Hooray, I have updated my shop with some new wall hangings and even a little bit of vintage for your pleasure. I’m not sure if the vintage pieces will become a regular fixture, the Severine dress spoke to me and asked to be tampered with, if any other articles of clothing decide to commune with me they may well end up in the shop too! Check back tomorrow for an exciting announcement and a very special offer! Goodnight kittens.

Just have to say that this is my favourite dress in the whole world! I need to save up. From Me & Oli.

I wish I were a pigeon feather, sealed in a test tube and beautifully photographed by Alyssa of BROOKLYNrehab. I would become a thing to treasure, to be looked at anew, a witty and clever idea executed to perfection. Every object collected, re-visioned, customized, created in the BROOKLYNrehab studio fills me with longing and a little bit of joy, it is no wonder that every single best of Etsy post I have put together has included something from Alyssa’s shop. I have developed a serious passion, let’s join Alyssa right now!

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“Hi! My name is Alyssa Zygmunt, fashion designer by day and indie crafter by night. Most of what I am paid to design professionally is ultimately discarded in the cruel product life cycle also known as “the pursuit of the latest greatest fashion,” so the least I can do is make up for it with my creative hobby. The idea behind what I do as BROOKLYNrehab is to re-look at the objects around me to update, repackage and promote them as things of beauty to be saved and treasured rather than thrown away.”

“The starting point for me can either be vintage or modern mass production. Vintage objects are easy. I find the aging process a thing of beauty. The bumps and briuses accumulated along the way hint at past lives and serve to add character. I love to photograph these items in modern settings that suggest new uses and have others fall in love with them as well.”

“Brand new objects born into the world through mass production are much harder to “save” as it is often designed with a built in obsolescence in mind. These are often viewed as interchangeable and sometimes indistinguishable. Since I can’t stop the mass production of these (as much as I love handmade), my goal is to transform them from anonymity into something memorable or personable.”

” I consider these a blank canvas for my own designs and commentary. For example, I repurpose test tubes as specimen jars for my pigeon feather take on the modern New York souvenir. I customize restaurant grade egg cups to enhance the feeling of ownership. You’d think twice before throwing away a cup that has your name on it!”

“While all this is true, sometimes I just like to have fun! Even though I *think* way too much sometimes, ultimately my goal is to make people smile. I want to enrich people’s lives and encourage them to form positive bonds with their objects. It sounds silly but I think of selling my gnomes as finding homes for wayward chotchskies (sp?). It is an adoption process not a retail experience. I’ve given birth to quite a few porcelain delights which leads me to the next topic *i*n*s*p*i*r*a*t*i*o*n*”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“As much as I draw inspiration from the city and all that it offers, it is what is missing that also motivates me. I miss nature. I love the sights, sounds, textures and animals associated with the great outdoors, so I create it in the studio in the form of branches, birds, owls, mushrooms and squirrels.”

” I also enjoy being a modern anthropologist observing how people relate to the world around them and the objects they hold dear. I was directly inspired by my observations to create the “Love note series” where I pair a vintage postcard and a found object, then add a message such as “lost and found” or “secret rendezvous.”

“I hint at an underlying story that you can choose to use your imagination to complete or use as a jumping off point for your own lives.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“The piece that everyone seems most interested in right now is the pigeon feather New York Souvenir. I’ll try to answer the most frequently asked question: “WHY?” After nearly 10 years of living in New York, I still find it a thrill to be here. Perhaps it was growing up watching Fame on TV; somehow, I just knew I would live here one day. It seemed like the place to be if one is creative. Pigeons to me are just one of those reminders that I made it here. The feathers are also symbolic to me so I started picking them up on my path between home and the ceramic studio. As they accumulated, I found creative ways to display them which I posted on flickr and on my blog.”

“After receiving positive responses, I decided to find a way to share my finds with other feather fans. A test tube is the perfect way to transform the once simple feather into a treasure with sentimental value. It also seals it from being touched which allows me to tap into the collective consciousness that we all share as city dwellers and poke fun at the notion that pigeons are dirty. I do have plans to expand on this idea which hopefully will show-up in my ETSY store soon.”

Places to find Alyssa:

BROOKLYNrehab Shop
Blog
Flickr

Thank you so very much Alyssa for sharing your work with us and for being such a sweetheart too. Really, I am such a lucky girl, I get to *meet* my heroes, ask them questions and then spend contented hours exploring beautiful images to post on LL&O. In fact, I am sitting up in bed at 10.37 am writing this, the sea gulls are shrieking and the fog horn is wailing. Next week we will be in South America and I will reveal a tiny new addition to the LL&O sidebar! Hmm, curious kittens, meet me back here soon.

Hmmm, I have a birthday coming up so this roundup is a sort of extended wish/hint, hint to Adam list, thinly disguised as a ‘favourite items on Etsy this week’ post. Can you blame me? I do still take a childish delight in the run up to my special day, I begin my birthday countdown about 4 weeks in advance and can be overheard muttering “this time in two weeks it will be my birthday….etc,etc”! Which items would you like to wake up to on your birthday morning? How about that Cape from Ramona West?

Tea Towel from Stiksel

I have a thing about capes. Wow, so much red! Also from Ramona West. I’m not sure I could pull that off though.

The possibilities are endless with a felt Minimoog from Pulse Width.

Coral-Original Painting by Stefanie Beyeler.

Recycled Skateboard Ring from 2ReVert. So, so clever, I always wanted to be a super trick boarder, not to be, I can relive my vert dreams with this ring!

Just perfect for me! Bookshelf from Little Fish Furniture.

Three is a magic number! But I like two from Blue Bell Bazaar .

Something to write next year’s super big birthday list on! Also from Blue Bell Bazaar.

Speckled Bowl from Penny Spooner Ceramics.

Cuckooooooo! From Decoylab.

Totem Kitty from Melabo.

Just because! The Blondie Suitcase from Thrush.

I am super Librarian, yes, yes, yes! The Adele Mara Dress also from Thrush.

Reading Wolves Print from Oh My Cavalier!

Squirrel Vase from Pretty Random Objects.

Ishi has this Fearless Hare print from Eek design. Perhaps Mummy needs one too?

Bears In Love from K Grandey.

Byron print from Amber Alexander

Yellow and Gray Striped Mini with Sash from Oh Leoluca.

Yummy Blue! Nesting Duckegg on Birch fabric from Aunty Cookie.

No party without Miss Julia Pott! Let’s Get Back Together Tshirt. Yum!

Fox In The Woods Tote from Abigail Brown

Blue Puff Sleeve Mini Dress from Santoki Vintage

Camp Trailer Birdhouse from Ralpg08

Orwell Clutch – Silver Alligator Purse from Tsuru Bride.

Take Me Anywhere Suitcase Pillow from Olive.

Tiny Twig Hair Pins from The Sparrow’s Nest

Rolling Rabbit from Pearson Maron

And for the top of my cup cakes, Plastic Fawns from The Thin Veil.

There were many more I could have added but I don’t want to be a greedy Etsy guts! I also hearted some items this week that I was desperate to include in my roundup but as I kind of know the makers it would have looked like terrible hinting, so those will be included next week. Phew! So what would *you* like for your birthday, do let me know?

I have been aware of the fabulous handmade apparel from Makool over at Etsy for a while now. I love the styling of their product shots and, well, the clothes obviously. I have been considering opening a second Etsy shop with my sister Ali dedicated to vintage and customized clothing. Makool was one of the first shops we flagged up as a source of inspiration for our own images (if only we could get anywhere near that good!). I had no idea that the couple behind Makool also have a wonderful online boutique where they stock the Makool clothing line and other handmade items from other designers. Makool Loves You is based in Portland, Oregan. I have heard that Portland is the most ‘European’ of cities in the US, it certainly produces a plethora of hand-making talent. Grab a cup of tea (or coffee!) and enjoy some loveliness from Makool with me!

I particularly like this blouse, handmade in the Netherlands by Lefke de Roos, the little details really get me.

Super fancy organic cotton Jumper (above). It looks like a skirt but it’s really shorts, perfect for tree climbing and hand standing.

Cupcakes for your paws! Made from 100% baby llama yarn, hand dyed, from Peru. Soft, soft, soft.

Super-cool Bicycle Locket, what would you secret away inside?

Perfect for the seamstress or paper artist in your life. This Necklace has scissors that really cut paper, oh so tiny!

Know someone who slacks off in the kitchen, send them a polite message. This tea towel is hand printed by Show Pony in the U.K. Made from fair trade organic cotton.

Items below are available from Makool over at Etsy.

Gray Sparrow Dress.

Late For Tea Dress.

The only patisserie to eat in this dress would have to be from Laduree.

Some Macarons I think!

Anyone care to join me?

Just a quick update about this week’s interview. I have decided to move interview day to Monday, this change will enable me to spend more time on these posts at the weekends. So, no interview tomorrow, but I have a super-galactic treat in store for you on Monday. See you tomorrow kittens! X
Ok, I managed to get it all done for today (Friday), a moveable feast!!!

I have spent an unseemly amount of time over the past year collecting together a file of the best online emporiums and other design focused web resources. Annoyingly I lost everything from the past two months when my computer melted, more regular back ups required! I spoke to my dear friend K last week (who doesn’t have the time to peruse the web with a cup of tea looking for gorgeous objects) and decided that it would be fun and hopefully useful to begin posting about my favourite shops and sources of inspiration. Obviously there will be a bias towards handmade, vintage and thrifty items but some new objects will crop up as well. I posted about Little Paper Planes last week, now we are going to visit…

Three Potato Four is one of my favourite places for so many reasons, just look at the wonderfully styled product shots! Three Potato Four is billed as a “Mom and Pop shop… full of unique and vintage modern treasures for your home”. The Mom and Pop are Janet Morales & Stu Eli, they both posses amazing curatorial skills and have a gift for searching out beautifully designed objects. I like the Philosophy behind Three Potato Four, the following can be found via their website:

We started the shop because of our love of collections. We’re collectors, and to us, all products and belongings tell a story. Sometimes that story is about where the object came from, how it was made or who made it. Other times, it’s a story about us and how the object reflects who we are, to ourselves and to others. We live by stories and we shop for stories.

Let’s have a look at some of the lovely things on offer.

Manhattan Poster by Jim Datz

Bird Botanical Print – Japanese Lantern by Geninne Zlatlkis (Geninne also has an Etsy shop where you can purchase her beautiful work).

You can find all of the treasures pictured above over at Three Potato Four. Go and have a sneaky peek!

Oh, and happy one month anniversary to the Lou Lou & Oscar blog. I can’t believe that it is only a month since I began this little endeavor, I am having so much fun and *meeting* some remarkably inspiring and super lovely people. What was originally planned as a place to post some bits and pieces about my creatures has transformed itself into something quite different. As I find myself increasingly interested in, and amazed by, the excellence I see around me everyday, my desire to engage with this wonderful work has grown. My little creatures have been neglected as a result of my enthusiasms, which isn’t too much of a worry, I simply need to make a few adjustments and organize my time more carefully. So, hooray for blogging and connecting with adorable, talented people. I am so excited about my second month here at Lou Lou & Oscar, I wonder what the following weeks will bring?
Thank you all for joining me here, I wish we could all get together for tea and cake.
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