28 September 2010

E-shops updated :: new collection fresh from the studio



All right :: I finally updated my Big Cartel and Etsy stores. 
Don't expect 20 items! 
Just a few handmade with love.
This is completely impossible with my family and personal schedule right now. 


And I have a surprise gift for those of you who signed up for the Newsletter coming out (keeping my hand and toes fingers crossed) early next week .
I am currently struggling with Mail Chimp to get the newsletter out there in the world...!
But regardless of my technical issue : 
Please, do not hesitate : sign up now for it  HERE

Fresh from the studio :: "Petite Moon", a new collection

Yes, finally my new collection is born.
So that makes  three collections that I enjoy working on  ::


  • "Simplicity of the season"
  • "Pastoral"  
  • "Petite Moon".


I love the name.
Petite Moon.
This is how Alana used to call the moon every night when she was about 3 years old.
"Petite Moon" tells story about  little planet, vegetals, the Eiffel tower and symbols of the end of 18th and early 19th century .


More very soon with the shop update.

25 September 2010

Sweet and sour

 A new Friday ritual around our passion for "grown you own produce" 


or at least local, in season and organic. 
Some photos  around what happened 
in our kitchen & little garden 
this week 
a recipe to share.

If you are inspired to do the same, 
please leave me a Love Note 
with a link back to your own *K*itchen *K*orner.

Wishing you a "bountiful" week-end!


 + =



CANNING THE SUMMER FLAVORS

:: CORNICHONS ::

(found at our local organic market)

about 1 1/4 lbs, cornichons (1 1/2 - 2) or 
American-type pickling cucumbers (1- 1 1/2) 
3 tablespoons pickling salt 
shallotspeeled 
bay leaf 
tarragon sprigs 
10 black peppercorns 
2 small dried chile peppers 
about 2 cups white wine vinegar


INSTRUCTIONS




Makes 1 Quart


1. Wash the cucumbers gently, rub off the tiny spines if you're using cornichon, and remove the blossom ends. In a bowl, mix the cucumbers with the salt
Let the cucumbers stand 24 hours.

2. Drain the cucumbers. Rinse them in cold water, and pat each one dry with a clean towel. Pack the cucumbers into a sterile 1-quart jar, interspersing among them theshallotsbay leaftarragonpeppercorns, and chile peppers, and leaving at least 1 inch headspace. Fill the jar to the brim with vinegar. Cover the jar tightly with a nonreactive cap, preferably one that is all plastic. Store the jar in a cool, dry, dark place.



3. The cornichons will be ready to eat in 1 month, 



and will keep well, unopened, for about 1 year.











TOMATOES SAUCE









Tomato Sauce
(makes roughly 2-3 quarts, depending on the tomatoes you use)
4 lbs tomatoes, peeled and cored
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3-4 large cloves garlic
1.5 cups chopped red onion
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup firmly packed basil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  1. Puree one half of the tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Coarsely dice the other half.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot on med-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, and rosemary and cook until onions are soft, about five minutes.
  3. Add all of the tomatoes and the sea salt. Bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 60 minutes. Stir ocassionally.
  5. Stir basil and vinegar in. Continue to cook (uncovered) until of desired thickness (I usually go another 30 minutes or more).
  6. Eat, Can, or Freeze!*




22 September 2010

Frozen⋮Givres

I am running late to update the e-shop with some creations from my new collection "Petite Moon".


My apologizes. 


But I do have some "excuses" :: my almost 99 years grand-mother closed her pretty eyes last week and I travelled those last past days to be with my dad and her "young" sister (my great aunt, now 92...). She was a beautiful lady. The one that will do everything for her family (as in :cook, sew, knit, crochet, bake, remember birthday and all our friends' names). 
She witnessed two world wars, the first man on the moon, the first TV set and land line telephone, those funky old cars and trikes, the upcoming of internet, cell phones and change of climate. She travelled the world at a time where to get to and back was already an adventure.


She is deeply missed. 


That said, I also wanted to post about those 4 norwegian designers called "PERMAFROST" [love the name too ! ] whom I discovered in a designers magazine recently.
 I truly enjoyed their sense of humour !


Here are my 3 favorites ::


Silence 






Poor Teddy Bear table






Room with a view


* * * * * * 




Je suis en retard pour mettre à jour la boutique en ligne avec quelques créations de ma nouvelle collection "Petite Moon".
Toutes mes excuses.
Mais j'ai raison "::  a presque 99 ans ma Grand-mère Odette a ferme ses yeux la semaine dernière. Ces derniers jours ont ete tres mouvementes.  J'ai passe ces quelques derniers jours  avec mon père et la soeur cadette de ma grand-mere, ma grand-tante, une jeunette de 92 ans.. 

Ma grand mere etait une de ces personnes qui savait tout faire (la cuisine, la couture,le tricot, le crochet, les gateaux les plus extravagants et aussi les plus simples,).Elle a connu deux guerres mondiales, a suivi en direct a la tele les premiers pas de l'homme sur la lune, a connu l'engouements des premiers téléviseurs  et les joies du téléphone avec standardiste. Elle a conduit les voitures dites maintenant de "collection", a vu arriver l'ere de l'internet, des téléphones cellulaires et des changements de climat. Elle a parcouru le monde en suivant son mari dans ces deplacements profesionnels à un moment où le simple fait d'aller quelque part etait déjà une aventure en soi.

Elle va nous manque profondement.




Cela dit, je voulais aussi ecrire au sujet de ces 
designers  norvégiens appelée «Permafrost»  que j'ai découvert dans un magazine de design récemment.
 J'ai vraiment apprécié leur sens de l'humour !
Voici mes 3 favoris:

16 September 2010

The travelling canvas :: a sweet story

I first saw this video via Silky and I moved me so much that I wanted to share it with you.
I especially love her positive attitude, her sweetness and lovingness in others. I am amazed at how well articule she is at only 13 years old :: when there's a will, there's a way.


:: Follow your dream to make it come true.


A beautiful lesson in Life.












* * *


Cette video est l'histoire d'une jeune fille 12 ans, Taylor Davis qui a découvert qu'en raison des contraintes budgétaires, son école envisage d'annuler l'éducation artistique. 
Concernee par les enfants issus de famille sans ressources, elle  a alors decide d'envoyer des lettres manuscrites à 45 chefs d'entreprise de fournitures d'art aux États-Unis et en Europe et a ainsi permis de recolter 30.000 dollars de dons sous forme de fournitures artistiques. 
Maintenant 13 ans, Taylor a lancé une association a but non lucratif appelé The travelling Canvas ["La Toile voyageuse"] pour offrir une éducation artistique pour les étudiants du monde entier.
Ce qui me touche dans cette histoire, c'est la demarche, l'attitude positive et la confiance en soi de cette toute jeune fille. 


:: aller jusqu'au bout de son reve.


Une belle lesson de vie.


15 September 2010

The Raw & the Re-used :: Manon Gignoux




Paris artist Manon Gignoux work lies somewhere between art and fashion. Manon uses the history of everyday life – workwear – as inspiration for the pieces and is interested in deconstruction and appropriation.


She is one of those very talented women artists.
In her artist statement she says ::


The origins of my work can be traced back to my last year of study at France’s Duperré School of Applied Arts when I carried out a photographic study of the clothes worn by workers in the early 20th century and explored the "traces of wear and tear" on clothes. Starting with details of a hundred or so photographs taken from books, I filled research notebooks and ended up with four themes: the "carpenter" or the traces of alteration, the "washerwoman" or the imprint of repeated movements, the "inside-out suit" or the dynamics of (de)construction, and the "woman shopkeeper" or the encounter between work clothes and everyday life and the way an object that is worn fits the body.

Here are some videos that I found and  wanted to share with you.



* * *

L'artiste francaise Manon Gignoux est une creatrice que j'admire beaucoup. L'origine et la'pproche de son travail est explique par elle meme comme suit ::
Lors de ma dernière année d’études à l’Ecole supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperré, une recherche photographique sur les tenues des travailleurs du début du 20ème siècle m’a menée à explorer les "traces de l’usage et du temps" sur le vêtement. A partir de centaines de photos collectées (et recadrées) dans les livres, j’ai rempli des carnets de recherche et dégagé quatre thèmes : le "charpentier" ou la trace de l’altération, la "blanchisseuse" ou l’empreinte des mouvements répétés, l’"envers du tailleur" ou les jeux de [dé]construction, la "marchande" ou la rencontre des vêtements de travail et du quotidien et la façon dont l’objet porté vient s’intégrer au corps.




Voici quelques videos que je voulais partager avec vous.





Plasticienne Manon Gignoux Cap 24
envoyé par axelfish. - Découvrez plus de vidéos créatives.



MANON GIGNOUX
envoyé par inandoutfilms. - Films courts et animations.