Pulp

This is not store-related but it is friend and neighbor-related. Paul Malmont will be reading from his first novel on May 24 at Bookcourt in Cobble Hill. It promises to be "thrillingly, unapologetically pulp" and really, how can you go wrong with that?

In non-pulp news, we'll be getting a few copies of Fushigi Circus, a Mark Ryden book that is published in Japan (and yes, in Japanese). These will sell out I predict so if you are interested, let me know.

Stickies

Sticky note sets that is. Though stickies as in "yummy after-dinner drink" sound pretty good too. Anyway, we have some sticky note pads (to use a non-copyrighted phrase) from Lisa of Good on Paper - they are very petite and cute. Four designs in a pack so you don't have to choose!

Lisa also sent notepads, the long skinny sort for making lists. Everyone loves lists...sometimes the online kind is great but sometimes you need to jot stuff down on paper.

What else - we hear we will be featured in a magazine next week so that is pretty exciting. And a very dear friend will be in town so that is exciting as well!

Oh - make sure you put the Renegade Craft Fair on your calendar if you are in Brooklyn. It's mid-June (Father's Day weekend I think) and I was reviewing the vendor list, at least 9 of my designers will be there. Spend one Saturday there and then come spend the Sunday here at the shop - it will be the 7th Ave Street Fair and we're going to have a giant sale on a lot of things, put a table out in front, etc. We might invite some special guest designer friends to bring their wares as well.

Buttons

A nice lady named Rachel from Portland, OR just stopped by to sell me some of her 1 inch buttons. People love picking them up at the shop so I had to indulge. Rachel uses a lot of vintage magazines and books for her source material so there are many one of a kinds. I actually sold eight (!) just while sorting through the pile on the counter. A small portion of the pile:

Edible

Yesterday I saw two people furtively stuffing a corner newsbox with magazines. I picked one up later, it is a brand-new mag called Edible Brooklyn and it is printed on such nice paper (first impressions are important!). It looks like a nice and thoughtful treatment of all the kinds of food Brooklyn has to offer. Keep your eye out for this one.

Today is quiet at the shop, I think everyone is out enjoying the weather. I'm about to put a chair outside myself, sit and make jewelry. I've decided to add more Rare Device-only jewelry to the store, so be on the lookout for some very limited-edition pieces.

A California Moment

This morning I woke up thinking I wanted good Indian food, and tonight I find this article about Vik's in Berkeley. I miss this place SO MUCH. Don't look at the pictures if you are hungry.

Back in Brooklyn...I did make it to Watana Thai and can say that the spicy salad is very spicy. The iced tea (without the condensed milk for once) helped quite a bit.

David visited and brought more Bubble Roome soaps etc by, for those who need their Fennel soap fix. He says he has picked up some stores from the Shop Etc. mention and that is great! I love it when my designers get press.

Buried

I am literally buried in new products. Every Wednesday is like this, it is like Christmas and I am both the excited little kid and the parent who has to clean up the mess.

I took a few pictures for you.

Beautiful bubbly handblown vases from Terrill Design of Oakland, CA. This is something I have always wanted to try, it is such a physical way to make art. You can also see a couple new Karin Eriksson shapes here.



More Karin stuff - including fun horned cups of rough black clay.



Giant heavy rose garland bowl, this one would be a very special gift for a wedding or housewarming.



Easy and fun sling bag by Delilah Crown of San Francisco. I also have a few screenprinted tees to go with.



The House of Spy clothes are also here, and the Tencel pieces from Undesigned, but no pictures yet. These are the summery tops and I am wondering if I should hold them back for a little while longer. It's supposed to be nearly 80 degrees tomorrow, though...

Jill Bliss sent a few tees with underwater themes, more fabric covered buttons, and a couple new stuffed birds to keep Chris company. The new birds are named Logan and Donal, by the way and they are plaid!

Finally, Laurice Curran dropped off new jewelry...she's going in a new direction with less stones and more metalwork, but the stones she does use are fabulous and rare cuts and kinds like peruvian opal, rutilated quartz and gaspeite.

Cool Elsewhere

Love these tees and prints. Looks like I missed good things at the APE (alternative press expo) in SF this year.

For fans of Karin Eriksson's work, she explains the decal transfer process.

Coming to the store any second now: more Bubble Roome soaps and goodies and a few more tops by House of Spy and Undesigned.

Kristen A.

Here is that Kristen Aronsson bag I was talking about. This one is in teal. Each of the eight colors has complementary metallic leather and cotton twill interiors, a zip pocket plus cell phone and ipod/gadget pocket.

Shopping Guide

Lucky Magazine's website has just been revamped and we are pleased to make the cut for their Favorite Shops NYC guide. Our friends at Dear Fieldbinder are representing Brooklyn as well, hurray!

I often have discussions with people who visit the store for the first time about how they found us, and about strategies to get more people to find us - encouraging people to walk down just a bit further, or go home by a different route. I rather like this end of the neighborhood and I need to work with the other great boutiques and restaurants to make it a destination in its own right, which suddenly somehow it is!

Today I am not at the shop, and I will be running errands in the diamond district and also my own neighborhood. This means buying bulk foods at Park Natural and some pork chops at Los Paisanos. Yes, I go to the same places every week too.