Londoner Katherine Morling creates incredibly detailed art from porcelain and ceramic. After a busy 2009 filled with studio work and studying at the Royal College of Art, she is currently working on animating the world of toys through ceramics, creating whimsical and surreal pieces. I love how intricate her pieces are; it really shows how thoroughly she plans her projects and how much time she must put into them.

Found via: Coolhunting

Just a heads up that my posting might be a bit light this week as we are prepping our apartment for sale – so lots of organizing and cleaning and staging!

~Posted by: Amy

Have you seen Indie Icing’s new look? It’s gorgeous… Loved her roundup of Etsy picks today all inspired by Demi Moore herself. Click here to see it all for yourself.

~Posted by: Amy

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was good, but busy (more on that later!). How about you…did you do anything fun?

Just like back-to-school shoes in the fall, I think spring is a great time for a new purse. Etsy always has a great selection and here are a few that captured my eye.

Mayka from CindyMars7 made the top left purse, and her etsy shop has a variety of purses in different sizes with fun patterns and details. The bottom left purse was made by eclu, a great etsy shop that specializes in beautiful clutches. The purse on the right is from Christy Studio’s – I love all the pleated details in her collection.

~Posted by: Amy

And it’s the weekend… Well, close enough right? I think these sunglasses from Schwood are the perfect thing to end the week with. Yesterday was glorious, and for those of us here in Vancouver, today it looks like we’ll have more of the same!

When a friend emailed these to me yesterday I knew I had to post about them. Not only are they handmade in Portland – but they’re wooden. Wooden sunglasses? Never seen a pair like these before. What I really love is that one of their lines is named the “Canby”… Not sure the reason for this – but chances are it’s for Canby, Oregon… Which makes
me totally nostalgic as I grew up outside of Portland and my brothers actually went to High School in Canby before we moved north to Vancouver. Canby is no metropolis… As I remember it, there were more farms than anything else. Not to age myself, but most of the time I spent there was as a kid in the 80’s, watching my brothers track meets and
football games.

All of this talk of Oregon and sunglasses makes me think a summer road trip is in order!

For now be sure to check out all of the great sunglasses from Schwood here.

~Posted by: Amy

How to sum up Valerie Dumaine’s gorgeous Spring 2010 collection? In a few words – classy, subdued, and elegant. Unique draping and clean lines make these form flattering pieces perfect for the office and fun nights out.

This Montreal based line is proudly made in Canada – yet we’re pleased to see this collection is at a better price point than many others that are manufactured in Canada.

To see the entire Spring collection – click here.

~Posted by: Amy

Did you make houses out of old cardboard boxes when you were little? I know I did, it was a lot of fun to paint them too – and cut out doors and walls… Artist Chris Gilmour has really taken things to the next level with his cardboard art – far beyond even what my younger self might have dreamed. I’m blown away by his artwork, each piece created with just cardboard and glue.

For more – see Chris’s portfolio here.

Found via Upon a Fold

~Posted by: Amy

Found some pretty flickr photos that I’ve got to share. I find both of these collages inspiring for different reasons – the top one makes me want to decorate and create beautiful things. The one below makes me want to get outside for a walk or to visit the park. How do you find yourself inspired by others? By their art, their kindness or something else entirely? Top collage, see Gingerlee’s flickr stream for credits. Bottom collage, see jessamae22’s flickr stream for credits.

~Posted by: Amy

Clearly I’m on a vintage kick lately! Why vintage? Well – the prices are usually very affordable, and often times the items you find are of a better quality than what you can find in most mall shops. And if a vintage style appeals to you now – it seems that even when you tire of it there’s a good chance that in a couple years that item will appeal to you again – as fashion trends are pretty cyclical. Also it’s so eco-friendly. You’re using something that already “exists” – avoiding the need for something new to be made… As I see it – it’s guilt free shopping at it’s finest!

Click here to shop The Vintage Wren’s Etsy store – she has brought together a wonderful selection of clothing, shoes and home decor items.

~Posted by: Amy

We just moved back into our apartment tonight (many of us Vancouverites who live downtown took a break from the city for the duration of the games) – so I’m beat! Did find a wonderful potter tonight that I’d like to share with you before I call it a day…

The potter behind Wadeworks Pottery has been working with clay ever since she was a little girl. A lot of her work is wheelthrown, though some of her work is handbuilt too. I’ve got my eyes on all of the pieces in her current collection – the minimal white, with beautifully colored interiors are just gorgeous.

~Posted by: Amy

Let’s face it, being eco-friendly and fashion forward has not always been synonymous, but times have changed my friends! Eco fashion today is totally stylish as well as being good for the environment.

I was lucky enough to attend the Eco Fashion Forward event in the Vancouver Public Library atrium last weekend where we were treated to a special sneak preview of Eco Fashion Week Vancouver. The show’s featured designs were both chic and sustainable. The models stood high above the crowd striking fierce (I couldn’t resist- they really were fierce!) poses. They wore designs by Adhesif, Kim Cathers (of Project Runway Canada fame, picture 1 above), Nixxi, and WE3 (picture 3 above). The show also featured Ashley Watson’s recycled leather handbags (picture 2 above) and vintage designer jewelery by Dotted Loop.

The show was not only entertaining, but also opened my eyes to some facts. A speaker from the David Suzuki Foundation told the crowd that 4% of our landfills are filled with clothing and textiles waste. I was totally surprised that clothing was such a large percentage of our waste and resolved to shop for more vintage and local designs using sustainable materials.

Handmade Evolution will be reporting from Eco Fashion week itself (date of the shows are to be announced)- so keep checking back with us!

~Posted by: Christine

*Image 2 & 3 above courtesy of: Antonio LaFauci
*Image 1 above courtesy of: Chelzea Bailey