March 31, 2008
doggy cake
Check out this amazing beagle birthday cake that Jill (the Training Manager at the Customer Service Call Center) received for her birthday. It was actually made by her husband Pablo, who works in the South Carolina fulfillment center where all Free People orders are shipped from. Pretty impressive. The design was likely inspired by Pablo and Jill’s dog Baylee, who they found roaming around the woods near the South Carolina facility. The beagle and doghouse are made of marshmallows!
store spotlight
We are going to do some spotlights of Free People stores, so you can get to know a little bit about each one. The first entry is from our very first Free People store! Here is what the girls had to say...
Where is your store located? Garden State Plaza Mall, Paramus NJ
How many people work in your store? 5 Managers, 12 Sales Associates.
What is the weather like? Well right now it’s still cold, but we are all anxiously waiting for Spring to come!!!
What is the best thing for lunch in the area? One of our sales associate's parents' has a deli/market…Morano's!!
What is your favorite piece in the store right now? The Cherry Blossom Dress..it is made of great fabric and has an amazing fit on everyone!!
How are people wearing this piece? Either by itself or looks really cute w/ skinny jeans or leggings
What is your favorite local treat? We love Ritas or Ralph's Italian ice especially now in the spring and summer and Starbucks drinks!
What does the FP Girl do for fun? Go out with her friends to the mall, movies, bars
What else do you want us to know about your store? We all have a great time working with each other and provide GREAT customer service to all our customers!!! We all really love the brand and have so much fun working here!!
March 28, 2008
house clothes
Spotted this on Bloesem! A collaboration of artists yoshikazu yamagata and mafuyu, they made knitted "home wear" for this piece called My Town in My Home. They first displayed at Arnhem Mode Biennale 2007 in the Netherlands. Check out the artists sites for lots of great pictures and some more info.
March 26, 2008
jack the dog
I know you've met some of the home office pets in the past (see here and here) but it's been a while. There are some new faces and they want some attention!
Jack was a rescue dog from Morris Animal Shelter in Philadelphia. Word was that he was poisoned at the age of 4 months and left to die. Poor Jack was put on hold and rejected 4 times by different families for being “too hyper.” Jack eventually found a home with Kelly, our Wholesale customer service rep. She knew he was the dog for her when she took him out to the shelter yard to play and he promptly nipped her on her behind.
Jack now lives in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia with Kelly and her family and likes to come to work on a regular basis.
Name: Jack the dog
Nickname: Just Jack, Jackalope, Jack-a-saurus Rex, Bins, Jackson
Breed: Terrier/Boxer/something very soft
Likes: Girls and raw meat. Flashlights shone on the ceiling
Dislikes: Feral cats and robbers
Favorite friends: Free People Direct girls and Indie pup (one of the other FP office dogs)… Lauren from Wholesale is his real girlfriend
Kelly says: He is the greatest puppers ever. I *heart* him
March 25, 2008
bike baskets
Coolhunting just did a great entry featuring amazing bike baskets. I had featured this one a while back, so here are some of my new favorites introduced by Coolhunting. The top two are by Basil. They have a huge assortment of both baskets and bags. You can get the one below at Velo Orange. This is the Hershberger Baker's Basket, made by the Amish Hershberger family in rural Minnesota.
March 24, 2008
stowe provisions
I wanted to share some info about these amazing leather belts we have in the March catalog. The belts are handmade by Stowe Provisions in their studio in Austin TX. Both the belt buckles and leather are hand-worked, most of the leather even hand-dyed. Their aesthetic is self-described as all about "rock n'roll and looking pretty. Check em out on Freepeople.com.
March 21, 2008
fp music playlists
I know lots of people have been asking about what kind of music we all listen to here at Free People. We have put together some playlists on imeem for your listening pleasure. Sign up and be our friends, and listen to our favorite songs by artists like Joni Mitchell, Vampire Weekend and Kate Nash. Listen here...
March 19, 2008
more fp recycling
You guys are coming up with all kinds of ways to recycle FP stuff like making jewelry from our catalogs, or turbans and headbands from our bags. My friend just sent me these photos of a clothes line she made in her back yard, and used the Free People gift wrap bag to hold the clothes pins. So cute! Good job Jill.
March 18, 2008
springtime wallpaper
Here's another download wallpaper from our FP graphic designers. Spring Leaves...
Download it from flickr and check out our archive of more images.
March 17, 2008
happy st. paddy's day!!!
Photo courtesy of Martha. Check out her cupcake recipe with butter cream icing. Don't eat the shamrock!
rose leaves
Ok, so it's not fall, not even close. But if I wait, I'll forget to share this with you. And I think this is really cool. So just bookmark this and save it for 6 months. Check out haha.nu for a the step-by-step to making roses out of maple leaves. This could be soooo pretty!
March 14, 2008
fp bag turban
One of our designers spotted this photo on flickr and then we found the blogfullofjelly! Here is some more Free People recycling in effect. You have to check out her blog. She makes lots and lots of beautiful things...
March 13, 2008
love heals
We're featuring this new jewelry line in the March catalog called Love Heals. Here's a bit from their site:
"The jewelry embodies our main passions in life: art, spirituality, nature and community service. Each piece of jewelry created is imbued with powerful talismans and sacred-charms, which we have gathered traveling the world."
More cool stuff: They plant 10 trees for every piece of jewelry sold. They also "are slowly creating a non-profit healing retreat center and ecological think tank" in Santa Barbara. Check out their stuff at Free People...
March 12, 2008
print liberation
I want to share these bags with you! Designed by some local Philly friends of Free People, the bags are all natural and hand printed at their studio. Reduce-Reuse-Recycle and spread the good news... Check out the Print Liberation website.
sxsw
Check out the flyer we designed to promote our Austin store at SXSW (or South by Southwest) music/film/interactive conference/festival.
March 10, 2008
bunny vase
A friend at FP turned me on to some new blogs this week, and I discovered small stump. Check out this crazy cute bunny vase she made from an old doll head. She says she has a few of the heads and has more ideas, so be sure to check her blog and etsy store for other fun crafts.
march catalog!
The March catalog is here! The book was shot in India in Rajasthan Desert's Neemrana Fort Palace. The palace is a hotel that many of the Free People designers have stayed in when traveling in India. Built since 1464 AD, Neemrana Fort Palace is among India's oldest heritage resorts.
The two trend concepts in this collection are Peace Corp Prep and Everything but a Flower. Peace Corp Prep is a mixture of traditional preppy styling mixed with Indian prints and colors, lots of plaids mixed up with Indian florals. Everything but a Flower is print driven, inspired by all things geometric, both vintage and modern.
Check out the catalog video ...
March 7, 2008
gocco mania at sfgirlbybay
sfgirlbybay got a case of Gocco Mania! I've heard the word "gocco" but honestly didn't really know what the printing process entailed. She posted some great pics of the process. Check out her blog for the account of her illness.
March 5, 2008
recycled fp catalog
On the back of our last catalog, we challenged you to recycle the paper in a creative way.
We received the most amazing note via email. One customer took our challenge and used the pages of our catalog to create this awesome jewelry. We are so impressed and surprised at how she re-purposed the book. Great job Ashley!!! You can buy these pieces and more at Ashley's etsy store or befriend her on myspace!
Did anyone else see that challenge on the catalog? Anybody else do something creative?? Leave your email in a comment!
March 4, 2008
window art
I spotted these window films by Emma Jeffs on Oh Joy! They are beautiful! I love it on the French doors. They actually remind me of the window that caught my eye at barometer. Theirs is made out of some sort of lace, or a velvet burnout, but from afar it could look like these films.
March 3, 2008
barometer
Wandering through Chinatown this weekend, I was on the hunt for some craft supplies. As I made my way down Walker Street, my eye was captured by this amazing window on the second floor of an industrial building. The sign read Barometer. I rang the bell and went on up to discover the sweetest little shop full of "attic" objects and handmade jewelry. I met Miss Anna Studebaker, who curates the collection of objects. The jewelry is made by her partner, Jenna Wainwright. The shop is a bit like an attic, a bit museum, and a bit girly studio apartment. Check out their website and pay them a visit next time you're in NYC.
