Need a fun craft project for this month that also helps the needy? Crafty Me Yarns, Elgar Richardson, and the Montgomery Hospital in Norristown, PA have gotten together to create a project called Knitting for Babies, which is working to provide warm winter clothes for underprivileged babies, from newborns to about 4 years old. Want to help? All you have to do is knit or crochet a baby item, such as a little hat, sweater, or booties, and send it to:
Knitting for Babies
Crafty Me Yarns
515 Maple St.
Conshohocken, PA 19428
If you have any questions, feel free to drop Anita at Crafty Me Yarns a line! anita@craftymeyarns.com
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 30, 2008 10:44 AM
This sewn up sewing machine is so incredible! Made by artist Danny Mansmith, who has a history and a personal connection with the sewing machine as a means to make his art.
You have to check out his website and read his thoughts about art, and the inspiration behind creating things with your own hands.
Danny says, "My favorite sweater was one my grandma made out of a towel and embroidered a D. on it."
Danny also says, "I love bad sewing. When you see something put together really roughly, you see—despite the individual’s apparent lack of skill and perfected technique—creativity."
Meet Brownie! Brownie is the dog of one of our Intimates designers, Jasmine! We just adore Brownie, and he comes to work every day!
Nicknames: Brown-town, Buddy, Charlie Brown, Brown-eye
Breed: Boston Terrier
Likes: EVERYONE!!! Playing fetch with his little tennis ball, he keeps going and going and going...he's like the energizer bunny, runs like a bunny too. A soft and cushy bed for him to stretch out on. Carrot sticks. Sunbathing, he's from California. ;)
Dislikes: Loud vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers. People ignoring him.
How did you meet? He was a birthday present. Needless to say, one of most special birthday presents ever. Flew to Philly all the way from California and I went to go meet him at the airport. He was the cutest thing I ever saw! He introduced himself by going potty in my car.
Anything else you want to share?
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 30, 2008 10:08 AM
Last week I came across the artwork of Betsy Walton. (Sorry, I'm not sure where I found it! I just made a little note to feature her...)
What I love most about her gouache paintings is her color combinations. I also love how they all look like they are set in some kind of imaginary sea world. I even get that feeling when everything about the imagery says that it is set on land...
Check out her website and see all of her current projects and exhibitions, many of them in and around her home in Portland, Oregon. You can also buy a print or painting of your own at her etsy shop.
Don't forget our Free People Fashion Illustration Contest deadline is this Friday October 3rd! That means there are only 5 days left to send us your Free People inspired fashion illustration for a chance to win an awesome surprise box including a signed print from illustrator Kris Chau! Click here for all the details!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 28, 2008 2:37 PM
Thanks in part to HI+LOW, who found it, I have been combing the archives of Record Envelope all afternoon. It's basically just tons and tons of pictures of old record sleeves - which it turns out is pretty interesting. The graphics are total eye-candy. Check it out!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 28, 2008 2:18 PM
Dutch artist Ferry Staverman makes these wonderful trees out of recycled cardboard and thread! Rag & Bone, which is where I discovered them, muses that he would like to live in an entire forest of these trees, and I wholeheartedly agree!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 26, 2008 4:15 PM
Rubyellen writes a wonderful blog called Cakies, which we first stumbled across when she mentioned a Free People–inspired bag that she made! (We get an email showing all the sites that mention us each day.) We went crazy over all the amazing things she makes with her hands and her sewing machine! She is so creative! We knew she was just perfect to be our first featured Blogger!
Aside from agreeing to be interviewed, she also created a wonderful craft project to share with you! Click here to learn how to make an awesome bag inspired by Free People!
Where do you live?
My husband, our two kids, and I live in a suburb of Los Angeles, about one hour from main city of Los Angeles.
Where did you grow up?
I have always lived in southern California.
When did you start sewing and how did you learn?
I started sewing right after I gave birth to my first daughter, True. I wanted something a bit more funky and personal, and since I am a stay-home mom, I couldn’t afford to have a shopping habit, so I turned to sewing.
I learned to sew by taking lessons at a local Joann’s fabric store. It was nice because the teacher let me choose what I wanted to make, then she would show me how to make it! It taught me enough basic skills to figure out the rest of sewing. Then, when I bought my sewing machine, the shop where I bought it offered free sewing classes! That place really helped me learn more tricks of the trade.
What advice would you give to someone who’s never sewn before but would like to start?
Learn how to do a straight stitch and after that you can pretty much learn to do anything!!!
What other crafts do you enjoy?
The first medium of art that I loved was drawing, but I haven’t done that in so long! I also love to crochet, needle felting, and how I wish I could paint! I would also love to learn how to make pottery one day…
What or who inspires you?
My husband, Ben, and my two little girls, Brave and True, are my greatest source of inspiration, but sewing for my little girls is what started all this. Ben is my quality control guy, and he just tells me if something looks cool or not!
Okay, not just because this is Free People, but Free People and Anthropologie catalogs really inspire me too!!! I get so excited and can look at each page over and over again! If you look at my inspiration wall it is nothing but torn pages from the two catalogs.
Also, I have a list of favorite blogs that I often frequent, which include:Black Eiffel, The Black Apple, Sugar City Journal, Soulemama, and so many more! (You can see a link list on the sidebar of my blog.) There is so much talent and creativity out there that I think everyone is learning and growing from one another.
Flea markets are also inspiring. I love that people can take something old and used, but give it new life with a new purpose. It is the same with sewing, taking something outside of the box and making it work. A tablecloth could be used as a dress or bag, doilies could be sewn in for some detail, the possibilities are endless…
What are your favorite projects?
I have to say I enjoy making myself a new bag every season and sewing dresses for my girls (and for me). There are just so many different little things I like to make that it is hard to pick a few!
Where are your favorite places to find hidden treasures for projects?
I love perusing through Etsy because there are so many ideas there that will spark another idea for me.
What are your favorite websites?
I have too many to name! (You’ll see I’m not lying if you look at the favorite websites I list on my blog!)
Where are your favorite places to travel?
I would love to go back to London & Paris, but with two kids, who knows when we will be able to do so!
Being a busy mother, a wife, and working, how do you find the time to balance it all and still make such wonderful, creative stuff?
I have been very blessed that my little girls both still take two 2-hour naps, so that allows me about 4 hours a day of alone time. This is when I try to get as much craft and work time as possible.
Please tell us about your little girls!
My daughter True is 2 years old and is really bashful and playful. She has honestly loved shoes since before she was a year old (scary, I know)… always has been drawn to putting them on. She can sometimes be very opinionated about what she wants to wear.
Brave, my 1 year old little girl, eats anything in sight! She just started walking, so she is keeping me really busy of late.
Their names are very different, but we love them and that is all that matters! When we meet people, I can’t wait for them to ask what our girls’ names are because their reactions make me laugh. You can really tell who likes them and doesn’t by their reaction! True wasn’t named until the day she was born–we fought the whole 9 months! And with Brave, it was worse–she came home from the hospital without a name, and was finally named 4 days later! I am little nervous for when we have more kids because who knows what we will name them!
Tell us about your blog and your Etsy shop.
Cakies is the name of my blog and my Etsy shop because when my girls were each in my belly and nameless, since we couldn’t think a name, we called them both “babycakies” -hence, we have Cakies.
On my blog, I try to document all of the different crafting adventures that go on in our house and other parts of our lives. It is a fun little space and community to learn and grow from one another. In my Etsy shop, I mostly sell hand-crafted hair accessories for babies to adults, though I do plan on adding more items for adults! When True was a baby (I guess she still is), I couldn’t find anything cool to put in her hair, so I experimented and came up with these hair clips. I love them because they had dimension and were different from the bows and flowers you see on all the other little girls, plus they were the only hair accessories that got a thumbs up from Ben to put in their hair, otherwise, he would have them in Mohawks all the time!
Don’t forget to check out the fantastic craft project RubyEllen made for us! You will want to make this bag! And if that isn’t enough, Rubyellen has generously offered to give away the Free People-inspired bag she made! To win her gorgeous bag, (shown here) just go to Cakies and leave Rubyellen a comment on her post about Free People! Be sure to tell her your favorite crafting site, and which items you like best from her Etsy!
Thank you so very much Rubyellen!
Good luck everyone in the give away, and happy crafting!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 26, 2008 11:20 AM
I recently came across the work of Ross Bleckner, and I can't stop looking at his paintings! I really enjoy them - they take me to some other world... He has quite a portfolio! You can find out more at his website.
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 25, 2008 3:19 PM
Craziness! La Machine, a group of French engineers, created this massive spider and placed her in Liverpool UK for a few days... The photo gallery on their site has pictures of the whole exhibit, with lots of cute shots of peoples reactions. Pictures above by Matthew Andrews.
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 25, 2008 1:09 PM
Laura McCafferty makes me smile. The English artist creates these illustrations with a mix of fabrics and hand-stitching.
She has a great collection of work on her site, divided into catagories like travel, clothes/accessories, and ladies/hairdressing/market. Check out her web site!
I am loving the beautiful photographs of Jean Shin's artwork. The capturing of discarded everyday objects (like broken umbrellas after a rainstorm, or the ends of altered pants) is inspiring and I think speaks to the issues of waste, recycling, disposable culture, etc. But also craft.
And I also love these photos of materials she's taken at the maket. They remind me of photo's we've taken around the fp office!
So we've decided to join the next world of social networking and set up a twitter feed! Twitter gives little bite sized updates on what you're doing, and is a great way to quickly keep up on what's happening with your friends.
Never heard of twitter? Click here and go to "watch a video." (The video is made by common craft.They make great simple videos in "plain english" explaining different social networking platforms and all kinds of techy stuff.)
Su Blackwell creates these beautiful sculptures out of old books, mostly ones she finds in second-hand book shops! Each sculpture is created using paper only from the book with which it is shown. You can see more of these amazing pieces on Su's website. There is also an old post on My Love For You (where I got these great pictures!) that has a real nice interview of Su.
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 24, 2008 10:51 AM
Franc Grom uses a little tiny electric drill to put literally thousands of holes in real egg shells. Fragile and amazing - he generally puts between 2,500 and 3,500 holes in each egg!
Under the names Lizette Greco or grecolaborativo, the Greco family of southern California create these awesome stuffed animals! Using the drawings of their son and daughter, Mom and Dad create the plushies, representing the drawings as accurately as possible. It's a family collaboration! They make up little stories for each of the animals too! You can see everything they have made right here, and if you like something so much you want to have it for yourself, they also have a little shop!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 23, 2008 11:46 AM
I've always wanted to learn French, but highschool didn't teach me much. I think I'm learning more from reading these French fashion blogs!
A lot of the entries are translated in English, so you can go back and forth, reading a sentence in French, and then in English. Gradually, you'll pick up the meanings of words, and you're on your way!
If you're looking for a good browse this afternoon, I strongly urge you to check out Rachel Papo's website. All the above photos belong to the Israel-raised photographer, and her website holds many more delicious photos. The way she captures people is mesmerizing.
I'm loving this design for the Shanghai Expo 2010 by Polish architects Wojciech Kakowski, Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa. The design is inspired by Polish folk art paper cutouts.
There seems to be some controversy in the comments on Dezeen regarding how or if the physical building will turn out. I personally just enjoy the concept and the images!
It's that time again folks!
You are all invited to Building 543 in the Philadelphia Navy Yard tonight at 5:30pm for a fabulous art show opening! Artists Hayley Carmo, Annette Monnier, Callie Konane Rickards and Lizzy Janssen will be displaying their work at the Gallery at 543 through October 17th. Come by the opening tonight for a chance to meet the artists, view their work, and eat delicious treats! It looks to be a real good time! If you are in the area, be sure to come by!
The Navy Yard is at the absolute southern end of Broad Street.
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 22, 2008 10:53 AM
Don't forget about our Free People Fashion Illustration Contest! Send us your Free People inspired fashion illustration for a chance to win a totally awesome surprise box with all kinds of goodies and trinkets, including a signed print by celebrated illustrator Kris Chau! For more details about entering, click here!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 21, 2008 1:43 PM
You can see a much bigger version here.
This intricate cross stitch was created by RubyKhan, who got her inspiration from Craig Robinson's Minipop drawings on Flip Flop Flyin'. Go here for a little guide telling who each person is on the sampler - I found Hugh Hefner and the Royal Tenenbaums on my own, but I needed a little help on some others! She also has a ton more awesome pictures!
So cool!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 19, 2008 4:00 PM
I found these awesome light switches in fuckychickendesign's Etsy shop! There are many cute designs besides these too - I just need to figure out which ones I want to grace my apartment!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 19, 2008 3:12 PM
I noticed this in one of the glass display cases at our company's coffee shop. I have been thinking about it and ways for me to make one myself all day! Regular readers won't be surprised, since they know my affinity for maps and map-inspired things! Still, I am so impressed! Someone put so much work into this - they even stitched in quite a few of the countries! So great...
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 18, 2008 2:21 PM
I have been seeing vests everywhere the last few seasons, and I love it! We have come out with quite a few sweet little vests lately, and I've been just itching to get my hands on them!
Check out this cute Beaded Lace Vest! It also comes in lavender.
This book looks so beautiful! Deanne Cheuk illustrated this book called Mushroom Virus Girls: A Guide to the Identification and Study of Our Commoner Fungi with Special Emphasis on the Edible Varieties. You can see some of the amazing illustrations on Deanne's web site. The book is sold out on the site, but you can still buy it on Amazon.
The cover is supposedly the world’s first fully embroidered linen cloth cover. I would probably want to take the book apart and frame all the artwork!
These knitted light-bulbs are just achingly cute! Created by Disco Smurf, you can find the pattern to make your own here! (It's a .pdf)
I'm getting my knitting needles ready...
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 18, 2008 12:51 PM
Don't forget about our FP Style Event, which is going on right now!
We've been collecting your pictures of you and your friends wearing Free People and putting them in a set on our Flickr account! We love seeing how you wear your Free People!
Below, check out just a few of the super cute pictures we've gotten so far! To see the whole set, go to our Flickr account!
And don't forget to send us pictures of you in your Free People, with your name and hometown, to blog.freepeople@gmail.com!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 17, 2008 2:28 PM
To my delight, last night there appeared this little camper in our lobby! It was created by our display team to go along with our current outdoorsy-themed trends. The frame is made out of bamboo, and they enlisted the help of a local girl out of West Philly to create it! The binding for the joints of the frame is made from old bicycle tires! Other than the frame, everything else on or in the camper is made from paper or cardboard! It's incredible, and totally adorable! It makes me want to climb right in.... :)
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 17, 2008 12:27 PM
Today I indulged and did some browsing on theselby, where photographer Todd Selby shares intimate protraits of artists, designers, and such at home and work.
I LOVE seeing where these people spend their time and the objects they surround themselves with.
The photos above are some of my favorites. Links to more of the corresponding artists below:
Lately around the home office I've been noticing a new trend - everyone's wearing menswear lately! It looks really great, and people are wearing it a number of different ways - check it out! (On the far left in the first picture is our other lovable blogger, fpgirl!)
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 16, 2008 10:15 AM
The other day I was walking through our cafeteria building and I saw this gorgeous dress! It just appeared somehow - I did some snooping and found out it was created by our sister brand Anthropologie.... Stunning!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 16, 2008 9:59 AM
If you're not familiar with American art star Jeff Koons, I'm sure the balloon animal at least rings a bell. Koons has been granted a solo show exhibiting in the gardins and interior of Versailles. Check out the New York Times for a slide show and notes on the exhibit.
(There's also a beautiful photo of the exterior of the palace reflected in one of Koons' metallic golden sculptures!)
Check out some of the additional photos from our September catalog; the inspiration we titled Rocker in the Park. The amazing photography was done by Cracker Farm.
For our September book we didn’t have to go far from home; we found the best park for any rocker, Central Park. For two days in May we rented a big trailer and parked wherever we could find space, one time right next door to Sheryl Crow’s much nicer trailer!
We arrived each morning before sunrise and ran around like crazy both days looking for new and interesting ways to showcase Central Park, and avoid getting too many bystanders in the shots. We saw Kramer. We had a great group of models and an awesome photography team that worked hard with us to avoid too much green grass for this fall book.
We had dozens and dozens of balloons delivered to us and brought along some fun bikes belonging to our photo team. We just really wanted to convey a fun crazy couple of days in a park in the middle of a big city. It was actually quite challenging; using man-made structures and populated areas always seems to pose more of a creative dilemma than simple beautiful nature shots.
Shooting in New York was fun for us, we even made time to stop by the Free People store. And in case you ever need it, we found out that you can have pizza delivered to you in the park. It was tasty.
We have some new wallpapers for you! Go to our set for wallpaper on Flickr, pick out which one you want and click "View all sizes"! From there you can download any size you want!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 12, 2008 12:04 PM
Since we're in the midst of our Fashion Illustration Contest, I've had fashion art on the brain lately. The stunning illustrations above are by Bangkok-raised Graphic Designer Pomme Chan. All of her work is really interesting and gorgeous! If you're looking for somewhere to web-surf, be sure and browse the work on her site - tons of goodies for the eyes!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 11, 2008 1:26 PM
Maybe the aesthetics of modern technology just isn't your thing. Do you ever wish your computer looked a little more at home with the rest of your vintage and antique decor? Maybe a Victorian style all-in-one PC would look better. Or a how about a pretty brass LCD frame?
You have to check out the Steampunk Workshop, chronicling one man's adventures of making the new look old, or the old look different. One of the first project he ever did was outfitting an old school bus, and there is also a tutorial for doing tin etchings on old Altoid boxes.
This video will show you the installation of a mural at the Truman Brewery in London called Migration. The incredible bird illustrations were done by London-based artist Hellovon. This month, the idea will "migrate" to a second exhibition space, the side of the Epeis Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Makes me want to fly...
Gee's Bend Quilts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art!
One week from today, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is opening an exhibition of the Gee's Bend Quilts! Gee's Bend is a small, poor town in Alabama that has become widely-known for its quilting. The quilts of Gee's Bend take a different angle on normal quilting techniques, and they are just amazing. If you are near Philadelphia you should definitely go look at these quilts (there are 74 of them!) before the exhibition ends in December. It's $14 to get in to the museum, unless you go on Sunday, when it's pay what you want all day!
It's time to check those mailboxes! The September catalog is arriving. If you're impatient, check out the book online:) More "behind the scenes" info to come...
I must admit, I haven't checked out N.E.E.T. magazine in a while, but the September issue is out and it looks great! I guarantee you will discover lots of new bloggers, vintage enthusiasts, and crafters you have never seen before!
If you love this zine, and are the creative type yourself, make sure to check out the faq section at the end to find out how you can get involved...
The sweet shots shown above are all pictures people uploaded of themselves to LookBook! It's kind of like a giant collective "What-I-Wore-Today" site, and it couldn't be more inspiring! You guys should check it out! Meanwhile, I need to think of an incredibly cool outfit to photo myself in so I can post it! :)
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on September 8, 2008 4:54 PM
