Gerri Tullis has a great collection of handmade iron on patches in her Etsy shop. My favorites are the apothecary labels, especially this first one (which I so desperately need).
There are other wonderfully well done designs for the spooky and/or esoterically minded as well.
I definitely want to get my hands on some Text Printed Tights.
Coline Design makes a variety of colorful tights with famous literary quotes (from the likes of William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Caroll). OR, and I love this option, you can order custom text.
You will also find a number of different fonts and styles. I’m such a sentimental fool; I’d probably love to get a pair with memorable words from a loved one.
What quote would you emblazon on your legwear?
Oh Victorian Trading Co., you’ve outdone yourself! The purveyors of new goods with antique style are now producing figurines from the Antikamnia Chemical Company Calendars (which I was certain I posted about but cannot find here at the moment).
These skeleton figurals are inspired by the watercolour artistry of 19th c. illustrator Louis Crucius, commissioned to create a calendar for the company in 1898.
I do plan to frame some calendar images at some point, and while nobody needs Antikamnia figurines, I think they’d make a fine addition to the home.
Plasticland has so many excellent ornaments this year. Unique, humorous, quirky, esoteric, kitschy-cute…it’s all here!
Which one is your favorite?
BoeTech has a selection of dynamite anatomical (and other geektacular) cookie cutters that I would love to use for next year’s holiday cookie batches. I don’t care if they’re not gingerbread men and snowflakes! Who wouldn’t want these cookies?
Of course, these are perfect for any time of year. Personally, I think the hearts make a great wedding cookie…if the wedding indeed has cookies (and I’m aware not all weddings do, but in my ideal world there are cookies everywhere).
These would be my reward for a loved one who comes up with a brilliant idea.
I’ve just been browsing Martha Rotten’s Etsy store, and I came across some interesting jewelry bits.
My favorites (which I hope to add to my collection one day) are the clock hand earrings and necklace.
There are many variations of bone, straight, curved and otherwise.
And the occasional Confessional Cuff.
Mer-babies are a rather underrepresented part of the Mer-kingdom…at least in jewelry.
See more at Martha Rotten.
High on my list of Useless Things I Still Want Even Though They’re Useless is a Jellyfish Aquarium.
Here is the version from The Sharper Image:
Create a calm, tranquil environment in your home or office with our unique Jellyfish Aquarium. This maintenance-free environment features two lifelike artificial jellyfish, illuminated by 18 LEDs that change color with five different effects. Simply fill the tank with water, add the jellyfish, and turn it on.
Another on Amazon
And yet another
I fear I would be transfixed by this for absurd amounts of time…but no complaints there.
Browse other posts involving jellyfish here.
I am in love with Roza Khamitova’s wing inspired scarves!
There’s something gorgeously empowering about donning some silky, flowing, large wings.
Absolutely stunning! I’ll be adding one of these to my wish list.
Now THIS is how you hold up a pane of glass for a coffee table! Kirk McGuire has a series of bronze sculpture tables that add a dash of marine adornment to the home.
The octopus is definitely my favorite.
But the giant squid is pretty great, too.
And the leafy sea dragon is a bit more understated, which is nice if you don’t opt for the bold look of cephalopods.
Kintsukuroi is a concept very close to my heart. Like these pieces, my body bears the marks of having been broken and put back together again (multiple times). Oh, the stories a few inches of skin can tell!
I find these items breathtaking, and would very much like to create one or have one in my home. Upon reading about this technique and philosophy, I was reminded of a thrift store statue I purposely bought in a broken state (despite the urging of a well-meaning shop owner to opt for one in better condition); a angel holding a bird whose wing had broken off. Though no more than half an inch was missing, the entire meaning of the statue changed with that broken wing. The bird was not dallying for a moment in the midst of carefree flight as originally intended, it was being cradled, protected, healed by a benevolent protector.
As I continue to move through my (still unspeakably slow and challenging) physical recovery, I rejoice in the lines on my flesh that saved my life and the metaphorical gold within them. I am not broken…I am Kintsukuroi, right?
Take time to love the imperfect, the discarded, the reconstructed and overlooked treasures around you (or ON you!). As Leonard Cohen once sang “There’s a crack in everything…that’s how the light gets in.”
SheWalksSoftly 