still working on new site…

if you send me an email at sweetdesignrelief@yahoo.com, I will be sure to let you know when it’s up. Hopefully it will be this weekend!

under construction…

moving things around…watch for a new address to be directed to soon. This week, I hope. Leave a comment with your email and I’ll let you know when the new site is up and running. Interested in being a sponsor? Get in on the ground floor – rockbottom rates. So low, I don’t even know what they are yet. Drop me a line and we can see…

R I P Malcolm McClaren

I’ve read a lot of interesting stories about him in the past few days. He certainly was a colorful character, to say the least. He was, perhaps, more ahead of his time than we will ever realize. I always wanted to learn how to double dutch, and our square dancing was never like this.

Were you here in 1991, dancing?

Check out a clip I totally randomly found yesterday on this very cool site, Crap We Like. Those were the days! The hair, the outfits, that Binghamton groooove! I can’t seem to remember where Scandals was. A Google search puts it over on State Street, where Flashbacks is now. If anyone knows where it was for sure, leave a comment.

You’ll Remember These Dates

It’s already April, and my hopes for a bustling year-long Holiday Craftspectacular have sort of fizzled. I’m not giving up, but you know how it is – it will be December before we know it, and I won’t have gotten anything done (at all, not to mention early). Well, here is something that would totally work now, this time of year, for next year… SeptemberHouse’s 2011 DIY Calendar Panels! I ordered a 2010 one as a Christmas present last December for my mom. Wow. I thought it was cute, would be a nice crafty gift, but WOW! You have to see these. She finished the back and top in patchwork. She embroidered/circled a few special dates and hung it with a dowel.

They come with all the months/dates printed, on 100% cotton, ready to DIY. You’ve got the top, sides, bottom and back to do whatever you what. The possibilities are just so endless, it’s almost hard to describe. Am I rambling? You really need to see these. Corinne has more finishing ideas here.

Just got next year’s for a Mother’s Day gift this year. This will be a work of art by 2011! And they come impeccably packaged, ready to gift.

My words don’t do these justice. She  has other great items in her shop, and has a cool blog. Support this great ETSY seller!

Read this while you’re outside crying-

This was a great, quick read. I admit, I was first sucked into her Bravo show. She has an abundance of great advice and shares things she learned the hard way. Call it empowering, kick-ass and spiritual all at the same time. Read it and she becomes part of your tribe. And, also coming from upstate NY, her perspective is a unique one. Lots of it is just common sense, but we do need Kell on Earth to tell us some things.

If you’re related to me, most likely you’ll be getting this as a gift.

Put a Penny in Your Loafer and Make a Wish…

Back in 1980, a little book called “The Preppy Handbook” came out. I was 9, and somehow convinced my parents to fork over the $3.95 cover price for a copy. Something made me think it was a necessary read. As I just am flipping through it now, all bent and dog-eared, it’s all coming back to me. It seemed the ideal lifestyle to aspire to. Apparently, I thought I was going to come into some money at some point. Age unappropriateness aside, I think what dazzled me were the fashions –  different enough from our good, old St. John’s navy blue parochial school uniforms; but tame enough to skip out of the house in to have a good time. Put pink and green together (cha cha!) and there’s bound to be some trouble! Well, now there’s a sequel coming out. Really, how have we gone without one? Perhaps that will be what I need to ease into 40 with grace and style…

(Thanks, Daily Beast!)

1. www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44046723
2. www.theblackdog.com/product.php?productid=16615&cat=307&page=3
3. www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43138815
4. www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_13&listing_id=40175760&ga_search_query=plaid&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_7428838
5. www.freshdeal.com/deal/2072/sporto-original-duck-boot-10-off.html
6. www.vineyardvines.com/product__79254_____14680_13051

Sunday Night…

Another weekend has come and gone, but at least spring has finally arrived here in upstate New York. We still may get snow, but a taste of spring is what we needed. Sorry for the lack of posts. My bookmarks, notes and desktop items to blog about are piling up. Here’s to a good week ahead!

Work-wise, I think I am headed for an all-time low in my 17 year career as a graphic designer. I saw this in the paper today and feel the need to post it somewhere in my workspace. Maybe it will help. Or else just putting it up will make me feel better. Calmer. Namaste.

St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but I did get some cool suggestions of other Irish blogs.

Aideen’s blog, i like local*, was featured in my St. Patrick’s Day post. She is a  writer and designer based in Ireland, and passionate about the promotion of design and architecture. Her blog was recently included in House & Home Magazine’s Irish Hot 100 and is a finalist in the Irish Blog Awards 2010. Congrats, Aideen, and thanks for the following links…

• www.thisisfieldwork.com (art, design, culture)
• www.alwaysreadthesmallprint.com (design, illustration, culture)
• www.thisisanoffshoot.blogspot.com (fashion, culture)
• www.hitone.wordpress.com (irish book covers)
• www.vaughshannon.wordpress.com (design, culture)

St. Patrick’s Week!

With this Wednesday being St. Patrick’s Day, I thought an interesting post would be to focus on some cool Irish blogs. (Hopefully that doesn’t translate into a cheesey American thing to do.) Here are a few that I’ve found. Maybe they will pass on their homegrown favorites in the days to come…

Ireland is well represented on Etsy. Just visit Etsy Ireland and see!

Making Time makes well of her time. Great felted pieces!

Irish with French flair – Dandelion Daydreamer – very cool – you need to check this one out!

I already LustCovetEnvy a lot on here!

i like local* – we all should. the world would be a better place.

And, on an unrelated note, if you’ve never heard of Unhappy Hipsters, go there. Now.

Sunday Stuff

One of the many reasons I started this blog was to substitute this for the many, many emails I send out with the subject: “look at this link!”. I automatically still go to send an email or Facebook post much of the time. Here’s one that I caught in time and thought somebody else might dig it, too. More to come!

Spoonflower.com is having a textile design contest, and for this week, it’s a science or math theme. The entries are all cool and I’m sure my cousin *am* could explain their scientific meanings. If you’ve never checked out Spoonflower, you should!