Next in Line

Two days before Christmas I went to the fabric/craft store to get some trim for the fourteen Christmas stockings that I made this year  No, that's not a typo, and yes it was painstaking! On the upside, I did manage to convince the husband to help.  He did the machine sewing while I did the little felt applique on each stocking.

Anyway, as I am carrying a baby in one arm and my several yards of off-white trim in the other up to the front counter I notice something very strange.  The Christmas decorations are GONE.  Not a one in the store.  In their place are piles and piles of Valentines Day decorations.  Valentines day - really?  It seemed so far away.

But now, after I have taken most of the festive out of my own house - with the exception, of course, of my Doily Ornaments from Katarina Roccella  (I have 6 snowflakes - will post photos soon) - Valentines Day seems a lot closer.  And so I have to think about what I will give, and hinting at what I might want to get! 

So here are my thoughts on what the husband might get this year:


Silver Cuff links
Kathleen Bostick



Nice Wallet
Moxie & Oliver

The way I see it,  most men only have a few pieces of jewelry that they can wear, but some guys, the husband included, really like to have an assortment.  The Silver Cuff links from Kathleen Bostick are a great choice since they have a clean and modern look, but not so much of either that you'd mistake them for something ordinary.  These sterling and chalcedony cuff links are a special piece of man jewelry!

Then there is the Nice Wallet from Moxie and Oliver.  Think of a good wallet as the guy's equivalent of a handbag. Sometimes it is fun to change these up, too, and the advantage you have with a Moxie and Oliver piece is that it will last for a long, long time.  And I think this is just about the only way I'll get the husband to carry a heart around with him!

Now for what I want.  We just added a new artist, Sarah Hood, a local Seattle gal who makes jewelry that I have coveted for years and years.  Then of course there are pieces from Christine Mighion, one of our first artists, who makes just simply incredible gold pieces.  So anyway, here are my top two:


Clean Water Necklace
Christine Mighion



Twig Ring with Whisky Quartz and Diamond
Sarah Hood

 Of course I think why I want these is obvious - I'm a girl and I like things that are shiny!  But more than that, the cool brilliance of the topaz paired with the recycled gold in the Clean Water Necklace gives it a vibrancy that is sure to get it noticed, and admired.  And the Twig Ring speaks to my love of faux bois (and diamonds) and I think if I were queen of the forest that this is the ring I would wear.  Since I am sincerely working on becoming queen of the faux bois forest, I think this is the perfect fit!

Now that I have exhausted myself with shopping, I'm off to bed.  I will make Valentines in the morning!

Caitlin

Baby New Year!

So there is a lot to report over here, but we've been so busy experiencing it we haven't had the time to do the reporting!  One exciting thing of note is that we added a baby category, and have since been wishing that we had an excuse to buy up all of the items in it.  One particular piece of interest is this Mod Blanket by Rowley Baby:

This cotton blanket is soft on the front and softer on the back (which means soft on baby) with a chocolate brown paisley fuzzy fabric.  We also tend to think that the beautiful aqua and chocolate star pattern is a perfectly gender neutral pattern and color combo for those who choose to have "Surprise!" babies.    So can someone hurry up and have some babies so we can buy it?  Or can you help us convince ourselves that our very own little bundle needs more blankies?  It's horribly difficult to have this blanket in hand and not want to keep it, especially after we've given them as gifts and been told these were the best baby blankets ever!

So that said, we have added two new artists - Rowley Baby and b(earth) - to the baby section, and quite a few elsewhere on the site.  We're constantly on the lookout for new talent, so if you think your work would be a good fit, or you find someone else's work you think we would like, drop us a line and let us know!  artists [at] aleremodern.com is the best way to get in touch.

Happy 2011 everyone!  We'll be back again soon with more info on our artists, and the new products that we've posted.

Best,
Caitlin