Saana Sipilä and Olli Sallinen are a couple from Finland who met at a music festival, started dating, studied textile design together and then launched a range of sustainably produced textiles under the name Saana ja Olli. for their new collection Olli cites the influences of small town living as a great inspiration, as well as the 90s TV show Northern Exposure which left a lasting impression on him. you can buy all their wares at their online shop.
The Villi Pohjola collection (lit. The Wild Northland) is inspired by days spent in a summer house in the Finnish archipelago. The closeness of the sea and small dreamy seaside towns influenced the hand drawn print.
i’ve been seeing Sophie Duran‘s work around the internet for a while now, so i was thrilled when she got in touch to tell me about her new print collection Undiscovered Wonders of the World.
Created out of self made photographes, old travel books and minerals, these unknown mysterious worlds are open to multiple interpretations. Inspired by Celtic, Norwegian, Indian and Greek ancient stories, every landscape has a name that gives slightly a clue of where you could explore it. All prints are digitally printed at the Audax Textile Museum Tilburg and CATDigital Glasgow, Scotland. As a material I used silk velvet and crepe de chine. The velvet gives vibrance to the colours and makes the landscapes look three-dimensional. Crepe de chine gives a lightness and sophisticated feeling to the prints. The designs are presented as scarfs (135cm x 135cm), finished with a 925 silver detail.
i’m thinking about christmas already. sigh. my family has instituted a one gift per person R100 limit (to combat the “meltdown“). i told them R100 is almost impossible, so i’m shooting for under 200 bucks. anything handmade is great to me, and anything i can order online is even better. if i can walk to a shop – wonderful, but that kind of limits you geographically & since i’m out in “the sticks” (as some might say) i welcome e-commerce with open arms (i’m also lazy). PLUS i’d also like to inject some christmas cheer into the south african postal service (i have faith!) – herewith my south african friendly online shopping gift guide
local shops:
marisa girardi- take it from me, you’ll be hard pressed in finding a lovelier and more accommodating person to buy from! marisa made my couchie especially and popped him in the post the same day he was ordered. she also has a range of jewellery, brooches & art.
skinny la minx – well known local designer whose textiles have been featured many times on blogs like design sponge, decor8 and many more. her shop is on etsy, but if you’re south african you can get in touch with her directly about local orders
the wren – handmade bags & purses (also on etsy & flexible with south african customers)
beatnik bazaar – hells yes, a wide range of beautiful goodies from this stanford based shop (order by email) – if you’re in that area i reckon actually paying her shop a visit is a good plan, too (note: she also stocks skinny laminx & the wren goods)
jezze prints – another uber talented local designer (looooooove that cushion)
kim gray- i absolutely covet the springbok bags, but budget wise there are some nice necklaces & other treats for under R200 (she also stocks smith’s rosebud salve! nice!)
shine shine – i’m not 100% sure if you can order online but the fabrics are rad
franzart – my sister in law sells her wee oil paintings on bid or buy – they are cute & well-priced. (not much in the shop right now, but do contact her if you see something you like in her sold items or if you want something specific)
buycool – there is nothing handmade about this shop, but it stocks earphones under R200. i always lose or break mine, and my iPod deserves to be heard (can’t do without it on a treadmill, hence the sporty clip type). wait… am i buying gifts for myself? ok you can buy it for me.
threadless – they deliver to SA and their prices are so reasonable considering the quality of the t-shirts you get (american apparel – they are very soft, trust me) and also the choice of designs are immense. (a wee bit over R200 if you incl shipping, i’ll give you that. buy in bulk?) etsy- you’re probably thinking “obvious”, but you can’t beat it for one of a kind affordable products & great interaction between sellers and customers. i think just about everyone on etsy ships internationally – so go forth & have fun buying. i have my eye on the following:
engrave your book- double my budget, but still awesome. these are custom engraved leather covers for moleskines, perfect for writers, artists, scribblers and anyone else who loves a good journal.
victoria’s secret – i’m really only including this because they have some amazing swimwear (something i feel is difficult to find here – nice swimwear anyway) and it’s around $20 (R150) for each piece (they sell them seperately, so let’s say R300-400 for a swimsuit) and they ship here so… why not? maybe go in on one parcel w/a friend – the more items in one order the less the shipping works out (also eco footprint etc!) and lest you forget, it’s summer in the southern hemisphere (for all of you who might think i’m crazy to consider swimwear in the holiday season)
wow i might have to do a second installment of this gift guide as i haven’t even touched on some of the stuff available online (i don’t mean everything – only the places that ship to SA). i also realised that it’s all things i love – for chicks. so, if you’re a dude, buy nice things for your girlfriend and/or mom – okay? i might have to focus on something for guys, next time. playstation games and leather-bound books? wait, that’s also stuff i love.
