NYC Skyline lamp donated to help Education

This Monday I am proud to be a part of the charity event hosted by the Children's Movement for Creative Education.   I have donated one of my handpunched NYC Skyline lamps to the silent auction to raise money for this non-profit, non-denominational, tax-exempt organization that helps children overcome the upheavals in their lives through art and education.   By being better informed about world events and other cultures children connect their individual lives to the larger world community.

To donate or purchase a ticket to the event, click here.

I hope my little piece of New York City will raise a little bit of money for this great cause!

Maker Faire - Getting your Geek on!

I volunteered at the Maker Faire yesterday.   What a blast!   The fabulous weather brought out all sorts of people.   It was one of the excitingly diverse crowds that New York excels at cooking up.   Steam punk meets Family meets Artist meets Scientist.   Bonding everyone was a love of technology and creativity and the fact that the twain DO meet!   If you like to build stuff, create stuff... this was the venue to find your soulmates!  

Neat toy for the back yard..

Bust set up a Craftacular in one zone while the others were set up inside the New York Hall of Science and on the lawns and parking around it.   While it was a slight trek from the city, being on the far edges of Queens (out by Shea Stadium), I'm so glad I went out there to see the sights and meet the people.  As a volunteer, I worked at the Maker's Shed and an information booth so I had lots of encounters with faire goers who were all fun, excited, and having a great time.   Get a little taste of it with the pics!

Annnnnddd heeere we gooo....

 

parts....

and what you make with parts

whaaaat???

And this brave soul sat down with Nelson.....

if you could have only heard the noises from that machine!

But where do you sit?

 

 

 

Chariot race winner

Chariot race loser

Chariot still to be raced... wonder if it eats its opponents?

Lifesize Mousetrap???

Want some cheese?

If you missed it, the website has a ton of gems and info.   And, with the turnout and the excitement of the crowd, I feel sure this will happen again.   Keep an eye on Make Magazine and the NY Hall of Science.

Selling warpeDesign in stores

Selling at craft shows is tough.   You're lucky if it is only a 9 hour day... on a weekend.   It's lots of standing.   And I don't always eat too healthy.   (Those darn cupcake & chocolate booths are my doom!)

As an alternative, I've started looking for some bricks & mortar locations where I can vend warpeDesign.   It's great for customers who need to think about a purchase.  They don't have that worry that the item they want wont be there tomorrow (hehe... unless it sells!).   I know this is especially true for the lamps.  It's hard to buy one at a show.  You want to make sure it fits your decor... and your budget.   I'm all for making good decisions with your money and your home.   By getting my products into a few select places, I hope to give you the opportunity to take that time.

To start you can see the tea light covers at Clay, Wood, & Cotton in Beacon, NY.    They've been there for a few months.   The store is pairing each one with a free candle & glass.   It's an awesome deal.

And as of last week I have lamps at Homebody Boutique in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY.   At the store you'll be able to purchase a full lamp - not just a shade as on Etsy.   They are running from $120 to $140 depending on the size, materials, and detail in the shade.   It's another great deal.

I'll do my best to keep posting new locations and products as they get out there.   Have fun shopping!

The Amazing work of Heather Smith Jones

I've just been hit by a thunderbolt.   It's name was Heather Smith Jones.    She is a fellow pinhole artist.   You can see her work at www.heathersmithjones.com.   She is my new hero.   I thought I spent a lot of time punching holes...  wow!  This women (who's been at this far longer than I have) puts me to shame!

Samples of her fabulous work:

Small pinhole formation, two

Leaf and its pattern

I don't know that I'll ever do anything to match her work.   I certainly don't want to copy it. I want to make my own version of pinhole art, but she has certainly set the bar very high!

Making it BIG

My first commission of a large scale lampshade.   Learned a few things.  Like, these big things are BIG.   This shade was 14" in diameter by 15" high.   My NYC Skyline lampshade is a mere 6" diameter by 8" high.    When I look at the picture of the original BIG shade next to the NYC one I have to laugh.... it's like Papa and Baby!

Now that I had this frame home... I had to get brutal with it and strip off that frightening (plastic) ribbon that was bound around it.   I needed to get a sense of the scale and what was underneath.   This made for a perfect shot of it 'caging' the NYC Skyline shade.   It made me realize, this wasn't just 2x's bigger....   this was more along the lines of 4 times bigger than anything I'd tried before!

But I persevered...    And punched and punched and punched holes and more holes into a strip of paper that was almost as long as I was tall!   The final results were a lovely, sophisticated shade with my "Snowfall" pattern.  At home I could only see it on a chair, but the texture looked lovely in the natural light from the window.

When I brought it to my client and they were kind enough to let me photograph it lit up in their place.   Hurrah!  The big guy is done and home!

He's traveled around New York - Manhattan to Brooklyn and back again, but I think the makeover was well worth it all!

Helping clean up the oil spill in the gulf

You will notice that I've added a National Wildlife Federation "Oil Spill: Help Save Wildlife", badge to my site. I've been looking for ways I can help. If this one little thing gets them some more attention, then I'm thrilled.  I'm also following them on Facebook and Twitter.



I've signed up with several organizations to volunteer down there.   Unfortunately, they really need people with specific oil cleanup/HazMat style training which I don't have.   But maybe they'll train me...   or they need people to do other stuff.  I don't care if it's filing or cooking for the crews.  If I can free up one person with the proper training by doing that sort of work, then it's worth it.

I'm on hold for the moment...   so I'm on the look out for other options.    I've been flipping through sites like The Bargainist for more ideas.  I know there isn't a human around who doesn't get nauseas when they see the pictures.  Or even worse, feels helpless.   Sending $10 just doesn't seem enough...   but it's a start.

ABC News coverage of the NewNew on Governors Island

Yesterday we gathered on the island to meet and greet the press and get the word out there about our Treasure Chest opening this weekend.    We were all thrilled to have ABC news come out to do a piece on our little shop.   Check it out!

Discover the local treasure chest on Governor's Island

warpeDesign at Governers Island

IMG_0214
Originally uploaded by Virginia Kraljevic

I've got my own little shelf with a selection of cards and lampshades. (If you go... see if you can find my two other lampshades in the store. Don't worry, they aren't hard to find.)

The {NewNew} on Governers Island cont

IMG_0331
Originally uploaded by Virginia Kraljevic

The {NewNew} on Governers Island

IMG_0337
Originally uploaded by Virginia Kraljevic

This summer the {NewNew} is setting up shop on Governers Island. Take a glimpse at what the store looks like.... Official opening is this weekend. We'll be there all summer. More info here: http://www.thenewnewny.com/govisle.html

and more pics to come!

Brooklyn Designs - Show your function

The trip to Dumbo was a bit of an adventure today...  starting with the fact that my train was not running.  A shuttle bus was provided.  The sign did not bode well that the bus would show up.

But I once I got there, I was reminded with this view of what an awesome city NY is.  That's the Manhattan Bridge I'm about to walk under with the remainder of 100 year old trolly tracks pointing towards the Empire State Building glowing in the distance.

Brooklyn Designs is always a charming show.  It's small enough that I enjoy it without fear of overload or exhaustion.   I wont deny that I think it could afford to get a little bigger, but it may be an issue of space and/or finding enough designers interested.   Those they do have are wonderful artists.  There wasn't one booth there that I thought poorly of.  The design standards were high and the craftsmanship was top notch.

One repeating theme I noticed was a desire to play with function as an art feature in and of itself.  A roller coster trellis tranformed to chaise lounge base.   A building block construction of three joints and varying wood sizes.   A wall with peek-a-boo joints.   And an end table with a secret.   Check them out:

Uhuru's Cyclone Lounger - If you've ever seen Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster, you'll recognize those white struts.   But what takes this lounger beyond just a visual homage is that it is made out of reclaimed wood from the Coney Island boardwalk!

This next item from EcoSystem Furniture's snug-it collection has to be posted in three pics.   First you see these strange shapes.   They look like heavy duty steel clamps... but are actually incredibly strong, but light-weight aluminum.

Here they are in action...

 And the final shelf.   They'll custom cut the boards for you, so all you have to do is figure out what you want to make.  Shelving?  Tables?  A bed?   It's all up to you.

Next up was Miscione Design's wall system.   I absolutely love the blunt honesty of this simple loop and wedge construction.   It's like getting to see the skeleton of the wall.   And no nails, hammers, or other tools are needed for installation. 

 One of the most charming pieces of the show was Colleen & Eric's NorthStar Table.  I was initially just delighted to learn that the inlaid brass dots were placed according to actual constellation charts.  But lo-and-behold, pressing the North Star popped open a secret drawer!

I've got some videos too of other fun things from the show and nearby... just need to figure out how to edit them.   They look bizarre sideways!   Can't wait for more stuff to see next week at ICFF!

Design in the first weeks of May!

I've already mentioned Crafts in Chelsea... which, with the weather as beautiful as it is, would be an awesome way to spend some time.   I will certainly head over to cheer on my friends...  and maybe splurge a little on me too.

But there's more happening this weekend that I want to tell you all about.   First off, tonight is The Looms First Friday event.   From 7 to 11pm,  "The Shops at the Loom host this monthly event, and offer discounts, deals, and complimentary refreshments coupled with performances and art installations."   Shops include my friend's handmade boutique Better Than Jam with clothes, jewelry, and more.   Other shops are The Brooklyn Yarn Cafe, Belal, and The Index.

Next stop is the Brooklyn Designs show starting today and running through Sunday.   I love this show because it's my neighbors.  I think of it as a big housewarming party where I get to meet everyone and peek inside their medicine cabinets (c'mon, you do it too).   Having been on their side of the table/booth, I know how gut wrenching it is to put your heart and soul out there to be critiqued and hopefully admired.  I can't wait to see what they are offering this year!

The big humdinger will be next weekend at the Javitts Center.   The International Contemporary Furniture Fair, or ICFF.   This is the big time.  There are companies from around the world hoping they'll either have the product everyone remembers and gets them lots of press...  or the product that everyone wants and gets them lots of sales.   It's a fashionable mix of new innovations and introductions from companies large and small, from Herman Miller to the students at Parsons.  

While you may not hit them all.... I highly recommend that you check out at least one of these.   I'll be going to all of them.   If you see me...  come on up and say 'hi'!

Crafts in Chelsea

I've got to put the word out on the very fun Crafts in Chelsea fair that will be going on this weekend.   While I wont be vending, a lot of my friends will be and they do fabulous work.   It's also in a very good cause...   PS11's arts program will be funded with the proceeds.  As an artist who can't imagine going to school without an art class... this is a great way to support a child's creativity while also showing them the huge range of things that can be done with it.

Just a few of the amazing items that will be for sale:

Metalicious

Panda with Cookie

Nordea Soaperie

Take Me Homeware

Brooklyn Lyceum's Food & Craft Fair

I'm debating what to write about this weekend's show...   The pic pretty much says it all.  Food. Crafts.  Spring.  Lyceum.  Talking Bird.   Gonna be good times!

And if my gushing endorsement as well as my lovely presence with lots of punctured paper products wont induce you...   Then I should tell you that there will be over 100 vendors on two floors in a this fabulous Park Slope, Brooklyn location.   It's right down the street (1/2 a block) from the D, M, N, R station.   Map says it all.

Hope I'll see you there!

Take a peek at the Spring Handmade Cavalcade

I was going to write an entry about all the wonderful vendors that will be at he Spring Handmade Cavalcade (and I still might), but Wabisabi Brooklyn put me to shame with her Treasury on etsy.   Once again a picture proves it's worth a 1000 words!

The lushness of Spring

I love the flowers of spring.  Not only because it's the sign that winter is over, but because they are so bold and strong and extravagant.   The cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden are peaking...   I was there alone, but I can't keep my pictures to myself.  It was glorious!

Sustainable art is in your backyard!

In less than two weeks the {NewNew} invades on Williamsburg, Brooklyn when we take over Berry Park for our Spring Handmade Cavalcade.   This year's show has a special emphasis on sustainability and eco-consciousness.  Each vendor has a different angle on what they do to promote good environmental behavior.   Some use recycled materials.  Some upcycle old materials.   Some source only local raw materials.   Some buy in bulk.   The one thing we all have in common is that we make our work locally to keep our carbon footprint small.   Take a look at all the amazing vendors!

Join us in our efforts to shrink our carbon footprint by shopping locally.  Come to the SHC for art, food, clothing, jewelry, and so much more!