Philly-based Skeem candles, now available at Hello Bluebird!

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. Prior to launching the Skeem brand in 2004, this Philadelphia-based husband and wife team did more than a year of research and development to perfect the wax formulation, develop the scents and colors and, of course, create the candles themselves.  ”Skeem”  is a play on words: the company is named after the couple’s “scheme” to break free from the corporate world! The rich, colorful designs and unique long-lasting scents are inspired by their vast travels which include three to four annual trips to exotic locales such as, India, Costa Rica, and Thailand.

Skeem 3-wick Water Jasmine scented candle (80 hour burn time)

IN THEIR WORDS: SKEEM’S PHILOSOPHY:
We’ve never understood the plain-ivory-candle-in-the-fancy-box thing. Isn’t it a bit of a let down when you open it up, and the box, which is the nicest part, is just trash? We’ve thoughtfully designed all our products so they are beautiful and reusable. Everything we sell is made in the USA. Our candles are silk-screened, then poured with our custom soy wax blend to ensure a clean, even burn. Once the wax has burned down, our pillars are reusable as drinking glasses. We also encourage you to reuse our 3-wick containers for things like holding cotton balls, paper clips, or even as a sugar jar. Our perfumes are long lasting Eau de Parfums, rather than toilettes, meaning they are more concentrated and a little goes a long way…In addition to making beautiful, long-lasting products, we’re proud to have done our little part to manufacture products that can be re-used and recycled. It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

"Snuggle Up" Print by Verity Kizek, available at Hello Bluebird

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 return home to Virginia, trying to beat the snowfall.  Winter: I am feeling a little bitter.  A weekend with my momma is NEVER long enough as it is!!

Alice in Wonderland Scrabble Tile Bracelet by BB Bellezza

Before leaving,  we popped over to the shop this afternoon so Mom could pick out her (belated? well, yes…) Christmas present.  After many many try-ons and a pile of tempting options, she settled on a scrabble tile bracelet and a pair of czech glass earrings, both made by Lancaster-based jewelry artist, Kimberly Burkhart of BBBellezza!  The coolest part about her selection is that I actually requested the “Alice”-themed jewelry with thoughts of my mother in mind!  She instilled an early love for the illustrations in the Lewis Carroll classic, which have probably influenced my current love of  quirky, darkly whimsical art.

It was great to be able to send my momma off with a PA-made trinket.  She said she’ll have such fun wearing it–these days, she might as well rename it her “Alice in a Winter Wonderland” bracelet!

Vintage frames become beautiful magnetic memo boards, by Vintage Jane.

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 inspiration as my guide, I filled the shiny, new space with mantras and words to live by, laugh at, or linger over.

Heading into this new season, I don’t have a specific gallery theme to guide me, and I also face a strange fear that I won’t be able to have the same magical success that I enjoyed during my first few months!  As a shop owner, I find myself questioning, “What if I have no idea what made it work the first time?  Can I do it all again?”

Some of the changes at Hello Bluebird...

My inspiration for February came from a random customer, an older woman, who spied some handmade ribbon-and-button ornaments by Kerri of A Little Sparkle.  She exclaimed, “Oh my goodness!  Are those Surprise Balls?!!”

Surprise balls (plus new bags from Dahling Accessories of Philly!)...

I, bewildered, explained that they were ornaments…but, of course, I was hooked!  Surprise balls?  What are those??  They sound super fun!!  She explained that, as a girl growing up in the area, she used to save her allowance to buy a “surprise ball” from the corner store.  ”Surprise balls” offer a miniature scavenger hunt in your hand, with a dozen or so small prizes wrapped in layers of crepe paper, wound around and around into a ball, and then decorated with ribbon, paper, flowers, and other embellishments.  Lovely!

Google to the rescue, I decided that I either needed to find someone out there who is making them, or find a way to make them myself!  Lo and behold, they seem to have made the craft circuit a bit, popping up in blogs and shops such as Not Martha, Kiosk, and Oh Happy Day, among others, each with their own take on how to make your own.  I learned that these little treasures are also given at special holidays, or played as a game, with each child unwinding a toy and then passing it to the next child, and so on, until the last child “wins” by getting the last, best prize in the middle!  What fun!!

Retro-inspired bird whistles at Hello Bluebird!

I found a source for Surprise Balls, handmade in the USA, and my theme for February!  With thoughts of the corner shop in mind, I am filling the shop with retro-inspired prizes, glass jars of plastic bird whistles (an old favorite, of course!), homemade marshmallows stacked on cake plates and filling glass bowls, cupcakes and gum ball-inspired bath bombs, paper pinwheels and party tins, and–well, you’ll just have to come in to see for yourself…

I wouldn’t want to TOTALLY spoil the surprise!  *wink*

A few more photos of our newest indie goods...

Upcycled Youth Sweater by Vals Art Studio

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 makes for a versatile canvas on which I stitch my art.” Val’s artist style was hatched at a young age, while watching her mother at her crafting table. Sewing and needlepointing as a child turned into painting and crafting in fiber as a life long hobby. Three years ago, Val started her company, Val’s Art Studio, as a need for fueling her creativity, but also out of a desire to be home with her growing boys. “I promised myself that one day I’d make cute clothes for boys, because when my boys were young, most everything cute was for girls.” Val’s refashioned sweaters are embellished with needle felted “paintings”. Each sweater is one of a kind and completely unique. Each is a work of art.

Some of the gorgeous upcycled, felted sweaters by Val's Art Studio, available at Hello Bluebird.

Along with children’s clothes, Val creates women’s purses, pillows for the home, scarves and wrist warmers, among many other items, all from recycled wool. Val has recently been published in several Somerset Publications, including Altered Couture and Haute Handbags. Future publications include Jewelry Affaire and Somerset Home, and San Diego Home and Garden Magazine.

We are happy to include Val in our pool of very talented artists here at Hello Bluebird.  Once the plows have made their merry journey and you’ve shoveled your sidewalks like good little citizens, we invite you to come in and check out the latest arrivals from Val’s Art Studio!

Bee Happy print by Melanie Linder of Spread the Love (available at Hello Bluebird matted or framed)

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.  As a gift for being such a good girl over the holidays, the shop was rewarded with some new fixtures (via Ikea–thank you, Swedes) last week!  Corey was sweet enough to put his after-work painting time aside to help me assemble (and by help, you know what I mean) and get the new furniture in place.  It has been a fun, albeit very crazy, week of getting the shop put back together.  Slow-going at moments, and some stashes and corners are still unfinished, but, all in all, I am please as punch with how fresh and spacious it is turning out.

Of course, don’t take my word for it!  Please swing by and take a look for yourself, while its all shiny and new and brimming with fresh goodies!  We even have free marshmallow samples (strawberry shortcake! yum!!), as if you needed to be bribed…

Since you missed out on all of the fun, here are some scary IN PROGRESS pics!  I’ll post some AFTER photos tomorrow–stay tuned!

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!
Just to recap the September 3rd event a bit—well, it was nothing short of amazing. Many of our artists and designers were able to attend, and it was pretty great to introduce them to one other, and watch them OOO and AHHH over each other’s work. For example, Janet of Primrose Design took home an adorable apple tree patchwork tote, made by Brooke Harlan of Brookiellen, which she blogged about (with some really great photos of the evening) here.
Besides getting to see so many familiar faces, the overall attendance was overwhelming. There were times (I am told—I never left my station behind the counter!) that customers had to wait out on the sidewalk because they couldn’t get in the door—how cool is that? And I was the lucky (ok—beaming!) recipient of countless compliments about what a great shop it is, how unique all of the items are, how much West Reading needed a shop like mine (for the record–there are LOTS of other great shops in the neighborhood, too!), how they couldn’t wait to come back on a quieter day to take a better look around…I know, I know: talk is cheap, but I have a feeling I’ll be seeing many of those faces again.
I guess it could have been the wine or the SENSATIONAL cupcakes (thanks, Steph!) talking…Either way, it was one of the most memorable nights of my life, and the beginning of a grand, scary, exhilarating, amazing adventure.

We have combined our Grand Opening with West Reading’s fabulous First Thursday event–the Avenue will have live music, gallery openings, in-store events, and later hours in all of the shops.  Kick off your holiday weekend with a night out on the town: eat local, shop local, and support the great things your own backyard has to offer!

Save the Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009. 5pm-9pm. 609 Penn Avenue, West Reading, PA.

IMAGE PRINTED WITH UV INK ON TO HIGH-QUALITY CANVAS. STRETCHED, HAND-FINISHED AND SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. PERFECT FOR ANY SPACE! 22x22" (SQUARE) Available at Hello Bluebird for $250 (plus shipping!)

…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 great selection of her cards in my shop, as well as a large giclee canvas that is hand glittered and sparkled by the artist–and we all know enough glitter and sparkle CAN change your outlook, if not your world…

Alex unpacks a box of gorgeous circle skirts from Rosie's Whimsy. Brookiellen bags are displayed on hooks behind her. Photo by Brad Bowers.

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.  One of our shop contributers, Paisley Dog Press,  is also interviewed about the revival of artisanal letterpress.   We had an early morning “photo shoot” last Monday (trust me, I thought it was kinda crazy–I’m pretty shy when it comes to this stuff!), and all of the photos from the article take place in the shop!  That makes us practically famous…at least, in the Keystone State!  Here’s a link to the article, so feel free to pass it around FB and twitter!:

Handmade in PA Pulls Artisans Together Online.

Fox and Rabbit by Bird and Little Bird

In the “real world,” Annie Riechmann 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.   She describes her motivation for starting her creative business by noting “Spending most of my time with children has inspired me to think a lot about the quality and craft involved in making toys and clothing for children…I am a big believer in the value of handmade!”

Red and Blue Rabbit by Bird and Little Bird

Annie’s adorable woodland critters are crafted with all natural materials. Toys are stuffed with new, natural cotton stuffing and are lovingly given hand-stitched details. She is also working on a line of sewing patterns for making lovely, handmade toys yourself, which will also be available in our shop.

We are delighted to welcome Bird and Little Bird to Hello Bluebird.