I am embarrassingly behind on Pansy Maiden-centric blog entries. Doh! Here are my excuses:

1) The end of November, all of December, and the first half of January were "wicked" busy.

2) It's been so cold here in Boston that my fingers have been too frozen to press on the keys of my laptop.

3) It's been sort of hard to get myself motivated to blog again after the holiday rush.  I knew that once I got back into the swing of things, the work would just keep coming and coming. I have been avoiding that commitment. But no more!

So, I want to take this opportunity to finally give big-time belated thanks to Tori and Pete for all the excellent work they did in my studio.

Tori helped me cut fabric for all my holiday orders and craft shows. So, if you bought a Pansy Maiden bag in November or December, it was probably cut by the ever-so-lovely Tori. It was so nice to have a partner-in-crime with me in the studio for a while. She's a super hard worker, gifted conversationalist, and she liked Radio Lab podcasts. We listened to hours and hours of Radio Lab. So Tori, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. I would not have made it through the holidays without you, lady. ❤

And Pete. My very own carpenter-consultant. Thank you as well. Here's the story: I wanted to screw giant hooks into one of the walls of my studio so I would have a place to hang my stock of bags. I went down to my local hardware store where I purchased said giant hooks. The helpful man behind the register said, "What do you plan to do with these hooks." I told him my plans. He asked me if I knew how to find the studs. I replied with an "I think so," and then he asked if I had an electric drill. "No," I replied. Hmmm...I guess I didn't think that through. But then I remembered my good friend and former housemate, Pete, is a talented carpenter. He really stepped in when I needed him and did an excellent job, don't you think? Thanks a zillion, Pete! I *really* appreciate you.

BTW, cannot wait to obtain a bounce flash for my camera. Perhaps my pictures won't look so "cira 1970's."

Dr. Dog plays my sewing studio A LOT. They are one of my "standby bands." When I can't figure out what music I'm in the mood for, I can always play Dr. Dog and feel satisfied. I especially like this performance. Very vintage 1970's-y. Kinda reminds me of The-Band-meets-The-Beatles. I am anxiously awaiting their new album which comes out in April.

Supporting Sister Sustainable Shops

I gots Hometown pride for White Sparrow Bindery. Well, actually, Boston is not my "hometown" but regardless, I really appreciate the fine work Katharine and Bexx of WS Bindery do in making their ultra lovely journals. And I especially appreciate that most materials are sustainable and vegan.

We blend traditional bookbinding techniques with modern design to create books that are both beautiful and functional. We sew each book by hand, ensuring strength and durability. Most of the decorative paper we use is handmade by us, or other local artisans. We try to use environmentally friendly products whenever possible, and many of our journals are also vegan friendly!

While we are talking about Katharine and Bexx, I have to mention that Bexx has her own Etsy shop called Books By Bexx where she sells 100% vegan, handmade informational books for vegetarians and vegans. With titles such as "How I Get My Protein" and "How I get my Iron," she makes it ever so easy to be kind to the earth, animals, and your body.

Just when I though I couldn't love Those Darlins more, I just found out that they met while volunteering at the Southern Girls Rock N Roll Camp. SGRRC's mission is to support a culture of positive self-esteem and collaboration among girls while building community through music. Thank you, Those Darlins! I *double-heart* you now!

Supporting Sister Sustainable Shops

Oh. My. Goodness. Vintage clothes for baby's and toddlers! And not just plain old, run-of-the-mill vintage clothes, either. These are well sorted, beautifully curated finds from the folks of LA-based Belle Heir. Why buy your little loves new clothes from big-box chains when you can reuse these gorgeous, extremely well-made beauties? And some of these go way back. Like, 1910 way back.

When you have a look at Belle Heir's "About Us" page, you'll see they are serious about their mission:

Belle Heir was created out of our love of fine vintage and in appreciation of the
care, quality and attention to detail that once went into the construction of clothing:
hand-stitching, smocking, pin-tucks, pleating, embroidery and button-work.

We indie-design, sustainability lovers treasure well-crafted, meant-to-last items. And I know we'll pass that on to our children. Let's just get them started as early as we can ;)

P.S. Belle Heir has a great blog where they post about upcoming listings. It's good to get a heads up because these finds go fast.

You know when you discover an album and love it so much from the first listen that you just play it over and over and over and over and then you get sort of tired of listening to it? So you take it out of rotation, forget about it, and then rediscover it a few years later? And it sounds just as good to you as it did on your first listen? Well, that's what happened to me recently with Of Montreal's Satanic Panic in the Attic. This song is one of my favorites from that album. And Of Montreal will always be one of my favorite bands ever. Especially live in concert. An Of Montreal concert is an experience, to say the least.

Supporting Sister Sustainable Shops

I can't remember when I first saw the jewelry of Greece-based Lila Ruby King but the visions of these beauties stowed themselves away in the back burner of my mind. This morning when eating my breakfast and thinking about who to feature in this installment of Sustainable Saturday, I looked down at my bowl of cereal. The donut-shaped cereal pieces reminded me of a necklace I had seen on Etsy. I then rummaged through my Favorites and low and behold, there was the necklace I was thinking of. It was Lila Ruby's Loop Necklace. Isn't it funny how the mind works sometimes? So I then read Lila Ruby's profile and was struck by how much attention she is putting into making her business a sustainable one.

I am working towards making my business carbon neutral. Many of my materials are chosen in part for their sustainability. Bamboo is a rapidly renewable recourse, and 100% biodegradable. I recycled my own silver so I need to purchase less new silver. Most items in my shop are about half new silver, half recycled. Found objects such as twigs and pebbles I hope enjoy their new life as wearable art. I do not use a chemical pickle which is better for the environment and no doubt my health. My glass beads are batch annealed so that I only run my kiln when it is full.
Every month I purchase carbon credits to offset one tonne of greenhouse gas. I do this through Climate Friendly ( https://climatefriendly.com/ ) Climate Friendly is an organisation based in Australia, dedicated to positive, meaningful and real action to address the global greenhouse problem.

Thanks for all your (beautiful) work, Lila Ruby King! Sometimes the sustainable way isn't the easiest path to tread but the destination is worth every trial and tribulation.

I am so honored to have been nominated in the "Accessories" catagory in "The Poppies" over at Poppytalk. Poppytalk is one of my very favorite blogs and I am in a catagory with some amazingly talented artists. I would be so happy and humbled if I could have your vote. Pop on over to Poppytalk and vote Pansy Maiden! There is no registration required, one vote per computer and one vote per catagory. Polls close on 1/27. Let's represent for cruelty-free!

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros released what might be my favorite album of 2009, "Up From Below." I can't even begin to explain how much I love this band. Maybe it's their modern hippie vibe. Maybe it's the bearded front man. Maybe it's that they have an accordion player. Maybe it's my romantic idea of the late 1960's. Maybe it's just good, soulful music. My heart is just so happy when I listen to them. And I think it's pretty funny that they did an "All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Concert" being that there are 10-13 members at any given time. Their sound is pretty big on the album so it was a nice treat to discover this acoustic concert and hear that they sound good either way. Here are three songs for your listening pleasure. I couldn't pick just one!

Supporting Sister Sustainable Shops

Sustainable Saturdays are back! I ended 2009 featuring a talented Boston-area designer (Cheap Date Jewelry) and now I will begin 2010 featuring two extremely talented, super-cool Boston-area artists. Chroma Lab was founded in 2008 by Alicia Cornwell and Tony Bevilacqua. They take sad, lonely, discarded furniture and make the pieces shiny and happy once again--better than ever you might say.

From their "About Us" page:

In 2008 we began transforming neglected but promising pieces of furniture by repairing and repainting them for ourselves and for our friends. It was a lot of fun, and it turns out other people like vibrant and repurposed furniture and accessories, too. We started Chroma Lab for anyone whose home needs a shot (or a lot) of pick-me-up color in the form of high quality furniture and unique, hand crafted clocks, lamps, and home accessories.

They also love custom orders so if you live near Boston and are thinking of throwing that old piece of furniture to the curb, DON'T DO IT! Let the folks at Chroma Lab breath new life into it. It's a win-win situation.