Fab.com sent me an e-mail and a picture of this chair was in it…… HEART MELTING.
One day I will have something like this. And I will sit in it every day just to do it. And I’ll sip Earl Grey and read newspapers. It will happen…. OH, it will happen.
Photo via fab.com
Let’s all just get over it and agree that there are a lot of Valentine gifts out there that are seriously cheesy. Pink stuffed animal pigs hugging while carrying a heart that says “I Oink You”, anyone? I am a firm believer that you shouldn’t have to have a specific day set aside to tell someone you like them… or love them… or care about them enough to get them cool sh*t. As a self confessed girly-girl however, I just love a Holiday.
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, I have collected a small list of my favorite Valentine (or any time) gifts from Etsy.
Behold:
1) Paper straws automatically add a little flair to any party, get together, game night, or picnic. It’s slightly romantic in a “win me a stuffed animal at the fair” kind of way. Since I am a girl who adores hearts on just about anything…. these are lovely.
Red Hearts paper straws by The Party Fairy
2) Remember when you received the first mix tape from a crush? Looking back, I realize I took for granted how much time a teenage boy must have spent making something like this compared to what it takes in today’s world. Now all the boys have to do is throw a whole bunch of songs into a designated playlist, hit “shuffle”, and then BAM – a mix cd. It must be exhausting.
Let’s reminisce about the old days when pushing “Play-Record” meant something…. and admit that decorating the tape case was pretty much the best part.
Mix Tape Valentine Cookies by Whipped Bake Shop
3) Listening to NPR on the beach has never looked so cool. ‘Nuff said.
Retro Radio by Acadia
4) I am a sucker for anything geeky and cute at the same time …as well as books. So this seems appropriate.
The Love Bot 3000 by collageOrama
5) If you want to go the jewelry route for a gift, I personally am a huge fan of simplicity. I like things that look hand made, classic, and sometimes don’t mind a small initial here and there. I feel more feminine the more dainty the ring. (Plus, you can get a heart on these stacking rings… and remember? I love hearts.)
Stacking Initial Rings by Fruition Jewelry
6) These earrings fill all of the dainty feminine jewelry requirements: small, simple, look hand made and oh yeah! HEARTS.
Brass Heart Studs by Rachel Pfeffer Designs
7) Cards are just as important as the gift (if not more). I got a Valentine present once with no card, note, or even my name written on the box. I mean… really? He might as well have flung it to me out the window as he drove by (okay not really… but you get the point).
Cards don’t need to be sweet and sappy with doves carrying gold string and ladybugs holding hands on it or anything – but they are important. If you aren’t the mushy type, just choose something funny AND meaningful at the same time. Telling someone you love them more than bacon? That is some serious stuff.
“I Love You More Than Bacon” card by Oh Geez Design
8 ) This is another card that is kind of funny, super cute, and meaningful all at the same time. There are lots of people out there that like other people. I like people – I like my friends, some of my neighbors, my coworkers….my corner deli man. Maybe instead of a crush just saying they “like” you, they could make it a little more clear by saying, “but you know… in that kissy kissy way.”
If there is ever a time to tell a friend that you actually want to kissy kissy them… Valentine’s Day seems perfect. I mean hey, everyone else is. And if you get rejected you can just go down the street to the bar where 12 drunk singles are all celebrating “Singles Awareness Day”. Yep. The acronym of that is “SAD”.
“I Love You” card by Hello Small World
Photos are all taken from etsy.com listers
Story by Kate
I recently stumbled upon a Kate Spade video by Kinga Burza while trying to find an old favorite song, “I Will Never Love You More” by SoKo. This video is absolutely right up my alley: girly, flowers, dresses, stop motion animation and macaroons.
After watching the video two or three times, I then looked over at the suggested videos on YouTube and found an entire collection of Kate Spade films. Spring and Summer 2012 is going to be filled with bright and bold colors, so I felt it completely appropriate to share my favorites of Kate Spade’s remarkably enjoyable branding and marketing campaign. These are all so adorable but most importantly, remind you to live life colorfully.
Enjoy!
Story & drawings by Kate
I have had a legitimate “girl crush” on Chloë Sevigny for years. She pulls off the girly tomboy look with aplomb, is intelligent yet slightly spacey and giggly, doesn’t seem to care what anyone else thinks, and just seems like one of those chicks that I would dig hanging out with. A friend sent me these videos because of my aforementioned “girl crush” and I had to watch them all. You get to see her closet, which is amazing but also kind of hilarious: drawings by Alber Elbaz (no big deal) but also a casual pair of bunny ears, but also her entire seemingly adult yet slightly scattered apartment. I enjoy seeing someone I look up to seem really non-chalant and “cool” about fashion. You should always remember it’s really all about self-expression and making yourself happy. Even silly happy.
Chloë is my homegirl, and there is no talking me out of that.
At Home with Chloë Sevigny: Part 1 from Opening Ceremony on Vimeo.
At Home with Chloë Sevigny: Part 2 from Opening Ceremony on Vimeo.
At Home with Chloë Sevigny: Part 3 from Opening Ceremony on Vimeo.
And I’m just putting this Spike Jonze “commercial” for Opening Ceremony TV in this post as well because it is AWESOME. Short. But awesome.
You’re welcome.
Spike Jonze OCTV Commercial Starring Chloë Sevigny from Opening Ceremony on Vimeo.
Photo by Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
I first heard about Aurel Schmidt while reading my November issue of Vogue. Her Clark Kent glasses and deep side parted blonde hair caught my “adorable” radar quick – I became fascinated immediately. I spent a few days looking up videos and more ways to find her work. As someone who draws and creates with color pencils, finding an artist who uses the same medium to create such amazing work is incredibly exciting. Aurel seems like the perfect mix of late nights on the LES and a girlishly shy tomboy. She seems like someone who I would have a blast with… but she also kind of scares the s*#@t out of me. Perfect recipe for friendship.
She will soon release a book of drawings with the poet Franz Wright. I am going to need it.
Photo by Clint Spaulding/ PatrickMcMullan.com
“The 27-year-old Schmidt doesn’t like to play by the rules (and if this means the occasional gut-wrenching practical joke, she’ll take it). She embraces sex and grit, drawing dirty tampons, condom-wrapped vegetables, and fleshy erect penises sprouting out of the ground like flowers; she didn’t go to art school; she sticks firmly to her colored-pencil-and-acrylic-on-paper medium (adding texture, at times, with splashes of beer, dirt, drops of her own blood, and the occasional cigarette burn); and she doesn’t have formal representation through a gallery—nor does she particularly want it. Indeed, Schmidt’s astonishing ascent from New York nobody to Whitney Biennial artist is one that’s been forged largely on her own.” –Rachel Wolff, The Daily Beast
Images via ilovewildfox.com
“Schmidt sums up her history as follows: ‘I was a kid who liked to draw, then I was a teenager who liked to draw, now I’m an adult who likes to draw.’ And though she may look the wild downtown part (Chloë Sevigny with Clark Kent’s glasses), she is diligent and exacting in her work…..
She was born and raised in rural British Columbia and moved to Vancouver shortly after high school. She worked the door at a bar there and drew in her spare time (portraits of dogs, mainly, and quirky outer-space scenarios). She showed her work at a local skate shop but not much beyond that. The gallery system is different in Canada—there’s no money, she says, and selection processes are long and formal. She soon met fellow artist Tim Barber and he posted her work on his artist portfolio site, Tiny Vices (where Schmidt still keeps an online archive of her drawings today). Barber eventually relocated to New York and though they weren’t close, Schmidt followed in 2005.” –Rachel Wolff, The Daily Beast
Images via thedailybeast.com
Check out more of Aurel & her work:
In Vogue
At the Whitney
In Interview
In Papermag
She has t-shirts for Opening Ceremony. Amazing. You can check them out HERE.
Story by Kate
