Inspired By: Abigail Brown

It's hard to believe it's been over four years since we first featured the work of Abigail Brown on our blog. Her textiles had caught our attention back then, and she still continues to inspire us. Her collection of hand crafted birds are some of the most intricate textile pieces we've ever seen, and to top it off she incorporates reusable materials in her designs. A London dweller now, Abigail inherited her skills from her seamstress grandmother, and while she has transformed the long-time craft into fine art sculpture, her attention to detail is craftsmanship at its finest.

We are simply in awe of the work involved with these pieces. Our favorite might be the classy Californian Quail adorned in chic herringbone.

Her felted fledglings make timeless gifts for the bird-lovers in your life, but if they are out of price range you can still enjoy her work in other ways. Abigail's shop is full of prints, postcards, plush toys and every day accessories.

Abigail does more than just birds. Her butterfly brooches are just as elaborate and beautiful but are affordable for all!

To view more of Abigail Brown's work, click here and to get your hands on your very own, visit her shop!

Lucky Friday # 73, Birdy Birthday!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 73rd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Shay B, Diana D and Harper! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Très Chic card.

Design: Birdy Birthday Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: "Happy Bird-day" is a common alternate pronunciation, particularly after a few bird-day cocktails. Who to send it to: A hero of herons, a champion of chickadees, a protector of parrots— basically a bird's best bud. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We were too chicken to print the Valentine's card "Ornithologists Make Me Orni." Favorite detail: The itty bitty birdie with the bowtie. Why letterpress? Any other printing method is, erm, for the birds.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Gorgeous New Zealand Linens

LOVE THESE! Artist Melina Martin from Wellington illustrates and silk screens these beautiful designs for table runners, tea towels and pillows.  Found her here on Etsy.

She draws her inspiration from the nature and culture of New Zealand.

Maybe we see a little Maori influence here?

Beautiful! And what a backdrop! We would like to go visit, please...?

Moody Birds

On a recent trip to Copenhagen, these wooden birds (aptly named "Bird") designed by architect and furniture designer Kristian Vedel quickly became an obsession even though we've seen them before.  It is pretty remarkable for any one thing to consistently stand out among all the wonderfully inspiring Danish furniture, crafts, architecture...not to mention the remarkably attractive inhabitants of this lovely city.  In adorable shop after adorable shop, their removable heads beckoned us until, at last, we succumbed to the temptation and picked up a few.

Designed and produced in the 50s to great success, the birds have recently been reintroduced in all 3 sizes - parent, grandparent and child (awww) and 2 finishes.  You can tilt the head any which way you please (a nice way to express your ever-changing mood) and can flip the body to be either male or female.  A great addition to any mantle, bookshelf, child's room, place setting....the possibilities are endless!

Wouldn't this type of circle arrangement be adorable as a centerpiece?   They are readily available for purchase online in the US here among other places.  Learn more about Bird and see more photos here.

Abigail Brown

We are huge fans of Abigail Brown, one of the artists who contributed to our upcoming book from Chronicle Books, Handmade Hellos (in bookstores in September!) and were so excited to hear that she has launched a blog so we can keep up to date on her latest delightful creations.

Her quirky birds are so charming and full of amusing character...love the color palette - it reminds us of an especially delicious cupcake!

Wall art that would be so fanastic in a nursery...the little fox with the one crazy eye is hilarious!

Matchbox Tweeters! Each Tweeter tucked into in his own little vintage match box, decorated with bits of fabric and stitching...

The gentleman pictured above is so very appropriately named Bostwick P. Federhut. Seriously, the tiny turquoise hat and upturned snout is just too much! You can shop for more darling critters and more at her etsy shop...