Special Feature Friday; House of Mark

Edition 14

Christmas is coming up fast! This weeks shop has some wonderful Christmas decorations.
The shop is called House Of Mark. It is run by Salpie and Karena, from California.

House of Mark only opened In October 2013, so it is a very new shop, with a fresh look at things.

In this shop we can mostly find home decorations, and very nice ones too!
The decorations are handmade and very festive. It is possible to have decorations made for a party your organize, whether it is your wedding, Christmas, Halloween, a birthday or any other special event. It is wonderful to be able to decorate with items made especially to your wishes. At the very least people will notice that a lot of care and thought went into the decoration of your home, but custom made decorations will also make a great conversation starter.


Now, because the holiday's are coming up I will show only holiday decorations today, but check out their shop for the other products, because some of them are great for any party.

This burlap banner is rustic and festive, It is sure to make any home look ready for the holidays!

Wreath's look great on front doors during the holidays, this particular one is very colorful. In the last couple of years I have seen a huge amount of Christmas ornaments in these colors in the shops.

The only thing that saddens me about this shop is that there is currently no shipping outside of the US. However, they explain in their shop policies that they hope to offer international shipping in the future, so patience does it!

Special Feature Friday: Afternoon owl designs.

Edition 13

In the last week it has gotten much colder outside. The mistral is blowing happily, and because of this the temperature has dropped. The mistral is a strong cold wind, it feels like it goes straight trough your clothes. At least it puts me in the Christmas mood. 

It seems like just a winter coat won't do with this weather! This week I came in touch with Rebecca from afternoon owl designs. Rebecca knits mostly scarfs. They are perfect for any cold weather, and at the same time they will make a great addition to your outfit.

The scarfs Rebecca knits look big, bulky and warm. Exactly what one needs when dealing with cold weather. The scarfs come in many colors and different shapes and sizes. For example the oatmeal infinity scarf as shown above. I see these more and more lately, and I can understand why they are popular. 

The color combination in this oversized infinity scarf is great, I never thought orange and blue could work so well together! 

Rebecca's scarves are unisex, witch means they can be worn by men and woman. I think these scarfs will make for great Christmas gifts! The scarves are made of chunky lamb wool and acrylic blend yarn. Especially wool is known to give a lot of warmth. It is one of the oldest materials for clothes used by mankind, and for good reasons too. All the scarves are designed by Rebecca herself. It is possible to request custom orders, witch is great if you would like something special, or maybe some different colors!

Handmade Monday, November 25.

November the 25th 2013 will be Handmade Monday. Now, I only heard about this a couple of weeks ago but the more I read about it, the more the idea speaks to me!

Last year a US family spent about $764 dollars on average per family, followed by Australia at $930 dollars per family, and a whopping average of $1000 dollars was spent per British family.

If only 20% of this money was spent on handmade items from small companies and artists, a sustainable, vibrant, creative and lucrative impulse for original craft and work would be created.

Handmade Monday is here to promote exactly this! Of course there are many big companies that sell wonderful gifts, but with buying a handmade item you are sure to receive something special and unique.

Shop owners and artists work hard to set up and run their own businesses, with high risk and often small returns. Even when everything goes right, it is still a huge amount of work. There are many little shops on the internet where every single thing was handmade with love and care. 

I know, handmade items are more expensive. Why would you buy a 25 dollar pillowcase when you can get one for 7 at that big store in town? And why would you spend that money on a handmade item if you can get it from a expensive brand?

I will tell you why;

What you get back for buying handmade is a product that you can't get in any store. Artists and crafters always work hard to improve their work. A lot of research is done before you can buy the items in the shops. A person running their own store often has years of experience, is highly motivated, and as said before, has worked really hard to get to the point where they are. They love to communicate with their clients, and what they want most is for their clients to be happy with their purchase. Handmade items are not mass produced and you are sure to have high quality item. No, you won't have a high brand item, people will not recognize your item as a Ralph Lauren cushion or a Tiffany&CO bracelet. But remember that these brands also mass produce their items, they might be expensive, but they are not truly unique. And your handmade item will be. This is great for you, but also great for anyone who will get a handmade Christmas or birthday gift!

Now, let's also think of the impact it would have on society when you decide to buy Handmade.

• You might help someone through college or university, many store owners sell because of this reason.
• You might help someone's daughter to have ballet classes, or someones son to go to soccer.
• If you buy handmade locally you will help your local businesses and economy.
• You might help a pensioner pay the rent, or a single mother pay for heating.
• Handmade items are made to last, you help the environment!
• There are many shops that recycle materials, also a great plus for the environment. 

These are just 6 examples, the list goes on forever! Really, buying Handmade will help many people.

You might have one reservation left: how can I trust a stranger on the internet to just send me these products after I paid for them? Well, here is great news; as a buyer you have a lot of rights. Websites like Etsy and DeWanda have strict policies for customers. After a purchase the shop has 45 days to get the items to the costumer. If this does not work out the buyer can open a claim and get their money back. This will also work with credit card companies and Paypal. There is really nothing scary about buying online from small businesses!

If you were never sure about buying handmade from small businesses, I hope I have helped you decide to go for it. Remember how positive it is to get your gifts and decorations from small businesses, either locally or from the internet. I am going to leave you with a link to a Facebook page about handmade Monday, here you can follow the latest news and updates. 

Have a great week and remember, Monday the 25th of November: Handmade Monday!

Special Feature Friday: NozomiCrafts

Edition 12

It has been a while! The last couple of weeks have been very busy. A good time for me because I made a few sales in the shop, and I had a large order for a friend.

Last time I wrote about a shop that sells mori styled clothes. This week I am going to stick to the kawaii a bit. A while back I came across a shop that sells needle velted items.
Of course these are all made by the owner of the shop herself! Witch makes them extra special.
The shop is called NozomiCrafts and has been opened since August 2011.

In the shop one can find wood animals, but also little cakes and macarons and adorable necklaces.
I am a absolute fan of these wonderful and adorable creatures!

This handmade jewelry is adorable, and I think it would fit in great with the cute Japanese styles like mori and lolita. It is great in detail as well!

All together this collection is very whimsical! The soft colors make the jewelry also usable for other clothing styles. All these pieces are unique and I think they are great eye catchers.

As you may know, I am a bird lover, and this owl has truly stole my heart. It is so cute in his little nest, he must be very cozy indeed!

The prices for all these items are great, I can imagine a lot of work goes in them, but they are very affordable! And, as said before, you will have a truly unique item!

I would advise you to go and visit the shop, because there are so much more wonderful items to see!
It was really hard to choose the two pictures, since they are all so wonderful!