Etsy, a love-hate relationship

Etsy is the on-line equivalent of a crafts fair where, like such fairs, you can find beautiful hand-made items amongst an even greater amount of stuff one might consider junk.  Of course, one person's trash is another's treasure (as indeed you may conclude below).  I love the fact that (with PayPal) there is an easy mechanism for a crafter to sell their creations to the world.  I hate the fact that the Etsy site is so massive that it is almost impossible to find anything by browsing (unless you have a lot of time on your hands).  Most of the stuff I've bought on Esty I've found via links from other web sites.  So, in that spirit, here are a few of my recent purchases.....

octopus bag

cute pouch

math clock (the perfect gift for all the geeks in your life)

now sold here

cool tee of Scutigera coleoptrata that live in my basement

 

now, cooler hoodie available from same vendor

I never bought these wall decals but would if I still had toddlers

Seeking The Scarlet Pimpernel

Or pink?  Pierangelo, a Morris fan in Italy, is scouring the world for Pimpernel wallpaper in this particular colorway.  Please leave a comment if you can help.   Ciao!

....later....I found the fabric here!   In cotton, $10 per yard.

Morris! V&A Pattern, Part 3

 From the Victorian & Albert Museum archives.....the only volume in the set dedicated to a single person......of course!

Wild Tulip wallpaper, 1884, block-printed paper

 

Acorn wallpaper, 1879, block-printed paper

 

Tulip textile, 1875, block-printed cotton

 

Cray textile, 1884, block-printed cotton

  

Rose wallpaper, 1877, block-printed paper

 

Fruit wallpaper, 1866, block-printed paper

Garden Tulip wallpaper, 1885, block-printed paper

Marigold wallpaper, 1875, block-printed paper

Pictures from the four volume book set "V&A Pattern".

Related Posts:

Part 1, Mughal Empire Florals at the V&A 

Part 2, The Fifties

WWMD? Valentine's Day

What would Morris do on Valentine's Day?  My sister and I were pondering this question last week over a bottle of wine.  He was obviously a great romantic.  Maybe he would have written an epic love poem with hand-painted illustrations or some equally grand gesture out of the realm of mere mortals.  But maybe he just gave small hand-made tokens of his affection....possibly accompanied by chocolate....

and maybe a nice bottle of red wine with a faintly erotic sounding name......

or possibly a romantic book.....

or a special photograph.....

 

and of course flowers (but really, we should consider doing this more regularly, like picking up milk   ;-).....

Happy Valentine's Day!

California fireplaces are the best!

Years ago I bought my first house in California and was thrilled to discover the gas pipe under the fireplace grate that provided instant flames under logs of any size.  No more struggling with kindling, newspaper, or firestarters --- this was civilization at its best!  You can imagine what a let-down it was to land in New England years later and discover that building codes forbade the installation such gas lines.  Why???

 

While sitting next to the crackling fireplaces this week, I was also pondering the somewhat cheesy appearance of some of the fireplace mantles in this historic Lodge.  Apparently, they were all replaced relatively recently in the 1980s.  Would the passage of time make the mantle below look more elegant and beautiful? 

 

Selected Insects (and Tarantula) from Lake Arrowhead

The North Shore Tavern in 1932, playground of the rich and famous (in particular, Hollywood movie stars).   Now the facility is  owned by the University of California Los Angeles and is called the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center. The Tavern was given to the University of California in 1957.

Local insects collected by Bob "bug man" Dowell in front lobby

 

 

  

and of course, the stink beetle and the hairy stink beetle.....

Roof artistry, Lake Arrowhead, California

 

 

 

 

Somewhere in the San Bernadino Mountains is an amazing craftsman/craftswoman.

Pimpernel, 1876, Let me count the colorways

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

Willow, willow, on the wall...

 

 The Willow Bedroom, Standen

 

 Bedroom at Kelmscott Manor

 Stairwell, Victorian row house

 

Staircase, Wrightwick Manor

  

Morris's bed at Kelmscott Manor

 

 Willow Bough (1887)

Willow Bough is William Morris's most well-known and popular pattern.  These pictures are from two beautiful books:  William Morris Decor and Design (Elizabeth Wilhide) and Essential William Morris (Iain Zaczek).