Image courtesy of Poketo.com

Functional art that adds a spot of brilliant creativity to your everyday life.  Need I say more?

Oh, yes, and I should also add: boys like them.  Finally, something for the lads at Hello Bluebird!  We even have tees in UNISEX.  The future’s looking pretty bright!  Equal opportunity abounds at Hello Bluebird!

Now for the nitty gritty: Poketo ( POH-KAY-TOH) is an LA-based designer of limited-edition art accessories, prints, and decor.  Poketo promotes the work of top international artists by showcasing original artwork through their fun and accessible wares. Poketo takes art off of gallery walls and makes them a part of your everyday life.

Poketo’s Philosophy: In Their Words (quoted from their website):

As a part of the art community Ted, filmmaker and Angie, graphic designer were always curating shows for artist friends. The shows were a lot of fun and brought tons of people together. But there was one problem. No one could afford to buy the art displayed. For this reason, Ted and Angie came up with an affordable solution to satisfy everyone’s art lust. They created limited-edition artist wallets that were accessible and well designed so that no one would be without a piece of art of their own.

Stuff Boys Like: Sci-fi! Octopi! Rayguns! Coffee!!

Poketo has currently collaborated with over 200 international artists and has been commissioned by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The De Young Museum, Nike and bands like The Arcade Fire, Weezer, The Shins and more to create exclusive products. Ted and Angie have conducted design seminars for Parsons School of Design and served as guest jurors for American Illustration’s Annual 27. And in 2008, Poketo was invited to participate in the Glasgow International Festival, Scotland’s equivalent to the Whitney Biennial.

Poketo Tees (artist: Melissa Contreras), now available at Hello Bluebird (S,M,L)

Poketo has been featured in press internationally: The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, How Magazine, Dwell Magazine, Real Simple, Bon Appetit, and on ABC’s Eye on LA, and E-Network and more.

Pretty cool, huh?  Find them right here in West Reading, PA at Hello Bluebird!

Poketo Wallet (artist: Lisa Congdon)

Poketo Wallet (artist: Catherine Campbell)

Poketo Wallet (artist: Luke Ramsey)

Poketo Wallet (artist: Jayme McGowen)

]]> http://hellobluebird.net/introducing-poketo-art-for-your-everyday/feed/ 1 http://hellobluebird.net/skeem-candle-casting-some-light-into-the-dark-days-of-winter/ http://hellobluebird.net/skeem-candle-casting-some-light-into-the-dark-days-of-winter/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:57:55 +0000 admin http://hellobluebird.net/?p=394

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.

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!

Lancaster-made, artisanal jams and preserves by Christina Maser

Good thing this isn’t a countdown of News Years resolutions, or I’d be off to a shaky start!  Nothing like trying to hang a new show, decorate the shop for the holidays, provide excellent customer service *wink*, AND start a new habit of daily journal entries all at once!  Ha!

So, to make it up to you, I’m going for TWO features in one day!  I’ll post the Day One item now, and Day Two tomorrow morning!  So, all day Wednesday, you can have 5% off of TWO fabulous artists’ wonderful products!  Yay!

Day One: Looking for that perfect hostess gift?  Look no further!  Inspired by a visit by local indie blogger, Tara Gentile, of Scoutie Girl and HandmadeinPA, (who was looking for just such an item and took home the Cranberry Poblena), I am featuring the amazing pantry goods of Lancaster-based Christina Maser.  All of Gretchen’s foods are crafted from the freshest, locally grown produce she can find.

Hello Bluebird proudly offers a range of jams, as well as Red Sauce, vinaigrettes, soup and chili mixes, and her 100% soy scented candles.  Please enjoy our 5% discount on any Christina Maser products purchased on Wednesday, December 2nd!

Handmade Advent Calendar Idea from Cathe Holden

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I pulled out a book that I snatched up at a shop somewhere in my travels as a sales rep called “The Book of New Family Traditions.” It is filled with ideas, old and new, for how to bring more meaning and ceremony into our daily and seasonal lives.  Flipping through the myriad of clever ideas for every holiday and circumstance you can think of, I am particularly taken by the section on Advent calendars.  Each year, we struggle to put more meaning into the holidays for our children, and I feel like we manage to come up short in the last minute scramble to find every fun new toy or gadget on “the List.”  I feel like the right nightly commemoration of Advent might help us to slow down and focus on enjoying the season for all of its rich meaning and family tradition.

While I am still struggling to find that perfect family countown (better hurry!), I did have an “ah-ha” moment regarding how I can mark the days at Hello Bluebird!  This season, I plan to post one fabulous handmade item from the shop every day until Christmas Eve!  If you purchase an item from that artist in the shop on that day, I’ll gift you with 5% off–because, at this time of year, every little bit helps!

The best part for me is that, while we count down the shopping days, I get to count my blessings.  It is such a joy and reward to be surrounded daily by such amazing talent and support.  Honestly, my own “List” is pretty short this year: I have every thing I could want.

(PS–Love the spool idea above? Learn how to make one here!)

Am I right?  Last week’s arrivals were met with giggles and glee.  So much girlish whimsy!

First, I unpacked a box of bibs and booties, pristinely packaged and crafted by Bink and Boo.  Her bandito bibs are the cutest and have gotten quite a nice reaction already!  All of her creations are made from vintage tea towel fabrics, and backed with chenille.  Love!

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any sweeter in the shop, another box arrived, this one from a eagerly anticipated artist, Katie Lombardo, of The Wheatfield.  Her prints combine hand-lettered, favorite sayings and vintage-inspired floral illustrations.  The are a bit like Holly Hobby meets Anthropologie–doesn’t get much better than that!

I asked Katie to tell me a little about herself and her work.

She writes:

Hi there! My name is Katie Daisy Lombardo and I am a recent grad from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. After graduating, I was offered a 9-5 design job at a very large corporation. I was really excited by this prospect. I thought, “Finally, a sound way to pay off all these student loans!” After careful consideration, I noticed that my heart was being pulled in a different direction. I have always trusted my intuition, and I wasn’t about to turn my back on it this time. I decided to turn down the job and go full swing as an independent artist by relying on boutiques, markets, fairs, online sales, and faith to keep me afloat. I am so thankful for all of the support I’ve gotten thus far, and know it will continue if I keep true to myself.

Having grown up in a rural area, a large majority of my work is inspired by simple country pleasures. My creativity is sparked by the beauty of nature, reading a book in the grass, swimming in the river, camping with my sweetie, and  stargazing on a mountaintop. When it comes to materials, I only use what’s available in the here and now. If it’s in arm’s reach, you can bet that it’ll be in my art. I also like to incorporate found materials such as doilies, butterfly wings and tea leaves into my creations.

I’m so happy to be a new part of Hello Bluebird and hope that through this shop I can inspire others to live a simpler, more creative life!

I think I can safely say that I’m so happy, too, and inspired by both of these talented new additions to the shop!

Owl Totes by Modern June

Ok, I was really torn about whether or not to make a cute owl pun, but late night posting makes for weak restraint…

It was another long and busy week at the shop, with many new faces and loads of sweet words and excited customers.  Last Saturday was West Reading’s Fall Fest, and the crowds were fantastic!  I am pleased as punch at the wonderful exposure and traffic we have received already.

Today started out chilly but perfectly September.  I, for one, will be sad to see the long days and warm temperatures go, but I can certainly chime in with my autumn-loving friends when it comes to indulging in some new accessories.  This week’s cool mornings have granted a newfound opportunity to toss on a cardigan or wrap my pashmina around my neck=love!

I’m not the only one donning some fallish frocks!  Today my daughter dressed the mannequin in a super fun halloween skirt from Rosie’s Whimsy and an owl tote from Modern June, and both sold!  I wish I had snapped a photo–she looked super cute!

So if you’re looking for some new autumn digs, hurry over, because they’re going fast!

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…