What I Wore: Friday / Instagram Friday! 9/21/12

WOWZAS!!! It's Friday already?!?

I scored this sweet shirt from Craftsy while at the Craftcation Conference. Craftsy is a site for online craft classes from the best instructors from around the world. I have had the pleasure to meet a handful of the instructors while at Craftcation but haven't had the opportunity to take a class for myself yet.  I would really love to try out one of the crochet classes since that is one crafting technique I am absolutely horrid at. The goodies like this shirt are reason enough to hit up the conference, but seriously shirts aside - the conference is a super great place to learn from, and with amazing craft business leaders.  Don't miss the fun, check out the details and get your tickets here.

I haven't taken a ton of pictures on my Instagram this week but here are the highlights-

Sharon and I traveled down to The OC Mart Mix on Monday to see some of our CRAFTED Friends and their pop-up shop:

Always a fan of Grace's Boozey Treats! You can find her at CRAFTED Market Stall #A162

The lovely ladies of Hammer + Stitch can be found across the way in market stall #A153

My kitty stopped tearing up the house long enough to cuddle with Kevin...

Such a scoundrel!!! She knows just how to butter him up & make him forget how big of a terror  to our carpet she has been!

I celebrated National Cheeseburger Day on Tuesday at Father's Office:

I don't really indulge in meat, especially burgers. But if I do have a burger this is my favorite spot in LA to hit up!

The big excitement for the week is yesterday Kevin and I had a late breakfast at our favorite spot in Culver City and Adam Sandler was a table over!! No pictures because I didn't want to be a total creeper - but I still always geek out over celebrities.  Definitely love the perks of living in a city with Celeb spotting ;)

We might be a bit late to our store at CRAFTED tomorrow thanks to a massive yard sale event in Santa Monica - After the sale, if you are free this weekend you should come down to #A200 at CRAFTED and say hi!

XOXO, KC

Unique Find (and Review): Further

My current obsession-- Further products!

Locally sourced depleted vegetable oil is refined into biofuel (so amazing already) THEN the folks at Further take the pure glycerin byproduct to produce their exceptional product line.

Their story is just as wonderful as their unique fragrance. I am pretty addicted on this stuff on the wonderful fragrance alone. It smells fresh, clean, and the hook for me is it has more of a masculine scent.  I don't really like floral, or musky scents so I usually go for unscented.  Once I picked up a Further hand lotion at Unique LA's Holiday Show I couldn't imagine not getting to slather this delicious scented lotion on my skin. It is thick enough to feel helpful on soothing dry skin while smooth enough to not feel greasy or sticky.

We were lucky enough to have the dish soap and the hand soap sent home to test out for our review when I purchased a hand lotion at the last Unique LA Spring Show. I feel confident that I  have used everything enough to give a truthful review of my findings in case it is a product that you would enjoy too. Using the full product line is really wonderful if you like the scent. The fragrance holds strong, but doubling up the hand soap and the lotion is a home run!

When I was a teen I was obsessed with the sales at Bath and Body Works. I was that girl. As I got older I was either too broke to continue my habit or my taste had shifted to where I would spend more if I just found the right product (eco, thoughtful, smells good)-- I just was too broke to test everything out to find which one I loved. Whatever ratio and recipe Further came up with, they found the yummiest fragrance for their lotion that totally fits all my requirements for a forever favorite. The dish soap, which is available in person at events like Unique LA, smells so good it is actually pleasurable to do dishes! The price tag for the dish soap is a bit pricey for dish soap, but if I had a guest house or had a situation where the soap wasn't used too frequently this would be a perfect investment stocked in the kitchen. They would all be great housewarming gifts or a hostess gift for crashing at a friends place and saving them from using up all their products too! Overall, I think you would really enjoy adding some of this in your life if you like bergamot scent. And if you don't know if you like bergamot you should totally give it a try because it is awesome!!

Best part for us Culver City shoppers is their products are sold in my favorite retailer Ludeen's in downtown Culver. Another must to check out if you haven't already. It is like a Unique LA + Patchwork + CRAFTED in a small boutique just east of the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City!!!

XOXO, KC

Culver City Expo Line

Yesterday, Sharon and I went just down the block to Washington Street for the new stop on the Culver City Expo line's Grand Opening.

The station is beautiful!!! It is pretty high above ground so it has a fantastic view of the city. It is very easy to get to, and has a fair sized parking lot for park & ride users. Best part however, It felt like we were on the train momentarily and we were already downtown! I would say 20 minutes or less, which definitely beats taking the 10 FWY depending on the time of day you are traveling. It is definitely a perk - having public transportation so close by to downtown Culver City. I am so glad everyone else will get to have the convenience of coming up to my favorite neighborhood on the metro now!!!

Seriously, check it out! You won't be disappointed :)

 XOXO, KC

CRAFTED - Update on Wall Treatments (Day 2)

Today will be my third day down to San Pedro to work on our market stall walls for our upcoming store at CRAFTED. It has been hard work these past two days and I am very anxious for everything to start coming together. One thing that has taken me the longest is prepping the walls so that I have the best surface for painting. The wood on the walls have knots all over as well as some of the sections of the wood is gashed and gnarled up.  If you paint the wood without filling up these imperfections the dimpling in the walls is very noticeable through the paint unfortunately.

  

Here is the two main walls. Top: Close-up on texture. Bottom: Covered in wood filler.

I did however complete the staining of the two smaller walls that will be behind the cash wrap yesterday, YAY!

Top: Sanded and prepped walls. Bottom: Wall stained with 1 heavy coat of gel stain.

Today I will only be putting in a half day down at the port so that I can get some neglected work done at home. Beforehand I will celebrate my hard work with Sharon by checking out the unveiling of the *NEW* Expo Line Culver City Station which opens today. All the rides are FREE today in celebration, departing from the Culver City Station beginning at Noon! I'll share news of the fun, and will be tweeting away as we check out the opening. 


Hope y'all have a super day!!!
XOXO, KC

Patchwork Culver City Spring 2012 Wrap-Up

We had such a wonderful time last Sunday at Patchwork's Culver City Spring 2012 show. Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the show and stopped by to say "hello"!

We were able to break away and snap some pictures of the fun.  Here are some of our friends that will be at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles with us in our soon to open, permanent home :) 

Cake Bar 

Cake Bar is always so yummy I can't keep myself away! Grace is a real treat and I am not sure which one is sweeter, her or her boozy desserts.  I think I have almost tried the whole menu. Hopefully I will have them all tested by summers end :)

Fruition

My favorite take home is this FAB pearl ring from Fruition. It makes me smile every time I look down at it!

Kelso Doesn't Dance

Kelsey is so ridiculously talented that I could go on FOREVER on why she inspires me.  My main favorite in her unique display that is a must see - the card catalog table cover shown above. All of her handmade displays are as fabulous as her actual products. Can you say Ah-Mazing?!?

Pooka Queen

Amazing, Avant-garde hats. Each one is sewn by hand and has its own unique form. These fun accessories definitely are a statement piece!

Merrily Yours

Lucky us, our booth was right next to Merrily Yours since A) I am obsessed with Jen and her artwork & B) Merrily Yours will not be at CRAFTED where I can get my fill of her awesome-ness weekly. I purchased a Narwhal Herd Textile Art last summer at the Renegade Craft Fair and it has fueled my obsession for her artwork. Miss Gypsy scored one of Jen's amazing felt cat bows. I couldn't resist grabbing one up for my fluffy lady :) 

Jenny Smith Plush Artist of Teddy Bear Republic:

We met at CAFAM's Etsy Craft Nights a few months back and I was totally blown away when I saw all of her wonderful plush friends in person. The level of detail on each piece is awe inspiring. She has a real gift!

Bird and Feather

Modern and fun twist on all types of terrariums. I especially liked the illustrations to show the pricing for each different product. Super cute!!!

Sweet Perversion

With a motto "Goods made with bourbon and love" how can you not fall in love with their quaintly crass greetings, sweet stationery and printed goodness.

MandaLanda

I really, really, REALLY love these displays they made to shelve their products. Definitely something for us to keep in mind as display inspiration.

And last, but not least-
Hallo Jak!

This is the second show we had the pleasure of being next to the talented sisters of Hallo Jak and they never cease to amaze us. Their products are upcycled and eclectic just like we like it ;)

Overall it was a super great time! We can't wait until the next Patchwork Show!!!
XOXO, KC

Weekend Wrap-Up: Patchwork Culver City

We were able to take our time setting up Saturday  AND our booth was in a location where we could paint the wall- double bonus. :) 

Patchwork Culver City was rad yesterday! When we applied we certainly thought it would be cool, but I had no idea they were going to crank it to 11 the first time at the Helms Bakery.  Not only was this the 1st time the show came to Culver City, but it was also the first time indoors. Usually Patchwork is held outdoors under tents and thankfully with the possibility of bad weather Delilah & Nicole the co-creators/producers of the Patchwork Show were able to secure us indoors!

Here are some pictures of our booth set-up:

Even thought the space was a bit tighter than a 10'x 10' the set up was quite easy to walk around this time. I actually kinda like the indoor without walls vibe--nice and airy. We were located in the building closest to Venice Blvd. and there was three, count'em 3 buildings worth of shopping and indie vendors and fabulous finds!!!

These little hand made pillow boxes were last weeks tutorial. Wanna make them? Go here.

Note on the Fashion/ What I Wore: Kristin is wearing one of her own creations & my outfit is a vintage find.

I like to check out the other vendors and One of my all time favorites is Enchanted Leaves. I love husband and wife teams and Nedda and Aaron are an inspiring duo. They are  one of my favorite places to get presents from at the shows! I really like their concept and all of their products really make me feel like I am transported to my fantasy spot in nature where all my favorite animals and creatures come and then are displayed using fun accessories. I wanted to share a picture of their booth/ website info because their range of products could fit just about anyone on your holiday list and keep your budget intact too. 

A must to check out: The line of wooden butterflies and moths pretty, graphic and inspired by vintage entomology illustrations- they are in the bottom right bellow:

Our friends Annette and Zach stopped by which was perfect. Annette could fill in at the booth with me so that Kevin and Zach could sneak off to Father's Office for a minute. Man I wish I could have gone and gotten a Maudite at the bar since its hard to find it is totally my favorite beer. Thank goodness we live close, I'll get one another time...  

 annette

 kevin

 me (kc)

We had such a fun time at the show! Best day ever filled with decorating our booth, meeting wonderful customers, seeing  friends, great shopping, topped off with some silly portraits--Yay!

Thanks again for everyone who came out and said hi! 

Best Wishes,

KC & Kevin

Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts- Culver City

Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts just cranked it up to 11 for this weeks Festival! It is going to be the first time it's not only in our neighborhood Culver City, but it is the 1st time it is indoors too. This is so major!!! We are giddy with excitement. :)

This weekend you should come out and enjoy the indoor shopping and all the amazing presents to be found at this one-stop shopping destination. For more details check it out here.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

XOXO,KC & Kevin