Magazine Junkie

I am flipping through Me Magazine (memagazinenyc.com). It is a beautiful and fascinating quarterly that gives insight about a guest editor from the creative community (this issue, Habitual clothing company founders Nicole and Michael Colovos) and their friends, some creatives and some not. It is sort of like Interview crossed with This is Your Life and it's quite lovely.

Other magazines or zines (the lines continue to blur) we carry on a semi-regular basis are Theme, The Drama, Cabinet, Zing, Kitchen Sink, Mastermind, Dot Dot Dot, JPG, Ambidextrous, Hamburger Eyes, Mome and I'm sure I'm missing a couple. I also have a book about magazines called...wait for it...Inside Magazines and it's very very good.

In the CD player - Luna "Lunapark" and Pete Krebs "Western Electric". Having a mellow moment here.

Karin Eriksson

We've just got another shipment from Sweden with more gorgeous Karin Eriksson ceramics. The design blog design*sponge just did a nice writeup on her work. I have more of the funnel-shaped cups plus the stockier "beakers" with great graphics, as well as more tealight holders with new graphics. More pictures soon when I get batteries for the camera! I will very likely put the beakers on the website for sale, too.

Today is a bright and crispy day in Brooklyn. My landlords (aka Best Landlords on the Planet, who gave me a ride to work, provided lunch and utensils, and a cup of coffee in the car to boot) say it's going to snow this weekend but looking outside right now it is hard to believe! If you are ready to snuggle up at home, we have got Beehouse teapots in a lovely shade of blueberry. Grab one of these and a book and you are all set. Currently I am listening to a CD mix made for the shop by my friend over at March Records, reading Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty' and drinking Saffron Tea, which I would stock at the shop if I could find the distributor, it is so good...

Valuable Info

Most of you can just skip this post but regardless of what you do for a living, I still think it is a fascinating read. A lady shopkeeper in Portland, OR has written two very smart posts about what to do (and what not to do) as a designer looking to sell your wares to shops. I have been meaning to address this somewhere on my website but Alicia's info is so spot-on that it would be pointless to rewrite it. As both a shopkeeper and a designer myself, I agree with everything. Hopefully this will help aspiring designers be prepared before approaching a store.

Wholesale, Retail, and Beginning to Sell Your Handmades to Shops -

Part One
Part Two

I have read books on "the science of shopping" and such but this is the other perspective, and may help people appreciate handmade objects at stores even more, and understand about the pricing, availability, et cetera. I really do cherish the handmade goods at my store, and quite a bit of it qualifies. As a "design object/accessories/gift shop" it would entirely be possible to not have handmade goods at all, and still have a very interesting shop filled with covetable items. However, that's not what I wanted to do and that's not where this shop is headed...and if it ever starts going that direction, I hope somebody says something to me!

I am a maker. I love to make jewelry. I knit and crochet. I silkscreen. I hand-bind books. I take photographs. And, I am a business owner. It makes life very interesting ;)

(Thanks to Erin for the tipoff.)

Bookworm

It's no secret that I love books so here are some images from an exhibit that is just amazing: http://storms.typepad.com/booklust/2006/01/lost_in_books.html

I have many many titles at the store right now. I am searching for the right way to display them, it is more challenging than you think, but sometimes a book just jumps out at the right person and that is that. I buy limited quantities so I don't feel right in displaying them on the site for people to buy (and then there is Amazon, but that's another story) but do check out these titles, and if you want it, let me know. Or, just come down and browse these beautiful books.

Andrea Zittel: Critical Space (she is super-hot right now, and is at the New Museum in Chelsea through May)
Writing: Urban Calligraphy and Beyond (grafitti at the next level)
American Alphabets (gorgeous photos, I talked about this one before)
Type One (we love our typography!)
Berlin Street Art (self explanatory - inspirational book of photos)
The Comics Journal Library: The Writers (interviews with comics creators)
Poor Sailor (small comics story based on Guy de Maupassant's short story "At Sea")
...and there are more

Also: don't miss our sale this Saturday and Sunday but also don't miss the Brooklyn Designcollective V-Day Sale at the Old Stone House on Saturday. I am going to try and sneak out and drop by, there will be many independent designers of all kinds of goods, should be a great sale.