Tag: etsy

Posted in Sparky gifts

Worth Noting

Posted on by Cate

Anrol Designs are a Melbourne-based outfit that appreciate the quirky. They have licensed the work of the clever folk at Dear Blank Please Blank and come up with some notebooks that made me smile, so I thought I’d share them with you. I’d put these in the funk-tional gift category: surely everybody can use another notebook in their collection. I have quite a large collection of notebooks myself – I still have grand plans of filling them with story ideas, business ideas, website ideas, shopping lists, gift lists, lists of my enemies…those kinds of things. And I’m a sucker for cool stationery. I was also a star procrastinator when studying – I could spend hours sharpening all of my pencils and testing all of my pens, then re-arranging my desk drawers by colour and spring cleaning my wardrobe, before I’d finally settle down to start writing an essay. As if all that re-organisation could somehow help me to write more convincingly about something I still didn’t quite understand. Kinda like Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams. And no, I’ve never seen that movie, but I do hope that analogy makes sense. So it is with the notebook – once you have one that looks great, the amazing ideas will surely flow. Anyways, here are some of my favourites from the collection:

(Ok, this one is a card & not a notebook.)
(Alright, another card.)
(Yes, this one is a canvas. Promise there are some notebooks for sale too.)

You can check out the range of notebooks, canvasses, t-shirts, tea towels and cards at the Anrol Designs etsy shop here and the Dear Blank Please Blank website is also worth checking out – you can even submit your own message to the world. Or to your neighbour, or whoever it is that is bugging you. One of my favourites is: Dear Nickelback, That’s enough. Sincerely, the world. That website is here.

Posted in Arty sparks

On the map

Posted on by Cate

I think Karen M. O’Leary is very clever. An artist / architect based in North Carolina, Ms O’Leary creates original ‘modern map art’, in the belief that ‘a map is more than just a navigational tool – it also tells a story’. My lovely friend Aoife gave me one of StudioKMO’s creations – a map of Dublin city – as a fantastic souvenir of my recent trip to Ireland. I thought it was pretty incredible – a map of the city created entirely out of black lines – and when Aoife told me that there was an etsy shop, I was sold. StudioKMO features some amazing works of art – I’ve included some examples from Karen’s collection below.

Dublin – stretched canvas print
(c) StudioKMO
Detail of Dublin print
(c) StudioKMO

In addition to the hand-drawn maps, StudioKMO features incredible paper cut cities, like this unbelievable hand-cut map of London.

London map cut
(c) StudioKMO

And if you can’t decide on a city, you could always go for the set of 25 collector postcards.

Collector postcards
(c) StudioKMO

So, whether you’re after a unique gift to remember a city that you love, to remind you of home, to inspire you to travel, or to mark a special event…or if you just want to marvel at the incredible skill and technique of Karen O’Leary and her hand-drawn and hand-cut world of maps, you can check out her brilliant StudioKMO on etsy here.

Posted in Beauty Sparks, Fashion Sparks

Nail it

Posted on by Cate

I’m not really a mani-pedi kinda gal. But sometimes I see people with perfectly groomed nails and I wish I could be so dedicated. And if I were so inclined, there are certainly many ways to bring some personality to the tips of your digits through polish or decals or, you know, metallic caviar beads.

Hail the Nails in the UK sells this bizarre look, which would appear equally at home sprinkled on top of cupcakes (though these ones aren’t edible). There are a few steps to the process – painting the nails, then coating the nails, then sprinkling on the beads. This ‘metallic caviar’ is interesting, but I think I’d prefer 100s and 1000s. Maybe there’s a market for a new look: Fairy Bread Fingers. Maybe…

Or perhaps this poodle decal is more your scene. The Fog Shoppe (and yes, I do always pronounce that “Shop-ee” in my head), feature a few different breeds, so you can wear your favourite. And in case you’re a fickle kinda person whose favourite breed changes regularly, I recommend a nail decal instead of a tattoo.

Then there are these fairly creepy black spider and spider web nails from Inspired Nails. I like to think that somewhere there’s a serious, conservative corporate type prepared to don these for a Board meeting, just to see the reaction. Or the coolest paediatrician in town could impress Spiderman fans with this set.

There’s also a huge collection of Hello Kitty nail decals, if they’re your thing. And lots of moustaches, which is a craze that I still don’t quite get. And chess pieces and sporting team logos and South Park characters and spots and stripes and checks. It’s like a whole other world of fashion out there – and they’re cheap and disposable, so you can change your mind daily.

You can check out Hail the Nails here, The Fog Shoppe here and Inspired Nails here. Or just google ‘nail decals’ and prepare to be amazed. And a little bit scared.

Posted in Fashion Sparks

Bag lady designs

Posted on by Cate

I like bags. And if they’re cute and clever and good for the environment, then so much the better, I say. And I’ve found these very cool canvas shopping totes on etsy, made by Pamela Fugate Designs, and I reckon they fit the bill.

Like this slightly more highbrow version of that famous Sir Mix-a-Lot quote…

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Or this, for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey. Yep, really.

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And for the bakin’ homeboy or homegirl in your life, there’s this bag.

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There’s this classic Mom/Mum bag, which I’m guessing is meant to stop any pesky children asking too many questions. But I wouldn’t recommend bringing it along to your local farmer’s market as it feels in conflict with the relaxed, organic, herbal kinda vibe. Unless of course you are the organic farmer selling your produce. In which case, you might want to sell these bags in answer to questions like, “Why does that organic clove of garlic cost $32?” or “How do you know that heirloom tomatoes are worth 500% more than regular tomatoes?” or that sort of thing.

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There’s also a range of customised wedding totes – I’m not really sure how they work though, to be honest. As a bridesmaid, I’ve never received a show bag of treats from the bride (not complaining, I have been lucky to receive much nicer gifts from the lovely brides I’ve maided for). And I’ve not been to a wedding that gave away a goodie bag instead of a small memento that you could take home in your handbag. But each to their own on their big day!

You can check out the range of bags (and shirts and baby outfits) at Pamela’s etsy shop here.

Posted in Sparky gifts, WWWhat?

Greetings from Mars

Posted on by Cate

In honour of the amazing landing on Mars by NASA’s rover, Curiosity, which has brought space geeks from all across the universe so much joy, this post is dedicated to some Martian wares. Please be assured that I’m not mocking this incredible event – with my geeky tendencies, I can’t read or see enough about it. The dedication, planning and sheer brainpower that has gone into this triumph is truly mind-blowing. And of course, the rover is on Twitter (@MarsCuriosity) sending back pics of its adventures. Hopefully the reality tv show is only a few months away. Anyways, in case it’s still a while ’til we all get to visit, these can help us keep a little bit of Mars with us on Earth.

Olga Voloshchenko is a designer from Russia and she has hand made this unique felt handbag, entitled Whether there is a life on Mars. According to Olga, “the problem of cats and mice is actual always – whenever they were, even on Mars”. Let’s hope that Curiosity’s mission isn’t thrown by getting caught up in a game of cat and mouse. This bag is dynamic – you can move the creatures around the bag’s ‘craters’ for a slightly different look every day. I also love this image because of the cat burglar styling of the model displaying the bag. I definitely believe Olga’s promise: You will be unique with this bag! You can check out Olga’s bag on etsy here.

Or if you want to impress your mates with happy snaps from Mars, you might like this Mars Travel poster collection from Ron Guyatt in Canada. Of course, they’re not really happy snaps – although that Curiosity rover is so clever that photo postcards from Mars are surely only a matter of time.  These prints are a collection of the presumed highlights of Mars – the must-see tourist attractions, if you will. You know, at least until Mars Disneyland has been built.  The posters are on sale in Ron’s etsy shop here.

Perhaps a coffee table book is your way of showing that you’re in touch with what’s going on in the world. Maybe you have a pile of books, casually arranged to impress visitors – covering a range of topics from Alfafa to Zippers. If you’re on the lookout for a new book, this 1989 story might be just the thing. Hello, Mars! by Geoffrey T. Williams is the tale of a 13 year old boy who gets a pretty special birthday present – news of a move to Mars (with his parents, of course) to be among the first humans to colonise the planet. I’ve not read it, but presumably it could now be a sort of Lonely Planet guide for future travellers to Mars. There’s more info on Goodreads here if you’re interested.

And if you would like to start getting comfortable with those who will soon be your friends and colleagues, you can buy these wall decals from Christy at Graphicspaces in the USA. Pop them up around your (Earthly) home, so that by the time you relocate to Mars, it will seem like you’ve known the locals for years. You can buy these decals (and many other cool designs) from the Graphicspaces shop on etsy here.

So, now we’re ready.