If you ever . . .

If you ever happen to take a drive down Highway 1 in Southern California, you are going to want to make a little stop in the coastal town, Encinitas. It is a nice little neighborhood filled with sunkissed women and children, wet suit clad surfers, and cute boutiques to boot.

Here are a few of my fave places:

For amazing local handmade goods, stop by the mom & daughter shop M*O*M
This amazing little store occupies the cutest garage space I have ever seen. I love the fact that it is an active studio/shop space. The goods are cute and these ladies are experts at repurposing all their scraps. They also have amazing clothes for kids.

Looking for a divine smoothie? Well, Swami's Cafe is the place to go. You can sit down on their deck on a warm summer day and have brunch or pop on in and grab their Nirvana Nectar bee pollen dusted smoothie and take it to the beach. So fresh and so delish!

No worries if your smoothie doesn't take you to another transcendental state. Just cross the street and take stroll through the (semi) public Self Realization Fellowship Hermitage & Meditation Gardens. Beautiful, serene, and amazing cliff side views. You are sure to feel at peace. It is open limited hours to the public, including certain weekends.

Sometimes I see the unmistakable yellow Lou's Records stickers on cars in the Bay Area and I get so excited! Lou's is one of those rare record shops still in business. If you are inclined to buy vinyl or feeling the need to stage a revolt against Itunes, then stop by this store. You are sure to find what you are looking for and then some. New and used merchandise offered.

Other great spots:

Home Store -Vintage, consignment clothing store for men & women

La Paloma Theater- Classic theater that's been around since 1928!

Angelo's Burgers-Greasy, greasy food that is sure to give you heartburn. Yummy onion rings.

The Beach!

Simple stencils

I have had the itch to learn how to create my own textiles designs via screenprinting lately. But in my effort to cut down on my creative distractions, I have put off on taking a course.

Of course I'm still daydreaming about it and enviously watching screenprinting diy videos across the web. Luckily I came across a simple tutorial that will give me a chance to experiment in a quick and easy way. So Jessica Jones, from How About Oranges, stenciled scarf tutorial isn't exactly screenprinting but it's close!

I'm thinking of giving it a try this weekend. I have a few flawed tote bags lying around that I need to repurpose. I'm thinking cutting up some freezer paper while sipping some chai and watching Twin Peaks is a good way to enjoy these gloomy rainy March days.

You can find the scarf tutorial HERE.

Recent Musings

I have been spending the past couple months quietly rethinking my business and the items I create. Reflecting back on my first couple years in business, I realize it was a time of experimentation, scatter brained creativity, and learning from the handmade community.

It was the past holiday season that really put my creative business in perspective for me and I realized a couple of important things: along the way:

1) I love the handmade market and community. It is a lot of hardwork but extremely fulfilling and a place I can see myself working in for a long time.
2) I can't do it all and that's okay. I love blogging. I love the blog universe and understand the immense advantage of social media when it comes to promoting my business online but staring at a computer screen for 8 hours each day and then some doesn't really appeal to me. And I'm okay with that.
3) I offer too many products! My desire to manifest new items and work in different fields is a great and keeps things exciting. But guess what? It can actually work against you if you are trying to build a creative business.
4) I am ready to start planning the next big step. For me, this entails lots of quiet musings, reorganization, and executing some serious discipline with my business. It also requires patience. A lot of it.

All of these thoughts have lead me back to pursuing what I love most, embroidery. I really neglected it the past year which is a pity considering I had initially planned on it being my primary medium when I first started my business. This weekend I took the first step towards returning to this medium that I love. Above is a sneak peek of one of my new creations which is a more detailed version of my "Married Hands" greeting card.

What about you? Do you have any new commitments/directions with your creative business?

Stay classy with a bow tie

 

Cheerful calico prints, polka dots galore, and a few stripes are making up this spring's bow tie fabric selection.

Mini bow tie necklaces are now available and they are pretty cute.

New necklaces are being added to the shop everyday so be sure to stop by and visit. SHOP HERE!

Vintage Finds

San Francisco candy tin from the Addison Endpaper vintage sale

Beautiful beaded necklace also from Addison Endpapers. I broke it about two hours later after I bought it. Luckily, it is an easy fix.

 Unusual art piece from the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale. I love how the dots are painted directly onto the glass

So obviously I have a growing passion for collecting an assortment of vintage items and well,  for shopping in general.  Since this desire of mine doesn't seem to be waning any time soon I am considering opening up a vintage store on Etsy. More thoughts on this soon . . . .

The Man with the Camera: Bill Cunningham

Although I have my issues with the NYTimes, I love the cultural experience it provides me everyday. My favorite part of the paper would have to be the curated Bill Cunningham  "On the Streets" articles. I see this man as a sort of unintentional fashion historian of sorts so I was very excited to learn that a film is being released about him very soon.

If you have a passion for fashion (or NYC for that matter), especially street fashion you need to see this film! Go HERE to find out if it is coming to a theater near you.

Vintage Adventures: Addison Endpapers Part 1

I went on a little vintage adventure to Addison Endpapers this weekend. There was such an amazing selection of unique, and very old, goods to peruse.

I was so close to buying that little weird bear doll.

 

The little kitty is holding a spool in its mouth!

  

I was sort of baffled and scared of this pill packet.

Never seen anything like it.