Zipper Pouch

Ankara Zipper, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

The humble zipper pouch. Make it do whatever you want it to. Some reasons why you need one (or more!):

1. Keep those wayward receipts together in one place.
2. A cosy place for your ipod.
3. A mini make-up bag for the essentials. Fits nicely into a bigger bag.
4. Keys coins and a few cards all in one place, works well as a little clutch
5. They come in bright prints and batiks making them easy to spot in your bag
6. Best of all- BUY ONE GET ONE FREE till the 30th of April.

Check out the collection here- zipper pouches

Yesterday's New Quintet

Yesterday's New Quintet:

Joe McDuphrey
Ahmad Miller
Monk Hughes
Malik Flavors
Otis Jackson

The album 'Angles without edges' is one of my all time favourites. Produced by Madlib under Stones Throw records. Its a jazzy, cool, soulful feel. Hard to put into words. You just have to listen.

Love it. Now I have to get all their individual releases

Xenya

I came across Xenya on etsy, this shop is that of Julie Shiel's. In particular I like her photography of abandoned, found spaces. I share this interest in old and weathered buildings and spaces. I enjoy the way they seem to tell a story of a past life and whisper memories.

Julie's work is particulalry rich in textures and colours and are right up my street! Here is a quote about her work.

My photos are often taken in abandoned or forgotten urban settings and I hope give you a glimpse of things few people see. I believe old buildings have a soul of sorts, and my hope is to record a piece of that soul before these places are demolished for strip malls or developments.

As an architect I do get to see a lot of buildings in various stages of disrepair and they are indeed very interesting. There is, as Julie says, forgotten beauty in these spaces and places.

Do visit Julie's store www.xenya.etsy.com

We Make London

Join us on the 22nd of June this summer for a chance to lay your hands on some handmade art, accessories, jewellery and a lot more.

Date: Sunday 22nd June 2008
Time: 11.00am – 17.00pm
Where: Dragon Hall, 17 Stukeley Street, London, WC2B 5LT
Entrance: free
Nearest tube: Holborn, Covent Garden

Check out the We Make London blog for more details.

I'll be taking part so see you there!

Viaducts

I have this fascination with viaducts, especially old ones with brick arches below. I don't know why. I just do.

It probably has something to do with the texture of weathered brick or the unique and unusual spaces formed within and beneath them.

It is always very interesting to uses the spaces beneath have been put to. From flower shops in paris, to mechanic workshops, night club, art galleries.

If I ever have a camera handy I like to take a picture. The one below forms part of the Kingsland Viaduct in East London.

Cargo which offer club nights and live music is part of the same viaduct. Want to see what it looks like? Click cargo1 and cargo2. Just one of the many examples.

On a completely different note, one of the Etsy teams I belong to is having a competition. Do you fancy winning a selection of goodies, completely free? All you have to do is put letters together to form a word. Read below for the details.

Etsy Artists of Color Scavenger Hunt

Come play this week to win wonderful handcrafted items in a variety of media. Discover some great new artists and have fun along the way! You must be an Etsy member to win, both buyers and sellers are welcome! No purchase is necessary to win. Members of the Artists of Color Team are not eligible to win.

How to play?
Visit each of the participating EAOC shops below and look through the pictures in their shop listings (recent sold items included). Some shops will contain one picture of a "letter" hiding in one of their shop listings. Search through the participating shops and jot down the "letter" and the name of the shop you have found the letter in.
After you have found all of the letters (15 total), then unscramble them to complete a word. When you think you have solved the puzzle, please convo me (www.callidora.etsy.com) with your entry and your name, if you are correct your name will go into a drawing to win the prize basket. (Only one entry per member.)

What's the prize?
Everything has been handcrafted by member artists. From the top going clockwise:

Reversible headband by Callidora
Golden crocheted earrings by Bklyn MOMOs
Kiwi magnolia soap and satin cream by The Ivory Magnolia
Four occasion greeting cards by Handcrafted by LaMar
Earrings and heart pendant by Marcia Palmer
Spring poker chip magnet by Ginger Lime
Coin earrings in a tin by Satin Doll Co.
Mother of pearl coin earrings by Jamilary
Snap clutch by Urbanknit
Small mosaic votive by Mosaics by AH

Contest ends at 12 midnight EST, March 31st. All correct entries will be entered into a drawing and the winner will be selected at random and announced on Tuesday, April 1st. The lucky winner will be contacted by ‘convo’ on Etsy and the results will be posted in the forums and on our team blog.

Good Luck!

List of participating shops:

mosiacsbyah
brefour
wsirarts
ayanacreations
theivorymagnolia
satindollco
jamilary
lamarlynch
marciapalmer
springcartdesigns
origamicentral
bklynmomos
callidora
thehandoffatima
tyramade
reign
urbanknit
gingerlime
feille
stormeejean
anaaya
raghousenternational
liviastreasures
cassowaryjewelry
africanfashions
beadsinthebelfry
ladiestheytalkabout
precioust
soleilrouge
hilari
takeyceart
marcuskwame

Let me know if you think you've worked it out. Thanks for stopping by!

Urbanstax

So I set up a new etsy store where I stock 'remixed' items. It is called Urbanstax. I enjoy making new things out of old so this will feature paper goods made out of 'repurposed' paper, shopper bags made out of old plastic bags, and so on. Hopefully the shop will evolve as I go on. Just my version of doing the green thing.

Etsy Buy Handmade Urbanstax

I have started off with a collection of envelopes featuring Danish urban design strategy. They are fun because the are maps/plans on the outside and text on the inside. Some of the text talks about water strategy, conservation of old buildings, developing of green parks and so on. I like that each one is of the same place but slightly different because it is talking about another strategy.

They are mainly in a bold but simple graphic style in blue, white, blue and grey. A few of them are brighter colours.

Have a look, give me your thoughts. http://www.urbanstax.etsy.com

A big thank you to Rekindled for doing a feature on Urbanstax and the envelopes. Do stop by her blog and say hello.

Oh yeah, have a great easter weekend too!

Tigers

white tiger, originally uploaded by Jornic.

Tiger-Pantheras Tigris

I think Tigers are amazingly beautiful creatures. Even more amazing are white tigers which I first saw when I went to Las Vegas when I was much younger. I was happy to just sit there and stare at them all day (Not that I was allowed to!)

Without a doubt when I am asked what my favourite animal is, I don't even have to think. Unfortunately, like so may others, it is an endangered species.

A few facts:

* India has the largest population of Tigers
* There are 5000 to 7000 left in the wild
* Tigers are the largest of the cat family
* Weight 500 pounds (226kg), Length 9ft (274cm), approximately.
* Tigers eat anything, nothing eats Tigers (not in the wild anyway)
* Like fingerprints, no two tigers have the same stripe pattern
* The 9 subspecies are Malayan, Bengal, Indochinese, Sumatran, Siberian, South China, Balinese, Java and Caspian.

The white tigers are not a separate species, just simply a different colour. They are also distinct in that they often have blue eyes and pink noses. awwwww

I know they are probably not cute when you are close-up and there is nothing but air between you and them but they are gorgeous creatures all the same!

Read the Tiger study done by the WWF: www.worldwildlife.org/tigers

A big thank you to Joris for letting me use the fantastic image of the white tiger he took. You must check out his flickr page Jornic for more beautiful photography.

Would like to know what animal/creature you think is special. Thanks for stopping by!

Scarflette

ginger scarflette, originally uploaded by Urbanknit.

The scarflette is a take on a normal scarf. It is a mini scarf and is ideal if you are like me and want somehting that doesn't get in the way while you are out and about.

You can wear a scarflette in many different configurations just by buttoning it anywhere in the scarf. There are lots of holes to choose from due to the stitch used.

I have many more SCARFLETTE versions and colour combinations and as always, no two are the same! Thanks for stopping by.

Rainbow Country

another one of my favourite tracks of all time. Listening to it right now.

Qwerty

Old Typewriter, originally uploaded by Marimoo.

QWERTY- the keyboard of a typewriter or computer of the ordinary sort, whose top line begins with the letters Q, W E R T and Y.

I bet you just looked down at your keyboard! The lovely lovely image above is by Marimoo, check out her blog. She also is a fellow etsyian and has allowed me to use her photograph which completely captures what I think is interesting and quirky about typewriters.

I have always wondered why the keyboard doesn't just read from A through to Z. The origins as to why they are as they are can be traced back to old typewriters. If you are interested, click qwerty.

I love old typewriters. I have no idea why but there are quite impressive. There seemed to be a certain art to the way they were made, they appear almost sculptural. I also really like way they produce imperfect type on paper although in this day and computer age that would be a little bit annoying! no backspace, cut, paste.... i don't think so!

image courtesy of Suzanne Clements

I also came across this beautiful print by Suzanne Clements another etsyian, check out her store too. This piece is beautifully titled 'Long Forgotten Memories'. I think that sums it up perfectly. Love it!

Anyone have any old, interesting, quirky objects they like?

Before I sign off for the weeknd, thought I'd mention a magazine I was featured in, Mimi magazine. A long and detailed piece thanks to Belinda Otas. It is called 'What is Urban about African couture?' Have a read! Have a lovely weekend too!