Sunshine

The first dry day after rain is always nice, but today is particularly nice. In fact it is beautiful outside! People are wearing shorts again.

I have beautiful clothing from Twice Shy of Vancouver in my shop. It is all organic cotton, super soft and dyed in great, subtle colors. The shirts are screenprinted and have great cuts - the men's lightweight jacket zips up asymmetrically, and a women's top slouches off the shoulder and is long on the left side. The most fun part is the "fortune" sewn into every sleeve - look for it.

If you drop by the store, be sure to check out the bulletin board inside the door. Not only do I post what's coming to the shop and fun things going on in Brooklyn, I have a crazy picture of me, my mom and my grandmother, in the 70s. It is SO 70s, but I love this picture!

Owls

We've known this for a while but owls are definitely the new squirrel. Do you know what I mean? They are everywhere. We've even got some in the shop.

1. Amy Ruppel "plume" pillows (which just got a nice mention in this month's Lucky)
2. Miele Fresca/Lilywear long-sleeved owl shirts
3. One Good Bumblebee's owl notecard sets

And in other news - it is absolutely autumn here and everyone is knitting, crocheting, felting and sewing away to make lovely scarves and hats for the shop. (You might catch me working on the Endlessly Long Husband Scarf project as well.)

Finally - I didn't stock too many Jill Bliss journals and they are already sold out! The journals will be reprinted in December so I'll get a bunch then. I will be getting her other work sooner than that, by the Blissen collective. Expect fun 2006 calendars, notecards and other finely illustrated items.

Rain

Rain rain go away...well I know we need it but it is a lonely (and damp) thing to be a storekeeper on a day like today. Oh well! Tomorrow will be better!

Many thanks to design*sponge for their marvelous review of our store. I am glad I made the grade, Grace!

New stuff - already we have new stuff. Saucy men's billfolds from J.Fold have arrived, a great gift and absolutely not boring in colored and perforated leather. Also, necklaces from Jewelry by Jessica, they are carefully hand-drawn pendants on leather cord, like little works of art. And, some of the Twelve bags are here - very practical and well-priced for the gentlemen and ladies alike.

In the News

I am so happy for my friends who are in the press, here is a little update and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone.

Meredith of Pellemelle has her cool leather belts in the October InStyle - check it out - as does Lisa of Good on Paper Design. We have Lisa's birthday books in three colorways at the shop, as well as a variety of Pellemelle belts.

Carol's beautiful clothing line Undesigned has been chosen for this year's Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion show in LA! The show is this Friday and I am really excited for her. We'll have her wares in the shop next month.

And, the cable-knit bag that everyone must touch when they walk in the door by Margaret Nicole is featured in the November issue of Cosmopolitan. I have got her bags in different styles and colors hidden all around my little shop for you to discover.

Publications

I am proud to stock some fine reading material but like most booksellers (of which I am very marginally one, now) I am apprehensive about being able to afford doing so. I hope that if you enjoy the few, hard to find titles I have, you will purchase it and support the publisher!

For example, I'm getting a new magazine called Four-Hundred Words, which focuses on short-short nonfiction. It promises "130 pages of awesomeness" and I just couldn't refuse. If you can't come by the store, go to 400words.com and get a copy.

Welcome!

Hi, this is the inaugural post of the weblog for Rare Device, a little shop in Brooklyn. I'm Rena and I'm very excited to be able to feature some of my favorite designers at the shop!

This blog will talk about new items in the shop. Of course, everything is new right now...but yet more goodies are on the way. To start, A Fortes Design of NYC is creating some great pillows for the shop. They are fashioned out of a soft and lusciously dyed canvas, and are screenprinted and machine-washable. Hopefully we'll get some clothing and bags at some point too!

Next up are more bags and wallets for men from Ro. Ro is based in New York also and make super bags in all shapes and sizes for men and women. If you are tired of having the same old Jack Spade bag as everyone else, these are for you.

There will also be new bag designs from Bloom Bags and from Twelve, both from New York. These are unisex totes, bowler bags, and laptop bags in nylon or canvas, and a great value.

Yes we are bag crazy here. Silent Revolution from Southern Cal is going to send us some very cool and urban messengers too.

Clothing - Carol from Undesigned in LA is creating super tops and pants from modern, recycled fabrics for women - they'll be here in a month or less. And Twice Shy in Canada is sending cool graphic tops for men and women.

Please pop by the store soon and say hi. Many of the items I'm getting are limited quantities so you have to act fast.

Cheers,
Rena