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One of my very favorite Etsy shops, my dear thing, has just released its 2010 fall/winter collection. And oh, goodness, was it worth the wait.

Lauren, the amazing mind (and model!) behind my dear thing, formerly worked a knitwear designer for Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. These days she sources eco-friendly, sustainable materials to create her signature line of dresses, tops, pants, and knitwear, all of which are meant to be worn in layers with more my dear thing garments, or your own wardrobe staples. As a lover of layers, that's a style philosophy near and (ahem) dear to my closet.

Every piece is designed, drafted, and created by Lauren in her Brooklyn studio. I love everything, but I think my top recommendations would be the irregular hem dress, over tie pants, and the silk husband tank series – all of which look like something a super-stylish Jedi would wear. All are shown in the photos above; click any photo for the link, or go directly to the my dear thing shop to browse. And join my dear thing's Facebook page for the inside scoop on sales and upcoming listings.
Congrats, Lauren! (P.S. I want those sandals.)

In just seven short weeks, the One of a Kind Show will open in Chicago, and I can't wait. Last year I met amazing artists across a variety of media, saw textiles and metal and ceramics being designed in ways I never imagined, and went home with some lovely ribbed arm warmers in a soft, warm purple wool.
The best part? It's all handmade.
This year, the show features more than 600 artists and their work from North America at the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago. The wares span pieces made of wood, glass, paper, and metal; include ceramics, photographs, and sculpture; and there's even a crafting workshop in which visitors can take part.
The show also will feature four separate 20-minute demonstrations – one each day the floor is open – during which an artist will discuss his or her work and give an example of how it's made. I love the idea of having a glimpse inside someone's process, and the times are fairly flexible for those coming to the show after a traditional work day. I can't wait!

And a shout-out goes to talented local metalsmith Alisa Miller, whose ring was selected to grace the front page of the show's brochure. Congrats, Alisa!
Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for seniors and students with a valid I.D. You can purchase tickets online or at the show. See you there!

10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sun., Dec. 5
* One hundred percent of Thursday’s ticket sales will benefit Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Credit: Images courtesy of One of a Kind Show Chicago.

Yesterday I was astonished and amazed to see the completion of a project undertaken by more than 800+ artists, including two friends, Rania Hassan and Sean Hennessey, for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The Smithsonian Community Reef includes a healthy reef, a bleached reef, and a toxic reef. The enormous collaborative project includes thousands of pieces of crocheted coral, which were to be created using crocheting techniques based on hyberbolic geometry. Every piece submitted was to be used, and over the past few weeks, around 60 people worked to assemble and curate the reef into its persent structure. Rania says it's the largest satellite Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef created.

"It’s quite incredible to see all the work that went into this project," says Rania. "Every crocheter had a story, and the Reef Coordinator, Jennifer Lindsay, also collected these stories.
"Three days after the launch of the project at the museum in June, I fell and injured myself. And while I couldn’t crochet, I carried my piece in my bag, and with my working hand would sneak pics of others crocheting at their workshops and gatherings. One of my pieces has a little tag to mark the fall. And this tiny tag is still attached to my piece within the exhibit, the reef coordinator made sure no one removed it.
"In the end, I was able to finish the first piece, create some additonal pieces, and help in the final days of curation and assembly of the reef installation."

The photos shown, of course, are of the finished product – but Rania also has a set of Flickr images that document some of the events around the reef, starting from the lecture and workshop in the museum in June, through to the final installation.
"I think my favorite part of this project is this set of photos," says Rania. "So many colors!"

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef: Art, Science, CommunitySmithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryFirst Floor, Sant Ocean Hall, Ocean Focus GalleryOctober 16, 2010–April 24, 2011Web site: http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/index.html
For history of the crochet reef project, visit the exhibit link above.
All images used by kind permission of Rania Hassan. Find more of her work in her Etsy shop, Shoofly, and connect with Rania on Twitter @goshdarnknit.

tagged hyberbolic crochet coral reef, rania hassan, sean hennessey, smithsonian national museum of natural history in art, exhibit

I fell in love with the image above, titled Goodnight Moon, the moment I saw it. The colors and sunlight are incredibly soothing, and something about those rays feels ... holy. The perfect piece of art for a desktop inspiration wall, for the first sight of the morning above your dresser. Just ... perfect.
So of course I had to poke around the maker's shop. And oh, there's more. Much, much more.

The photographer, Tracey, specializes in bokeh photography, and the dreamy mood translates beautifully in her images, whether of trees, buds, animals, flowers, or beautiful landscape bathed in gentle light. I confess, I had a very hard time picking three images to feature here. I favorited about a dozen.

The best part: Tracey is having a sale in her shop – buy one, get 50% off your second (and third, and fourth...) purchase of equal or lesser value. The sale applies to everything in her shop, no matter the size.
And that may be incentive enough to turn Goodnight, Moon, into Hello, Mari's House.
You can purchase any of these prints, as well as more of Tracey's work, in her Etsy shop, Raceytay.
Credit: Raceytay | Find more of Tracey and her work on Flickr, Twitter, and her blog

Continuing my love of blue with this sweet piece, Blue beauty, by Tinctory.
Tinctory's proprietess, Eva, creates her textile pieces entirely by hand using simple tools and natural dyes. She writes on her blog profile:

Tinctory is a word that may not exist but if it did it would mean a place where things are dyed. Tinctor means 'dyer' in Latin.

Eva writes on her business's website that her inspirations include "the intricate needlework seen on historic textiles, geometric patterns in nature, variation and repetition, the seasons, romance and fairytales."
A few more of her pieces follow below ... I love the gentle, cascading feel of her strandline earrings, and the cards she offers in her shop would be perfect for dropping a friend a "hullo, you're lovely" note.

Credit: All images by Tinctory
Find more of Eva's work in her shop, follow her blog, like her on Facebook, and find her on Twitter.