Water Coasters for Your Water

These lovely little coasters will create acceptable abstract puddles of water on your coffee table. Eco bonus: these coasters are created using environmentally sustainable wood.

A set would make a great hostess gift, too. $27 here by MyLittlePixels.

Nautical Decor: Fleet

I love how well these pendants combine modern and nautical.

'Fleet Objects is the Vancouver based design studio of Zoe Garred. Working primarily with natural materials, Zoe's passion lies in creating objects that are useful but abstract in form and application. By leaving the function of her pieces open to interpretation she invites the user to define the object's significance.'

Visit Fleet here.

There She Blows!

Allergy season and the whale trend collide:




Handmade by Gnome Sweeeet Gnome and available here.

Summer Shimmer

Introducing (drum roll please) 3 new Recycled Sail bags:
The Big Dipper Tote:



Guess I'm dreaming about warm summer nights spent star gazing.

The Silver Streak:


And The Prefect Beach Tote (Because that's what people kept saying when they saw it.)



All available in my shop on Etsy!

Sunshine Harnessed

Today is about as grey as it gets.

But, remember those fantastic bright sunshiny spinnaker sails that I posted about last week? Well, here is the sail upcycled and transformed into accent throw pillows. They are light and fun. Flip them over and you've got a different color combo.
Available in my Etsy shop.

Still Shipping ...

Sew, ship, sew, ship, sew, ship. Repeat.

That's pretty much been the deal for the last couple weeks. It's been great fulfilling orders. Speaking of orders ... back to sewing...and shipping... and sewing.

In the meantime, please enjoy these lovely ship illustrations by Catherine Campbell. Aren't they sweet?

Spinnaker Chair

Spinnaker, a Norwegian company has incorporated new and recycled sail material into it's modern furniture line. Constructed to allow your body to rest in a natural position which promotes circulation, this chair is made for comfort.

'A cruising sailboat is a spectacular sight and confirms that mankind
is subject to the laws of nature. This was our design team’s source
of inspiration when creating the SPINNAKER chair.
'

These chairs are made to order with lots of color and material options. You can even choose the text and symbol for the back of the chair.
Pretty cool.

Nautical Nursery

Came across these bright and simple nautical nursery prints by Finny and Zook.

There are many, many more to choose from and they offer custom design.

The Fish That Got Away

As mentioned in yesterday's post, there were several nautical decor items that didn't make it into the Shopping With feature that ran in the Homes section of the New York Times yesterday.

I like nautical decor when it's not hitting you over the head (with an anchor). But instead suggests the sea in subtle, yet graphic ways. Here were my additional picks:

OK maybe the wallpaper by isn't very subtle - but it sure is fun! ‘Shore Leave’ Wallpaper ($150 per roll) by Brooklyn based Flavor Paper.

Haus Interiors in Nolita has a lovely selection of modern nautical decor. So much so that it was hard to choose. I can easily picture the Feed Stripe Throw ($178) slung over a couch and I love the Sea Grass Cube ($72), too.

Made from re-purposed fishing line woven with vines around a strong metal armature this Fishing Sphere Chandelier ($410 – 630) from Seaside Inspired evokes a images of sand dunes and surf for me.

Hand-printed organic linen tea towels ($18 each) by Madder Root available on Etsy. I love the graphics and the fact that they are made with organic materials and thread as well as solvent free water based inks.

I chose this octopus pillow ($60) by Utilitarian Franchise, another Etsy seller, also for the great contrasting colors and graphic plus the white eco friendly water based paint that they use in the process.

Down East Doormats by Maine Float Rope Company. Above is a medium hand-woven stripe doormat made from reclaimed float rope formerly used by Maine lobstermen $49.95. great background story on their site - worth a visit.

Barmaid cast iron bottle opener ($30) by Nauti and Co a NY based company looks like an artifact that you might find while beach combing ... if you're very, very lucky!

Shopping With the New York Times

I'm thrilled to be featured in todays Home Section of the New York Times. I met with (super nice) reporter Tim McKeough several weeks ago to shop for nautical decor in lower Manhattan for the Shopping With feature. There's also an interactive feature.



I had a great time creating a collection. I'll post later the lovely items that didn't make the story, but are worth a look.

Tying the Knot

I recently shipped off this large assortment of upcycled sail luggage tags to a bride to be from Montauk, NY. She is having a nautical theme wedding (in a few weeks!) and the tags will used as place cards. Each tag has an authentic sail seam running though it and they are all finished off with a lovely blue tie (shown in knotted bundles). I love the idea of the guests keeping them and using them for travel well after the wedding.

Best Wishes!

Go Ask Alice

Ho hum housework? Go ask Alice of Alice Supply Co. She's got quite a different answer. Of course I'm partial to the nautical navy and white stripes, but the bright stripes are nice, too.

Introducing: Recycled Sail Pouches

Say hello to Reiter8's latest addition: the recycled sail zippered pouch.

These pouches are perfect for when you are heading out for a day on the boat or beach and need to keep sun block, glasses, keys, an ipod plus a little cash from sloshing around loose in your beach bag.

Whether you use it as a pencil case or cosmetic case, the heavy duty chunky YKK zipper will keep your belongings from wandering away into the abyss that lurks in the bottom of every bag.

$25 each
Available here.

Oh Boy, Ohoy

Ohoy (No, that's not a typo) is the name of this sweet nautical wallpaper designed by Sweed Elisabeth Dunker of Fine. It's made of non-woven material, stable, durable and simple to hang. Order pre-cut lengths to fit your wall exactly.


Available here. Found via Design*Sponge

WIP - Recycled Sail Luggage Tag

Recently, I received a special request to customize a luggage tag with a number two for a second anniversary gift. Cotton is the traditional gift for a second anniversary and they are celebrating with a trip to the Bahamas. One hitch, my regular luggage tags have only a stitch of cotton - meaning the only cotton in them is the stitching.

In response, I created a custom made luggage tag made of recycled sailcloth with a stripe of navy organic cotton canvas decorated with a machine stitched number 2. Happy anniversary!

I think I'm going to be making a lot more of these ...

The Plastiki Adventure

The Plastiki is David de Rothschild's mission, dream, expedition and boat made entirely from recycled plastic. Rothschild and crew have recently set sail on a 100 day, 10,000 mile journey from San Francisco to Sydney to raise world awareness to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink more of the planets natural resources.

The mission's philosophy is:

"... about recognizing that waste is fundamentally a design flaw (it does not appear in nature) It’s about re-thinking waste as a resource. It’s about cyclical ‘cradle-to-cradle’ philosophies rather than linear thinking when it comes to how we design our world. It’s about a better understanding of the lifecycle’s and materials used in our everyday lives."

Good luck, Plastiki! Track progress and view video blog entries here. Additional videos and more on Plastiki's You Tube Channel.

photographs courtesy of Luca Babini, illustration by Andrew Rae

Crochet Covered Stones

I missed out on today's sale of these lovely crochet covered stones from Resurrection Fern. Can't you picture them resting on a summer cottage window sill? Or on a desk at the ready to hold papers down?

My calendar is marked for her next sale: Thursday March 25 at 4pm EST

Between now and then check the photos in her shop - I particularly love the stone fish - clever!

Happy Weekend!