Friday, May 29, 2009

Feeling Lucky?



Must ... keep ... sewing!

Sewing lots these days! On the machine at the moment is a red number 13 pillow.

Gearing up for 'The Renegade' next weekend and the Brooklyn Museum's first Eco Fair next Sat night.

And with a little bit of luck of my own, I'll have a few new products. Sneak peeks next week.

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

On Newsstands Now!



Hey, hey! Check out this months issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Reiter8 pillows are featured in the Indoors Style Made Simple article on decorating with type. The article is full of ideas and resources. Pick up your copy today!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Fleet Week and Nautical Fashion

Hey, Hey! It's Fleet Week here in NYC.
In honor of the sailors, Time Out New York is running a story on Nautical Themed Fashion with the help of a very cute octopus!



Check out those super cute shorts from anthropologie and at the bargain price of $4.80 is the anchor necklace from Forever21.

and..


Thanks TONY and Happy Fleet Week!

Check out the Fleet Week schedule of events here.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Balancing Act


Happy (Belated) Mother's Day.

Now back to the balancing act of being wife, friend, sole proprietor, family accountant, cook, taxi, tutor, maid, set dresser (I know there's more to list, but I have to go photograph some bags) (Oh!) photographer + mom.

If you have tips or advice on living a balanced life, do share!

Friday, May 8, 2009

Mom and Pop Shop



Have you found that special gift for mom yet? If not, pop in to 'Thanks, Mom' a pop up shop at 303 Grand. They have dedicated their space from May 6 - 9th to all things mom.
The gift shop will be filled with mom-centric gifts including soaps, handmade cards, fake “MOM” tattoos, bags, gardening accessories and more. It’s the perfect place to find a gift that truly says: thanks, mom.
All merchandise is hand-made by designers, artists, and crafters from across the country. Sorry, no macaroni necklaces here, but shoppers will be able to find limited edition and one-of-a kind gifts that can be found only in this store.

I dropped off an arm-full of special totes and purses for the shop (you can see some in the picture below) - perfect for mom!

Dates:
May 6th-May 9th
Store Hours:
Wednesday- Friday 3:00pm-8:00pm
Saturday 12:00pm-8:00pm
map

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Special Delivery



Whaling captain James Colnett established the wooden post barrel on the Galapagos Island of Floreana in 1793. At the time whaling was a big industry, ships were typically gone for 2 years at a time. The Galapagos Islands were a frequent stop for these ships. Outbound ships would drop off letters after rounding the cape and the ships returning home would mail them.

Over the years thousands of ships have stopped to send and receive mail at Post Office Bay. Many have posted a sign of driftwood or other materials memorializing their visit. This is the only area in the Galapagos were graffiti is still acceptable. This tradition has continued over the years, and even today visitors may drop off and pick up letters, without stamps, to be carried to far destinations.

My parents recently visited the Galapagos Islands. During their trip, they stopped off at Post Office Bay and dropped in several postcards.

My parents postcard dated 4/2 took just 35 days to travel 3148.2 miles (Thanks distance calculator!) ... without a stamp! It was personally delivered to me last night by Clinton Hill resident John. He knocked on my door and handed me the postcard which I assumed it had been miss-delivered to him by the post office. When he explained the tradition and that he had carried this with him from his recent travels to the islands, I was floored. I felt like I won the lottery. A hello from my parents personally delivered from around the world by a neighbor - how cool is that?!

In this age of emails, tweets, voice mails and text messages, I can tell you NOTHING compares to a personally delivered 'hello' from a friend or family. A truly unique and special experience. Thanks Mom and Dad and John!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Upcycle - Catching on Quite Well


First, a little background: A week or so ago Etsy tweeted:
"I love the word upcycle and what it connotes. Recycling uses something again, upcycling transforms it so it’s even better than before."

I responded:
"Agreed! I wish ‘upcycle’ would be considered a real word to the spell checker so it’s not always underlined in red when I type it."

Junkprints chimed in:
"We should submit ‘upcycle’ to the word Nazis and get it recognized as a real word"

and Etsy suggested:
"Everyone go make friends with someone who works on the OED"
And added this link to a blog post about a quest to get 'food coma' into the EOD.

Since I'm a little short on friends who work for the OED, I emailed the Merriam Webster people:

Hello,
I was wondering if there are any plans to add the word 'upcycle' to your dictionary? It is a term coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle. Upcycling is the process of converting an industrial nutrient (material) into something of similar or greater value, in its second life.


I actually heard back!!
"Upcycle" is one of the many words we're currently tracking, but our evidence for this use of it (the term is also sometimes used to refer to an upward trend in business activity) is quite limited. I'll add the text of your e-mail to our files, though, and will also do some digging to see what else I can find. The little bit I've seen in the Lexis-Nexis database so far shows that the word as used by McDonough and Braungart is catching on quite well.


Upcycle is a 'real word' to me and I use it often. Although I'm not holding my breath for inclusion in the next edition, it was nice to hear that it's on their radar and perhaps someday will be defined to a wider audience. Until then it's up to us. Spread the word about the word! Use the 'upcycle' today!

Friday, May 1, 2009

WIP - Thanks, Mom


Sewing some extra special bags today for Thanks, Mom a pop-up-shop at 303GRAND in Williamsburg Brooklyn. 303GRAND is a revolving storefront where you can find unique gifts for mom from local artists and designers.

They are also building a Thanks, Mom collage wall:
Bring in a photo of you and your mom and we will place it on the wall. We’re starting to collect photo’s now, and we’d love to include yours. It’s really easy, just bring a photo by the shop, send it to us via snail mail, or shoot us an email and we’ll print it out. (email jpeg format 1mb or less to thanksmom@303grandnyc.com)

May 6th-May 10th
Noon-8pm each day
303 Grand St. btw. Havemeyer & Roebling in Williamsburg