Stuff I like – Reinvented vinyl

If you are as old as me, ahem, then you remember records.

You know, albums.

Vinyl.

Those big monstrous looking black discs that played music on your parent’s stereo console with a diamond tipped record needle while you are your besties learned to disco dance in the rec room. The rec room that probably had shag carpet and wood paneling.

It’s all coming back now isn’t it?

I wish I could say that I still owned my albums. Thriller, Styx, Madonna, Saturday Night Fever, Journey, Fleetwood Mac and so on. But I am a purger by nature and my albums were long since purged at garage sales,  where they were probably acquired by someone like this artist  who does nifty things with old records. Upcycling I think they call it now…although it’s cooler than that. Trust me.

Reinvented Vinyl is my new favorite etsy shop. Hand to god. This artist takes old albums and magically reinvents them (hence the shop name) into fabulous purses. I know! So cool. You can also send her your favorite album and she will turn it into an fabulous purse.

So I did what any good girl would do. I bought four.  Three for Christmas gifts and one for me (because I deserve a present for doing all the Christmas shopping. You can read about my thoughts on Christmas here).

You might think the best part about shopping for these four purses was sending a check to the artist and receiving a big box of purses several weeks later on my front porch. Close.

But the real fun was the tripping down memory lane part of the purchase. The part where I covertly grilled my besties about their favorite record albums in hopes it could be created into some awesome piece of fashion nostalgia that doesn’t have “Made in China” stamped on the bottom. The part where I am renounced best gift giver ever come Christmas.

Win-win for everyone!

Buy unique. Buy handmade.

Stuff I like – Pea Pod Magnets by Polpette Clay

I’ve had this shop ear-marked as one of my “favorites” on etsy.com for some time now, but I never had occasion to buy a pea pod magnet. Three peas in a pod are symbolic of a certain amount of closeness. Be it family, kids or friends. It’s also a bit kitschy. But I like kitsch.

Polpette Clay sat in my etsy favorites list unloved for quite sometime. And then something amazing happened. Well, amazing is a big word, but I was on a project at work with two other women and one of the ladies made a comment about how we were just like “three peas in a pod.” This statement was met with a fair amount of snarky giggling between us, since the project in question was a heinous compliance project required by the federal government,  so it has about as much appeal as a lanced boil.

Horrible project content not-with-standing, I had an epiphany! I would order my colleagues (and myself of course) one of these cute little pea pod magnets as a memento of our time spent together enduring the pain of this particular federal compliance project.

In one fell swoop I could cement the bonds of teambuilding in corporate America and buy handmade. Smells like a win-win to me.

The magnets are cute. I mean ridiculously cute. And brightly colored. Bright and cute. And whimsical. What’s not to love? And I do like peas even when they don’t have super cute smiley faces. But these do. Bright, cute and smiley.

Buy unique. Buy handmade.

Stuff I like - Cute Lamby Cards

I really dig Etsy.com.  For those of you not following along, Etsy is a web-portal that allows artists to “set-up” their own shop and hock their stuff to the internet buying public.

Etsy is awesome because it’s pretty inexpensive and easy to navigate; however it totally over-saturated. There are thousands and thousands of artists all clamoring to be found. It can well worth it to take some time and sniff around the various showcases and listings; albeit time consuming.

I stumbled across this artist who takes oh-so adorable pictures of lambs. You can buy the prints or she also makes cards. I bought the cards. I love these cards and the little lambs on them. They look so happy. They are more original then your garden variety Hallmark and I’m pretty sure if you send someone a little note with this cute little lamby on the front is bound to generate a smile.

Rescue yourself from homogenized sameness. Buy unique. Buy handmade.

Stuff I like - Warm Glass

Important disclaimer.

Art is subjective. Some local handmade stuff is tripe. Really. It’s truly awful stuff. The ceramic painted figurines spring to mind. So do dried floral arrangements. Or the wishing wells made out of logs. I’m sure some people like ceramic painted figurines, dried floral wreaths and log wishing wells… but I am not one of them. More often than not if someone is making crap I’ll probably be a bit snarky and poke some fun. I’m an equal opportunist that way.

The cool thing about the local handmade market is I get to meet other artists and check out the cool stuff people make and sell. I met this artist at a show last year. I really like her fused glass magnets and coasters. I own some magnets and have given a set as gifts. I plan on giving more sets as gifts. Everyone likes magnets and coasters. And they are cool looking. I mean you could buy a set of coasters from Crate and Barrel (don’t get me wrong I love Crate and Barrel) or you could buy something unique and handmade. A one of a kind original. And the magnets are strong. Not that I don’t appreciate my “Middleton Vet” magnets complete with phone number, but these magnets are pretty and actually hold up a few things. Sa-weet!

As a tangent to this subject, I know there are other bloggers who endorse a lot of artists and their hand-made wares in exchange based on a review of their product. I know this because I receive emails on a regular basis from bloggers who find my online etsy shop and want me to send them a “free” sample of my work so they can review and blog about it.

It’s a good gig if you can get it; American resourcefulness at its finest. And I will admit I’ve fallen for it a few times. And then I grew a brain and realized all I was doing was giving away free baby bodysuits with no hope of repeat business. I don’t do that anymore. If you want a tye dye t-shirt, buy it like everyone else.

My philosophy is more straight-forward and less loosey-goosey. If I like your product. I’ll buy it. And if I really like it I’ll probably mention it here because I’m all about sharing the good stuff. And I believe that handmade can be truly awesome and maybe we can rescue ourselves from a houseful of items with “made in china” stamped on the back.

Go for unique. Go for handmade.