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Etsy:: The Storque :: Children's Gift Ideas From Small Magazine

Head on over to Etsy's Handmade blog The Storque to see our favorite holiday gifts for children!

Small Magazine issue 12 Winter 2009

Small finds- Advent calendars

Ce que je voeu has created an original advent calendar for Christmas. You can download it for free here

Pilosale has designed these lovely fabric calendars you could use year after year. 

These kind of count down calendars could be a fun thing to use with children looking forward to any exciting event in the future.

Small finds- keepsake shoes

shoes you would have to keep

PePe

Mor mor rita

Small inspiration 31- red balloons

Lulu with balloons - Lottie Davies

From the film 'Le Balloon Rouge' directed by Albert Lamorisse

We are busy finishing off issue 12 which will come out this Friday. Here is a mid week inspiration!

Small threads - a little linen

Three designers we love for their restraint, beautiful fabrics and perfectly produced styles. We love their photography too!

Periwinkle Bloom

Le Bouton

Dagmar Daley

Behind the scenes - winter issue 12

We can't show you too much but here are a few pictures from a very wintery shoot shot by Christopher Auger-Dominguez. Jasmine Astronomo-Berger was the stylist and Dana Curtis did hair and makeup and Daisy Payero volunteered her time and talent to help to put together the set. You might remember Christopher's work as he was the photographer behind the super hero shoot  earlier this year.

Look out for the whole story in the Winter Issue coming out at the end of this week.

Photos courtesy of Aracelis Diamantis

small inspiration 30

Pilita Garcia

Benajamin van Oost in Make Magazine

Small shops- Wovenplay and Jess Brown pop-up shop

From our two favorite designers comes a holiday pop-up shop  at the beautiful Erica Tanov store at 204 Elizabeth Street New York. There is an opening party with cocoa and cookies on Saturday Nov. 21st from 3-5. If you are not in New York you can pick up both Jess Brown and Wovenplay goodies online.

Hope to see you there!

Erica Tanov

Jess Brown

Wovenplay

Small Type - Kirtsy Takes a Bow

From the editors and founders of Kirtsy comes a new book - Kirtsy Takes a Bow - A Woman's Celebration of Woman's Favorites Online.

 

Kirtsy Takes a Bow is a collection of top blog posts and inspirational designs from the popular website.

Book launch events:

Thursday, November 19: Washington, DC
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Fathom Creative Building
1333 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005

Saturday, November 21: Dallas
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Little Bean Shop
5308 Junius Street, Dallas, Texas 75214

Behind the Scenes - Issue 12 Winter Fashion Story

We spent a lot of time preparing for our photo shoot - hand making vintage fabric kites, flags, a tent and a raft - thanks to the creative vision of our prop stylist, Sarah Tippetts.  Look for the story in our next issue out next week.

Behind the scenes photos by Michael Mosley

 

Small Finds - Moozlehome.com

Moozlehome is a lifestyle boutique with a mix of vintage, textiles, art, home and children's products with a strong graphic influence.
We love the teepee's adorned with flowers and leaves with vintage floral fabric and the crochet baby blankets and booties.

Moozlehome.com

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