Laundry Day

A while back I saw THE cutest tea towels at Anthropologie. I usually like their embroidered and appliqued tea towels, but a few laundry themed towels really made me squeal (you can see them here and here). I wanted to buy them, but then again, I thought it might be fun to make something like it. And I'm kind of cheap when it comes to things like this. I don't know why, but I am. I'm okay with digesting a great $100 meal with some nice wine if I get the chance, but a tea towel for $20ish, something I could potentially use for years? I think twice and decide to spend 8 hours making one instead! I actually made this a few weeks ago. I had grand ideas of making a little tea towel series, but after laundry day, it was tea time, and I stopped there. I stopped for now anyway. They are fun to make. Of course any craft that involves tiny clothes is fun. Laundry day started with cutting out tiny clothes...

And cute liberty print underwear... (you see Lois was helping me hang the clothes)

Can't resist vintage button flowers...

Laundry day is over... now it's tea time!  

I finished tea time and gave it to my sister-in-law.

Swarm at Anthropologie

We're headed to Amsterdam soon, and one place I'd love to visit while we're there is Leslie Oschmann's studio, Swarm. It's by appointment only, so I don't know that I'll be able go, but I did recently stop by Anthropologie on King's Road here in London to see her current exhibit there. Having worked for Anthropologie for 8 years, and leaving as the visual director, of course her creations fit right in in their gallery space. I love the way she finds so many ways to rework old canvases, from her bags, to the great collage in mismatched frames (above), to her new series of plates. But I think my favorite piece in the exhibit was a book-nook of a chair. Two chairs, re-worked into a chair and bookshelf all in one. Creative indeed. So if you're in London, go check out the exhibit this week (it's up until May 10).

Swarm

Leslie Oschmann's work has made the blog rounds for quite a while now (on Decor8 a few years ago, and more recently places like SFgirlbybay). I try not to rehash products that have already been featured by other very popular bloggers, but I just love everything Leslie makes! She gives new life to old artist canvases by repurposing them into great bags and beautiful chairs. Check out her web site, Swarm, to see more of her great work. Anthropologie carries her bags and chairs, which I saw in person over the weekend, and now I love them even more.

Globe Shopping

Can you say dream job? I only wish I had the Sundance Channel so I could watch the full episodes. I first heard about Man Shops Globe the other day on Green and Pretty, and now I noticed it's all a-buzz in blogville. The show follows Anthropologie buyer Keith Johnson as he hunts for unique pieces for their stores. I always wondered where they got all those amazing fixtures for their merchandising (and ideas for a lot of the merchandise itself). How fun. You can watch clips here.