Storque articles: SPOTLIGHT

Etsy Finds: Vintage Straw Purses

Sat, 17 May 2008 20:29:00 -0000

There are some fantastic vintage goodies to be found on Etsy — and the new 'vintage' search option has made it that much easier to shop for them!

Vintage accessories have been a particular vice of mine for a long time! It's sort of genetic — in the 1950's and 1960's my grandmother had a small shop that sold antiques and ladies' accessories! One of the first gifts I remember receiving from her was a stuffed toy bunny tucked into a small vintage straw purse. I still have that purse, and I can't wait to break it out come summertime!

...Check out some of the delightful vintage straw bags that can be found on Etsy. One of my favorites can be found in softspoken's shop — quintessentially summery and fun!

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Etsy Finds: The Original African Monk Bag

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:45:00 -0000

Whether it be a jaunt to the market or a journey to the shores of Zanzibar, you cannot go wrong with this lovely tote from jetsetting Etsy artist vwithoutb. A self-proclaimed world traveller, vwithoutb was inspired by the traditional monk's bags she found in Cambodia and Thailand; however, she decided to make it with the exquisite hand-dyed gara cloth she picked up in Sierra Leone in West Africa.

Wow, this gal really gets around!

Each bag is lined with a thin matching cotton liner, and has a small zip-pocket to put money and valuables, shown here in taupe with light pink highlights.

Find out more about far-flung places in our Etsy World Tour column.

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Etsy Finds: Ride your Bike

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Reading about National Bike to Work Day (it's today!) got me wondering what bicycle-themed items Etsy had to offer these days. Father's Day is fast approaching and I need to find some bike nerd gear for my baby daddy.

I'm posting this extra early this morning so you all have to time to pull your bike out of the garage, fix that flat you've been ignoring since October, dig your helmet out of the back of the closet and RIDE THAT BIKE TO WORK TODAY.

Thank you, that is all.

Love,
Anda

Sunny Day

So many bike caps are made from brown and grey and black wool and that's that. I love the summer colors in this one. By rayzorsharp, $25.

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la bicicletta shoulder bag

I missed this sweet tote when I wrote about pleated bags a few days ago. By katedurkin, $62.

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LIGHTNING BRIGHT hoodie vest

Stay safe in traffic with the brightest hoodie vest in the world. Look at how it's reflecting off her arms in that picture!! No one will not see you in this. By builtinpittsburgh, $47.

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Softcover Bookplate - Tandem

Bike-themed bookplates by Etsy design fave unlesssomeonelikeyou, $10.

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womens rainbow bicycle T - medium

This shirt has been in my favorites for so long. Simple and cute and great for long springtime bike rides. By vital, $30.

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Recycled Inner Tube Belt

Back home in Richmond, kids I knew were always making themselves belts from spent bike tires. Apparently the tubes work well in a pinch, too. Belt by CyclonaDesigns, $19.

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Girl's Ride Bicycle Seat Bag

Need a chic way to carry your small things on your ride? Pouch by dogwoodlane, $18.

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Breeze Wheel - 4 note card set

I love the whole concept of this shop. The name says it all: bicyclepaintings, $6.

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Recycle Swarovski Bike Bell

It's a crystal-encrusted bicycle bell. Amazing. sparkledawne, $49.99.

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Fresh Shop: Flyinghousewife

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:48:00 -0000

Remember your fourth grade penpal from the USSR that wrote you one letter politely inquiring about your school and then never responded to your urgent questions like Do they have Alf in the Soviet Union or what? Last week when I was searching for items to feature in the emails I write, I flew headlong into flyinghousewife: a cute new shop with one innovative idea: selling handmade, handwritten letters. Now you can choose from six flavors, ahem, topics of correspondance and in a few short days a totally engaging letter will appear in your unloved and underused mailbox. Voila, instant penpal!

I chose the one that promised to include a recipe for delicious-sounding lemon bars, and my letter from Joon arrived quickly, with the promised recipe and a ultra sweet letter that was written to me (not some canned paragraphs that could apply to anyone out there). In fact, flyinghousewife's letter made me immediately want to get out my stationary and write her back. And that is penpal magic, friends.

I'll let you know how the lemon bars turn out!

Have you seen a new shop with potential? Leave it in the comments! Also, check out previous Fresh Shops for more good stuff.

Etsy Finds: Vintage Gunne Sax

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:59:00 -0000

This dress from CalicoVintage brings me back to some seventh grade dance I attended. My childhood in Queens was filled with Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons and my Jodi doll. It was the '70's! And nothing better epitomizes the pretty early 1970's neo-Victorian, hippy fashion than Gunne Sax. Personally, I like the country fake denim look and the empire waists that make your legs seem a million miles long. Pick one up to wear to your next freak folk fest.

ps
Did you know that you can now search just Vintage in the drop-down Etsy search?

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Etsy Finds: She Sells Sea Shells....

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:10:00 -0000

Today's Finds were curated by the smart and talented Danielle Maveal aka daniellexo aka PreciousPups. Clearly she has the beach on the brain. Maybe it's time for someone to take a nice long vacation! Take a peep at her awesome shell-themed Etsy Finds....

Sea Glass and Sea Shell Necklace

Oh oh oh. White tee, jean shorts, sea shell necklace = outfit I want to wear on my the way to the beach. By seaglassdesigns, $48.

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Quapug Meetup

Too funny! I want to meet up with these dudes. By CapeCard, $9.

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Sterling Silver Seashell Pendant with chain

Hmmm...maybe I'll wear this one too! By LeeLooStudio, $45.

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GIANT SHELL- Limited Edition

This handmade shell is 30 inches long! Have a look at the listing to see pictures of the artist carving this piece. Very extraordinary! By MaryMakiRae, $395.

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Clam Shell Bowl

This porcelain piece is modern and organic, my very favorite design combo. By elementclaystudio, $95.

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Coco Mango Sea Shell Salt Soap

Lather up! By LoveLeeSoaps, $3.50.

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Conch Shell Coasters

To rest your pina colada on. By thepaperpeony, $12.

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pink cotton, lace and cowrie shell CUFF

Adorable, no? By HeidiMoon, $20.

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Featured Buyer: Danielle de Lange of The Style Files

Wed, 14 May 2008 19:19:00 -0000

This week's Featured Buyer is Danielle de Lange of The Style Files, the innovative Dutch design blog full of pretty designs and finds, meant to invigorate and inspire with observations and ideas related to design, interiors, art and other life enhancing subjects. We so admire Danielle's taste in design and we've got summer travel on the mind! This week, she chooses her favorites on Etsy.

Hello! My name is Danielle de Lange and I have a blog about design and (life) style called The Style Files. I am dedicated to searching the globe for inspirational finds and sharing these with others. Observations and ideas related to design, interiors, art and other life enhancing subjects are posted daily on my blog. As I live in The Netherlands, I write mainly from a European viewpoint, with an emphasis on Dutch and not-so-standard design. Last year a life long dream to set up my own business was fulfilled when I opened Le Souk, an online store offering beautiful and unique products for you and your home. Mixing modern, traditional and handmade, every single product at Le Souk is selected by me with a lot of care and love.

I very much encourage the trend towards buying more unique (not mass-produced) products. Whenever I buy something, I ask myself if I really like it and will like it for years to come. This way you surround yourself with things you really love, your home doesn't get cluttered and it's is better for the environment. That is why I am a big Etsy fan. How great is it to find unique, handmade items and support independent designers at the same time?!

Here are some of my favorite Etsy stores and products:

EllieCurtisDesigns makes the most gorgeous pillows, which are screen printed in her studio in East London. Ellie takes inspiration from everything, but she is especially inspired by birds and their quick, jerky light movements and museums full of curious objects.

I love Simply Photo by Jennifer Causey (aka photobird). Jennifer photographs everyday life moments in a beautiful way. Her gorgeous photos are sold as prints and postcards in her Etsy shop. Jennifer states that "these works represent my continuous journey to slow down and discover the beauty in everyday life. I am inspired by nature, design, form and color." Simply beautiful!

Topoware, a collaboration between Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino from Canada and Karola Torkos from Germany, was recently featured in the New York Times. Their gorgeous tableware collection questions the landscape of dining.

Laurie of Aubergine228 lives in San Francisco and makes the most gorgeous jewelery! I love this coral necklace in cast gold.

The woman behind Absoluut is from my home country, The Netherlands. She says in her profile that she "work[s] very hard to make sure all my customers are happy with their purchases." I know she does, because I own several of her beautiful cushions that she makes from vintage fabrics.

One of my longtime Etsy favorites is skinnylaminx. I was already reading Heather Moore's blog and was very happy when she announced that she was opening her Etsy store. I was honored when Heather told me that I was one of the first to order one of her gorgeous tea towels!

Bombus (meaning busy bee) combines the talent of Amelia Coward and Lee Hunnisett De Beer. This UK based duo creates beautiful designs from used fabrics, and vintage books and comics. I especially LOVE this print.

Karin from stiksel is a graphic designer from Rotterdam who loves to create all kind of things: photographs, textiles, collages, etc. She likes to surround herself with beautiful supplies and is inspired by the material and the textures. All items in her shop are handmade, unique, of high quality — mostly recycled and vintage — materials and made with lots of love and care. I love to travel and this passport case makes traveling even more fun!

While searching for a small handbag I found RedRubyRose's beautiful clutch purses on Etsy. My favorite is the one with the peacock feather print. (Currently sold out, but lots more prints available!)

Etsy store everyjotandtittle is great for buying gift tags and labels! Owner Kellie loves to create using paper. Kellie says that she "loves to make things that make people smile." Visit this store and smile!

This stunning leather bag is made by ValhallaBrooklyn, a Scandinavian one-woman company. All her beautiful leather bags are designed, cut, sewed and finished by the designer, using new, vintage and recycled materials.

For more of Danielle's design finds, check out her blog at www.Style-Files.com. For previous Featured Buyers, check out our impressive back log!

Hip Handmade with Modish: Scarves

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:28:00 -0000

Awesome style blog Modish has started a new series that really piques our interest: Hip Handmade. This series utilizes the idea of comparison shopping between the "big box" version of hip clothing and accessories and the handmade, Etsy-style version of said products. As Jena from Modish explains,

"Those big box stores are calling your name with cheap deals on hip clothes and accessories, home goodies that you just can't live without, beckoning you to become part of the latest fashion trends of the moment...it can be hard for the indie design world to keep up! But, they do keep up- it's just sometimes a little more difficult to find the hip handmade goods that rival the big box stores' goods in style, but far surpass them in quality, creativity and uniqueness!"

This post does a whole comparison on the lightweight summer scarves you've seen adorning ladies' necks.

All the handmade options came from Etsy! Check out Modish for more Hip Handmade comparison shopping.

Etsy Finds: The It Bag

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:28:00 -0000

Pining for a brand new, enormous, adorable tote bag but totally sick of tote bags? Have you seen these pleated carry-alls that have swept the Bags and Purse category the last few months? Spring 2008 is clearly the season of the gathered market bag, and here are nine of the best ones we've noticed.

The Market Bag in Provincial Blue

I'm fairly certain that Etsy Treasury and front page darling moop started this whole trend with her wonderfully well-constructed market totes, the inescapable bag of last Christmas. Now in blue! Yay! $83.

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All purpose tote in charcoal

Suitable for all your A3 hauling needs, according to the description. For the hard-to-shop-for graphic designer in your life. By minus, $96.

P.S. It's going to be hard for me not to also feature these Toblerone pouches soon, as they are really so so great.

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Madeleine Bubble Bag in Polkadot Plaid

And old favorite, ohsoretro, weighs in with her version of the pleated tote. $44.

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Bright Blue Shweshwe Tiles Big Town Bag

Pleated bag in a fabric with a story. By thewren, $49.

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Machiavelli in Ocean Blue

Beautfiul color, enormous tote. By morelle, $68.

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Fabulous Floral Spring Bag

This floral print is perfect for spring! By thethreegraces, $35.

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Your Multitask Bag - Beautiful Brick Colour Canvas and Designer fabric

Rust colored pleated bag with a nice decorative metal ring. By iragrant, $69.50.

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The Goldilocks bag - sized just right

A hallmark of this trend is everyone who makes them claims the bags can fit every single possible item you could ever want to schelp around in your purse, yet still be managably "not big." Sweet golden-y tote in, yes, the perfect size by hollyberrydesigns, $29.

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Pleated Purse in Geometric Black with Red Ribbon Accent

What an awesome print. On sale! By jumpupanddown, $30.

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Etsy Finds: Summer Travels

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:15:00 -0000

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about a long needed vacation. Unfortunately, Etsy has been keeping me pretty busy and I have not had much time to actually plan a trip. I am hoping that getting one of these organizers will help inspire the planning process!

I think this will also be great for a few gifts I need to buy — for that graduate that is headed abroad or your friend who is always traveling for work or planning an exciting trip overseas.

I love that these are custom made for each person. Glassbeach has designed the passport pocket to be very snug, but is willing to adjust the pocket if your passport is not the standard 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) width. She even thought of pockets that can accomodate different sized bills! Make sure to allow 7-10 days for construction...In the meantime, I will keep dreaming about vacation.

Where are you dreaming about spending a summer vacation? If you're traveling someplace nice (or live someplace nice where people like to visit), we might want you to contribute to our Etsy World Tour series. Post in the comments!

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