Wonderful picks from cool sources
So, straight-up, I’m Norwegian. Like, I act Norwegian. Exhibit A: I dress in layers. Exhibit B: I own a garden gnome. Two, actually. Exhibit C: I say “uffda”* when picking up something heavy. And I can tell you what this is: Guesses? It’s a sandbakkel tin. Sandbakkels (pronounced “SONd-bockls”) are Norwegian molded shortbread cookies and … Continue reading Straight Outta Norway
My friend Leah owns an interior design business and has to make buying trips every six months. Poor thing. Whenever she comes back I make her tell me what’s up. What’re we going to be seeing next season? What’s new? A few years ago the forecast as “industrial” and “big beds” and “black”. Then came “blue. … Continue reading Great Brass
It’s no secret that I love curbside treasures. I have very little shame when it comes to slamming on the brakes, backing up, and loading up some great find from someone’s garbage pile. Even with people watching me from inside the house. And after 20-some years of garbage picking I’ve found some wonderful pieces. • … Continue reading Bicycle! Bicycle!
So, as I was saying . . . With a summer full of stress, both good and bad, I felt a funny emptiness inside. Simultaneously revved up and tired, and really “blah.” I was frustrated that all this worry and praying were tiring, but I had nothing to show for my days. As much as I … Continue reading My Surreal Summer or “What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part 2”
Yesterday I had one of those moments that brings you down low. I’d been having a good day, actually. I’d been spring cleaning in the morning, purging and purging useless half-projects from my studio space. I was replacing the space and materials dedicated to old pastimes with cleared space for the “new.” I hauled along … Continue reading Inspired
I’m in love with the idea of Flea Markets. Worn-out and faded pieces of furniture. Chipped china. Old utilitarian pieces – like printer’s type and baker’s bread bowls – that don’t even know they’re beautiful. Weathered iron with its honestly earned patina. Yup. I love it. And I love the scavenging that comes with Flea Market shopping. Finding the … Continue reading To Market
In this installation of “Eh, Better” I take plastic “wood grain” wall art swallows and make them “Eh, Better!” You may be able to relate to this phenomenon, but I have a gut-reaction to tacky decor from my childhood. The decor that backdrops my earliest early years. Memories from this era are from so far … Continue reading Eh, Better: Wall Swallows
My girl Nicole and I went to the Bead Show in Milwaukee last weekend. (Do I need to say it? It was awesome.) My annual Bead Show trip is my artistic Janus. Looking back at the past, as Janus does, the beads that I buy at the Bead Show are motivated by last year’s design trends. (My … Continue reading Bead Show 2012
There is a real delight that comes in taking a small bit of nothing and making it wonderful. Who’s with me?! Not a new concept, the Italians have long had a phrase for this idea: “L’arte di arrangiarsi” which translates as “the art of making something from nothing,” or “the art of getting by.” A simple … Continue reading L’arte di arrangiarsi
I was going to start a new series and name this post, “Before and After.” In a “Before and After” post I would, of course, show a picture of some mussy garage sale find and then, of course, a stunning “how did she do that?!” picture of the reinvented piece. Then I would humbly wax … Continue reading Eh, Better
Handmade by Anne Potter 