain at the Curiosity Shoppe
7. Birthday Cake Hat by Lindamade
8. Mini Millie scarf by Supermaggie

The seed of style

I'm finding more and more handmade clothing shops on etsy that are really making some incredible things that rival anything you could find on the racks of a big box department store, only they can be custom made, just for you!  Like Seed Clothing, who hand make each and every garment, one at a time, creating one-of-a-kind pieces or ones that can be custom made for your specific measurements.  Using soft linens and silks combined with vintage materials, each piece is feminine and flirty.  Here are a couple of my favorites:
Find more pretty designs at Seed Clothing!

Site of the week: Snoozer Loser

The words oooooh, ahhhh, wowwww somehow escape my mouth as drool starts to pool beneath my bottom lip.  The thoughts ooh I want, ooh I NEED shortly follow.  That's right, I've found the new Snoozer Loser fall line and I am head over heels in love with it.  Featuring loose and feminine shapes with the added goodness of some vibrant colors, like peacock blue and a bright coral, with gorgeous and fun nature inspired prints layered on top, Snoozer Loser is pushing the boundaries of handmade clothing into an etsy designer chic!  Take a peek at some of their wonderful designs!

New for fall:

And still available from the summer line, now ON SALE!

It's true indeed, you snooze, you lose!  So don't wait for these incredible styles to sell out, head over to Snoozer Loser now and give your closet a little pick me up!

Elephantastic!

So, I know, fall is semi-officially here once school starts back up again, but since the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating with the calendar, live out the rest of your hot days this season with some cute tanks from LalaLiu Designs!
LalaLiu is a brand new shop selling tees with screen prints of original illustrations and some thrifty fashion finds.  My favorites from the shop are these cute elephant themed tanks; the kelly green one is a one-of-a-kind re-made item, and the teal halter would look pretty fly with some skinny black jeans and a little black cardigan over it for fall.  Find more cute designs like these at LalaLiu!

Dress the last days of summer...

Although it's still sweltering hot around most parts of the US right now, I can still taste fall in the air- sunset is getting sooner each day, it's cooler in the mornings and the back to school shuffle is on.  So, here are some frilly frocks to enjoy that will ease you into the fall slowly while letting you still enjoy the last hot days of summer...

{handmade Rust & Cream V String Dress by Paper Doll Fashion}

{embroidered bee shirt by Bonnie Heart Clyde, at Doe SF}

{the Amy Grace top, hand-painted and hand-dyed, by Snoozer Loser}

{Mexican embroidered tunic dress, one of a kind vintage, at Mama Stone Vintage}

{one of a kind handmade top by Nececole's Threads, at My Bonnie and Clyde}

{wrapping a pretty package skirt handmade from vintage fabric by Bobby Urban}

{Geo mini dresses by Replicca, at Cut & Paste}

{Red accordian mini dress, one of a kind vintage, at Bleubird Vintage}