Jul
31
South Paw & Pawtrero in San Francisco
Filed Under Pets | Leave a Comment
Usually here on CRAFT, we like to interview crafters about their crafty businesses. I know you are thinking I must have lost it, because it looks like I'm profiling a pet store. Yes, I am. But this pet store is a special one. To finish off our We <3 Pets theme this month, I have a profile of two crafters who started out with an idea to open up a custom clothing boutique and instead created an organic, healthy, and fun haven for dogs and cats.
Meet Shireen Nyden (right) and Suzie Yannes (left), owners of South Paw, the local pet store which opened in 2005 near where I live. It's an offshoot of their very successful pet store, Pawtrero, located in Potrero Hill, which started back in 2002. Shireen loves to sew and had the idea to move back to San Francisco from New York to start a clothing boutique. Suzie was a freelance graphic designer (she's worked layouts for Taunton craft books), and the two of them became friends after meeting at a local dog park. The were both set to start their new crafty business, that is until the health of their dogs came into the forefront of their lives. Suzie's dog Jackson had an allergic reaction to canned dog food, with bumps that wouldn't go away. Her vet continued to tell her it was allergies. Suzie ended up switching his food to natural food, and later raw foods. The bumps disappeared, and Jackson has been healthy ever since. Shireen's dog, Cheyenne, was sick and similarly became healthy with raw food.
The duo switched gears and decided to focus the business on the mission of helping people learn how to keep their pets healthy with natural and raw foods. They don't sell commercial pet foods or supplies. Think organic, eco-friendly, and handmade — for pets. Both their shops carry foods, mostly from local producers. They also feature a lot of indie goods for pets from toys to bags to handmade treats. (Contact them if you are interested in showcasing your pet goods.)
What's next for the ladies? Coming up this fall is their new e-commerce website, along with a delivery service for San Francisco. They are also in the works of developing custom raw food for dogs with special diets. And their annual Halloween event, set for October 25th, is promised to be even bigger this year! (That's where the Star Wars dogs made their debut.)
It's always a treat to go in the store when both of them are working. We can talk dogs, crafts, and usually always end up laughing. It's like a second home for Lulu, who can now "shake" and "high-five," thanks to the warmth and hospitality of Shireen and Suzie. Of course, Lulu wouldn't even let me take a picture of them without being in the photo herself!
View more photos in the slideshow below or view my Flickr set:
South Paw Bathhouse & Feed Co.
199 Brannan St
San Francisco, Calif. 94107-2004
(415) 882-7297
Pawtrero Bathhouse & Feed Co.
199 Mississippi St
San Francisco, Calif. 94107
(415) 863-7297
www.pawtrero.com
Jul
31
How-To: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk
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There's something so summery about seeing hopscotch squares and colorful chalk drawings on the sidewalk as you walk through your neighborhood, and the kids that live near me have been pretty creative. So I was delighted to see this great sidewalk chalk how-to recently. It never occurred to me that I could make my own, but custom-mixed colors sound pretty fantastic! (Via Whip Up.)
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31
Crafter Lee Meredith of leethal.net likes to shake things up at home with her furry kitty and crafty assistant, Banzo.
Name of Pet: Garbanzo (we call her Banzo or Foofer...)
Pet Type: Shelter kitty.
Favorite activity: Chasing the mysterious red light that comes out of the laser pointer.
Favorite food: Natural Purrz Tender Chicken "healthy moist cat treats"
What does your pet do when you are crafting? Usually finds a place to flop down near me and watch but pretends she doesn't care at all and it's just a coincidence that she's there. Once in awhile she'll think my knitting yarn is a toy, or try to help by batting at buttons. One time she really did help me unravel a recycled sweater by pulling at the other end so I could rip it out faster and easier -- I want to train her to do that all the time!
Best thing about your pet: If she does something bad (like fish out a ball of handspun yarn and drag it across the room) and I yell at her, she goes off to sulk for a couple hours. Then she apologizes by being extra cute and purrs like crazy when I forgive her and scratch her head.
If your pet could talk, what do you think she would say? "I don't care about you at all, whatever..." then 10 minutes later "Wait, where are you going? What are you doing? Is it fun? Can I come?"
Can you share a pet tip you've learned since having your pet? In super crazy heat, wet the cat comb with cold water and brush her. The water cools her and helps shed lots of excess fur.
Jul
31
Ribbon Upholstered Chair
Filed Under Home Decor | Leave a Comment
Now here's a bright and bold way to recover a worn chair! Diana at HomeWorkshop.com shares a tutorial for reupholstering a chair with ribbons. I love it!
[ via Re-Nest ]
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31
Book Review: Digital Textile Design by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac
Filed Under Books | Leave a Comment
Computers and crafts have been converging for a very long time. The endless possibilities of the digital art world are constantly being merged into crafting, sewing, and fashion. Digital Textile Design (Lawrence King Publishers) is a new primer that takes you to the world where technology and textiles intersect. The authors, Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac, wrote 23 easy-to-follow tutorials. They cover creating custom-printed fabric, making repeating patterns using Photoshop and Illustrator, building visual elements like photographic montages, and making fashion illustrations. Everything in the book is stunning to look at, and many of the projects are inspired directly by pieces from cutting-edge fashion collections. Designers are profiled, and the world of digital crafting is explored in-depth.
The book is filled with very cool specific fashion-oriented projects. Make a cross-stitch textured pansy in Photoshop with a repeating "x" and some original art. Scan a sequin, use it to build an illustration, and then print it to an iron-on applique. Learn to tell the difference between a good pattern repeat and a bad one.
Many of the tutorials teach how to build visual images in Photoshop or Illustrator. Follow the screen caps of various tools and pallets in the software to make gingham, plaid, or complicated repeating patterns. Besides textiles, these skills and projects could easily be translated into other designs, like paper crafts or digital art.
An entire chapter is dedicated to fashion illustration, with absolutely beautiful inspirations. Digital Textile Design also contains complete explanations of different printing techniques. Bowles and Isaac explain ambitious methods, like rotary screen-printing and heat-transfer printing. They also discuss more accessible and traditional methods like woodblock printing and stenciling. For the serious artist working in a textile studio, the book has specific useful tips like a breakdown of the direct inkjet-printing process and a fascinating spread about the chemistry of applying ink to fiber.
Digital Textile Design is beyond inspiring. Novice and expert crafters alike will be enabled by this book to take their art to the next level.
Next Friday we will have a complete tutorial excerpt, with step-by-step instructions for building a custom plaid. Plaid is the hottest print for fall, and using Bowles and Isaac's instructions will guarantee success!
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31
CRAFT Video: Two Cat Toys
Filed Under CRAFT Podcast | Leave a Comment
We're celebrating pets her on Craftzine, so take a look at two easy cat toys you can make at home. One is a tassel type toy for the end of your stick/string toy, meant to be swappable with a piece of ball chain as an attachment, and the other is a crochet and needle felted catnip toy made from wool.
Subscribe to CRAFT in iTunes or download the m4v video.
Jul
31
Cat Food Wrapper Pet Collar
Filed Under Craft Projects | Leave a Comment
Cat Food Wrapper Pet Collar
by Vickie Howell
Make your eco-pet proud with this collar made out of recycled materials. By turning food wrappers and bedding pouches into neck decor, you'll find that feline fashion is in the bag!
Jul
31
Crafter Jamie Chan loves her Amazon Parrot so much, she named her indie business after her! Mary Jane's Attic was her online store for years to the point that when I first met Jamie, I thought her name was Mary Jane. Mary Jane's Attic eventually lead to her her brick and mortar fiber store, Urban Fauna Studio, located in San Francisco (1311 16th Avenue). We always knew about the great fiber, now we can find out more about Mary Jane herself!
Name of Pet: Mary Jane
Pet Type: Yellow Fronted Amazon Parrot
Favorite activity: Hanging upside down from her cage, trying to finagle peanuts from her parrot kong toy, grooming (lots of it), getting her head scratched, morning showers, and long walks on the living room carpet.
Favorite food: Chili Peppers, Strawberries and Peanuts
What does your pet do when you are crafting? Mary Jane serves as quality control officer on all Mary Jane's Attic fibers and yarns. Each piece is strictly "beak tested". She likes to unravel yarn and construct a nest from wool scraps.
Best thing about your pet: She is incredibly cheerful. Of all our pets, she is always in a good mood. Eager to greet us when we enter the room and she enjoys a good joke....even if she doesn't quite get it all.
If your pet could talk, what do you think he/she would say? Our pet can talk! Most of the time I hear her say "Hi, Hello!", "Love you baby", "Woo, woo honey" and "What?" I imagine what she would say if you had more practice is "Stop playing so much NPR....puleeaze!" since we leave talk radio on all day for her when we go to work!
Can you share a pet tip you've learned since having your pet? Well, first off watch what you say around parrots. Many can mimic you, from dirty words to bodily noises. The Amazon parrot's lifespan is 40-80 years (I've met an 85 year old Amazon) so plan to change their cage arrangement (who doesn't like to remodel?) and toys on a regular basis. Be sure to feed them lots of fresh veggies and fruits but avoid foods with caffeine, coffee, kidney beans, lima beans and avocados. These foods are dangerous for parrots. And bathe your Amazon parrot on a regular basis, it does wonders for her mood and her skin!
In Jamie's crafty news, her store Urban Fauna Studio is turning one year old soon! There will be a fun party and giveaway at the end of August. Subscribe to the mailing list or check out the Urban Fauna Studio blog for more details.
Jul
31
I'm about to step on a plane to go to this summer's Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle, and I'm so excited! You Pacific Northwesterners will be happy to hear that this huge weekend craft fair will have chilly chilly air conditioning, so come on out and beat the heat while browsing and scoring some awesome handmade crafts. There will be crafty demos for getting your learn on, and author signings for your favorite craft books. Follow UCU on Twitter to keep up with the latest happenings at the event, and tag your own tweets with #UCUsummer2009 to keep others informed of your sweet finds. Come by and say hi!
Urban Craft Uprising Summer 2009
August 1 and 2, 11am-5pm
Seattle Center
Seattle, WA 98109
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31
Fall Crafternoons at NYC Public Library
Filed Under Events | Leave a Comment
Maura Madden, author of Crafternoon: A Guide to Getting Artsy and Crafty with Your Friends All Year Long, and Jessica Pigza, The Handmade Librarian, have just announced that they will be hosting a series of Crafternoons this fall at the historic NYC Public Library. I can't imagine a better way to spend a cozy New York fall Saturday afternoon than crafting with friends in such a cool location. Check out a list of dates and get them marked on your calendar now!
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