etsy love: kjoo

in the interest of spreading the handmade love, i'm starting a little feature here on bits and bobbins which shows off what i think are some amazing goods made by amazing artists, designers, and makers on the inimitable handmade marketplace, etsy.com. it's all about what catches *my* eye, anything from clothing and wearables to homewares. i'll show you a few pieces from each seller's shop and give you a teensy little bit of info about the artist and their wares, linking back to their etsy shops and items.

enjoy!

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first up is kjoo, aka maria, a graphic designer and fiber jewelry maker who hails from portugal. i first became aware of her via her flickr. i have been a fan of her work for some time, and i've actually written about her here before, over a year and a half ago, but her work delights me so that i feel like she deserves repeat mention.

kjoobranchring.jpg

maria's work shows a finely honed sense and sensitivity to color and texture. unusual colorways, skilled, steady handiwork in the realms of hand-stitching, felting and crochet, and a studied skill in marrying various found materials makes for a deliciously amorphous, experimental, organic feel to her whole body of work. her work is transcendent, her pieces are akin to wearable art.

kjoochokerbrooch.jpg

a good pal of mine here in san francisco is a big fan of maria's work and has several of her one-ofa-kind pieces in her jewelry collection, so i can also attest to their beauty in the flesh. they have a soft tactile look and feel on sights, and you can palpably sense the work and trained eye that fashioned them.

the piece below is one of my favorites.

kjooberberchoker.jpg

more kjoo lovliness here. viva, etsy!

(not so) random links

-i'm a knitter. i believe that knitting is a practical, expressive art/craft (really, the same thing). knitting can really make a statement, and knitters are often a wonderfully loud, uproarious, opinionated, sometimes subversive and political bunch. so i of course find this video of a talk on the history of guerilla knitting by rose white particularly interesting. the talk was given at the 24th chaos communication congress in berlin, and some big names in knitting past and present were called out: elizabeth zimmerman, barbara walker, artist dave cole (of giant fiberglass teddy bear and oversized american flag on giant needles at massMOCA fame), and of course, more. (via we make money not art and boing boing) -even the affluent are feeling the pinch with the weakening u.s. economy, and are buying less, if the precipitously dropping sales of luxury items in recent days are any indication (via the chicago tribune). proof positive that the whole "luxury market" was overinflated, temporary, subject to whims, and out of whack to begin with. the decade ahead will be an interesting one: will people ever eschew luxury stuff, and instead embrace thrift?

-sustainable style in the states?: in the interest of slowing global warming, some forward-thinking u.s. clothing manufacturers, like (controversy-courting) american apparel, prAna, and william good (whom i have mentioned here before) are looking to source some of their source materials within their home state or in the nation, according to the international herald tribune. these efforts allegedly help build up a burgeoning organic cotton industry here in the u.s. and make re-use of gently used materials.

-being that i grew up in the thick of the central florida suburbs, i have more than my fair share of mall memories (mostly good, if i am going to be honest). but after seeing the organic nature of most shopping districts in big cities around the world and in the towns i've lived in the better part of the past decade (new york city, and now, san francisco), i've fostered a growing distaste for the aforementioned constructions, feeling them to be contrived and filled with more than a little conformity. seems my sentiment is shared by many, as the quintessential stereotypical shopping mall seems to be on the decline in these early years of the 21st century. what's next for shoppers? some developers think they have the answer and the alternative, but i'm not so sure. (via the economist)

-a cabal of color scheme creating, color picking and coordinating tools co-exist: what's its color?, colorschemer, colr, and kuler. ideally aimed at those in design and art, i also see them as low-investment tools for tentative fashionistas, who could perhaps use one or more of these to play with color combinations and schemes in order to overcome their color fears (more than a few who comment here on bits and bobbins, if the contents of some of your comments are any indication!)

-i love rule number 10 on this kick-ass, inspirational art department list of rules/manifesto from immaculate heart college, as found on hi + low, which is a quote from the groundbreaking composer, john cage: "we're breaking all the rules. even our own rules. and how to do we do that? by leaving room for x quantities." i take "x quantities" to mean "the unknown". and going back to my new years manifesto to take fashion and life as it comes, instead of trying to map it all out ahead of time, as others are wont to do as they lean on the backs of trend forecasts for the coming year. no need to ensure i get the contrived combination of requisite shapes and colors. i'll follow my whim depending on the day. seems right, seems organic, seems real. i delight in, and court the unknown. what "rule" in the above link speaks to you?

-while i think most of this how to get dressed list for 2008 (from the times online) is "utter twaddle", i like the last one, number 10 for it's utter truth:

10. Don’t wear the same trend twice. Utter twaddle. Trends come round so fast now that would preclude almost everything we have come to recognise as clothing.

this is why i have chosen to step off the trend-mill. the whole damn trend thing is cyclical. wear whatever the hell you want even or especially if it's "out", because the whole trend-cycling affair moves so fast it will probably be "in" again by the end of the year. start your own "trend".

(not so) random links

-morgan of panda head is now a fellow blogger of mine over at the threadbanger.com blog, and in a recent post over there, she asks: are you up to the challenge of making do with only DIY clothes for the duration of one year? i gotta say, in theory, the idea of such is absolutely amazing. could you do it? comment here, or better yet, over there! -speaking of street fashion and blogs (nice segueway, huh?!) my sweet friend and fellow blogger mai featured me once again on her SF street fashion blog, fashion.ist. we made a plan to run into eachother at the alameda antiques and collectibles fair, and she snapped my photo whilst there. thanks again, mai!

-conflicting reports at the intersection of luxurious and green/sustainable: the international herald tribune reports that an ethical trend is making waves in the luxury market. conversely, according to the guardian, many luxury firms have shoddy green records and persist with environmentally damaging, wasteful business practices. the message? green marketing may be trendy, but the message rings hollow unless without honest ethics and proactive actions to back up the claims...and smart customers know the difference.

-apparently, there may be a difference between the cheap cashmere sweater, and the uber expensive one, much to the chagrin of fast-fashion fans, says the wall street journal. namely, quality of materials and the quality of life of those who fabricate said sweaters. but to justify paying nearly $800 more for the latter? not sure about that, which begs the question: what level of pricing is fair? is it subjective, or absolute?

-and on the subject of art in san francisco: kate bingaman-burt is showing off her obsessive consumption work/project at an art opening at the SF rare device this friday, december 7th, from 6-10pm. barring anything major, i'm there, people!