gold school

Gone Tumbling

I'm sorry I've been ignoring you.  I've been Tumbling!  Check out my new Tumblr Blog here.

What I'm Reading

Cheap and Made to Stick were suggested by Megan over at Crafting an MBA (check out her book club!)  I'm excited to see HBO's biopic about Temple Grandin, I've been reading Animals in Translation slowly for a few months.

What are you reading?

i love the brooklyn flea

 1. chairs!, 2. sally jesse X glasses, 3. greenpoint, 4. chocolates, 5. salty, 6. i need these, 7. bunny, 8. second chance silk, 9. loyalty & blood shirts

Have you been to the Brooklyn Flea lately? I suggest spending a Saturday or Sunday afternoon snacking and browsing the vintage and handmade goodies.  Today I found handmade pretzels and caramels, $25 herman miller chairs, a really old bunny and a few of my favorite crafty flea friends.  

"I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist." - Tammy Faye Bakker

Class at Better Than Jam Coop

Have you checked out the Better Than Jam Co-Op yet?  Located at 1095 Flushing Ave, the Co-Op is soon to be neighbors with 20 other diverse businesses that will inhabit the "Markets at the Loom," providing a varied destination for local shoppers to shop and browse.  The Co-Op brings Bushwick the talent of 15+ NYC designers, who create a variety of clothing, jewelry, and accessories.

They also have really great classes!  In fact, I'll be teaching a 2 part workshop starting on Wed. Feb. 23rd (6pm-8pm) and if you've ever wanted to make your own jewelry - this class is a great introduction.  We'll cover: working with jewelry tools, wrapping wire and rings, creating your own earring hooks and clasps, types of metals, patinas and finishes, suppliers, design and assembling pieces. If you are unsure about tools, techniques and materials this is a great way to get started!  More info about this class here.

Big Love

Oh I absolutely adore HBO's Big Love. Chloe Sevigny is so good - remember her as Jennie from Kids?

Anyway, the drama is huge this season.  Secret babies, forbidden love, and "sealings" you really wouldn't expect. I love me some serious drama - I think I get that from my grandma who used to be obsessed with her dramas (Dynasty, One Life to Live, and oh what was that one... Murder She Wrote!!).  Do you have a drama obsession? And if so, what's your show of choice?

Feb 15th Ad Giveaway

*UPDATE* I've chosen 24 winners! The first 12 will go up tonight. The next 12 will go up on March 1st.  If you didn't make it this time, don't worry!  I'll give away new spots on (or around) March 15th.

Hi Gold School Peers!

To tie in with Random Acts of Kindness week, I'm giving away the opportunity to promote for free on Gold School.  This giveaway starts and ends today, so get to it!  Please make sure you read the details below.  If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I promise to respond.

Requirements for your ad:

• Your ad must be 150 pixels wide
• Your ad can be any length - just not longer than 200 pixels (free image resizer)
• Your ad must be 72 dpi
• Your ad must be in GIF or JPG format 

How to submit:

• Submit a link to your ad in the comments below (free image hosting sites)
• Include the URL you want your ad to be linked to (feel free to promote your website, Etsy shop, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, blog, etc!)
• I only accept submissions posted in the comments below - please don't email
• Submit by 7pm Eastern tonight (Feb. 15, 2010)!

Suggestions:

• Have a look at the current ads, those are the winners from the last round
• I choose the ads by photo/design quality and by shops I feel tie in best with my readership
• If you are submitting an animated GIF, don't make it too flashy
• I happen to love ads with little to no text ;)

Share |

Embrace Your Inner Girl

Share |

Creative Calisthenics no. 1

I've been working on a few creative projects lately and keep getting stuck for ideas. When this happens I try to go back to a design class I had with an amazing jeweler, Reena Ahluwalia. Reena taught me helpful exercises to help break through those creativity blocks. I've wanted to come up with a list of my own exercises I can fall back on for a while now, so I thought blogging might get me started. Here's the first "creative calisthenics" I came up with - see my goofy examples below.

Step 1. List 10 of the last non-handmade items you've purchased

Step 2. Sketch 5 of these items from the front, back and side

Step 3. Focus on three of these sketches and start to brainstorm products that could provide an alternative to these pieces or act as an accessory

 

Share |

2 Cool Resources

Flavors.me is a data aggregation service that pulls your tweets, Etsy items, blog posts, photos and more right into one clean page.  It's currently in Beta but you can sign up to be in the next batch of testers!

Outright is a free online book keeping service.  Track your income and expenses and make tax time easy!

Let me know if you try these out - I'd love to hear what you think.  

Share |

happy holidays. love, rudy

hope you are all having an extraordinary holiday!

happy holidays. love, danielle & rudy

Share |

Baaaaaby Beluga!

A baby beluga was born at Shedd Aquarium today! The baby boy is five-feet, four-inches long and weighs 162 pounds and rides around on his mom's back (that's the best part).  I was just at the aquarium a few weeks ago and I had no idea the momma beluga whale was preggo! This calls for a whale inspired list of handmade items, am I right?

Share |

My Holiday Gift Picks for Dad

Finding the right gifts can be difficult. I've created a new series of Holiday Gift Picks to help you find the right handmade, vintage or just simply interesting gifts for your friends and family. I'm going to start the series off with Dad, since he's always the hardest to find the right gift for. First have a look at my favorite handmade gifts for dad...

Here are a few of my favorite gadgets...

Even I want this laser tape measure.	Wake up to weather and the time with the Knock on Wood Station Clock.
Moar lazerz! Virtual Laser Keyboard.	Dad will never have to ask a stranger to take the family photo again with this guerilla tripod.

Share |

Handmade iPhone Covers

I am in love with a gadget. It's the new iPhone and it's a delight. I don't think anything is more handy than this lil guy. I've been looking for the perfect handmade iPhone cozy/cover to protect my new obsesion. Which would you choose?

P.S. Much thanks to my twitter buddies who shared their favorite iPhone cozies with me!

Share |

Frenchies!

Oh I love me a bulldog, french, english - any old bulldog. Smooosh faces, snorts, wiggly buts. Hope you enjoy my collection of handmade french bulldog goodies!

Share |

Ad Space Winners!

   

So many great images to choose from! Thanks for everyone who submitted your ad.  I'll put a call out for the next batch at the beginning of November.

Share |

Fascinated

Share |

Free Ad Space - October Edition

Contest closed! See the winners here.

Oh MONDAYS.

Every Monday I feel like Kathy from the Kids in the Hall sketch (watch here). I need a pick me up!

Share |

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays - and tomorrow happens to be Canadian Thanksgiving, and I happen to be Canadian. So today I give thanks to the Canada-based artists above. Press play below to listen to my new favorite Canadian band, Great Diviners! Check them out on Myspace, too.

Share |

Weeds

Regina_Spektor_-_Little_Boxes

I'm not really one to get "toasted" - but I do enjoy Weeds. The show.  You know... on Showtime?  I've spent the last two weeks getting up to speed, and I got to say, I'm hooked. The theme song was covered by a different guest artist for Season 3 - my favorite being Regina Spektor's version (listen above).

Share |