How pretty is this dish set from Rosanna, Inc. She offers a variety of mix and match dishes and glassware to liven up the table top. This Bohemian tabletop set would make a really cute wedding present. The plates are made of refined porcelain and are dishwasher and microwave safe. Each set comes in a pretty gift box with 6 dessert plates for $60 and 6 dinner plates for $100.

I spotted ceramic artist Mae Mougin’s hand made porcelain pieces in the most recent Domino and quickly added her monogrammed plates to my wish list. Summering in the Hampton’s? Yeah me neither, but if you were, you can find Mae working out of her Southampton converted garage/art studio making her whimsical and homey designs. Most of her items are available on commission. Check out her website on how to contact her directly to create your next family heirloom. Aren’t these child plates the sweetest!

Feminine and sweet ceramics from Laura Blumenthal:

Sigh* I love these dainty letterpress cards from Satsuma Press:

Banana? Nope, a necklace with vintage beads rescued from a 1950’s broach by PetitOiseau:

Three crafty ladies make up The Cupcake Girls. These fabric covered acorn key rings are their latest creation:

I’m back! The hubs and I were in New Paltz, NY this weekend for my crazy, but loveable, brother-in-laws wedding. It was quite the extravaganza! One of the highlights of the weekend was the late night music jams back at the Super 8 with Jacks amazing group of friends. My face still hurts from smiling. Congrat’s to Jack & Kelly for surviving wedding planning and making it off safely to Rome last night.

We had a great couple of days and I was even able to finagle a few hours of shopping in NYC before the weekend festivities. My friend Amy and I made the most of it, zeroing in on the West Village. Here are some crappy snaps I took with my iPhone.

We got lost for almost an hour in the amazing letterpress shop Greenwich Letterpress. They carry their own line of cards and custom letterpress invitations and a huge variety of cards from other small presses around the world.

Our next stop was Lori McLean (they are working on their website), where we were dazzled by jewelry and Laura Zindel’s ceramics.

We dropped in at Kid-O where I saw these marvelous pear (la pera) and apple (la mela) prints by Italian designer Enzo Mari, the picture just doesn’t do them justice. They would look great in my dream kitchen with my Smeg refrigerator, someday…

Lastly, we unexpectedly stumbled upon Castor & Pollux where Amy and I successfully peer pressured each other into buying their gorgeous leather wallet clutch. I bought it in orange, Amy bought hers in brown. We finished off our brief shopping excursion with the most insane pretzel croissant from City Bakery! I’ll have more fun stuff later but right now I’m pooped from traveling!

Xenia Thaler is the magnificent Toronto tile design studio. They make tiles to hang on the wall and tiles to install. All the tiles are decorated by hand and all the glazes mixed from scratch. I like the idea of installing the tiles in a kids bathroom or using some of their more sophisticated designs for a kitchen back splash.

Sometimes I feel like this woman: spewing things out of my mouth, wrapped up in knots or just sad with my heart caught in my throat. These beautiful and expressive tea cups are each hand drawn by Buenos Aires artist Irana Douer and sold exclusively through Makool Loves You. Makool is my favorite online boutique of late. Check out owner Anisa’s clothing line available there as well, love love love it.

A couple of years ago while on a hike with Tia we were bitching about life when I remembered a great piece of advice Haley’s BFF Alison had given her. She said when you’re having a crappy day and you feel like being mean just remember You are a Queen, so “Wear Your Crown”. Tia loved it so much that she had a plaque made for Haley and me by the lovely and Queenly clay artist Rae Dunn. It was really perfect that Rae made them for us because her work has such a childlike, whimsical nature. Rae creates more than these little plaques she also creates beautiful vases, bowls and plates. You can find her work at her new studio Fourth & Clay in Berkeley or her Etsy site. If you ask nicely she just might make you beautiful Queen (or King) your own reminder to Wear Your Crown!

Sorry I’ve been slow to post, we just got power back today after 4 days of no electricity!! Living by candlelight was kind of romantic and it was pretty peaceful at night with no TV or computers to distract us but having no heat killed the romance pretty quickly. Thankfully I woke up at 2:30am today to the glorious sound of the heat turning on!

So back to blogging. The always inspiring Design Sponge turned me on to this gorgeous tableware by local San Francisco artist Lisa Neimeth. Her whimsical plates, bowls and platters are in such warm colors and have a rustic quality I really like. They look like something you might uncover on an archaeological dig. One of the recurring images she impresses into the thick California clay she uses is that of “the Drowning Charlotte–an early 20th century porcelain figurine that was baked into cakes. Whoever got the slice with the Charlotte had a year of good luck.” Now who couldn’t use a little bit of luck with their cake, I’ll take 2 please.

It’s becoming a tradition, at least the last couple of years anyway, my friend Tia has given me the gift of Diana Fayt’s hand illustrated calendar. I wish this picture was better so you could see the detail of the gorgeous Japanese paper they are drawn on. Here is a picture of the 2008 calendar hanging on the wall in my office.

Haley just sent me a link to ceramic artist Catherine Reece and her Village Clayworks. She is one of the many artists who will be showing their wares at the KPFA Crafts & Music Fair this weekend in San Francisco. The fair will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Concourse Exhibition Center, 8th and Brannan.

My first month in San Francisco as a wide-eyed 22 year old, my college friend Mark graciously rented me his carpeted walk-in closet. It was 1996 and we were trying to live out our Dot-com dreams in SF. Fast-forward 11 years and my old friend is now better known as the artist Mark Moskovitz, the man behind the art and design studio fiftytwothousand. Being that today is the first day of Hanukkah I thought it fitting to share his delightful and clever Kosher Plate series with the words “meat”, “dairy” and my favorite, “milk-it” in circular script. The plates are available in two sizes: dessert or dinner and three different script styles, prices $8-$18. A great gift idea!

Toronto based artists Alissa Coe and Carly Waito create small porcelain objects under the name Coe & Waito. Inspired by nature they hand finish each piece and some are embellished with silk screen decals. They have a delicate beauty and lightness I like. If you live in San Francisco you can find them at Rose & Radish or contact them directly to purchase.

Haley and I hit the SF Craft Mafia Trunk Show on Sunday to start our Christmas shopping. We met lots of great SF crafters and bought some cool things, here’s a sampling of what we liked:

3P-3 “Neat Freaks” prints (I bought the toilet seat for the hub’s bathroom)

Cara Lyndon Jewelry (we both loved her vintage glass floral earrings)

Ezme Designs (retro pottery)

My friend, the talented Mary Mar Keenan, just launched her latest and greatest ceramic venture, Purple Bird Designs! Personalized baby plates and bowls with adorable designs handmade by Mary Mar are customized with your choice of design and color. Each one is unique and such a great baby gift idea.

I know I said I was going to take a break from any and all bird designs but then I saw these gorgeous handmade ceramics by artist Polly George. Only available in white with hand applied roses, butterflies or birds, they look delicate but can be used everyday. You can send her an email to purchase or buy online from a limited supply at 2Jane.

Pretty mugs from Etsy seller Courtney Murphy Cermics. $24 bucka-roos.

I’ve been busy with my “real” job lately so I haven’t had much time to post at length. So for those of you jonesing for some new stuff here are a couple of my favorite ceramic artists that have been floating around in my favorites folder. Enjoy!

Little Flower Designs - sweet pottery by ceramic designer Linda Johnson - she also offers a wedding registry.

Shoshanna Snow Ceramics - One of my favorite new artists from Etsy.

Mothers Day is upon us so here’s a great gift sight to help you shop, Delight! Delight is brought to you by the ladies behind delightfulblogs, which is a great sited devoted to helping you navigate the blogesphere. At Delight they have a new feature everyday whether it’s free shipping, a discounted item or a free gift, you need only check after noon central to see what their daily offer is. Under their 30-day store I found these Rae Dunn birdhouses and these adorable reusable grocery bags, get over there before they sell out!

Cul De Sac is the online gallery for Vancouver ceramic artist Laura McKibbon. Her work is available in a variety of colors and images. I like the gun dish, it’s so unexpected.

Simon Pearce is some of the finest glass and pottery being made today. Simon is a real person from Ireland with a workshop in Vermont and boutique shops around the country (there is a new one on Fillmore St. in SF). I have a bridal shower this weekend and was perusing the website when I came across their new line of pottery lamps. I really like the simple designs and glazes. This picture below is of my favorite pitcher, the Windsor pitcher.

Classic Modern is a UK based shop selling retro textiles, rugs, lighting and ceramics from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Most of the items are from Danish and Scandinavian mid-century modern designers. I noticed alot of Royal Copenhagen from Denmark and cool Swedish textiles. Each item is one of a kind so check often since they sell out quick.

Speaking of vintage shopping, another fave is Enoki World. You can find vintage clothes and accessories from Pierre Cardin, Oscar de la Renta, Halston, Hermes and Bottega Veneta to name a few. Definitely not cheap but if you look hard there is always a deal or two.

I managed to drag the hubs out for some house shopping on Saturday with a strict 2 hour deadline. My time ran out before we could hit the mother of all stores Home Depot, but we hit Bed Bath and Beyond, and an awesome furniture store Via Diva in San Rafael where we finally found the bookcases we’ve been searching for! Anyway now I want to add some knick knackery to the new bookcases so I went to Jonathan Adler’s fabo website. I have been a fan of his pottery since my art consulting days back in 2000 and I bought my first Adler menagerie pieces (2 fish) with my 2003 bonus. These are my four favorites from his menagerie collection and I’d like to buy one. What say you?

Don’t you get such a peaceful, zen-like feeling from Sara Paloma’s stunning pottery? Sara is another local potter with a live/work studio in Emeryville, CA. Check out her website for where to purchase.