bits and bobbins

i have a short and sweet/quick and dirty (whichever you favor) BONUS etsy love for this week! enjoy!

this BONUS etsy love is all about stylebook vintage! stylebook is a ye olde online pal o’ mine…and she just started up a little etsy shop, in the effort to offload some SUPER choice vintage pieces she’s collected over the years, as she’s moving long-distance in the not too far off future. i promised i’d spread the word about her shop and her need to get these sold, so…here goes!

her eye is impeccable…leaning heavily toward the sweetly girlish and adorable. i imagine eating cupcakes and having a picnic on a sunny day in really, any of these frocks and smocks. everything is just so smile inducing and irresistible, with a refreshing dash of irony (just like their previous owner!). and those colors! *faints*

some particularly fine picks from stylebook vintage’s offerings, to whet your appetite:

want more? visit stylebook vintage
viva la etsy!

last week went by without an installment of etsy love. my apologies!
but, good things come to those who wait. and i’ll prove it! see below.

this week, the star is the amazing, tremendously talented UNIFORM studio.

the brainchild behind UNIFORM studio is martha, of minneapolis, minnesota. in the text on the about page of her website, she describes her work as “simple and modern clothing and accessories for infants, children and adults”. her work is both simple and modern, yes, but, really so much more.

martha plays with volume, folds, pleats, darts and sinuous bits of texture on each piece she creates, making for a body of work meant to be worn on the body that takes on a overwhelmingly monumental, undeniably sculptural feel. in this way, the simple gives way to complex, modern gives way to timeless. the perfect, clean antidote to the overdone, a superbly conceived urban uniform for both the small people and the big people of the world.

her choice of fabrics are those utilized much in workwear, and of course reflect the name of her company: sturdy denims, linens, cottons, wools. sometimes, unexpected pairings of knits and wovens surface in a carefully considered way that seems to make complete and total sense in the context of the rest of her work…it’s all on purpose. her use solid colors, particularly gray, evoke the solidity and monumentality of stone, of granite. when she uses color, for instance, bright greens, it feels like punctuation, it’s in the perfect proportion, and serves as a standout detail, it’s undeniably completely intentional. not at all superfluous. and i guess that’s what keeps everything martha makes “simple” and “modern”. it is beautifully minimal, not at all overdone, letting a little bit and less truly be more.

on top of all that, her work is absolutely impeccable: every stitch in it’s place, nothing sloppy or slapped together. she’s head and shoulders above so many, in so many ways. to say i hold her and her work in high esteem is an understatement. she’s truly an inspiration to me…and to countless others.

sadly, the UNIFORM studio shop is empty at the moment, so you can only peruse the sold items section for now. but, happily, a new collection is allegedly due in a few short weeks. in the meantime, you can get a view into martha’s UNIFORM studio creative process and keep abreast of her etsy shop updates by checking in with the inspiring UNIFORM studio blog.

want more? visit UNIFORM studio
viva la etsy!

it’s time for etsy love!

this week’s installment is all about etsy vintage seller, nstylevintage.

while etsy’s REAL strength is it’s handmade goods made by a huge cabal of extremely skilled makers, crafters, and artists, the site does have it’s fair share of vintage shops. one of the best of these, i have found, is nstylevintage. the shop is run by a mystery gal(?) from some unknown place (no information is to be found in their profile, sadly, poo on that. i like to know about people, don’t you?).

what makes nstylevintage an example of a good vintage shop? i’ll tell you: a good eye for used gear that hits upon current trends (if you’re into that sort of thing), pieces in good condition that feature interesting design elements, and most of all, the shop utilizes simple, well-lit photography on real bodies, styled in such a way that makes the items for sale really shine. prices aren’t dirt cheap, but a look around shows that there are a few deals to be found.

anyone can hit the thrifts and other resources to find vintage gear, but the way that those products are marketed (aka, presented) when they are sold, new or used, REALLY matters. at least, to me…i really applaud when a person considers all angles of their business, from soup to nuts the way this individual has. if you want to do equally as well, i’d take a lesson from this seller, and their ilk. good photography and good styling, in addition to good descriptions are just as important as the quality and beauty inherent in the designs of the pieces themselves. this goes for handmade goods as well as resale goods. the same always applies.

below, some of the amazing pieces to be found in nystylevintage’s etsy shop:

want more? visit nstylevintage
viva la etsy!