{Happy Mother's Day} A special gift for the ladies...

I am extremely proud of my little family of three. The idea of all of the adventures that we are going to have together makes me smile. Being a mom completes me in a way that I would have never anticipated. It enhances all of my senses and feeds my creativity. There seems to be a bond that I feel with other mothers now (including my own mom)  that is comforting and sweet. 

Thanks to my mom for giving me the foundation to become the mom that I am today. I appreciate your advice, your support, and most of all, the wonderful grandma that you are to Sayer (& the fact that you read every post on this blog). I truly enjoy seeing you through his eyes.

I would like to celebrate the friendships that I have made through my journey as a mom and a small business owner. I have met some pretty amazing women that are mothers & designers of wonderful things for children. Cheers to all of you! What do creative women & moms need more of (other than time)? Eco-friendly totes, that's what!  In honor of just getting a new batch of owl totes printed, I am giving away 5 of them to the first 5 people to comment on this post (make sure I have an email - so I can reach you). Oh, & don't worry if you don't see your post show up right away, it is emailed to me before it posts. :)  Happy Mother's Day! 

{Fabric Friday} Nostalgia & Strawberries...

I think that it is accurate to say that a lot of my design decisions are made with acknowledging my history and embracing nostalgia. I have been gravitating towards fabrics lately that conjure up all sorts of memories. Currently, it has been strawberry fabrics that have caught my eye. It could be that they are on the brink of being in season where I live. Or that my first real paid job (other than babysitting my brother) was working in the strawberry fields. Which I can honestly say, sucked. However, I learned a lot about myself and developed a killer work ethic that molded my way of working today (making plush by hand is a bit like picking berries- hard work & very satisfying). Picking berries for $0.09 per pound for the summer,  makes that one Benetton sweater for back to school, extra special. So, the strawberry is very symbolic. It's local to where I am from and where I live now - and as a bonus, very delicious.

The other reason that I am drawn to strawberry fabric, is that it reminds me of one of my favorite dresses that my mom made me when I was little (she made a lot of my clothes). It was the dress that I chose for my birthday party at Big Scoop and a dress that seemed cheerful and not too frilly. I remember that it made me happy.

Here are some of the strawberry fabrics that I have stumbled upon lately. They really make me smile.These fabrics are Japanese imports that can be found both here & here.

I did buy a few of these fabrics with hopes of a strawberry slug plush or a strawberry bird. Only time will tell what I come up with for klt:works, but I am sure that they will look remarkably similar to my favorite childhood dress. What sort of fabric is nostalgic for you?

{Studio as a Bedroom} A product testing opportunity...

It is sometimes tricky working from home. We recently had a house guest (Chris' dad) for three weeks. Our house is pretty small so it took some creative thinking to figure out where everyone was going to sleep comfortably for that amount of time. Realizing that we are night owls & work after Sayer goes to bed, it seemed natural for us to sleep in the klt:studio while his dad took our bedroom. The cozy little nook that we created for Sayer, was transformed into a bed that took up most of the studio space. Our toes almost touched the sewing machine. 

However, I enjoyed the fact that I was surrounded by all of the things that I love  and encourage my creative thinking. Admittedly, it was a little difficult to turn off my klt:mind when I went to bed. It's not necessarily a good thing to have the klt:order board looming over me as I am trying to sleep. My night owl status hit an all time high and I found it difficult to put things away. The morning sounds of Sayer came really fast!

One of the cool things that I got to experience, is laying under the klt:mobiles every night. There was a rotating gallery of mobiles as the orders were completed and shipped out. I got to enjoy every design- and often, many at a time. I am going to put it out there that mobiles are not just for babies. I loved watching them. It was ideal product testing! I shared some long stares with Ollie & Steve that were very therapeutic and comforting. 

It is just the three of us tonight and our bedroom is vacant. There is definitely part of me that will miss sleeping in the studio. But I have to say, it will be nice for the studio to start functioning strictly as a working studio, rather than the likes of an art school dorm room. And for those of you that received your orders recently, hope I didn't pack my pajamas in your box on accident (I am just kidding, my quality control policies wouldn't have allowed that).

{Music Monday} Why kiddo wears b&w stripes everyday...

I think that in my last few music posts, I may have painted an inaccurate portrait of the music that is in constant play at our house. While mellow, acoustic guitar is a favorite on my ipod, that  probably isn't the most frequently played. I haven't really given you the whole story. So, today the music for Music Monday has been selected by my 2+ year old son, Sayer. Sayer loves his music and really enjoys having family jam sessions. He is quick to gravitate towards any music that is being played, so that he can dance and join in on the fun. But, he favors electric guitar over acoustic - he likes NOISE.  He currently has a favorite song that he is obsessing over these days that I want to share. 

The song is, "123456", by Cornelius and the video is on Yo Gabba Gabba. It has now completely affected Sayer's attire. I can't get him to wear anything but his b&w striped tee. He just wants to wear his "1-2-3" shirt (which is what he calls it) everyday. 

A favorite activity of Sayer's, is to watch the video (multiple times in a row), then go in his room and jam out. He actually studies the band members movements and imitates them, while he is yelling out, 1-2-3-4-5-6. It is not uncommon to see all of us in his room doing it. Sayer usually takes the drums, Chris on guitar, and me on whatever is left. I got myself a tambourine this weekend so I can really rock it out now- the xylophone wasn't cutting it for me. 

I am not sure how long the 1-2-3-4-5-6 song will be Sayer's pick of the day (it has temporarily replaced, All Around the Kitchen by Dan Zanes), but it has been fun. It might just naturally shift into a song by the White Stripes, so he doesn't have to give up the shirt. All I know, is that I need to get him another one, because he is wearing his b&w striped tee out! Sayer also does a really spot on imitation of "Biz's Beat of the Day" with Biz Markie- another frequently played video around here. For that he wears his baseball hat backwards or off to the side. Happy Music Monday! What are some of your kid's favorite jam out tunes?

{Fabric Friday} A little Japanese fabric inspiration...

I'm currently working on a cool collaboration that requires me to pick out some new Japanese textiles to use for some plush characters and I'm thoroughly enjoy the research. I always welcome an excuse to by some more Japanese fabrics- as I tend to gravitate towards many  already. During my search last night, I stumbled on a few beautiful collections from Lecien that I thought I would share with you {via Trueup}. The first one is called Spicy Scrap and I was drawn to the blue plaid earlier this year when I made my Nighttime Dewey plush.

The next collection from Lecien is called, "Grandmother's Flower Garden" by Rosalie Quinlan. I love the nod to history that these collections embody. This next one appeals to my softer, more feminine side, while the first one is much bolder and a smidge more modern. 

I am still in searching mode and haven't made up my mind yet. But aren't these colors and textures great? The fabric designs & colors definitely trigger little the nostalgia part of my brain. I am drawn to them because of they remind me of colors and pattern of my past. Do you have a favorite Japanese fabric collection that would like to share? Do any of these fabrics remind you of something from your childhood? Happy Fabric Friday everyone!

{Handmade with Love} Dollhouse renovation...

Chris and I had a great time designing and dreaming up Sayer's room. Everything in it has a story and a reason for being there. It is full of so many fun handmade items- which I really think is special. One of my favorite things in Sayer's room is a piece of furniture that gets asked about frequently- his changing table/toy shelf. I just recently got another email asking me about where I got it, so  I thought I would share the story of how it came to be. 

My dad made me a dollhouse in the '70's. It was not like the Barbie townhouse that my friends had. But, I did find the elevator from the townhouse at a garage sale & used it in sort of in a Charlie & the Chocolate Factory way (just pulled through the air). This thing was huge and housed my Sunshine Family dolls with style. Over the years Barbie & Ken moved in, about the same time I added the elevator, wallpaper, and mini unicorn & rainbow posters. My dad is not really a carpenter and he and a friend made it in a weekend using a little article that my mom had found in "Sunset Magazine", as inspiration. Needless to say, I had many good years playing with it- and I loved that my dad made it just for me. However, the 80's (the teenage years) came and it was then put in my parent's basement and forgotten about. 

When my parent's moved 5 years ago, I was faced with what to do with my beloved house. It isn't small or lightweight by any means, but I didn't want to give it away. So we stored it in our basement. When Sayer was on the way, Chris started building an office space in our basement so that the room upstairs, that was currently our office, could become Sayer's nursery. He stumbled on my dollhouse and came up with a brilliant plan. He started a mini house "reno" to make it a little less '70's and something that Sayer could use and enjoy. He extended the balcony to make it long enough for a changing table, took the shag carpet out, painted, scraped wallpaper off, added wood, and added a mirror so that Sayer could make faces at himself while he was being changed.  

The finished product turned out better than I could have imagined. I love watching Sayer using it. Now a yellow,wood bus sits in the same garage that my purple, plastic, Barbie Corvette sat and I think that is so cool. Do you have anything from your childhood that you transformed into something different for you child?

{Music Monday} More collaboration on the brain...

I am a little enamored with the collaboration idea and want to share another noteworthy bunch of people. Imogene + Willie is a husband & wife team located in Nashville, TN who hand-craft denim with sewing machines in an old gas station. It's Americana fashion re-defined. John Moessner is a man of many talents  (Moessner Productions) including working with music, audio, video, motion graphics production, plus he writes and sings- with a cd under his belt. What happens when these creative forces collide? An awesome video that makes me want to buy an old gas-station, turn it into a studio, & change the world- while tapping my feet. (image here)

The first time I visited the Imogene + Willie website, I got stuck on their home page watching the intro video that John Moessner made about them.  I probably played it at least ten times in a row. It gave me that hopeful and inspired feeling that music & images can provoke when paired perfectly. I love the space, the concept, the lighting, and the general feel of the video. Moessner's keen ear and love of music is particularly evident in this video. The music that he chose was the Griffin House song, "Give a Little Love" and it completely makes the video (in my opinion). And yes, I did make an itunes visit after watching it.

Imogene & Willie from John Moessner on Vimeo.

Live Performance from John Moessner on Vimeo.

I spent some time looking through all of Moessner's projects and found a music video of a live performance of the song, "Charmed Life" by Joy Williams and Trent Dabbs. It had that same relaxed and comforting feel to it and I wanted to share it as well. So once again, here is another example some wonderful collaborations. Happy Music Monday! Has a good video ever peaked your interest in a musician before?