coming home....

May you find a cozy and light filled place to spend your holidays!


I will be back soon....

when the snow storm hits....

After you have had your fill of snowball fights, and after the hot chocolate...when you still have A LOT of day left....

cut open a potato, get out some paint and start printing..


Cards, wrapping paper...the table (you can't get away with this if you are not a 3 year old :))


You can also use sponges...


Enjoy!

making Christmas trees

making trees

I was inspired by a tree a friend made on her son's wall with this japanese tape a few months ago.


...riding through the park one day this fall we found the most spectacular red leaves and stopped to collect them.


We pressed the leaves in a big heavy book about gnomes and waited.



There is a little book by bruno munari called "Drawing a tree". He says if you can make the letter Y you can make a tree...just stack one letter Y on top of another.
That's what we did, we made Y shapes out of tape.
My assistant handed me the leaves and I taped them on. Then he danced around the room singing "last leaf falls" over and over...


Sometimes the rain can be fun.


...in keeping with last weeks gift ideas, this tape makes a great gift. I know lots of you have already discovered the joys of this stuff...if you have not, it's amazing. You can stick it to the wall and it doesn't take the paint off, so it's great for kids. I found it here and here in amsterdam and here online.

For the kids in your life...

There are two online shops that I LOVE for all things kids, Smallable and Kid-O I have put together a little collection form both shops. I either already have the products shown here or have tried them out and have them on my list.

Kid-O was my favorite shop in NY, I was very happy to discover they had most of their products on line.Lisa Mahar, kid o's founder and owner, searched the world for products that have both a design and an educational focus. Kid o makes these items available to other parents who believe that beautiful, well-made objects are critical to stimulating children, accelerating their development, and enhancing their well-being.



All products available at Kid-O. Clockwise from top. exploring nature puzzle, matching shades puzzle, city and country blocks,narrow to wide puzzle, deep in the forest, fireman skittles game


Smallable is an online shop whose idea is to “Make life easier for parents and more amazing for little ones”. They have some beautiful toys and clothes for children 0-8. I love the range of recycled cardboard houses and vehicles by Kidsonroof and paperpod, they leave so much room for the imagination and they come flat packed (for those of you who have to travel this Christmas).


recycled cardboard aeroplane & rocket by paperpod, recycled cardboard dolls house, castle and bo buro desk by kids on roof

I have a three year old boy, so I admit my picks are geared towards that age and are car and truck oriented...from my experience, most of these products are played with for at least of couple of years..they last and they are great to look at.


Firetruck and mini fire truck by plantoys, automoblox and automoblox min set

I hope you enjoy. If you are in NYC try and visit Kid-O...and get a coffee at Jack's around the corner...and then walk down to Castor and Pollux (some gifts form there tomorrow)...can you tell I am missing New York?

The list begins

I'm jumping in with all the wonderful bloggers out there who are sharing their ideas and picks for the Holidays. Coming up are some of my favorite things...for you, for me, for the kids... some decorating ideas and a few projects you can do with things on hand to make your world a little more beautiful at this time of year.



I am starting with books. I read somewhere of a woman who told her kids there was a book fairy. Every now and then in a special place in their room a new book would appear. If I were a book fairy, or Santa Claus these would be on my list and I would give them to everyone...even big people because they make you feel like a kid again, and who doesn't want that.


De boomhut or The Treehouse by Marje Tolman & Ronald Tolman is filled with the most beautiful, whimsical illustrations and no words so you can make up a new story each time. You can find it here or ask your local bookstore if they can order it.


I actually bought The red tree before I even thought about having children, I fell in love with the illustrations. At first it may seem a bit dark, but I believe children have a very vivid and complex inner life and sometimes the world does feel overwhelming and confusing. This book touches on something universal. Each page has just a few words, so again you can create your own story. Here is Shaun Tan's website and you can purchase the book here. I found my first copy at a small bookstore in LA, I would check your local favorite first and see if they have it or could order it.


The fable game, designed by enzo mari, is made up of six color plates, almost like a magic pack of cards with forty-five animal pictures on them, plus the sun, the moon, an umbrella, a big boot, a cage, eight trees, a tree trunk, nine bamboo canes, five stones, an apple, a pile of earth, a nest and two eggs, all the things that appear in classic fairy tales. children can make up stories by mixing the plates to create countless variations. Available for purchase here and here

I'll be back tomorrow with some more goodies....maybe sooner if I can get the rest of my work done.

Speaking of books this is a fun idea.

recipe for a winter's day

Mix a bit of sunlight,

with a few lovely shadows,

toss in a couple of your favorite scarves..

and head outside.
Everything is always better once you get outside.

new work

A couple weeks back I did another raku firing. I was really happy with the results. I have been working with texture, as always, but there were some really lovely surprises.


These pieces are all porcelain, built by hand and raku fired.




I hope to get a shop up by next week. It's been in the works for a long time and I am very excited about it. I look forward to showing you everything I have set aside for this. Eventually the shop will have textiles, ceramics and photographs.




In the mean time if you have any questions or are interested in something, please send me an email or leave a comment.

Just a note about comments. I have noticed when I reply to your comments that blogger won't publish mine right away. I get a message saying error, or comment failed. However if I try a second time it always goes through. If this happens to you, please try again.. I do love to hear from you.

After....