...my feature in the new issue....congrats to Julie Arkell...

...seeing artists at work 
and sharing that magic...

It's days like these I am firmly reminded just how much 

I love my job...

...and how much I love the artful souls with whom I work to share what they make...not just by selling their creations via my shop, but by sharing what they do in my photos and writings.

 ...it's days like these when I am able to share what I love, that I perhaps treasure my handmade life the most.

 xo to Jo Packham for the opportunity to do a piece on Julie Arkell in the new issue of Where Women Create magazine...

 ...and of course, a huge thanks to my long time pal across the many miles....thanks go to you, Julie Arkell, for sharing your style, your artistry and a peek at your utterly amazing studio and workspace...

I've worked with Julie for about a dozen years now, selling her art on my site...and her work brings me such joy...it's has a certain magic....

The cover of the new issue 

looks like this...

 

Hope you can pick up a copy and enjoy a browse...there are so many great stories in this issue...

xo Jen

...gotta love LOOP! I NEED MORE TIME TO KNIT!!!

I really wish I had more time to knit...

I really do....and a visit to LOOP in the Islington section of London made me fell that all the more...

 On my way to a photo shoot at the studio of artist friend Julie Arkell I walked by the shop in Camden Passage...it is incredible. I had heard of it over the years and knew that Julie taught there off and on...

WOW

Two steps in the door and I was in a swoon...

Yarn...Yarn everywhere and no time to knit!!!

We really had a great time...browsing the patterns and wool...the wool...the WOOL!!!

(BTW follow me on Instagram if you like visual peeks at my adventures  @jensearthangels)

I was with artist Letty Worley and amazing friend and style-setter, Rosanna De Bellis...

and we had a blast browsing...and yes, a little SHOPPING too!

 I loved every nook and corner...

 Buttons galore!

 I also picked up this book....

and hope to visit more of the shops featured when I am in London next year...

If you are in London...it is well worth a visit...it's close to the Angel Tube Station...

Have fun!

Here's their Website:

http://www.loopknittingshop.com/

 

xo Jen

...AWAY...we go...with Julie

It must be that she makes me see the world a little differently, 

or maybe see the sweeter and bittersweet sides 

with equal consideration and kindness...

...but I am simply smitten with the new, and happily imperfect and utterly charming things that have arrived from Julie Arkell's London studio....

I have worked with Julie for so many years now...is it 10 or 12...

and in that time, I am still consistently amazed 

when I hold one of 

her creations in my hand...

the lovingly hand built paper mache

the simply stitched pinafores...they send me

I could live in a house just like this...simple and sweet

...here are some of my faves from the new grouping...
all are characters that spring from her new book "AWAY"...or are inspired by her new explorations from current projects...
 
and yes, copies of her first book "HOME" are back in stock... along with the new book...though availability is limited...

details on all of these and more are on her pages of the site...CLICK HERE

Thanks Julie for this wonderful new grouping of work...

it's an honor to work with you

xxoo Jen

hello Monday...hello HOME...hello AWAY

 

...hello Monday posts are something I have been doing for some time now linking up with my friend Lisa Leonard and her fab-u-lous blog...

feel free to leave your BLOG link in a comment...how about some hellos...

 

My friend and Earth Angels' artist Julie Arkell has just released her second book..."AWAY"....a most lovely and fitting companion to her frist self-published book, "HOME"...

 

I adore everything about Julie's work. Her winsome and whimsical creatures, her love of timeworn fabrics, her sense of texture...sigh.

Hello Monday and hello putting this sweet and petite tome at the top of my reading list. Here's just a little peek:

Hello to wintery days and curling up with all those books on my "to read" pile...it's been too cold to even ski some weekends, so we've been baking and reading...and reading and baking!

Hello Julie, I miss you...

Here's a total throw back pic of Julie and I at a NY show about 10 years ago...I miss her trips over here...she's too buys these days teaching in the UK and France...

Hello to the few remaining copies of "HOME"...

we only have 6 left of Julie's first book... details here....

 

Hello to discovering things...we've FINALLY finished with inventory and have fond some wonderful things...now to photo them and get them to the site!

 Hello to being cozy at home...what a winter this has been!

Hello to catching up after the recent trip...Florida was great fun! What a wonderful show...thanks to all at the Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery for making it possible...

Hello to all of you and have a great week!

xxoo Jen

a glimpse of magic

I've known Julie Arkell a long time...

long enough to know that she doesn't quite see 

the world the way the rest of us do.  

She sees it in colors and textures that feel like they are left over from a childhood, but not just the  childhood of her own lifetime, but one that is older and sweeter in memory that hers and mine put together...

 

The beautiful thing about an artist creating...

I believe it far surpasses the object they create; 

the beauty is in their capacity to share the way they see things with us. 

And in that glimpse you can catch the whiff of magic.

 As ever I am honored and thrilled to share Julie's work with our customers and her collectors...at this point, Julie's work is harder than hen's teeth to get from her...she is so busy teaching she does not have as much time to creat as she -- or I -- would like. But I love that she share her talents...did you see the recent article in PRIMS featuring Julie?? It was a treat...

And have you seen her pages on the site...

It's just been loaded with some wonderful works we have to share...some even at promo pricing, which is nice for us to be able to do...

To take a peek...CLICK HERE....

 

 these two sisters are my personal faves...I want a bunny-eared hat like this!

 ...of course this 3 piece set takes the cake...

 ...and her brooches are fab too...

...thanks Julie for sharing your peek at the planet...

I adore it as much as I adore you...

 xxoo Jen