Saturday, July 08, 2006

ElasticCo

Elodie, who is a Brooklynite by way of France, came by in a whirlwind and dropped off some of her hand-embellished tops today. Her company, ElasticCo, got lots of press a few years back for her homegoods (bright and fun rubberband bowls and the like) but when I contacted her last year, she had stopped making them. All of a sudden though she is back, and making clothing. The tops have stitching as their ornament, lots of it, that puckers and distorts the neckline. Sometimes there is some screenprinting, of solid circles (and circles have never looked so cool). Or there are dense, rough-cut ruffles. Come by and take a looks.

The hot seller this weekend: Fernworks resin necklaces, which are one of a kind and therefore hard for me to put on Rare Picks for shoppers to enjoy. I'm trying to figure out a way, these necklaces are treasures. Bags are also moving at a good clip, it seems that we have reached a point in the summer where it is almost over (!) and people are looking to get a jump on fall. I know, I know, it's the first part of July, but all the magazines are already focused on fall trends, and it's seeping into everyone's minds...at least in New York.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Scrappy Birds


It's a bird, it's a keychain, it's...a ridiculously cute coin pouch with keyring, constructed from bright scraps of soft lambskin leather. Brought to you by k.autumn, the newest business venture by Kelly (Relish at Home) of Berkeley, CA. The colors are all different, some are metallic, there are 4 eyecolors also, so every birdie is unique. They are just too much all lined up, staring at you.

And - new jewelry from Windsor Terrace designer Devon Driscoll. Devon uses wax (building it up and carving it down) to create her unique pieces, reminiscent of bones, and found objects that seem familiar but a little strange. I will take some pictures soon, we have necklaces, earrings, great rings with spinning components, and some wicked cool cufflinks.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Headbands

Helen from Cookie and the Dude (best company name ever) just dropped by with great fabric headbands, special hand delivery from San Francisco! We got to catch up on West Coast gossip and she and her friend got to do some shopping. Here is a tower of headbands...



(Secretly I got these to address my own personal bad hair days, but you can have them too.)

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Converter

Whew! Thanks everybody for the orders, we are hard at work fulfilling them now. Don't forget we have so, so many more products available in the store, but that means you must come to Brooklyn and say hi. We don't bite. (Also, a slew of stuff is on sale right now in the store!)

Deadly Squire is planning an art show called "Converter" this fall, you get to remix their designs, if you are interested you can get more info by showing your chops to them at converter@deadlysquire.com.

What else is going on? We're anticipating some new shirts from Turk & Taylor, including women's styles this time. And we are looking at a great Brooklyn line called Umsteigen, we hope to have some pieces for the ladies in the next month or so. Susanne makes very small runs of her designs, which fits in with our philosophy perfectly.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Hanna Werning

We're pleased as punch that Daily Candy has featured Hanna Werning's wallpaper-posters! Hanna was thrilled to hear the news though she is now on her summer break in Sweden. As soon as she returns, we'll have plenty of posters to ship out to you. And, please check out the rest of the current Rare Picks, we've added over a dozen products to the online shop.

Yesterday we did a little cruise around our neighborhood before heading to the waterfront to watch the fireworks. The shops were closed but we peeked in windows and all looks good. Out in Boerum Hill, right above a place we used to sublet, is the Nascent Cafe, supposedly some good eats and nice people there. And around the corner is Brooklyn Circus, a young shop that bills itself "the illest men's boutique in Brooklyn". If you love the sneakers, you have to be there.

If you love the clogs, though, there is a shop for you on Atlantic Ave and Nevins, it is a tiny wisp of a store called Triple Happiness and all we could see through the gate were a dozen pair of clogs arranged on a bare white floor. I can't wait to find out the story on this place.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Lovely Things

1. Zaha Hadid show, the paintings especially, at the Guggenheim
2. Chihuly art glass at the New York Botanical Garden
3. Fantastic handcrafted clothing and jewelry at new shop Ai Ai Gasa on 5th Ave, Park Slope (plus an art opening on Friday the 7th)
4. Lemon ice made daily at Court Street Pastry, Carroll Gardens
5. The long holiday weekend - aaaaaah!

Book chat: we've actually been spending our days off preparing our late summer and fall orders for the store. Choosing new books is always lots of fun. One that we are very much looking forward to is By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art which will be out late in the year, just in time for gift-giving, really. Read the synopsis, it sounds very good. (Also, putting the words 'craft' and 'art' together can be contentious so I am curious to see what Shu and Joe have to say about that.)

Soon at the shop: some very well-priced and nicely made not-leather handbags by Melie Bianco, good summer fun bags. Delicate rings in sterling silver, yellow gold and rose gold by Amy Tavern. Fabric-covered headbands by Cookie and the Dude for your bad hair days. Even more jewelry designs in laser-etched stainless steel by Polli. And a big summer sale, soon - make sure you're on the mailing list to find out first.