Brooklyn Blossoms

Although the Brooklyn Botanical Garden hosted Sakura Matsui aka the Cherry Blossom Festival last weekend, the CherryWatch Blossom Status Map shows that the trees lining the Cherry Esplanade are still in first bloom.


I went a couple of weekends ago and caught the Japanese Garden in full bloom. Just beautiful - even on a cloudy day.




Pssst: When there aren't special programs running entry to the BBG is FREE on Sat mornings from 10 am - noon. More info on hours and admissions here.

Milestone

I reached my 999th sale on Etsy just shy of midnight last night.

There will be a little something special slipped in with sale 1000 and every sale made today.

Check out the shop here.

No Impact Week

First Monday. New Year. Big to-do list brewing. Studio clean up re org planned. And if that wasn't enough. It's also day 2 of No Impact Week. Oops! I missed day one. Well, it seems fairly forgiving.



More info and registration on the No Impact Project website. Good luck!
If you haven't seen No Impact Man - the year long documented experience of a New Yorker attempting to live without negatively impacting the environment - I highly recommend that you check out. You can play it instantly on Netflix.

On board!

Free Shipping on orders placed by midnight tonight has been extended to Reiter8's shop on Etsy in addition to Reiter8's website.

Happy Cyber Monday!

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!

Brooklyn Renegade '10

Hey, hey! It's the Renegade! The 6th Annual Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn is this weekend: June 5 + 6 from 11am – 7pm in McCarren Park. The fair will go down Rain or Shine.

It's FREE-TO-ATTEND! It's a craft, art, design and DIY spectacular and has over 300 of today’s finest indie-craft talents from all over the nation, free workshops, entertainment + other features!

My booth number is 208 and it's on the Lorimer Street side.

Hope to see you there!

Nautical Wedding

I was recently contacted by a bride-to-be looking to add nautical details to her Newport, RI wedding in July. After discussing several options, she decided on a ring pillow made from upcycled sailcloth.

I had a sail with a 'reefing' grommet that was perfect to secure the rope to hold the wedding rings. I customized it with the date embroidered on the royal blue stripe that matches her bridesmaid dresses. It was a fun project I loved creating something truly unique and special for her wedding day.

Give Away!

Hey, hey! We're giving away a Blue 8 Recycled Sail Tote over at Etsy in honor of Earth Day.

OK, so you say Earth Day was yesterday. Officially, you are correct. But just as all the environmental awareness that takes place on Earth Day should spill over beyond just one day, your opportunity to win this tote extends beyond the official Earth Day. You have until 11:59:59 p.m. ET Wednesday April 29, 2010 to check out Etsy's eco videos and leave a comment.

Good Luck!

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.

Mark Your Calendars

Tomorrow, December 15th is Reiter8's last day for holiday shipping. All orders placed after 12/15 will be shipped on or shortly after 1/5/10.

These lovely calendars are made by the wild unknown who were near me at the Divine Studios Craft Sale yesterday. The limited edition watercolor feather calendar (above) is striking and the lyrics calendar (below) is a wonderful collection of illustrations and sweet lyrics starting the year off with Bob Dylan and 'I could hold you for a million years'. Both are worth a closer look.



Happy Holidays!

It'll Be Divine

Just in:
I'll be at the Holiday Craft Sale at Divine Studios this Sunday, December 13 from 11-6. Organized by Marcie McGoldrick, a talented ceramist and Editorial Director for Holiday and Crafts at Martha Stewart Living, this event promises a unique mix of quality handmade gifts perfect for everyone on your list.

Divine studios is located on the 6th floor at 21 East 4th Street at Lafayette in Manhattan. View map.



Thanks to Jane at Foxy & Winston for the tip. She'll be there too with her sweet holiday card sets, organic children's clothing and more!

Come by, shop and say hello!

Ready, Set ...

Early load in at the Gifted Market today was a breeze (thank you Brooklyn Flea!). It was great to see old friends, catch up, leisurely unpack and set up. Trust me, this is going to be a great market to come to.

Check out the piece that Channel 7 Eyewitness News broadcast this evening about the market:



Enjoy your Thanksgiving where ever it takes you.

Welcome Back!

Be a part of the official Welcome Back to Brooklyn for the Sloop Clearwater this Sat October 17th. There are a series of events planned that will appeal to all ages:

3-6 pm: The Sloop sets sail from Manhattan at 3pm and arrives in Brooklyn at 6pm. Pricing: $60/adults; $40/members; $20/kids. Reserve your spot and find more info at Clearwater.org.

5pm to 6pm: Start your evening off with a family-friendly rendez-vous aboard the Historic Waterfront Museum, a beautifully restored showboat barge and floating classroom. Catch great views of the historic tall ship Clearwater as she returns to the Brooklyn waterfront. Donations accepted; snacks, music and fun provided.

6pm-7:30pm: Welcome the Sloop to the dock (located behind Fairway), then hop aboard for a tour of the deck and meet n’ mingle with the Captain and crew!

8pm – 10pm: Head around the corner with the crew to Sunny’s Bar, a Red Hook mainstay for sailors for over one hundred years. A suggested donation of $5 or $10 gets you more great music, refreshments, and a warm mug of mulled cider.
Sunny’s weekly bluegrass jam follows close behind, so be sure and bring an instrument along!

See you there!

Blogcation

Hello again. Time flies. I've been happily busy - living and working and the ol' blog just fell off the end of the 'to do' list time after time. Hey, it happens. But, I'm back.

What to share first?? Below is a picture from the Newport International Boat Show that I attended in mid September. I kept finding that the scene was too much to take in on the wide angle and was repeated drawn to the places where the boats meet the water. I'll be back tomorrow (do I dare promise?) with more.

Glenn Robinson - NYer of the Week!

Congrats to Glenn Robinson, founder of Bags for the People (BFTP) for being named this week's NYer of the Week by NY1.

'Glenn Robinson used to sell vegetables at the stand in the Union Square and hand them over to customers in tens of thousands of plastic bags.

"We were giving out plastic bags left and right and it just seemed like a problem to me and I was part of the problem, I was actually handing them out," says Robinson.

So five months ago, Robinson started making cloth bags to give to people at the stand. The idea took off and he started the organization "Bags For The People," which holds sewing workshops for the public and in schools.'

With sewing machines fueled by solar panels, Glenn is sewing live at farmers markets. Find the full schedule here. Whether permitting he'll be at Union Square Farmers Market today, Saturday, August 22 sewing from 10:00 - 2:00. BFTP will be sewing and giving away bags in conjunction with the soon to be released No Impact Man Documentary.




BFTP is a non profit and therefore depends on the generosity of people who can donate materials, time and funds. More on how you can support here.

Watch the full NY1 NYer of the Week video at NY1 online

Renegade '09

Come stop by and say hello at the Renegade Craft Fair today and tomorrow

Reiter8's location is Booth 16 (pointed out by the big green arrows on the map)

I'm so excited to share a booth with a very cute and adorable band of Zooguu plushies made by Jen Gubicza.

Here's to a sunny beautiful weekend!

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!

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.

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

Sakura Matsuri

I've been following the Brooklyn Botanic Garden blossom status map closely and bang! over the weekend the mall of cherry blossom trees finally bloomed.

And just in time. This weekend at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the celebration of the cherry blossoms: Sakura Matsuri. There are over 50 scheduled events. It gets crowded for sure, but is fun, the food is great and the blossoms are breathtaking. My long time favorite is the Soh Daiko japanese drumming group. My husband and I even took a drumming lesson - I mean who wouldn't want to bang on those drums at least once in their lives!!??

Enjoy!