smaller

small holiday!

small magazine winter issue out now!

 

inspiration 86

all in the details....

photographing snowflakes - they really are all different!

The Thin by Erin Tyner - miniature scenes from the 'half awake' series

Happy Holidays!

 

small diy- Fabrics at Anna Ka Bazaar

I am finishing up a few handmade gifts for friends and have been searching high and low for really beautiful fabrics. Anna Ka Bazaar has the best selection I have seen.

Anna Ka Bazaar

 

small shops - small-secret-store.com

A note was in our in-box this morning from Pauline, the proprietor of this beautiful French on line shop called Small-Secret-Store.com.  Her shopped is stocked with well designed, ethically made and environmentally friendly objects and clothing for children. Stop in and take a look.

 

Small-Secret-Store.com

small giveaway - Peek...Aren't You Curious

The prize: $100 gift card at Peek...Aren't You Curious

How to enter: Sign up at tada! shop and enter to win right here.

Winner will be chosen and notified by email. Givwaway runs until December 24th.

the winter issue

small threads - Amy Bahrt

 

We are busy putting the final touches on the new issue of Small and it should be out tonight! In the meantime we wanted to share with you these cute little fair trade scarves by Amy Bahrt at Sweet Willliam. They are hand-knit of fair trade merino wool with a touch of cashmere and made in NYC. We love that!

Small inspiration 85

 

Grant Cornett - still life

Blown glass botanical samples at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

small report- more clothes!

yeah... the clothes are great (although not 'small' scale or independent at all so we won't talk too much about them) but the main reason I am writing about it is beacuse I love the way her website works. It is worth going to check it out just for the neat trick when you scroll over each child- simple, playful and very effective.

 

small diy - Liberty Baby Bib Kit

I love these Baby Bib kits from Purl Soho. Each kit makes 4 bibs. The kit includes 2 fat-eighths of Liberty of London's Tana Lawn in complementary colors, 1/2 yard 100% Organic Cotton Terry, Gutermann 100% cotton sewing thread, 4 large nickel plated snaps, complete directions and a pattern template.

Purl Soho

Small report- Little Creatures

We have interviewd the multi talented Kristin Brenneman Eno in Small about her alternative media for kids, particualry her film Spirit Ship. Her work is driven by the strong belief that kids deserve better than the adult written, wise cracking characters that populate the world of kids tv.

Here is a bit about her company:

Little Creatures is a film production company that invites 4-10 year old children to collaborate with filmmakers to produce imaginative live action films told in the children’s voice. These movies are shot on location in various natural settings, with the children’s spontaneous interactions recorded as dialogue and their own poetic descriptions of their actions recorded as voiceover narration. Through all of these videos run threads of mystery and wonder, the representation of childhood as something beautiful, poetic, and profound, and the beauty and power of the natural world to inform young children’s play and storytelling/myth-making. 

Their films aim to help develop children’s play into deeper realms of problem solving and multidisciplinary learning by encouraging them to spend more of the crucial phase of early childhood development in spaces that they create from the ground up, from the most authentic and least-contrived cultural stimuli possible.

How you can support:

Little Creatures is trying to raise 5,000$ by January 2nd on Kickstarter to help bring their film to more children. You can recieve amazing rewards for each dollar you pledge, including the chance to be an executive producer on this independent project.... It could be a wonderful gift for the child or adult who has everything already- the chance to bring imaginary play and the true representation of kids into the medial!

small magazine- behind the scenes

Some outtakes from the shoot we did in a black and white photo booth in a mall over the weekend. The shoot was inspired by Andy Warhols snapshots of the factory girls, like Edie Sedgwick, taken in photo booths.The girls in our story are best friends and had so much fun jumping in and out of the booth. They self directed the whole thing.

If you are into the photography and art made in photo booths here is a great website that documents just about everything that has ever gone on in one and even where you can find an old machine near you.

small inspiration 84

light as a feather....

photo by Maia Flore

print by Groundwork

Wovenplay, Atsuyo + Akiko, Lucky Fish, Golden & Clover NY Holiday Shop

 

When: Friday, December 10 · 10:00am - 5:00pm

Where: Wovenplay Studios, 4 W. 37th Street, 5th Floor, NYC

Why: Drink bubbly and shop these incredible designer brands at great prices!

Small Shops- Arthur's Circus

Arthur's Circus is a great online shop of amazing vintage, vinatage inspired and home made products. Now the real life store front is open again. If you are in Melbourne you can go on over to 631 Queensberry Street North Melbourne.

small shops - Aggie Hill Sale

Head on over to Aggie Hill for their annual Winter Sale where you can find 20-40% off luxe brands like Neige, Ferd, Marilyn Tov and many others.

 

Aggie Hill

Small craft- Zsa mask

We are really excited about this cool hat project!  It's easy enough for even a beginner like me to make so I am going to try and get one done for Christmas. You can find other great projects and get some crafting inspiration from the prolific and talented Dutch blogger- Mme ZsaZsa.

Although the design looks complicated, it’s actually just a piece of knitted fabric with the sides stitched together.

The ears don’t have to be knitted but are shaped by wearing the hat, and the eyes are openings made by casting stitches off in one row and casting them back on in the next row.

Take a look at the pattern drawing:

You knit a rectangle of 31 stitches to a length of 40cm. Those 31 stitches are about 22cm wide, which you should get by using yarn (7-8mm) with 5-6mm knitting needles. For this hat I used a 7-8mm bulky yarn and 5mm needles and didn’t even measure the final width, because it doesn’t really matter all that much. Keep that last sentence in mind at all times!

Ok, we’re starting.

-       Cast on 31 stitches and knit 4 rows in stockinette stitch, that is knitting one row (RS) and purling the next (WS).

-       Row 5: knit 8 stitches, cast off 6, knit 3, cast off another 6 and knit the remaining 8.

-       Row 6: purl 8 stitches, cast on 6, purl 3, cast on another 6 and purl the remaining 8.

-       Row 7 and onward:  continue (in stockinette stitch) to 40cm.

-       Cast off all stitches.

-       Stitch the sides together with the invisible mattress stitch - learn how here 

-       Done!

Now load a picture of your mask up to flicker at the Zsa Mask Pool

Small Type - A Little Book series

I want to share with you the most popular book in our house right now. Tumble, A Little Book About Having it All is a funny tale about not sharing.  With a little investigation into the author Maria van Lieshout I found that Tumble is the fourth book in the Little Book series. There is:

Tumble, A Little Book About Having it All

Bloom, A Little Book About Finding Love

Peep, A Little Book About Taking A Leap

Splash, A Little Book About Bouncing Back

Bloom, A Little Book About Finding Love

Each book is a great little life lesson we could all benefit from. Maria van Lieshout not only wrote these books but beautifully illustrated them as well. Maria is a native of the Netherlands and now resides in San Fransisco with her husband and their son.

Maria van Lieshout

small inspiration 83

Emily Nathan

Anthony Ruell

 

small shops - Smallable Advent Calender & Jess Brown

Head on over to Smallable and check out their cool advent calender. Everyday this month you can open a gift box filled with info, free giveaways, discounts and goodies! I am definitely loving the beautiful illustrated cozy room.

Also exclusively at Smallable you will find the Jess brown event in favor of the "Toutes à l'école" association. The idea : create unique dolls in limited edition, all dressed-up by  fashion designers : Little Paul and Joe, Noro, Talc, Louis Louise, Simple Kids, Gold, Poppy Rose, and send all the benefits to Toutes à l'école in order to help little Cambodian girls to go to school and become free educated women. A creative and charitable partnership!

Gift Guide on Tada!Shop

Miette and I chose some of our favorite gifts for the holiday over at Tada!Shop.

Check it out!

Small crafts- christmas DIY

Need a little help to be a DIY crafter for Christmas? If you are in NYC you can come to Moomah where you can eat, drink and get inspired with their fun, creative classes and enjoy the benefits of a professional artist to assist you in perfecting your process. Checkout their handmade cards, needlepoint and keep sake boxes classes coming up this month.

 
If you are not up for a class but are in NYC, you can drop in anytime and pick a DIY self kit and make a great gift on the spot. Pictured above are 'the apron', 'keepsake box' and 'loved one art piece' kits. I think every city needs a Moomah!

We will continue to feature hand made gift ideas for the next month, as well as small designers that do it for you if you are not up for making it yourself. 

If you have a good idea for the gift season- send it along and we can share it with our readers! editor(at)smallmagaine(dot)net