HandMade Girl Power...

Some goodies from my trip - presents for the girls from Little Bean, getting to read a whole Vogue cover to cover for me, and awesome necklaces made by Joslyn & her lovely girlies...

Things (wo)men have made with wakened hands, and put soft life into are awake through years with transferred touch, and go on glowing for long years. And for this reason, some old things are lovely warm still with the life of forgotten (wo)men who made them. ~D.H. Lawrence - via Re-nest

I'm still coming off a bit of a buzz after spending Friday around some amazing women...and I have to say seeing my little shop come to life was a huge thrill (and did I take pictures? no, not a one - too busy gabbing)...of course I see all the pretty things as they come in and go out but having them all out together in such a lovely space made my heart sing a bit...and reading this quote on the way home really brought it home how lucky I feel to be able to curate a collection of things that I love made almost entirely by women designers and many made by hand...knowing that Julianne of Object + Totem was up dyeing necklaces to send me during Hurricane Irene, that the reason there is a wait on Clare Vivier bags is because she chooses to have them manufactured in LA instead of outsourcing to China, that when I place an Upstate Order Kalen & Astrid whip up a batch of indigo to dye the shawls, that Kathryn strings the record beads on my favorite Dream Collective necklaces, and on and on...somehow that lends the objects a value beyond how yummy they are to look at...

Little Bean

but truly the best part of my trip was the chance to meet and hang with some of the coolest girls on the planet...I've long admired Christine so getting to chat all day Friday, hear how she balances the shop, and Small magazine, and designing Little Bean was totally inspiring! meeting Sarah who works with Christine and makes the most amazing banners and art, getting the chance to reconnect with one of my favorite girls from Austin - Marisa of Bosquez & Beatrice Jewelry was a blast...she's in Dallas now and her jewelry was definitely the hit of the party...and of course, if you've read this blog for any length of time you know that I have a wee bit of a girl crush on Joslyn of Simple Lovely (okay...a HUGE crush) so that was reason enough to make the trip - if I hadn't had a baby to get home to I would have camped out at her house and talked all day with her and her family - those girlies are gems! (ummm, and yes her home is AMAZING in person - it just has this fantastic glow...I couldn't quite pinpoint why, but all the textures, wood, and ceramics, the stunning table her husband Bryan made...just completely thoughtful and to use one of her favorite words - soulful)

and on top of that I got to meet the gorgeous Sara of The Reluctant Dallasite, the beautiful Molly of My Favorite Things, lovely cousin Erin, Tracy Hayes the super cool editor of FDLuxe, the supermodel sisters Molly & Sally Ann behind a Piece of Toast...and so many more...Thank you Dallas!!

okay enough gushing...Lila's birthday is tomorrow and I have a million things to plan...

xoxo, M