Heartful Handmade Blog

timeless beauty in a nature-inspired silk scarf

Yuh Okano is an award-winning Japanese textile artist who I featured in my recent handbags collection.  Okano works the shibori style of fabric dying.  Shibori is an elegant Asian form of what we in the west call tye-dying.  Fabrics are skillfully twisted, folded, compressed, and otherwise contorted to allow patterns to emerge in the dyed cloth.  Okano says her handmade textiles are inspired by a deep fascination with nature and, as a fan of her work, I find that entirely believable.  Her color combinations and surface textures give her designs an organic quality with a sense of elegant timelessness.  They are thoroughly modern, but with a traditional beauty that will never go out of style.  Some of her scarves are currently featured on the Heartful News page.  You can follow this link to check out these gorgeous Yuy Okano silk scarves.

sweet little soft and swingy pleated blouse

Is this the sweetest looking  little pleated blouse in the world, or what?  You can wear it loose and swingy as shown here, or you can tuck it or belt it to create a soft blouson effect, or adjust the straps to raise or lower the neckline.  It's versatile.  It's one those cherished garments that stays in your wardrobe for years.  100% soft matte finish silk, it comes in coral, blush, or black, sizes 2 through 10.  Its Brooklyn, New York, based creator, Alexandra Grecco, has a totally fetching collection of softly feminine, irresistably romantic dresses, blouses, skirts, swimwear, and accessories inspired by femmes fatales from 20s and 30s era movies.  Consider this a trailer.  Now click on over and check them all out now.  The pictured size 6 pleated coral blouse is ready to ship now for $110.

P.S.  Here's an interview with Alexandra Grecco from the Etsy blog.

cool new fashion slide show at heartful village

These very unusual gorgeous hand earrings by Thomas Mann are just one example of the cool handmade products sliding through the new Heartful Village fashion slide show.  Handmade art clothes, accessories, and jewelry are added and updated all the time, and you can also choose to view just jewelry or just clothes.  So click on over and check out the new Heartful Village fashion slide show now.

comfy casual wide legged railroad pants

I love these wide-legged railroad pants.  They have a classy classic stylish funky vibe that conjures up images of Marlene Dietrich playing a California Gold Rush saloon. These pants work well with the fitted wrap top shown, and they will work equally well with a plain cotton tank or a simple crew neck sweater.  They're versatile.  The ones shown here  are constructed of a medium weight 100% cotton Italian striped denim, but you can also get them in black.  Sharon, at Fine Threadz in Houston, makes them in small, medium, and large (sizes 6 to 16), and, for an additional charge, she'll even make a pair customized to your exact measurements.  Besides these pants and assorted leggings, Fine Threadz also has lots of comfy casual tops, dresses, jackets, and skirts.  And that's not all, Sharon also makes some really cool leather bags and belts.  So click on over to Fine Threadz and check them all out now.  These pants are $90.

a scarf that's a trip to the beach

Long, flowing scarves are a staple in any serious wardrobe.  That's because they bring a sense of high style to pretty much anything:  Jeans, dresses, coats, jackets, whatever you're wearing gets kicked up a notch or two with the addition of a nice full nicely made scarf.  Like this nice big beach of a scarf.  It's 21 x 90 inches of thin tie dyed cotton in varying shades of pale green that remind me of the colors of water and foam and sun and sand at Carmel beach at high noon in July.  And the leather lasso that comes with it adds a bit of the rocks and surrounding cypress trees.  The set is available from Scout and Catalogue in Toronto, where you'll find plenty more nice big scarves, along with some very nice bags.  So click on over and check out Scout and Catalogue now.  This scarf and leather lasso set is $118.

beautiful mysterious hand-knitted floppy brim hat

My daughter-in-law told me today that Yokoo is now making totes, so I went over to check them out.  And Yokoo's new totes are really nice and one will be featured in a separate post.  But I got sidetracked when this beautiful big brimmed floppy hat called out to me by name as soon as I hit the site.  This is a perfect hat for sunny days because it shades your face and neck nicely (while also giving you a bit of intriguing and mysterious style).  When the sun goes down, just roll the brim up along the front or sides or in back (get creative) and you're ready for a an evening on the town.  Besides this lovely spring-like oatmail, Yokoo gives you a choice of  26 other yarn colors to choose from.  So click on over and check this floppy brim weekend hat now.  $55.

big pretty lightweight paisley bag

When I came across Laura Good's shop Hier Apparel it was love at first sight, because this shop is stocked with my kind of stuff:  Comfortable tops that can be layered, big roomy  bags, unusual dresses, interesting made-to-order jewelry.  If you've got the shoes, you can find everything else here.  I love it when I find a shop where I can't decide what to feature.  I was back and forth between this jacket, this cardigan, and the pictured Obi Sling Bag.  The bag won out because it hit so many of my personal buttons:  It's big enough to carry a load (traveling, shopping), the paisley design (I love paisley), it's lightweight (no need to start with a load when you're carrying a load), and it will drape beautifully when near empty.  So click on over to Hier Apparel and check it out for yourself.  $90.

an eco-friendly multi-styled hemp jacket

I'm a fan of hemp clothing.  I love the way it drapes, the way it keeps you cool in summer heat, and how it develops character with age.  Andrea, at Gaia Conceptions in Greensboro, North Carolina, creates some really magical hemp/organic cotten dresses, tops, skirts, and pants.  She works with high quality locally sourced fabrics.  And, after constructing the garment, she hand dyes it using eco-friendly tints and methods.  And Andrea's garments are really special because she has a way of designing multiple styles into a single piece.  Take, for example,  these two views of her Snap Wrap Jacket.  One view shows the front panels left unsnapped and hanging freely.  In the other, the panels are crossed and snapped behind the neck beneath the generous hood.  They can also be snapped at the back of the waist for yet another look. And this is just one of many such clever, practical, and gorgeous pieces in hemp, organic cotton, organic wool, and raw silk.  And Andrea will custom fit them to your exact measurements and specifications.  So click on over to Gaia Conceptions and check out all the cool clothing.  This jacket is $165. 

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Gaia Conceptions is also in Handmade Lookup.

bright, cheerful, cozy red hand printed scarf

This lovely scarf is made from a wool knit fabric that was screen printed and then sewn into a tube so the design is always on the outside.  The tubing also provides extra warmth by creating a layering effect.  At a generous 70" long, this scarf can be worn wrapped and cozy or loose and drapy, so it'll carry you right through winter  into early spring.  It was created by Kelly Massey in her Los Angeles studio and you'll find more unique scarves in her shop Pretty Penny Designs.  This one is $55.

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Pretty Penny Designs is also in Handmade Lookup.

luminous hand-dyed silk and steel fiber scarf

This beautiful scarf is made from a handwoven fabric made up of organic silk with flexible strips of steel woven in.  And it has a soft silk inner-lining that was woven on the same loom.  I love this scarf's luminous glow and interesting textures.  The Toronto-based designer who created it, Sapna Vimal, only works with high-quality handwoven fabric that she hand-dyes and fashions into lovely garments and accessories.  Her shop, Nature Roots, just opened last month, but if current inventory is an indicator, it's one to keep an eye on.  This scarf is $45.