Global Goods

Every time I return from a trip I entertain the fantasy of traveling around the world, buying treasures and then selling them back home. I love opening my suitcase to an explosion of colors and textures - all prized purchases from the trip. My only wish every time is that I'd bought more.

Baba Souk and Proud Mary are two small businesses where my dream of travel treasures is a reality - except instead of stuffing suitcases, each of the shop's proprietors are in close relationships with local artisans, so their offerings are top quality and so unique.

Here are a few of my favorites from their online stores:

Bracelet Trio from Baba Souk

Clutch from Proud Mary

Tote from Proud Mary

Amazing pillows from Baba Souk

Huarache Sandals from Proud Mary

Patterned pillow from Proud Mary

Towel from Proud Mary

Little baskets from Baba Souk

Jack Willis

Are you familiar with Jack Willis? With loads of preppy basics and the tagline: "fabulously British" I knew I would find lots to love when I spotted them last week. I wasn't wrong - lots of great fall looks with pricing along the lines of J Crew and Anthropologie. 

My most coveted items though? The sweatshirts - much like one of D's which I'm constantly stealing, perhaps it's time to get one of my own...

Don't miss the home line and the guys' stuff while you're browsing!

Good Art - Help Ink

Help by Evan Stremke

How about a selection of really great indie designers selling upbeat inspirational pieces and donating a portion of the proceeds to a charity of your choosing? Genius. Go buy some of the great pieces at Help Ink and love knowing that $1 of every $5 you spend goes to a great cause.

From mounted prints and posters to cards and notebooks, I think these would make great grad gifts, dorm-warming presents or kid room decor. Don't forget a tee for yourself.

A few of my favorites below...

Be a Light by Samantha Kallis

Everyone by Dan Gneiding

Adventure by Judson Collier

Humble Beginnings by Dan Cassaro

Better When Shared by Doug Penick

Capable by Liz Meyer

Good Deeds by Jon Contino

a DIY to try

The perfect carryall for trips to the beach or the corner market - I think I need to make one of these Liberty drawstring backpacks from The Purl Bee. Their site has a great tutorial and a kit to make your own.

Could see this dressed up with a little embroidery. What about making one for each of your bridesmaids?

art on the road

One of my favorite recent internet finds is the Drawn the Road Again blog by Chandler O'Leary which features her incredible sketchbook work documenting her travels. Love her style, love the subjects, love the blog.

Here are a few of her recent entries, but click over to read more.

Stephanie K Clark

I adore the embroidered dwellings created by artist, Stephanie K. Clark. I love all of her work, but something about these...so great, especially the trailers and RVs. From the complex shading of the central image to the backgrounds loosely outlined with wandering black thread - there's not a detail missed.

From Stephanie:

"I consider myself a painter and I paint with thread...The embroidery floss is my palette and the needle is my paintbrush. I create a method of embroidering the threads in an arrangement that would initially create value, color, depth and as I lay the colors down they instantly blend themselves... Depending on what fabric I’m embroidering on, is compared to a certain kind of paint. When I embroider on canvas it feels like oils; it flows, it blends, and it’s rich. When I embroider on loose shear or silk, it’s like a watercolor; its delicate, the thread goes where it wants to go, and it moves with the fabric. My work blurs the lines between fine art and craft."

Check out all of Stephanie's work on her website.

Also - obsessed with this shark!

Via The Jealous Curator

Satellites

At only $32.00 each, these hand-crafted satellite models would make cool gifts for any space or design nerd in your life. Created by British wooden toy company, Papafoxtrot, each model comes with a description of the satellite including it's country of origin and launch date. Super cool.