5 Weekend Project : Brass Chandelier

Perhaps you've seen this DIY already, but just in case not, here's a pretty amazing chandelier DIY from the folks at One Kings Lane.  Stylist Megan Pflug offers up a step-by-step guide on how to make this beautiful brass piece inspired by a design by Københavns Møbelsnedkeri. She mentions she put this beauty together in less than an hour and that it was just like playing with tinker toys! Apparantly the hardest part is ordering the brass pipe parts. Get the how-to by clicking here.  Via Hodge Podge.

11 Deeply Saddened and Let's Help

I only heard today the tragic news about Whip Up's Kathreen who sadly lost her life while swimming with her partner Rob Shugg who is still missing at Coral Bay, Western Australia.  Kathreen and Rob were swimming, while their children were visiting friends on the beach when somehow something went terribly wrong.  And now their two beautiful children, Otilija and Orlando are without their parents. I can't imagine what their family is going through.

Kathreen was one of my first blog acquaintances back when I started Poppytalk in 2005 and we collaborated at times, guest blogged for one another and supported each other's blogs up until this terrible news.  I had just emailed her asking if I could interview her about their family adventure, which if you were following like me on her instagram, was an amazing one with her husband and two children.  She emailed back, "would love to"! And I was just starting to think up questions to send her way.  So of course when I heard this terrible news, I was quite simply devastated and cannot stop thinking about it.

As a parent, I feel quite compelled to help her children.  And the global community has already risen to the ocassion.

I take these words from Pip Lincolne's blog post about this:

"If you'd like to do something to help, please head here. The family has consented to a trust being set up for Otilija and Orlando, Kathreen and Rob's much travelled, awesome kids. It's something we can all contribute in a small (or large) way at a time when many of us are feeling a bit powerless.

Kathreen was a blogging pioneer in Australia. A champion of handmade and a founding pillar of the craft movement here in Australia (with a reach that was undeniably global.) She profiled countless crafters and artists through her amazing blog Whipup and the books she wrote. Her voice will be sadly missed, but not forgotten."

Our hearts go out to their family. So unfair. So so tragic.

UPDATE: You can now contribute via PayPal. The email address is otilijaandorlando@gmail.com. Hopefully this will remove some of the international barriers that have been encountered.

1 For the love of Chinatown, come to the Night Market!

As mentioned earlier this month Poppytalk will have a Pop-Up shop at the Chinatown Night Market this summer and although the official grand opening is June 1st with all it's pomp and circumstance, the actual market opens tonight and we'll be there rain or shine!

As mentioned on their site, "The Chinatown Night Market is bringing a heady mix of time-honoured tradition and new school flavour to the festivities on Keefer Street this summer! "Along with epic ping-pong tournaments and outdoor classic movie screenings, there will also be a group of us new vendors selling hand-crafted treasures, homemade pie and things like Hainanese chicken!

The Chinatown Night Market will take place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. starting May 17th through September 8th, rain or shine! It’s located on Keefer Street between Main & Columbia. Vancouver, B.C.  For more info about the market, click here!

Hope to see you there!

4 Love the Sea + Mountains | West Elm + Etsy Pop-Up Shop

I'm getting really excited for the upcoming Etsy + West Elm Pop-Up Shop happening next Saturday, May 25th. I dropped by for a preview Wednesday nite and the store is looking so summery and pretty (think sunsets and lots of flowers)! I wanted to take everything home with me.  We wanted to give you all a sneak peek of the Etsy shops we curated for the event. West Elm is so supportive of local makers across all of their stores in the U.S., here in Canada and now in Australia and so I'm honoured to have been asked to curate a unique collection for this special day. Fun too, how things come together and you find common denominators. As I was looking through all the Etsy shops participating, I found a connection running through many of them; the sea and the mountains. How fitting for the west coast, and both such great themes for summer. Let's take a look!

1. Whale Cards | Blue Spoons Paper
2. Anchor Cufflinks | Cabin + Cub
3. Anchor Notecards | Banquet
4. Sculpted Clay Elements | Marian + Hazel
5. Nautical Sailboat Organic Bib | Down Home Amy

  

6. Swim | Pinecone Camp (Janis Nicolay)

7. Happy Father's Day Card | The Beautiful Project

8. Welt Cord Baskets | Landon Dix

9.    Volcano Postcards | Lemonni
10.  Geometric iPhone Cases | Fieldtrip
11.  Thank You CArds | Think Ink Studio
12.  Beeswax Birthday Candles | Noble Beeswax Candles
13.  Painted Chopstix | Storiebrooke

There will also be a selection of food and houseware related items at the west elm market (next door) featuring  The Pink Peppercorn,  Lulu Island Honey and Feest Home.

I hope you can join us and support all these handmade artists/designers. Here's the info:  Saturday, May 25 from 1pm – 6pm at west elm and west elm market (right next door), in Vancouver. Each of the featured Etsy sellers will be set up within the west elm store to share and sell their homegoods, jewelry, stationery and more. Special cupcakes and treats from Butter Baked Goods will be there too!  Please  RSVP at facebook.com/westelm/events .

~Jan

15 Pretty Cakes

Chatelaine Magazine is celebrating 85 years this month and featured some very pretty cakes to celebrate!  They transformed four of their best-ever cakes into stunning works of art (that are apparently easy to make too). Check out how to ice them from videos they've posted online. (F above): Vanilla Cake in Pink Ombre,  (below) Cherry Cake with Marzipan Roses, Double Chocolate Espresso Cake and  Guinness Fudge Cake with Cloud Icing. Photographs by Colin Faulkner | Food Styling by Ashley Denton, Irene Ngo and Kristin Eppich.  I picked up my Chatelaine on Zinio.com yesterday.

Update:  Props were source/styled by Emma Reddington, she talks about where she sourced them on her blog today - click here to read.