Clay, Wood & Cotton

I'm delivering some recycled sail bags and pillows to Clay, Wood & Cotton today! Upcycling handmade mavens Kristen (Cakehouse) and Kristy (Beacon Bookmarks) have joined forces and opened a lovely shop at 149 Main Street in Beacon, NY which is full of handmade goods.

Crafts Night is every Thursay from 7-9 pm. You bring your project and they will supply the snacks! They also host classes. Check here for more info. Getting to Beacon is easy from from NYC by car or train: Check here for directions

Spring hours are:
Weekends 11:00 am - 7 pm
Weekdays 11:00 am - 6 pm (Closed Tuesdays)
Thursday: 11:00 - 9pm

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!

LL Bean

Reiter8's recycled sail pillows are now available at LL Bean! I'm so thrilled that a large retailer like LL Bean is stocking handmade.

"Discover a great selection of home furnishings—all under one roof. You'll find one-of-a-kind handmade items, an assortment of vintage items, and fresh takes on our classic home products. Stop by anytime—we’re open 24 hours every day."

Look for them at the LL Bean Home Store located adjacent to the flagship store at 12 Nathan Nye Street in Freeport, Maine. Hours? 24/7 365. Map and directions.

Brooklyn Renegade '10

I'm excited to share that Reiter8 will back at the 'Renegade' this year!

Mark your calendars for this year's Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair at McCarren Park on June 5/6 from 11-7.

Bookmarked

Our forecast is for rain just about all weekend This jaunty vintage green plaid umbrella made in the 1940's would come in handy. Its available here from Bella Umbrella.


New on my bookmark bar:

25 free downloads from Urban Outfitters

Does Your Business Stick from Crafting an MBA

EcoMom

Blood Orange Caramels from MattBites

Have a great weekend.

Cal Lane

Cal Lane's lace shovels immediately caught my eye for their striking beauty and contrasting material and pattern. Her work continues to develop and amaze most recently with using oil drums. 'Sweet Crude' is currently on exhibit at The Art Gallery of Mississauga and through April 3rd at The Design Center in Philadelphia.

From Grandma's cupcakes to oil drum tapestries. Cal Lane remembers watching her grandmother bake cupcakes, then cover them with paper doilies and sift icing sugar on top to create a decorative lace pattern. The fragility and frivolity of the sugar patterns contrasted with the solidity and substance of the cupcakes is a striking blend of tension and harmony that Lane draws upon for her art.
- Art Gallery of Mississauga

More photos and information at Cal Lane's site: callane.com

Modern Printed Matter

Modern Printed Matter runs their greeting card/stationary/design business out of this lovely studio/store on 420 Main Street in Warren, RI.

"In addition to our own paper goods, our studio store is filled with a selection of hard to find handmade gift items from independent designers across the globe." (Included among them are Reiter8 products!)

Owner and designer Anna has recently joined forces with fellow new mom Elizabeth of Muse to share the space. This little shop now boasts the addition of beautiful handcrafted jewelry from independent designers across America.

Below: Modern Printed Matter's new fabric stitched cards and Muse's Silver Red Woven Bracelet.



Store hours: Tues - Fri: 10 - 5:30, Sat: 12-5, Sun + Mon: closed

Cut It Out

Whoa.
Joe Bagley of Papercuts by Joe is a master papercutter. Originally attracted by the tall ship cut out (above) but blown away by the 18 x 24 photo realistic paper cut out of rope on a dock. Go ahead - take a peek - it's amazing! Additional projects, tips and advice abound on his blog.

New Travel Bags!

Introducing the travel series. These totes and purses have a great new woven cotton handle with a reinforced strip of leather at the peak. I think they will age wonderfully.

They feel more traditional and are well matched with recycled sail bag 'bodies' that feature simple sail seams. I think the totes are especially great for men.

A few are now available in Reiter8's Etsy Shop. A few more are in production and will be listed soon.

Nautical Narwhals

I'm ready for the warmer days. I want winter to end ... preferably now. But no, there's snow falling and Spring will just have to wait another month ... or two.

Stumbled across these Knitting Narwhals by Sally Harless. I think they are very sweet and perfect for today.

She's having a buy one giclee print get one free sale in her Etsy shop: Sadly Hamless. Enjoy!