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Small Inspiration 29

More inspiration for our Spring Issue...

Marfa, Texas by Alison V. Smith
Polaroid by Grant Hamilton

Small art - gift ideas with one on the side

Two artist we have featured in Small before are doing specials.

Elizabeth Dunkar from Fine Little Day and Studio Violet has produced a gorgeous print inspired by cross-stitch embroidery. The first 25 to order from her also receive a free hand printed pencil box. 

Lorena Siminovich of Petit Collage is giving away a free puppet book that she has illustrated with every bamboo mobile ordered this week. Get in quick- only two days left.

Small play- buttons!

We love buttons! 

Bit Of Whimsey - Pig pdf pattern

Button doll  - to make you smile!

Abigail Brown  - monkey

Sweet Nellie - kitten

Little Black Crow - rabbit

Life with Tigers - robot

Small art - Ami Suma

Recently Jasmine got together with Ami Suma who she got to know after she commissioned Ami to paint the walls of her children's rooms. Esme and Max  [pictured below] loved the experience of seeing the creation take place in front of them and live on in their rooms.

Ami is a graduate of FIT and she majored in fashion design/fashion Illustration. She took a job as a fashion writer/reporter and has written for publications such as  Elle Japan, Figaro Japan, and Marie Claire Japan.

She soon became disenchanted with working exclusively in the fashion world and at the same time felt distant from her own creativity so she decided to give up her job.

 In 2005 a friend saw some of her sketches of funny and goofy toys. Her friend was so impressed she invited Ami to an exhibit that she was also in.  Ami had sketched several series worth at this point and agreed to join. The exhibition was a success! She loved the reactions and seeing people laugh and feel happy while engaged with her toys. She hopes to continue creating fun and fantastical toys for everyone.

She had another inspiration while flipping through a children's magazine and noticing a spread about a child's room which featured decorative walls. Embellished walls was not at all common (at least not while she was growing up) in her home country of Japan. She loved the idea and was moved enough to think about painting whimsical, out of this world, murals especially for children.  She wanted to create a customized room where a child could feel safe and happy; a place where they could imagine and dream. A space like no other, that's just theirs! Her idea is to collaborate with her clients and mesh visions together to come up with a collective end result. She does not want to be thought of as an artist who pushes her own agenda but more a painter who can provide a fun service for families.

 

Her inspirations at the moment include, Contemporary Chinese Artists like Fu Jijang, Zhang Huan or Yue Minjun and movie directors Tetsuya Nakashima and Ingmar Bergman.  She grew up watching Hayao Miyazaki, an all time hero of hers and she confesses to watching his movies over and over. we agree, we love Nausicaa!

You will definitely be seeing more of Ami in the future. The fun world she imagines is growing from the walls of children to shops [like Pomme NYC pictured above] to reach even larger audiences.

Ami Suma

Photos courtesy of-

Percy by Kikuko Usuyama

Bebe Nou's by Marilou Daube

Pomme NYC by Davina Zaqury Feinberg

Reported by Associate Editor- Jasmine Astronomo-Berger

Small shops- Pomme & Petite Pomme

 

There are so many reasons why we love Pomme. They have a beautifully curated collection of design and art by many of our favorites, including dolls from Jess Brown, photography by Davina Zagury [who does their inspired annual doudou portrait project] and soft sculptures by Tamar Morgendorff as well as unique vintage items and beautiful objects sourced from Europe.

 

This 'Back to School' wall installations features magnetic sticker images by the French designer Laura Fischbach. If you send her a photo of your child she will turn it into a full-size magnetic image.

The team behind Pomme recently opened 'Peite Pomme' in Tribeca for babies up to 18 months. The tiny jewel box of a store is full of carefully selected treasures for babies and parents-to-be.
Timeless french dolls from Petit Collin
Since the 70's who can resit a  Monchhichi
Gorgeous Parisian clothes from Zef
French classic, BonTon
Brooklyn design duo Atsuyo&Akiko  who have made an exclusive cotton reusable bag for the Tribeca store printed with "-je t'aime tribeca-" which have rapidly become the ubiquitous Tribeca shopping bag.
Ketiketa for ethical baby bohemian chic as well as clothes from Flora and Henri, Makie, Bebe Ravi, Tane Organics. 

You can find the full Pomme at 81 Washington Street Dumbo, Brooklyn

and Petite Pomme at 186 Duane Street [between Hudson and Greenwich] in Tribeca

Reported by Associate Editor Jasmine Astronomo-Berger

Small Inspiration 28

Four photographers who document traces and the marks of history. I love the idea- maybe there is someway the concept can be applied to a children's shoot....?

Rachel Whiteread 

Camilio Jose Veraga  Also has an amazing project called invincible cities where he goes back to the same sites in Harlem every year since the seventies and photographs the changes.

Marcus Buck

from  demolition art on flickr

Small Art - In a few words

Today is Awesome by The Small Object

Your Smile Lifts me by LoveSugar

No Monsters Allowed by John W. Golden

You Are My Sunshine by Uncommon Creations

Be Excellent to Each Other by Pantry Press

Spot Color by SFGirlByBay

Small street photos- Sophie Chalumeau

Sophie Chalumeau takes photos of kids in their own clothes and environments. We love her natural eye and perspective on kids and she regularly contributes to the Small street style section. Last week she sent us some fabulous photos from her family's Halloween in Holland- 'Halloween, the dark side'

Small Draw - We Heart Audrey Jeanne

Lady Fox, Cat with a Moustache, Bear & The Bustier Dress

Audrey Jeanne's Shop, Blog & Flickr

Small Threads - liaMolly

liaMolly is a sweater collection designed by Seema Sudan, that is deeply rooted in the culture of knitting and inspired by traveling the globe, discovering magical places, studying fashions past and cultures around the world.
Seema's children's collection is designed exclusively for Anthropologie and are the most original knit designs we have ever seen.  We fell in love with the bold colors spun into flowers, stripes, spots, and plaids. Our faves are the Cozy Posy Sweatercoat, Lil' Pup Cap and the Chickadee Scarf.

liaMolly also has an amazing Woman's collection. For Seema's Fall Collection she payed homage to to the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, the city that inspires her and where she lives with her family.

liaMolly Kids for Anthropologie

Small Inspiration 27

Thinking about our Spring Issue...

Vogue 1948 from the Conde Nast Archive via My Vintage Vogue

Fleurs by Lyndie Dourthe

Small art - Gracia + Louise

Gracia+Louise is a collaborative duo who produce collages, zines, artists books, postcards and other small paper based projects about the inventive and wonderful worlds they imagine. One loves to collages, the other to use waterpaint but somehow they bring it all together in their magical and narrative based images.

Small Illustrator - Little Robot

Little Robot Shop, Website & Blog

Small Spaces - Deer Love

My Deer print by KidHaus

Doe Feltdermy by GirlSavage

Deer Silhouette Rug by Twinkle Living

Oh Deer Wall Stickers by Mae

Doe a Deer Hair Clip Holder by Giddy Giddy

Small threads- sustainable costumes

Three of our favorite fancy dress makers also make sure their costumes are sustainably produced and can be worn year round.

Wovenplay creates dress up clothes for imaginative play. Anyone who reads Small knows how much we love their designs. This photo was taken by Christopher Auger-Dominguez for the super hero shoot in the summer issue of Small.

Patouche's fall line is inspired by little-red-riding-hood’s wander through the woods and the classic tale of Treasure Island. 

Hand knitted masks and tails from Ouef. A fun and easy dress up idea that you could add to your outfit any day of the year! 

Small Inspiration 26

Styling direction for our Wintery Beach fashion editorial for the Winter issue.

Feather Power Teal Painting by Mati Rose

Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 Ready-To-Wear Collection

We featured Mati Rose in our Summer issue. Check it out here.

Small Giveaway - Hoot Baby

Hoot Baby is a line of handmade clothing for girls and boys sizes 12 months to 6 years. In so many ways, Hoot Baby is a different kind of company. The idea of something handmade--something personal--is very important to them. Hoot Baby clothing isn't sewn in a factory.  Every item they produce is made by one of their in-home sewers, talented crafts-people who are dedicated to quality production.

Hoot Baby is giving away their Peasant Empire Dress (Millefiore or Pinwheels design) OR a pair of Three-Season Pants--winners choice!

Enter the giveaway by sending an email to melissatarleton@hootbabydesigns.com noting what Hoot Baby item you would like to win, either the Peasant Empire Dress or Three-Season Pants, and winner will be chosen by random number.

Hoot Baby is also offering 25% off to all Small & Smaller readers. Just enter the code "smalldiscount" and get 25% off your order!

Small Hands - Noshii

Nosheen Iqbal is the artist behind these colorful embroidered wood veneers and panels.  She is a London born; Dallas based designer, illustrator and visual artist.  Nosheen’s pieces are wood blocked or accented with acrylic paint. Each one is hand stitched making each artwork one-of-a kind. We can picture these in any child’s room.

Noshii Shop, Blog & Website

Small projects - make your own costumes

Another adorable costume from the Small magazine files by Valerie Mangum for a shoot last fall with Nick Prendergast. We love her free form style and creative approach to winging it!

Valarie: This costume turned out very sweet. nesting dolls are popular in the craft world, and I felt it'd make such a cute costume. the final product is completely different than my first ideas (and much simpler!). The skirt is basically a bubble skirt made from vintage fabric, stuffed with tulle, with an apron sewn onto it. The stole is the same idea: the piece that hangs from the shoulders bubbles under and is stuffed with tulle as well.

The doll she is holding is made out of the same fabrics as the costume and the faces are embroidered.

I had planned to share how i created the costume in more detail, but as I began writing instructions, I decided to be honest and admit that I'm not a pattern maker. I made this costume and the others featured here and here from scratch, trying to copy the sketches in my notebook. I basically jumped into it and had a blast! I kept an open mind, knowing that as the costumes took form they'd become very different than I had imagined. Many times I just started without even knowing what I had in mind.

Small draw coloring book update

Thanks to everyone who has bought the Small Draw Original Art Coloring Book over the last few months. There are still a few left so if you would like to pick one up you still can.

We recently made a donation with the proceeds raised through the sales of the coloring book to the micro loan foundation, Kiva. Kiva is an established online organization that lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur struggling for financial independence. Kiva makes loans all over the world so you can help someone in another country or in your own town. Even a small loan can can make a big difference. You can check out more about what they do here.

Small inspiration 25

trees and the houses- a little spooky...

James Griffoen

Kevin Cooley

Small bites- Raw Brownie Bites with Vanilla Icing

Marisa is a young New Yorker from a large Jewish family with a passion for healthy eating and for including as much raw food into your diet as possible while not losing the fun and love that goes into preparing food and sharing a meal. Recently Smaller caught up with her and she told us her about her mission to share raw and healthy foods, and also gave us a  raw brownie recipe to try at home. Raw cooking is great to do with kids as it is so immediately delicious. You can find tons of great ideas for healthy or raw foods on her blog- Marisa's Healthy Kitchen

What inspires you and your blog?
The whole world inspires me! I have always been super interested in cooking and culture. For me one of the most special ways of expressing my love is through food. It makes me so happy to feed people with healthy, nutritious and most of all delicious food.

Do you have any advise for parents/kids who want to try raw "cooking"?

Of course! Raw food is such a perfect way to enjoy cooking with your children. You are never around a hot stove and so many recipes are having fun with your hands. You can keeps recipes simple of make them complex but most importantly you are teaching your children how to eat healthy and all about whole foods from the earth.

How long have you been eating raw and what got you started?

 I have been eating raw for about 3 years. I go back and forth from 70%-100% raw. Although it is wonderful if you can be all raw 100% of the time the most important thing is to incorporate more raw foods into your diet. I try to eat as many raw foods as possible and at least have my delicious green juice. I had been vegetarian since I was 7 years old and always curious about new and exciting things. I feel it was a really natural progression for me to go raw.

What main ingredient can you not live without?My green super juice is the most important food in my life. I love that amazing feeling of super zing, zip around your body with pure goodness. When it comes to solid foods, I am one of those people who likes almost everything and always changes up what they are eating. So all veggies are super important to my diet, I am just constantly changing up which ones I am eating. You have to keep it interesting!

Raw Brownie Bites, with Vanilla Icing

• 2 cups Cashews
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  
• 1/4 cups Raw Agave
• 1/4-1/2 cups Water

Brownie Bites

• 3 cups Pecans
• 2 Tbsp Nut Butter (almond, cashew, etc.)
• 1/4 cups Raw Agave
• 1/4 cups Raw Cacao Powder
• Dash of Celtic Sea salt

Method
First make the icing so it has time to set in the fridge while you make the brownie bites. Make sure to use a Food Processor and not a Vita-Mix, as much as I love my dear Vita-mix it is not for this dessert :) Blend the cashews till they are a fine texture. Add in the vanilla, agave and 1/4 cup of water. It is best to keep the icing thick, so add in more water as you process but never more than 1/2 a cup. After the icing is well combines fill up a pastry bag or ziplock and set in the fridge.

Once you have the icing in the fridge you can begin on the yummy brownie bites. Blend the pecans in the food processor till they are a fine texture. Add the ut butter, agave, raw cacao powder and salt and process until the mixture forms a ball around the blades. Transfer to a bowl and make sure everything is combined with your hands. This is a really fun part if you want to include your kids. Now form little balls of dough and flatten them to make the brownie bite rounds. They should be no more than 1 1/2" wide. Once you have all the bites formed take your icing out the fridge and top the bites. If you want to dress them up more you can add cocoa nibs, dried fruit bits or anything else in your imagination.

These can be eaten immediately or set in the fridge to firm up. They will stay great in the fridge for over a week. ENJOY!

Reported by associate editor Jasmine Astronomo-Berger.

Small Finds - ENK Children's Club New York

ENK children's club is huge and eclectic mix of kids clothes and products. We always find some new things we love and catch up with old friends. Here are some great designers to look out for in the Spring and Summer of 2010.

Four Funky Flavors  Bright play clothes with mixed prints and a seventies feel from the Netherlands

Vincent Shoes- stylish and fun for winter splashing. 

Busy Bee “classic kids wear for life at play.”

Milk and Honey Relaxed beach inspired styles.

Eyespy baby Contemporary cashmere collection. Gorgeous colors and so soft.

Stun- the female counterpart to Wonderboy. We love the fabrics and the fresh designs.

Thank you to Monica and Claire from Corduroy Kid! 

Small projects - conkers

Amy Turn Sharp of Little Alouette makes beautiful wooden toys and teethers for wee ones. You can see them on her website or pick them up for the babies in your life from her shop. 

Amy: My husband grew up in the North of England. He likes to share British traditions with our family. Conkers is a fabulous British game that children all over the island play with glee in the autumn.

Conkers are horse chestnuts or buckeyes here in the states. Conkers is a playground game of skill that is simple to play and fiercely competitive!

 The only items needed are conkers, string, and some determination.

1. Choose some perfect conkers. This makes for a lovely walk through the woods together! Find firm, symmetrical, and un-cracked conkers.
2. Drill or push small hole through the conker from top to bottom. (Metal skewers work as well as a drill!)
3. Insert thin shoestring or twine through the conker and knot the end. (About 24 inches is perfect length)
4. Player one  dangles the string with attached conker while the other person swings their conker, trying to make contact and break the conker! Each player can have three turns to try and defeat and crack the conker!
5. The victor is the one to destroy the others conker first!

There is a National Conkers Championship each October in England. 

It is some serious sport there! We just hope you have fun in the woods and playing a natural game.

Xo The Sharp Family

Little Alouette

Small diy costumes- little red riding hood and the big bad wolf

We always think half the fun of Halloween is making the costumes. If you are looking for a costume you can put together your self Halloween (or just for the dress up box) we have two more fabulous DIY costume from Valarie Mangum and photographed last Fall for Small issue 8 by Nick Prendergast

Valerie: I completely adore the pig/wolf softie designed by Lizette Greco. I used her pattern from the softies book (edited by Therese Laskey of Softies Central) to make the snout on the hat. He has felt eyes and pointy ears. The hands are two pieces of fabric rounded at one end, sewn together with white felt triangles on the round end for claws that aren't too mean. The feet are made of one piece of fabric rounded at the end and elastic that goes underneath. they are meant to go over shoes. I thought the red suspenders made him look more sophisticated and innocent.

Valerie: This is a basic cape with scalloped edges. I sewed a line of vintage mismatched buttons down the front. Her wrap around skirt is white w/ red polka dots and 2 layers of red tulle. I cut some small flowers out of Amy Butler's cherry wallflower fabric and appliqued them to the front. Her fairy tale look is complete with a pointy hat that isn't attached to the cape.

Small Inspiration 24

From our inspiration files for our next fashion editorial...Wintery Beach.

photo by Janete Anderman
photo by Tim Walker

Small projects - Where the Wild Things Are

The Wild Things are here!

Grecolaborativo is a family collaboration made up of a couple creating with their young daughter and son. Their plush art is created under the name Lizette Greco, and is based on their own children's drawings and made using only thrifted and recycled materials. They also accept commissions for pieces using drawings from other children. Their aim is to create artwork that celebrates a child's perspective of the world and will hopefully be passed from generation to generation. Recently Lizette told us how to make these fun costumes based on 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak.

Wild Things and Max Suit

This 'Wild Thing' and 'Max' suit is like a large footed fleece pajama with big feet, claws and a tail attached. The head piece is separate and a little more work so make sure your child will be willing to wear one before you invest your time in it. Don't worry if by the time your child goes out the door wearing this costume, the tail and one ear is held by a safety pin here and there. Ours did.

Easy claws: take two rectangles of thin black fabric, put them together and draw zig-zags. These are the claws (four claws are enough). Sew following the lines and then cut the excess fabric that makes the triangles in between the claws. Turn inside out and stuff your claws lightly and sew them shut. Attach them to the end of the "sleeve", but only to one side (top side) of the sleeve so that the hand is free to come from under the claws and reach out for candy. You need to make a total of four sets of claws to attach to both hands and feet.

Big Furry Feet: First, take a comfortable shoe the child will wear to go trick or treating. Place it on top of a two inch thick foam rectangle. The rectangle must be about two inches wider than the shoe all around (hence the big feet). Trace the shoe over the foam, remove shoe and cut the shape you just traced. Insert shoe in this space and make sure the foam is held firm around the shoe. Cover this big foot with fabric making sure you catch the claws at the tip of the foot. Use thick black fabric for the sole which might get dirty and/or wet. You can either attach the foot piece to the leg or just let the leg fall loosely over it. 

Head piece (Wild Thing): Start by measuring and cutting a big sack-like-piece that goes widely over and around the head. Sew it as a sack and then trace and cut a wide slit for the mouth. Big teeth are made just like the claws but bigger and in white. Ears are big circles folded in half. Eyes are half covered in fabric, and faux fur for eyebrows. Glue pupil on as well. Once assembled, eyes are sewn to the top of the head . The nose is a loosely stuffed rectangle. Pin the corners without stuffing to make nostrils. Hand sew nose in place just below eyes. Cut, sew and stuff two big horns and attach to head as well. The head piece will be wobbly so the child can wear a baseball cap or any other hat that can be hidden under the head piece. You can pin or hand sew the head piece to the hat to keep it from sliding side ways.

Head piece (Max): After making another Wild Thing suit for our then four-year-old son, we discovered that he didn't want to wear a big head piece. That's how he ended up wearing a Max-like-suit that matches the colors of the Wild Thing. Max's head piece is just a hood with ears attached. Long rectangle folded in half over the head. Sew the back of the hood closed. Sew a button and cut a slit to keep the hood in place (under chin). Cut two circles, fold them in half and sew them in place as ears. 

Grecolaborativo

Lizette Greco

Small Hands - Art Dolls

She Holds the Key by Mary's Granddaughter

Cherieko no.7 by Double Parlour

Nancy by Paola Zakimi

Cloth Folk Art Doll by Mother Sparrow

Little Darling by Cozbi

Small beats- Randy Kaplan

Randy Kaplan has been one of our favorite kids performers for years. We have reviewed his cd in Small before and were really excited to hear of a string of kids shows he has planned. His live shows are great and his cd's have been in heavy rotation at our house for years. Maybe because he makes music for adults as well as kids it is easy for all ages to enjoy.
If you are in New York he has four live shows coming up. We are particularly looking forward to his show with Goat on a Boat Puppet Theater in Sag Harbor on the 17th of October. If you are not in New York you might want to check out his witty and catchy tunes on his website or find out when he is playing a venue near you.

Small DIY costumes: kokeshi doll

Last Fall one of our favorite art directors Valerie Mangum made a series of amazing DIY costumes for a shoot for Small photographed by Nick Prendergast . We thought it would be great to show them to you again in the run up to Halloween along with the instructions from Valerie that we couldn't fit along side the shoot when we published it in issue 8 of Small.

Valerie: 'The kimono is vintage but you could easily make a simple one by cutting down an old dressing gown. I made the obi out of Amy Butler fabric and put wire in the hem of the obi to help it keep its shape. The model is wearing white tights with traditional Japanese shoes, but flip flops would work just fine. The best part about this costume is her wig, which is made out of strips of white polar fleece. I criss-crossed the strips over each other like lines making an astrix symbol until it looked almost like a circle. it wasn't cut into a bob until we put it on the model to make sure it was the right length.'

Small Inspiration 23

Photo by Marie Hochhaus 
The Nantucket Cowl by Yokoo

Small Something - A few of our favorite things....

Red leather baby shoe by Chickpea
Fabric Cat by Jane Foster
Cappuccino Fabric by Anna Ka Bazaar
Girl illustration by Gemma Correll
Numbers T-Shirt by Winter Water Factory
123 Book by Charlie Harper

Small play- building blocks

Beautiful blocks great for balancing, counting, sorting, spatial and problem solving skills and imaginative play.

clockwise from top left:

Petit Flaneur: Multi-function hand crafted blocks with images, the alphabet and tic, tac toe.

Cubikus: The challenge is to arrange the blocks so only one color shows on each side- much harder than it looks!

Twig Building Blocks: Modular bricks that fit into each other for architectural stacking.

Fidoodle: Make up stories and cities through building and stacking.

Classic ABC blocks from Romp: available in English, Spanish and French. 

Little Sapling Toys: Organic building blocks made from cherry, walnut and maple wood. A tree is planted for each toy sold.

Small diy - jack-o-lantern candy bag

This weekend I spent some time with my two kids at SpaceCraft in Brooklyn. Spacecraft is a unique craft space and supply boutique with daily walk-in crafting projects for adults and kids of every level. We had a great day making some fun Halloween crafts with Esther and Ella two sisters there for a day of fun.

To make the bag we picked a bright orange shirt with a front pocket so the bag could have a little outside pocket. Be as imaginative as you want...a white shirt could become a ghost or skeleton, a green shirt can be a ghoul or monster, and red shirt can be a strawberry....If stenciling seems too complicated you could easily paint on a design with fabric paint.

What you will need:
-T-shirt
-scissors
-spray bottle 
-fabric ink-could be plain black or not
-cardboard or old towel
-construction paper or old brown paper bag
-fabric pencil or pen

What to do:
1: First lay the shirt flat and cut the bottom hem off.
2: Cut two extra  1" inch strips off as well
3: Take the strips and stretch them until they become long bands
4: Take a piece of paper -construction or old brown paper bag cut up- and draw out a jack o'lantern face or any spooky pattern you like.
5: Cut out to make a stencil
6: Place a piece of cardboard or old towel between the front and back of the shirt and place paper stencil on top of the shirt. Be careful to place it higher on the shirt as more of the bottom will be cut and threaded at the end.
7: With a spray bottle and fabric ink spray cover the holes in the stencils right to the edges. You can use a hair blow dryer to dry the ink faster.
8: Once the ink is dry take off paper stencil from the top and the cardboard from the middle of the shirt.
9: Cut off the arms at the shoulders, the neckband, and round off the bottom by cutting at the left and right bottom corners. Take both the stretched loop strips and cut them so they become long strings.
10: Cut a half inch hole at base of arm hole and thread string through, tie a knot to hold.

11: Keep cutting half inch holes and thread string in an over-under-over-under pattern until you get to the middle of the bottom.
12: Repeat on the other side and when the 2 strings meet up tie them off in the middle with a bow or fancy knot with wooden beads hanging.

Voila! You have a re-usable trick or treat bag!

Spacecraft
355 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Reported by Small associate-editor Jasmine Astronomo-Berger

Small bites - sweet tooth

Sweets to eat or send send anytime of the year...

Tine Temptation's shop is stocked full of delicious handmade sweets, cupcakes. You can pick up a dozen of these delicious mini S'mores cupcakes for $8.25

Celebrity Bake Sale make handmade one of a kind gourmet treats and dessert shipped to your door. We would love some of this delectable hazelnut cookie brittle.

Whimsey and Spice is one of our favorite places for a sugar fix. They are a Brooklyn husband and wife confectionery team who make sophisticated sweets and biscuits with a dash of spice. Their hand made flavored marshmallows are like nothing you have ever tasted and are barely related to the pink and white supermarket variety. Try their new maple flavored marshmallows.

Small inspiration 22

We use Fridays to collect images that are inspiring us for future shoots for Small. Often they are dyptychs and the connection may be obvious or not so apparent. You can see what we like in these two....yellow, blue and black, checkered tiles, perspective, images in the background, things in the shadows, doorways.... 

Julie Blackmon High Chair 2006

Vermeer The Love Letter 1667-1670

Small Shops- Whitten Grey

We love the Whitten-Grey girls and have featured their beautiful dresses in Small before here and here. As well as creating elegantly made and designed dresses for your little girl they give another less fortunate girl a dress for every one they sell. You can even choose the color and the country that the dress will go to and send a message along with it. Check out their new shop and their fall collection and read all about project little grey dress.

Small specials- two NYC sample sales

Kidini Sample Sale

designers include many of our favorites from the pages of Small: Splendid Little, Neige, Imps and Elfs, Rooster NYC, Claesens, KicoKids, Polarn O.Pyret, Salvor, Fauna, Appaman, Lucky Jade, Egg Baby, Sophie Catalou, and many more.....

When: Tuesday Sept 22- Thursday Sept 24 9.30am-6.45pm and Friday Sept 25 9.30am- 5.00pm

Where: Nancy Ney Studio 620 Broadway Suite 2R (between Bleecker and Houston)

Clothingline Sample Sale

Jacadi - onesies, shirts, sweaters, skirts, pants, dresses, puffers, outerwear & more

Crewcuts - sample size only for crewcuts- shirts, blouses, sweaters, blazers, special occassion, outerwear & more

Rachel Riley - shirts, blouses, sweaters, skirts, dresses, pants & more

Imps & Elfs - onesies, coveralls, knit tops, knit leggings, jeans, skirts, dresses, outerwear & more.

When: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10.00am to 6.00 pm

Where: 261 W 36th Street (between 7th & 8th Ave) 2nd Floor

Reported by associate editor Jasmine Astronomo-Berger

Small photo - people with poloroids

I guess one day it really will all be gone and there will be no more new Polaroids. Here are a few of our favorite dedicated poloroid artists.

Elizabeth Soule: Magical miniature still lives, using poloroids.

Irene Nam. Look for her lovely images in the next issue of Small, coming out the last week of November, and also here on Smaller. We are so excited to have her work with us. 

Jen Gotch. Her poloroid blog is always beautiful. She once did a whole shoot for Small all in poloroid. It was so hard to choose which photos to include- we loved them all.

Jamie Livingstone: took a poloroid every day from 1979 to 1997. After his  death his friends Hugh Crawford and Betsy Reid put together a public exhibit and website using the photos.

Behind the Pages - Portraits by Steven Visneau

Here's a few snapshots of our portrait photo story by Steven Visneau, our photo editor. The most important element of this shoot was the hair crafted by the talented Ashley Rike. We also featured some of the best Fall accessories by Mija Jewelry, Kicokids, Mathilde de Turckheim, A Alicia Handmade, M.O.M and Floret.

Small Shops - Pipsqueak Chapeau

Sveta Drescher really liked the English word Pipsqueak when she heard it for the first time and 'Chapeau' is the name of a well known store owned by an eccentric woman who always wore crazy hats in Sveta's homeland, Russia. It sounded fun to her to put the two together- Pipsqueak Chapeau!

After having her son Kai (now 6.5) she knitted her first hat. Then came the idea for a line of kids hats and scarves and clothes, followed by a line of adult clothes. She now has a second son, Finn, who is 9 months. When she is not creating a clothing line she spends the time with her kids and works on her photography. She takes all of the evocative photos of her line for her website and blog (see below). Opening her new store felt like a natural progression- her clients kept asking for it and then recently a space came up near her home and studio in Brooklyn, so she jumped at the chance.

The entire Pipsqueak- Chapeau line is made by hand in Brooklyn. Natural materials are very important and all her designs are produced in linen, silk, cotton, felted wool, mohair, hemp and her knits are alpaca. The designs are usually in solid colors and natural shades. Sveta approaches her designs with a concern about how women and children feel living in their clothing, not so much how they look. Her line goes from baby knits to kids dresses to adult clothing and now she also does home linens.

For the Fall, Sveta favorite picks are:
-the alpaca mitts are the quintessential NYC mittens. You can open any doorknob better or handle a metro card with ease.
-the tie skirt (shown above with Sveta tying it) is wool, cashmere with a silk finish.
-the long sleeve linen dress which comes in white and black.

Pipsqueak-Chapeau

99 Franklin St. Brooklyn NY 11211

Reported by our associate editor in New York-  Jasmine Astronomo-Berger.

Small Inspiration 21

Temperley London Spring 2010

Dark and Stormy watercolor by Golly Bard

Small furniture - out of the woods

This amazing bean bag grizzly bear and gnawed log bolsters are knitted! The graphics are made from the pattern of the wool, not printed on after. Check out the other equally astonishing pillow and beanbag designs in their Etsy shop:
chicsindesigndotcom

Small Art - Bee Things

We have been open for two months now and have stocked the shop with some amazing independent designers as well as our very own "Little Bean" collection.  I really enjoy sewing small runs of dresses, skirts, boys clothing and accessories exclusively for the store. This week we finally launched the Little Bean on line shop!

During our opening party we were lucky to meet the talented couple behind Bee Things. A local company that makes handmade screen printed limited edition art prints adorned with beautiful birds. Check them out in Little Bean on line shop here. We will be adding more prints and screen printed lunch bags by Bee Things this week....so check back!

Small play - AK traditions

AK was originally designed as a gallery to showcase the rich, and diverse textile heritage of central Asia, in particular that of the mounted nomads of the Kyrgyz Republic.
All AK products are designed in Melbourne and made by skilled artisans in the Kyrgyz Republic using with natural fibres such as yarn-dyed cotton and handmade and dyed wool felt.  AK artisan quality products are intended to be stylish and witty with a cross–generational appeal that is unaffected by the whims of the mass market – modern classics with a strong sense of tradition.
AK traditions : Handmade wool felt in unique colors and a diverse range of items that includes artisan quality felt toys, dolls, quilts, home-wares, accessories, handwork kits and hand knitting and much more.

Small Hands - Liza Rendina

We are smitten with the "Little Stars" collection handmade by Liza Rendina. Meet Odette, Milo, Syrus and Tobia.

Liza Rendina

Small Threads - Clover New York Fall Launch Party and Sale!

We love Clover New York!!  You can see some of the collection in the current issue of Small. If you are in NYC be sure to attend their Fall Launch party this Sunday.

Small inspiration 20

...to the suburbs.

 
Samantha Everton: from the series 'Vintage Dolls' featuring children in dream-like settings. The series involved the creation of elaborate sets in a derelict 1920s house in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Howard Arkely: airbrush paintings inspired by the architecture and interiors of western suburbs of Melbourne.

small films - period pieces

four films we love...beautiful stories, beautifully crafted.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (director Peter Weir)

The Secret Garden (drector Agnieszka Holland)

An Angel At My Table (director Jane Campion)

The Year My Voice Broke (director John Duigan)

Small threads - all things bright and beautiful

Brighten up your school days with...
up-cycled sweater by Heart Felt Baby
yellow school satchel by the Cambridge Satchel Company
socks by Le Big
shoes by Keep
bow brooches by A Alicia Accessories
dress by Chalk and Cheese