Adventure, Boston

by Kerry Hawkins of khawkinsphoto

Saturday such a warm day, it was like spring. My husband and I decided to have a Boston art and food day. We started out by taking the train into Back Bay station. We took a stroll over to the Howard Yezerski Gallery in the South End, to check out the photography show Combat Zone 1969 - 1978. It was well worth the trip.

We also, stopped by the Walker Gallery, which is nearby. The Walker Gallery featured the art of Valerie Hammond, with a show called, Aether. We took a walk over to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Spanish artist, Luis Meléndez's still life paintings. They were wonderful. We wandered the museum for some time and then headed to downtown, Boston. We perused the book at Border's bookstore, downtown. We were in the mood for some pre-dinner drinks so we stopped by Silvertone. Dinner was at the French restaurant, Les Zygomates. Les Zygomates has some really tasty food and Jazz music nightly. It was a great way to end the day. These are some of the photos I took on our day out.

The Hunt

by Marla Kunselman of Sea Glass Things

I am loving the nice 50+ degree weather and the warm sun! I spent last weekend grazing at my favorite spots... gathering up the many pieces of sea glass the winter has left behind. I must have been a pirate in a past life as I am always on the "hunt" for treasures whenever I am walking the beach....Aaarrrgh!

Stores I frequent in Manhattan

by Melissa of Pressbound

A recent whirlwind trip to NYC inspired me to compile a list of some places I like to browse and occasionally shop at while in Manhattan. I didn’t get a chance to go to ALL of these in my last trip since I was only there for two days, but I got a chance to buy some paper at Paper Icon for a new project I hope to start soon. I’ve broken them down into three catagories: Paper, Books, and Other.

P A P E R

New York Central
63 Third Ave.
This is an art supply store but I love their selection of handmade papers. Many things I’ve only seen on line and never in person. Their prices are very reasonable as well.

Kate’s Paperie
SoHo
72 Spring Street
(between Crosby and Lafayette Streets)

or
West Village
8 West 13th Street
(between 5th and 6th Avenues)

or
Upper East Side
1282 Third Avenue
(at 74th Street)

or
Midtown
140 West 57th Street
(between 6th and 7th Avenues)
A rather high-end boutique for paper goods but an excellent selection of letterpress cards and stationery (ie: a great way to see what other studios have been up to and a good source for inspiration).

Sam Flax
Midtown
900 Third Avenue
(between 54th & 55th Streets)
or
Chelsea / Flatiron Store
3 West 20th Street
(between 5th & 6th Avenues)
A stationery and office supply store. A graphic designers dream and worst nightmare combined.

Paper Icon
7 West 18th Street
Paper and stationery supply store that also offers graphic design and printing services. I’ve also picked up some great handmade papers here.

Paper Presentation
23 West 18th Street
The NYC equivalent of Paper Source on steroids. Just down the street from Paper Icon.

B O O K S

Taschen Store
107 Greene Street
This is in the same neighborhood as the Phaidon store. It’s hard not to spend a week’s salary in the two stores combined.

Phaidon Store
100 Wooster Street
Who doesn’t love books that Phaidon publishes. Beware if you are not ready to spend money on some inspirition.

Strand
828 Broadway
Be prepared for 18 miles of books. You can find just about everything here.

O T H E R



Pearl River
477 Broadway
A plethora of Chinatown tchotchkies, clothes, food, housewares and whatever else you can think of all under one roof.

MoMA Design and Book Store
Street, NYC
Between 5th and 6th Avenues
Or
MoMA Design Store, Soho / MUJI at MoMA
81 Spring Street, NYC
Between Crosby and Broadway
Mostly fun to look but don’t touch. OK sometimes touch. But they also have the best selection of graphic design books I have ever seen. Keep me away!

Uniqlo
546 Broadway
The Japanese’s answer to American Apparel at half the cost and without the sleaze. By far, this is my favorite clothing store. And this is the only location in the US. No trip to NYC is complete without a stop at Uniqlo. Hint: best to go on a weeknight, Saturdays you are bound to hit an enormous line for the dressing room.

Note: I was going to include the bookbinding supply store Talas on this list but it seems that they are no longer in Manhattan and I haven’t been since they relocated to Brooklyn.

Monday Mosaic - Yellow

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Enjoy a dose of sunshine, compliments of Boston Handmade!

An Inspiration

by Lynne of cozycottagecreations

As we wait out this eternal winter, I find myself reflecting nostalgically on one of my favorite artistic moments from last summer.

Our family took a vacation at the North Woods/Pine Valley YMCA Camp, situated on Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. It was a fabulous week, with lots of fun camp activities for kids and their grown ups. One morning, I put my name on the list for a water color class and, to my joyous surprise, found myself on a motor boat speeding across the lake to a little island, known as Sandy Island (also part of the YMCA camp system), to meet with the wonderfully inspiring watercolor artist Kate Lemay. I quickly figured out that this was not my great-grandmother's version of the art.

There we sat on the deck of her lakeside cabin as she enthusiastically prepared us to explore watercolor Kate Lemay-style.

Kate has the summer job of my dreams. She's the camp coordinator, (formerly the art director), for Sandy Island and spends her summer living out of her lakeside island cabin, planning activities for the camp. And fortunately for us, she kicks off the season with a weekend artist's retreat on the island. If you're interested, look here for more information: It's something I'd love to do, perhaps someday when I'm not spending early June getting kids finished up with school.

I was so drawn in by Kate Lemay both as a person and an artist. Her work really taps into a cosmic pulse which resonated with me. Her effervescent personality and deep connection to that which is meaningful comes through in each of her paintings. Check out more of her work here on her website.

She paints every day she told us. I love that. That little tid-bit of information, casually mentioned in between demonstrations of technique, was one of the most valuable moments I took home from that trip. It inspired me to work on my craft every day as well - which I've done ever since! Thank you Kate for the inspiration!

Pink Sequin Designs on The Uniform Project

by Crista of Pink Sequin Designs

I am so happy that my bright yellow beret made it onto The Uniform Project!
She looks so great in it. Although my work is mostly one of a kind, I do have one available in my shop .If you have never been to The Uniform Project's site it is fun to see how may ways you can wear one simple dress.

Armstrongs win Owl City Fan Video Contest!

by Allison of Fraske Designs

Congrats to Arian and Daniel Armstrong for winning the Owl City fan video contest! Arian, a former Boston Handmader, and her husband teamed up to create a video for the band Owl City's song Vanilla Twilight. Out of all of the entries, they won the grand prize of a trip to see Owl City on their upcoming tour in the US city of their choosing! They deserve it... look how awesome their video is:

Art in the City

by Jennifer T. of MaJenta Designs

Walking around Boston's Downtown Crossing I stumbled upon this closed off lot. What really struck me though is the elaborate artwork decorated along the brick walls. Turns out it was for this cute bookstore nearby, "Brattle Book Shop", which is apparently one of the oldest bookstores in America! It was very neat to stumble upon, I just love finding artwork on the old brick buildings around Boston. Definitely next time I'm in the area, I will need to check out this bookstore too!