Just when I think I have the shop packed as tight as I can get it with unique, artist driven goodies, another box of gorgeousness arrives! We have several new arrivals this week, which I’ll be highlighting over the next few days.

Yesterday, I unpacked and made way for four boxes filled with vibrant patterns and delicious scents that could brighten any grey, February day! Skeem candles to the winter rescue!

Graphic designer Geoff Weiser and former retail buyer, Suji Meswani, are the co-owners of Skeem Candles….

First, let me just say that it is SNOWING.  Right now.  Again.  Are the 3-4 piles in front of my house not good enough?  If things keep on this way, there won’t be enough wine, butter, or chocolate left to keep me sane.  My kids MUST return to school TOMORROW!
We enjoyed a pleasant, albeit quick, Valentine’s weekend.  Taking advantage of the brief break in this weather, my mom and her fiance came to visit.  It was a bright spot in this seemingly endless winter!  They left early this afternoon to …

Last weekend, I posted some photos of our work-in-progress of putting the shop “back together” (I still owe you the “finished” photos–see below!).  One of the things I am struggling with in my attempt to put together a new season of curated, handmade goods is that I like to make a cohesive “story”–a theme, as it were…
Looking back, it was so easy the first time!  I had a gallery theme, “Show and Tell,” to use as my centerpiece, and a the shop was a blank slate!  Using words, text, and …

Frightful weather? Delightful.  The “snowmageddon” (as I’ve heard it called on our friend, Facebook) to come in the next day and a half isn’t nearly as terrible if you have one of this talented lady’s wool creations!
Valerie Rosenthal Hebert is a fiber artist and painter from Southern California, who loves working in wool, and wearing it too! “Even though I live in Coronado (just across the bridge from San Diego), I live near the beach, so I wear wool nearly year round. Wool is also my medium of choice, it …

We have been busy as bees this week.

News of impending snowstorm notwithstanding, Hello Bluebird is bringing on the spring! Boxes are filling the shop, full of pretty things made by good people. New jewelry, candles, diffusers, handbags and reusable shoppers, cards, handmade marshmallows–the list goes on and on! You might wonder, where on earth are we going to put all of this happy new merchandise?

Never fear…

Today marked the one week anniversary of our Grand Opening! I have meant to post about the event ever since—but, as fate would have it, running a shop is a busy endeavor!….

Please join us for the Grand Opening of our long-awaited brick-and-mortar shop! We will be hosting an opening reception for Show and Tell, our first gallery exhibition, featuring works combining illustration and the written word. We will also be celebrating our shop’s big day with some handmade giveaways, refreshments, and general merriment….

…but, I do have a tendency to jump into huge projects (like opening an indie shop!) that I hope will make a really positive mark on the world!  This image from collage artist Leigh Standley of Curly Girl has been a long-time favorite.  I have had the greeting card posted on my inspiration board for many years, since we carried them at Imagine That, the shop I managed in West Reading for most of it’s 10 year existence on Penn Avenue.
Now I am proud as a peacock to have a …

What fun! Tara and I (and Baby Lola!) are featured in this great article about the new arts movement in Pennsylvania. This is a great interview with Tara about the motivations of this new craft economy, the challenges, and the successes…

It is a quiet Saturday morning, at last, and I am stealing a moment away from returning emails, painting shop furniture, and scouting new talent to give you a first glimpse of one of our amazing artists.

Fox and Rabbit by Bird and Little Bird
Fox and Rabbit by Bird and Little Bird

In the “real world,” Annie Reichmann is a special education teacher as well as a mother to a five year old daughter. Somehow in the moments between the obligations of daily life, she also manages to craft the most exquisite stuffed toys for her shop, Bird and Little Bird…