Ball and Chain

Oh, man, do these pendents by Ball and Chain make me happy? They sure do.

Latest Etsy Loves

In the past, I've told you about The Black Apple, Bonspiel Creations and Hollyhawk Handmade Leather. Figured it was time to tell you about a few new kids who have caught my eye. Say hello to:

ORNO (the all-caps is their idea)


Blueberry Bandit:


And Pop Pictures:

Etsy Releases the Artists, Artisans and Crafters

It does, it does. Which is awesome, but also problematic. If there was one thing that I could change about Etsy, it's to be able to filter members by Country. Because me? I like to support local artists, if possible. And also, I hate having to deal with duties and taxes that come with cross-border shipping.

That being said, my current favourite Etsy stores belong to Victoria, BC-based leather artisans:

• Bonspiel Creations
• Hollyhawk Leatherwork Designs

I love Bonspiel's prints and amazing use of colour, and am THIS CLOSE to asking her to custom make me a purse with theme there lovely owls at the top of this post.

I am also pretty down with Hollyhawk's leather cuffs. Leather cuffs! Brings me back to my indie rock roots. If indie rock was played in the middle of a forest. With an audience comprised of corduroy and backpack wearing birds.

Oh, there's one more thing that I would change about Etsy. I would wish that they'd set up RSS feeds for each shop so I could be notified of additions to my favourite stores instead of having to continually having to come back to visit them. But that's just because I am demanding. And a geek.