Guest blog / Julia Black: Me & Minagraphy

Julia Black: Photographer Mina Georgescu first got hold of a plastic panoramic camera as a child growing up in Romania, and I'm very thankful she never let it go. Sure she has a nicer camera these days, but it is her youthful eye that's definitely behind her magically captured moments. Mina’s latest collection, Coney Island and Other Magical Places, is a series of nostalgic snapshots that romanticize our memories of hot summery trips to the beach and time spent munching candy corn while riding a ferris wheel. The sensational textures, saturated hues and softly blurred motion make her modern-vintage prints perfectly refreshing (kind of like a cool glass of old fashioned lemonade!). I’ve ordered a set for my cottage, and I’m pretty sure they’d make a wonderful gift for a summer wedding (or two) that I have pencilled in on my calendar. You can shop Mina’s prints here on Etsy, and be sure to check out her fabulous blog too!

To read more posts from Julia click here, to check out her cool blog click here, and click here to see her new Get Fresh online videos for CTV!

3 for the framers

I could totally blow the bank on artwork, and have fortunately/unfortunately found someone new on Etsy to jones over. I don't know much about Hocus, except she has a bit of a thing for vintage Danish pottery, and that she (?) is a designer/illustrator based in Toronto. Her work is sweet, but not too sugary, and I love all the textures and detail in each piece. Below you'll find all three of her limited edition, signed and numbered prints - Key Finder, Feathers and Snyder Goes For Walkies. For my money I think they'd all look brill in simple white gallery frames, hmmm, now to find a spare wall to hang them...

Say hello to Helen

I've kind of secretly been a fan of Helen Acraman's work, and now everyone and their magazine reading best friend knows, since I blabbed about it in the Jan '09 issue of Canadian House & Home. So much for keeping secrets, lol.

Helen's artwork is storybook cool, bright, happy and quirky; it's just the thing to give a blah wall a decorative slap in the chops, and is waaaay affordable too. A fresh green 20 is all you'll need to score one of her limited edition prints, and that's pretty unbeatable if you ask me - I bet one of her works would make the perfect prezzie either for someone on your list over the hols, or for a housewarming bringalong. Check out Helen's Etsy shop here (her seller name is zukzuk) and click here to take a boo at her sweet blog.

     

With thanks from a Cephalopod

In such times as this (nope, I'm not going to mention the 'e' word...) it's good to remember your p's and q's; in other words, it's nice to say please and thank-you. I know, your Mum probably drummed this into you as a kid and you, like me, probably just heard blah-de-blah as she mentioned, for the zillionth time, "Say thank-you"!

Sending out a card to say thanks is, I think, one of the simplest and nicest things to do; especially this time of year. And, since we mentioned zillions, Etsy has just about that many sellers who offer mutiple letterpressed and handmade ways to say thank-you. Check out my picks below: #1 Armato Design & Press gets witty with a funny faux French thank-you. #2 Faye + Co feels posh and pretty (and comes in different colours). #3 Cracked Designs uses a cool retro phone to say it with mod style. #4 Serimony has a happy-go-lucky octopus do the work for you.

    

Paper cuts

Click on a link, and you'll never know where it might take you - That's how I ended up visiting Royal Buffet's shop on Etsy, where I was totally enchanted. Mollie Green is the delicate hand behind the charmingly ethereal handmade paper cutouts, garlands and mobiles made of vintage French magazines and record albums. The Lady and Gentleman mobile is one of her latest pieces and a total favourite (love the scatter of butterflies over each figure), you'll see it below, along with a couple of playfully crafted paper garlands too. Just darling. 

 

   

Make mine red

I accidentally came across the work of Avril Loreti yesterday while I was wading through resources and trying to tie up a gazillion loose ends on features I'm working on (yes, I'll e-mail Australia to see if I can get a larger image of a teacup...). Honestly, checking out her witty line on Etsy was quite the welcome treat (click here to visit her Etsy store).

Anyhoo, of course I found a favourite, and while it was a toss-up between the Mustache Handkerchiefs and her Wine Ring Cocktail Napkins it was the napkins that won out. I think they'd make a brill hostess gift , plus they make me fondly remember back to when a guest managed to throw a glass of red across a freshly painted white wall. Nice.