I’m home again, and finally getting settled back into the routine of my life. The last three weeks have been a complete whirlwind of visiting, meeting and gathering inspiration, and now I’m feeling full with ideas and plans, but also way behind on the minutiae of my daily life. It’s definitely been one of those weeks when I wish the world would just stop and let me get caught up. Since that’s unlikely, though, I’m trying to take it in stride and prioritize. Never one of my strong suits.
In the last three weeks I’ve managed to take in the Quilt Market, the NY Stationery Show (and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and Surtex at the same time!), and, upon my return to the bay area, the Maker Faire – a smorgasbord of innovation, creativity, technology and art like I’d never seen before. High on the list of priorities is noting – and sharing with you – some of the inspiration highlights from the shows. There was SO MUCH great stuff, and many designers that I didn’t get info or images from, but here are a few good ones.
I’ve already given you an overview of the quilts at the quilt market but there were also tons of great clothing patterns, as well as some cool new textile designs. My favorites were the whimsical and super colorful kids clothes… I wish I were brave enough to dress like this:
The stationery show was full of lovely letterpress cards and prints in muted, almost antique colors. Gorgeous stuff! I was completely smitten with the prints at Old School Stationers and after checking out their website and story, I’m even more in love. As soon as we have a house with more wall-space I’m going to buy a series of the old camping prints. LOVE!
And one of my favorites, though I don’t have images of her work, was Pikku, designer of unique cloth and wares. Check her out here.
The ICFF was full of amazing furniture, but as Dave, my lighting rep husband, was playing photographer, most of my images are of lighting. But what COOL lighting!
Finally, the Maker Faire was a riot of creativity and d.i.y. innovation. There were more robots and techy gadgets and computerized musical instruments than I’ve ever seen in one place, but sprinkled in there were also spinners and embroiderers and quilters and battery operated textiles. Pretty cool. And then there was a huge room where artists and crafters had their wares for sale. Well. That was my downfall. Here are some great ones:
Also, check out the cute jewelry designs (and at the show she hand handbags) from Oakland-based designer pollyannacowgirl. “Accessories for the cute-minded”!