it’s like a biology text book and a ball of yarn fell madly in love, got married and had a few babies! and the matchmaker who got these two crazy kids together? brooklyn based artist emily barletta. i have to admit, i might be a little bit in love too. i have a soft spot in my heart for work that blurs the line between art and craft, and she has definitely done that with these stunning, organic sculptures. crochet, embroidery, clay, bead work beautifully crafted into, well, diseased cells. i’ll let emily explain:

“i have a spinal disease that has always been a present and physically painful force in my life. the majority of my art stems from this fact, but to say that i make artwork as therapy would be untrue. i make artwork and it is therapeutic. this is the same to say that i make art and i am in pain; instead of saying i make art because i am in pain. i cannot separate these ideas. the objects that result from this are the invented anatomical structures of my imagination and my biology. these structures relate to cells, veins, organs, skin, blood, and bones. but they tend to express themselves as flowers, plants, tubes, topography, diseases, bacteria, growths, mold, and organisms. they spread, spill, leak, and grow their way into existence through yarn and a crochet hook.”

what beautiful way to deal with pain – so inspiring. but wait, there’s more! i recently went back to emily’s site, expecting to find a few new tapestries, but instead i found these little beauties:

simple shapes, red embroidery thread, and thick white watercolor paper. i want them. i want them all. emily, you truly are amazing, on so many levels.

~ the jealous curator xo

Apart from being an interior designer and a wife to the most amazing person in the world, I also write a blog called yellowtrace, which is a little online space where I share my love for great design and clever people. I am passionate about celebrating good design in all it’s forms – my mission is to share as much as possible by showcasing established and emerging talent in the areas of interiors, architecture, art, fashion, photography, lifestyle and anything else that is worth knowing about.

Lights, trays & side tables by barnabeifreeman.

Today’s post is about my love of lace and lace motifs. I’m finding that, as I get older, my taste is really starting to reflect my heritage {I was born and raised in former Yugoslavia before my family settled in Australia after the civil war}. I’m really drawn to the patterns, textures and materials synonymous with the place where I grew up, and this is becoming a lot more prominent as I get older. Hence this little tribute to lace and doilies. Go nanna chic!

Vixen “Vintage Lace” & barnabeibreeman “Folk” rugs from Designer Rugs.

Strangely enough – my home and my work are almost entirely devoid of lace. But I still really love it, and a few little pieces that I’ve inherited from my family are becoming more precious to me every day. x dana

Art by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos via busy being fabulous.

“A World Wide Web” and “The 26,000″ Installations by Shane Walter.

Every household needs one of these babies! Lace shovel via NY Times.

paper curtains via all the mountains.

Doily Clocks by andfurthermore on etsy.

Fences never looked so good – Lace Fence via Jodeska.

Stencil art via designboom.

doily envelopes via daydream lily.

“Embroidery” and “Wild Boys” by Sandrine Pelletier.

hand-carved doily stamp via geninne’s.

Covered sea stones via knitalatte11.

adorable vintage linen & lace cushions from tuuni on etsy.

“Munus” Acrylic on canvas artworks by Australian artist Faridah Cameron.

‘Eternal Lace’ by Laura Anne Marsden. These pieces are created using waste plastic bags, transforming the discarded into the desirable. Love!

Gladys light range from bsweden {limited range available in Australia through Funkis}.

Crochet Chair by Marcel Wonders for droog.

Stop sign by Aakash Nihalani, via design for mankind.

]]> http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/2010/06/23/guest-post-yellowtrace/feed/ 39 http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/2010/01/29/get-crafty/ http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/2010/01/29/get-crafty/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:00:57 +0000 victoria http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/?p=13467 madeline bea.

i think we still have a few more weekends with a chill in the air, before spring has finally sprung. so, what better way to curl up and get cozy, but with some crafty projects around the house? i’ve got stacks of plans for crafts and diy projects, and was looking for some inspiration to dig in and get going, so i did a little search through the sfgirlbybay flickr pool, and here and there around the web. i found loads of inspiration and i hope these images and ideas spark something in you, too.

dottie angel.

there are some wonderfully helpful sites and blogs out there with excellent tutorials and diy ideas, like the purl bee, readymade, grace at design*sponge’s diy wednesdays, and ez’s blog, creature comforts, with free, downloadable diy PDF’s. what are you working on? any great DIY ideas you’d like to share with us? share your links!

creature comforts.

quaint handmade.

design*sponge.

emma lamb.

danielleT.

magpie’s fancy.

freshlyfound.

readymade.

renée anne // artist illustrator.

Demoiselle Libellule.

lavenderandlime.

dottie angel.

_cassia_.

we’re back in 2010 with a brand new unexpected guest, all the way from the netherlands! i fell in love with dutch designer ingrid jansen’s wood & wool stools, and then discovered her lovely home via flickr. Ingrid lives in dordecht, a city that is actually an island between three rivers, with a beautiful historical center with many marinas, near Rotterdam. you can find ingrid’s uniquely handmade stools, made from all re-purposed and recycled wood, and her other crocheted lovelies here in her wood & wool shop, as well as etsy, and to see more photos from her visit her flickr photostream. thank you for sharing your lovely home with us, ingrid! i loved every minute of putting this post together — and i hope you all will like it, too!

What is your idea of a perfect day in dordecht?
I love to bike to the market on fridays or saturdays and buy bread, fruit, vegetables and flowers and have a cup of coffee at Villa Augustus. It’s a very nice hotel and restaurant with beautiful gardens, where I happen to work 3 days a week. When the weather is fine I would like to spend the day in my garden being lazy, perhaps a little reading and in the evening have a lovely meal outside. At night I like to see a Spanish movie in the little cinema Cinode and drive there with my old gray 2cv.

What don’t you leave home without?
My bag, keys, agenda, purse and lip balm.

What are some of your favorite local shops?
My favorite shop is Sissy Boy Homeland. It’s a real dutch shop. They don’t have a clear website but they sell the most beautiful interior products and have a great basic clothing collection. The first shop abroad has opened in Antwerp (Belgium) lately and that’s an hour drive. There is no Sissy Boy shop in Dordrecht, but in several other cities near Dordrecht. The Netherlands is just a small country.

Another favorite shop is OXO woonwinkel, they sell my favorite garden Fermob furniture. My favorite local shop is surely the market cafe at Villa Augustus. It’s a market at the entrance of the restaurant and you can buy sourdough bread, the loveliest cakes and biological products. There is also a little shop, where you can buy books, interior products and nice stuff.

What’s on your wish list?
a Classic Hardoy Butterfly Chair and a Tsé Tsé Vase d’Avril designed by Tsé Tsé.

What’s your favorite bargain find or product?
My Geoffrey Harcourt designer chair (above). Some years ago I traded it for a handmade wood & wool stool with a friend who had four of them. Although the leather is a bit torn and cracked it really is a pretty chair and very comfortable!

What is your biggest interior design nightmare?
A gas fireplace with remote. And a completely aligned interior without any personal input.

Who is your favorite artist? And why?
The Spanish singer Bebe Belotta. In the summer of 2005 I was snooping around with the cd’s in a FNAC store in Barcelona and was attracted by the cd cover of Bebe’s cd Pafuera telarañas. When I heard the first song “men señara” I got goose pimples all over my body and knew this was My Favorite Singer! During that holiday I played the cd repeatedly and my 8 year old daughter Pippa sang the Spanish lyrics error-free after some weeks. I wanted to know where these songs were about and I even took Spanish lessons for that reason. She recently launched her second cd Y.

Where do you find inspiration?
At my workplace at Villa Augustus, from interior magazines, traveling and creative people I meet on the Internet.

Do you collect anything?
I collect vases, interior magazines, shoes, oh, and I have a chair addiction.

What’s your favorite feature in your home?
My old gray cabinet where I keep my wool storage (and lots of other things).

If you could photograph anyone in the world, who might that be?
Lenny Kravitz. He’s a great artist and I have all his cd´s and visit some concerts. His voice and music are so great. (And he is so sexy!) His home is also very tasteful. I once saw an issue in a dutch magazine LINDA.

Who would you like to sit down to drinks with?
Can it be the same person (Lenny Kravitz)? :D

Do you have a guilty pleasure?
In the winter, when I have a day off and every member the family left to school or work, i go back to my bed with a cup of coffee and a newspaper or magazine and no hurry. I have to admit that I hardly ever do it, because I usually have too much energy once I’m awake.

What is your most treasured belonging?
A cupboard full of photo books, especially the ones when my children Minne (17) and Pippa (12) were little.

What’s souvenir did you bring back from your last trip?
Two months ago I brought back a tea cup of the STORY Hotel in Stockholm designed by Agneta Livijn. It’s a very nice, bohemian chic hotel in the best neighborhood of Stockholm.

What’s your greatest indulgence?
On thursdays, I have my ‘flower day’ at Villa Augustus. they ave a colorful variety of flowers available to make bouquets for the hotel lobby and the market cafe.

What is your idea of living hell?
Living without a camera.

What are some of your favorites websites/blogs to visit?
Urban Outfitters; Flickr is awesome! I love photography! Dottie Angel’s blog is my favorite, so inspiring and Tif has HUMOR; Nina’s blog ; Yvestown’s blog and actually the blogs that are listed on the right side on my blog wood & wool stool.

i just fell in love with these images blogger emma lamb put together (below) into a lovely mosaic and added to the sfgirlbybay flickr pool. just some crisp, clean and oh so stylish wintery decor. and, read more about this pretty garland she crocheted (above) on emma lamb’s blog, or find more of emma’s beautiful work in her etsy shop. this is my kind of fresh holiday decor! thanks for adding it emma!

[ links: clockwise, from left to right: 1. Faire Houre, 2. dottie angel, 3. *piou*, 4. lobster and swan, 5. sandra juto, 6. simplygrove, 7. the purl bee, 8. hrsmithjones, 9. asuper ninon. ]

i guess i’ve got a bit of a girl crush about the many talents of miss dottie angel. i discovered this holiday garland image she created in the sfgirlbybay flickr pool and couldn’t resist following the link to the ‘how-to’ on the dottie angel blog. tif’s got all the step-by-step instructions on how to make one of these beautifully crocheted little ‘gleeful garlands’ for the holiday season. i find myself wondering one) how to crochet?, and two) how can i learn really, really fast so i make one for my mantel for this season? for more beautiful photos and all the how-to info, head over to dottie angel.

I found these by searching ‘Shop Local’ on etsy and discovered The Monkey Travel Club from San Rafael. Crocheted from an acrylic/wool blend yarn, these cute little cozies also have pearly button eyes. I just had to share the monkey love!