100 great artists @ etsy you might want to visit…
So last week I got the most crazy idea that I would compile a list of 100 artists @ Etsy and I immediately set to work.
I wanted to write a few words about the “why” & “how” of the affair, but I realized nobody would actually care, so to keep things simple let’s just say that I have discovered many great and talented artists through Etsy, and it is getting more and more difficult each day to browse through their shops since there is no way to tag or organize your favorites into categories on the site and I figured a “memo” or “post-it” article would be of great use, not just for me or for people already familiar with Etsy, but also for people who would like to discover new artists but do not have the time to extensively browse the internet or Etsy for that matter….
too young to die
“Too Young To Die” Ashtray™ – Yoshitomo Nara
So this is Day One of “At last you won’t risk getting lung cancer from spending too much time in a café-bar-restaurant-nightclub-pick your choice here” in France and what with the big fuss around that and the so predictable reports on the radio – I don’t watch the news on TV anymore, I got spare the smokers vs non-smokers images – but what it really made me think about this morning waking up was this ashtray based on a painting Yoshitomo Nara made in 2001. (I wonder however whether anyone has ever used the thing as an actual ashtray…)
Anyway, besides the other well-known figures made from Yoshitomo Nara’s work, the PupCup™ and the Little Wanderer™ – my favorite one so far – I recalled that this year another figure in a Limited Edition of 300 had been released by How2Work. It’s called “Sleepless Night” (sitting), retail price was HK$7800 (around EUR 730 or US$ 1,000 at the time back in July), but even though you might have had the money it was still a tough job to get one. But the only thing that really matters is that it is amazingly and breathtakingly beautiful.
“Sleepless Night” (sitting), Yoshitomo Nara, 2007
However, if you happen to be interested in the financial aspects relative to art, while researching for this article – believe it or not I do research before writing – I found out that there has been a recent auction at Sotheby’s Paris about Contemporary Art and that number 276/300 of “Sleepless Night” sold there for 9,850 euros (14,415 US$).
Yoshitomo Nara @ Blum & Poe + Yoshitomo Nara on Flickr
Shopping @
Addict Galerie + Artoyz + Giant Robot + Inhabit [Canada] + Little Fashion Gallery + Museum of Contemporary Art [Chicago] + My Plastic Heart + Raw Space [Australia] + retromodern.com + unicahome
blythe fashion : elegance & style
I LOVE NY 3 piece Weekend Outfit For Blythe + Black and White Chanel type Dress by RLKATAJA.
I was not too much in the mood for writing in this blog these days, but as I was browsing through Etsy last week for Blythe stuff I entered rlkataja’s shop and the beauty and coherence of her world made me want to devote an article to her creations alone. I had already made a few of her outfits my favorites, but seeing now more of her talents it seemed obvious that what she is really doing is more than just “sewing dresses”.
The great majority of people who make doll outfits – even the talented ones – will usually have a limited number of patterns that they will decline in a variety of fabrics. Such is not the case with Robin Kataja. When we enter her shop we discover what can be called a “Collection” in the Couture or Prêt-à-Porter sense of the word. It seems as if her Blythe girls were nostalgic for those days when fashion shows took place in the cosy atmosphere of Parisian salons where someone would introduce every outfit by its number and an evocative or presumably poetic name, thoses days when women – some women I should say – would wear something different for every occasion, so that wardrobes included cocktail party dresses, afternoon dresses, evening dresses, interior gowns, outfits for the countryside and so on and so on, and “Oh my, but what shall I wear for that barbecue the Johnsons have just invited us to ?”…
Vintage Fabric Farmer Country Girl Dress 3 piece + Chevron Striped Sporty Dress
I love rlkataja’s sense of fashion. I used the word “nostalgic” because her photographs bring to my mind images of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly and those wonderful movies by Vincente Minelli and Douglas Sirk, but her creations seem to be very modern to me. She is not trying herself at the “retro” or “vintage” imitation of clothes that we so often see in the world of Blythe. Her Blythe girls clearly state their love of fashion and style and let’s be elegant no matter what but it could as well be in the way a Carrie Bradshaw does. They have learned from the past and have retained their lessons in how to be chic and stylish at all times but they are from their time.
Indeed, her choice of fabrics is outstanding and definitely modern. I was wondering whether Robin Kataja got the idea for an outfit from a particular piece of fabric or if she decided on a certain pattern and went on to find the perfect fabric for it, but the truth is every one of her creations seems to be made for one and only one fabric. Look at that “Dots Candyland Party Dress” for instance. Polka dots are a great classic among Blythe dressmakers, however hers is so very nice and so unique. And what she makes of it is divine. And the “Black and White Striped Pleated Dress” on the left is perfection itself.
Black and White Striped Pleated Dress + Dots Candyland Party Dress
You may have noticed I did put some images of “sold” items like that “Black and White Striped Pleated Dress” just above but she says she can make some of her “sold” outfits again providing she still has the fabric of course. And anyway I did want to show a fair amount of her creations so that it would be obvious to anyone how imaginative and creative she was. She has the most wonderful tee-shirts with Marimekko prints on them, a very cute Pink Lace Babydoll Mini dress, and even though lace is definitely not my thing I like the dress as well as the Celery Green Garden Party one. I particularly liked the two dresses below.
Grey Mod Mini Dress For Blythe + Red Stripe Cafe Dress For Blythe
She has very recently added some new creations that are a bit more glamorous like that Hollywood Glamour Leopard Dress Fur Shrug and that OOAK Raspberry coat with an absolutely beautiful interior lining (click on the link to see a photo of the lining) :
Brilliant Raspberry Mod Wool Ruffle Coat OOAK
Now I am not sure just how many people actually read what I write but it has been such a pleasure writing this that I know I will look forward to rlkataja’s future creations for Blythe.