Cordial Lee

Having a sassy apron always seemed like an oxymoron to me. Why would you buy an adorable accessory that you obviously WON'T want to dirty up to wear while protecting yourself from doing just that? However, I feel like this is one of those mysteries that perhaps men will never understand, and women will continue to participate in without fulling knowing why until the end of time. Or spacesuits. Either way.

Until we either come to our senses and start buying ugly aprons, Cordial Lee has a great selection that I am absolutely in love with. Aprons are only a small part of the collection, but I'm already in love with this gem, the Bib Audrey Woven Houndstooth Adult Apron:

Adult apron sounds a little naughty, but we can overlook that. For $31.50, you can even get matching oven mitts! Bring on the food. I'm going to whip up a souffle and look damn good while doing it.

New Kidrobot jamz

Kidrobot has a ton of fresh new swag and goodies for sale: check out their NEW Section, and buy me everything there! January 28th marks the launch of the latest Dunny line, FATALE. To say I'm stoked is an understatement.

"Artists in this innovative series include Alex Anderson, Catalina Estrada, Klor, CW, Aiko, Kathie Olivas, Wendi Koontz, Koralie, The Baroness, Anna Chambers, Amanda Visell, Amy Ruppel, Julie West, Toofly, Junko Mizuno, Aya Kakeda, Tara McPherson, and Sara Varon."
CHECK IT!

The Curiosity Shoppe

No amateur, professional, occasional, or practicing designer should ever find themselves without at least a half-decent library. The internet is a vast and often overwhelming resource for all things modern and historical, but nothing beats the old fashioned pages between covers, and sometimes even a good quarterly doesn't cut it. The Curiosity Shoppe has grown immensely since I started following them a few years back, and their library selection is second to none. Self described as "a carefully curated, extremely subjective selection of some of our favorite books in the whole wide world", their offerings range from subjects as obvious as contemporary and as quirky as children's books with silly illustrations. Check out their selection, and the rest of their online store as well. Not the most extensive of shoppes, but one of the best, methinks! While you're at it, check their crafty blog, Smarts & Crafts for tricks of the craft trade.

Chairs

I hate chairs. Not because I hate sitting or any simplistic reason like that; actually, it's a very deep-seeded hate, stemming from a former awful office job that revolved around the attempted manufacturing and distributing of those godforsaken items. However, I can't resist the kitschyness of these handmade semiprecious metal pendants made by Bruxe Design in Montreal. Tiny Little Chairs are available for purchase and are sure to please any sitting enthusiast with an eye for design.
Picture taken from Swiss Miss.

Oopsy Daisy/Studio Avo

The dawning of a new era! Today I had the privilege and pleasure of starting at No Boundaries, Inc., home of Oopsy Daisy and Studio Avo- wholesale website of fine art and miscellaneous items for children and adults! The day was filled with paperwork, tutorials, and introductions, and I think I'm going to be very happy to be a part of this dynamic, interesting, and creative environment!

The BEST part of my day was when the girl who sits next to me and I got to pick out our new wall art! New people means new views, and after flipping through the catalog we decided to go with two pieces by Andrea Cobb, a North Carolina based artist who had studied Illustration at Parsons School of Design in NYC:

Morning Pond

Evening Pond (images used from Studio Avo and are copyrighted Andrea Cobb).

I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this, and I'm looking forward to much more exposure to art and artists that I'm not familiar with. Check out both sites for extremely high quality, GREAT stuff for all ages.

In Stitches- Teresa Cole

Crafting is at an all-time peak interest, with fantastic organizations like local Craft Mafias and independent crafters worldwide offering handmade goods on private sites and Etsy. Teresa Cole of In Stitches (and Richmonder!) offers hand-dyed yarns for the DIY knitters at reasonable prices, along with hand-knitted baby items and made-to-order knitted goods. Check out her iCrave store to pick up some fantastic custom dyed yarns for your next project!

Photo: Western Sky Knits Collab.