Design Made Easy

I just learned about a pretty awesome company, Garmz - fashion designers submit their sketches, users vote on the designs, and if you garner enough votes, they produce the garment to sell on their site! It's like Threadless, but goes way beyond tees. I am totally addicted to the site!

This tailcoat was one of the designs that will be produced. The price is 109 euros (about $145) - which is pretty reasonable. I am excited to see more from Garmz...I think it's a great idea and hope that they stick around.

Vietnamese Handicrafts

As mentioned earlier, I recently returned from a trip to Vietnam and Hong Kong. We did a 2-day hike through the Northern Vietnam highlands in Sapa , through villages of Hmong ethnic minorities, who make some very lovely crafts - especially intricate embroidery.

Hmong women in traditional clothing

Detail of Hmong embroidery

They make their own fabric (from the harvesting the hemp, weaving the fabric, and dying it with indigo) - and make clothes, bags, and scarves. We went to the Ethnology Museum in Hanoi, which had extensive exhibits of the many ethnic minorities, their culture, and their crafts. I highly recommend this museum - if it's the only one you go to in Hanoi, this is it. We spent over 4 hours here, and they have an excellent gift shop with a great selection of crafts and good prices (without haggling!). Woot.

Postcard Show

Howdy everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus - still recovering from jet lag from a trip to Hong Kong and Vietnam..but more on that later...

For those of you in the SF Bay Area, please check out The Lab's Postcard Show this Saturday - lots of small format art, wearables and cool stuff made by local artists and crafters - and the best part, nothing costs over $30! And for the first time this year, there will be a Mini Market, with small format edibles, of which I am participating with my baby caramel apples.