dead people's stuff.

i knew i was coming out west to go through my father's possessions but was not prepared for the generations upon generations of stuff that he was apparently housing without my knowledge.

above is just a small example - a pile of hankies with at least three distinct monograms on them. my aunt washed them and i pressed them and sorted them into two piles - usable and destroyed. i think i am going to try to find crafty or arty uses for the destroyed ones and use the usable ones to save the planet during runny nose season.

this is the process i have been going through over and over again with a billion tiny little things. i have a strong feeling that i will return to toronto with piles of small objects that i will then have to make sense of and sort into my small apartment life. and the decisions will be much harder than that of the hankies because i can't turn my great uncle's military medals into crafts.

those of you who are friends should brace yourself for calls from me demanding help. for starters, does anyone have a velvet display case?

getting on a ferry and going to pender island.

turning japanese.

...i know, i know. it's a rude song. i am just running out of clever entry titles.

pictured above is a new batch of buttons made from the impressive collection of chiogami papers at the paper place in toronto. because i always feel less proprietorial about buttons made from such found materials (except, oddly, the security envelopes which are an exceptionally ubiquitous material), i am usually happy to share my sources. you should totally buy papers from the paper place. i'm sure i have said that enough here. but they truly are outstanding at what they do and are staffed by some of the most knowledgeable and pleasant people going. their new online shop has also opened their stuff up to a far wider audience than before. trust me, the quality is great. okay, i am starting to feel like a shill so i will move on.

this little batch here was mostly made to restock shana logic after the holidays. shana's shop was one of my first online retailers and we have watched one another's business grow together over the years. well, things seem to be absolutely exploding over at shana logic, and it's well deserved. she was hyping handmade before many others and (to play on the saying) probably help to build the bandwagon. shana's interesting eye for techy, kawaii, asian-inspired, cute and useful handmade items really sets her apart aesthetically. she also carries a bunch of my other button sets including both of missy kulik's artist sets, my new toofs set, japanese lacquer paper, and all other manner of smudge, dot, and patterns.

if you are looking for any of these things in a bricks and mortar shop near you, why not call you local retailer? get out of the house. you can't stay in all winter.

it's real (or d.i.y. and praise for tara bursey)

okay, world, it has come time to announce the big thing that i have been collecting all these envelopes for (or, maybe, the first big thing of many big things).

the calls have been made, the contracts have been signed and i can now tell you all that i will be participating in my first group show, being held at the ontario crafts council.

entitled diwhy (visual pun), the show is a coproduction between the occ and the toronto craft alert. it also marks the council's first nod towards indie craft and the diy movement, which i find very exciting. i am sure this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

my contribution will be a grid of 289 individual 1" buttons displaying unique patterns (many sent in by you blog readers) installed directly into the wall with 289 nails and 289 magnets. it will be pretty.

but let's get down to the more important business of heaping praise on megasweetie, tara bursey. why? well, aside from being an incredible artist in her own right, tara has stepped up to help me install the entire thing (no small feat) while i am out on the west coast tending to some tender family affairs. miss bursey has done much to bolster my faith in humanity in what has been an otherwise shaky moment in my life. above and beyond. really. because she is a constant font of creative output, tara also currently has a call out for the punk project. if you are punky and live in/around toronto, tara wants to talk to you. and you should talk to her. she's an absolute treat. i would personally take just about an excuse to have a chat with tara. i could go on...



diwhy runs from january 20th through march 1st at the occ gallery in the heart of the queen west gallery district (990 queen west) with the opening reception on thursday, february 5th. you should come. i happen to know one other favorite person who happens to be in the show, too. it's all quite exciting. if i weren't running away to vancouver on wednesday to deal with other things i would be even more excited.

free range.

it's coming later than expected but the sweetie pie press' newest commissioned artist set has been uncaged and released (i told you my new announcement had to do with birds).

this newest set, cheekily entitled duck duck goose, came into the sweetie pie collection from the clever hand of providence, rhode island, illustrator/artist/screen printer, alec thibodeau. aside from being an exceptionally skilled draftsman, alec is also a great collaborator (creating art with/for deb dormody, tiny showcase, if'n books + marks and more), and the brains behind noney - the people's currency. not a lot of people can say they print their own money...or maybe those who do don't volunteer the information.



for this set, mr. thibodeau dove deep into his naturalist concerns to pen five placid ducks and one surly goose to really hammer home the realities of a childhood game. these little friends make great decoys and are far better than wearing as actual duck or goose on one's bag or lapel. they may not attract other ducks, but they will almost certainly attract the admiration of your peers. and that's why we acquire things, right?



available at both the blue house and my etsy shop.

tiny scraps of security.

the above little tiny scraps came to me from our friend melissa in brooklyn. loyal blog readers among you may remember that she is a bona fide friend who came to us first as one of aitor's unflattering portrait subjects.

i figured out where these tiny paper pieces were from even before aitor read the explanatory part of melissa's letter out - these tiny scraps were removed from some cancelled stamps melissa had acquired for presumably decorative purposes. she says that some of the patterns must date back to the 1960's at least.

the only thing is that these scraps are so small that some of them will only yield one button. up until now i have been able to keep two full collection of every pattern - one for my own sorting/archival purposes and one for another purpose that i am about ready to reveal. but at this point, the two collections will diverge. any pattern that only yeilds enough material for one button will have to end up in the master collection which is a shame because these patterns are pretty cool and worth allowing out into the world.

i would also like to relay a story that melissa sent me in a previous letter:

so, i saw a security envelope at the church ave train station. i picked it up for you (but it was lame - a company's name) and inside was a check someone had dropped! i mailed it off, but never would have picked it up if not for you, ms. becky johnson!

see, the sweetie pie press makes better citizens. i knew it.

cooped up.

i've hardly left the house for days, i have been so busy.

among other things, i made this small (poorly photographed) custom order for isabel gertler. isabel is opening a show at the struts gallery in sackville, new brunswick, next weekend which is where these buttons will be handed out. although i couldn't find a lot online, her exhibit was described to me as a collection of embroidered hankies displayed on a line. art meets craft? sounds like my scene.

i very much enjoyed making these guys. simple design on a button always makes me happy. and birds. what's up with birds? it feels like a lot of bird buttons pass through my hands. they figured into the order for the toronto outdoor art exhibition, the design for theatre revolve, and of course some designs of my own. i even have a special ornithological announcement to make tomorrow (but i will leave that until later).

in this world of craft and design, people tend to tire of trends quickly, but birds seem to go beyond trend. images of birds (and other animals) were painted on cave walls. birds figure quite prominently into textile and wallpaper designs from many cultures and eras. so what gives? are we jealous or just beguiled?

regardless, i wish isabel a great opening. here's hoping your clothes line is not appropriated by starlings.