buzzville

brought to you by...

What a busy week! As some of you may already know, superbuzzy is featured in issue 3 of Craft magazine (the Bazaar section). We couldn't be more thrilled, especially since the theme of the issue is Japan Style! I'm a huge fan of the magazine (a charter subscriber!), and I was so excited when we were contacted about this particular issue. Go snatch up your own copy to see all of the great projects! (Issues are always so diverse in content... it's a fantastic way to try out something completely new!) Here's a scan of Natalie's awesome write-up:

In other superbuzzy news, Mariko and I are gearing up for a trip to Salt Lake City for International Quilt Market May 4-6. It will be our first time to attend this monster of all fabric trade shows, so we are quite excited! If anyone has suggestions for food/shopping close to downtown, we'd love your recommendations. We won't have a car, so we'll be limited to places within walking distance. Most companies don't allow photos to be taken of the new lines, but we'll keep asking just in case! Once we get back from Utah, we'll be getting ready to launch our biggest update yet. It's pretty crazy - these latest shipments have our heart rates elevated for all the right reasons!

buried and in shock

I'm not sure how Mariko does it, but somehow she's still been getting posts into her blog the past few days. We've been thrilled with the overwhelming response to our latest superbuzzy update, and it's been all each of us can do to keep up with the many issues bound to arise with so many people visiting and shopping at the site. We are truly thankful to all of our blog friends who have supported us in so many ways, and thanks also to our new friends who have found the shop and our blogs. Mariko mentioned it today, and I totally agree - we think of everyone who comes to superbuzzy as a friend. We are definitely experiencing a few growing pains - boring ol' technical difficulties and such - so I'm planning on working to fix as much as I can this weekend. You may see the site down for a bit as I try to tinker...

In my other life, I'm currently obsessed with small appliances. Our microwave just died, and I'm excited about the prospects of buying a new one this weekend. Of course, with me it's all about the looks, but I supposed I should pay some attention to function as well, right? Does anyone have a stunning microwave that actually works? I'd love any suggestions!

But, there is more I need to share about small appliances... My dearest hubby treated me with exactly what I wanted for Christmas - a tea maker! I had been eyeing the Zarafina tea maker since I first saw it in the Sur La Table catalog, and it showed up for Christmas. Since receiving it, we've been using it at least twice a day, and it's really great. The really nice thing about it is that it has specific settings for brewing different teas (black, oolong, green, herbal, loose, bagged, etc.) at different strengths. I love that I can just select the tea, and then don't have to worry about temperature, brewing time, etc. - it does it for me! My only complaint is that it brews just 2 cups at a time, but then I realized that I seldom drink more than that in one sitting anyway. Plus, it's really a pretty cute little contraption!

And, there's yet another bit of small appliance love going on over here (weird, I know!). With some much appreciated Christmas gift money, I purchased a Scooba for myself. The Scooba is the robot mop that has changed my life. We don't have a bit of carpet in our house - most of it is tile, and then we have hardwood in the bedrooms. So, mopping and floor upkeep is a huge chore - especially given that we now have one little girl, two cats, and a dog to contend with! I've used the Roomba for quite some time to try to manage the dust bunnies, but mopping has still been a nightmare - until now! I can personally vouch that the Scooba is incredible - it does a better job than I did with my old system, and it can do it while I'm sleeping or out of the house. I'm quickly becoming a fan of gadgets that are timesavers, because goodness knows there are dozens of things I'd rather be doing than mopping!

Sorry if this post seems like a sales pitch, but I just had to share these little wonders that are making my life a bit more manageable amidst all this other insanity! At this point in my life, it's the simple pleasures (like an occasionally clean floor!) that are really making a difference!

superbuzzy interview!

I feel so silly about all of this - maybe a bit giddy?!? But, sweet Mary Jo from Trust Your Style is featuring an interview with Mariko and me on her great blog today! So, if you've ever wanted to know more about how superbuzzy got going, or goofy tidbits about me and Mariko, check it out!

last minute gift ideas?!?

I hope no one thinks this is too sneaky, but we've just updated superbuzzy with some really fantastic goodies! Here are some of my faves:

house kit

Shinzi Katoh short bag

yarn!

Shinzi Katoh trim

matryoshka patches!

As always, please drop us a line if you have a suggestion for the shop!

shopping, shopping, and more shopping!

Whew! It's been a whirlwind of activity over here... Since my last post, we took the Shinkansen to Nagoya where we met Anjali and Molly for a fantastic dinner, and then we all went out to Harb's for cake and tea/coffee. We spent the next day in Nagoya doing loads of superbuzzy business (more on all that when we get back!), and then took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo late that evening.

Yesterday was spent exploring and spending lots of money at Nippori Textile Town. We were incredibly lucky to be joined by Stefana, who is just as sweet and wonderful as you might imagine. She patiently guided us as we purchased bolt after bolt of fabric! Stefana has graciously agreed to join us again today as we head to our first day at Yokohama Quilt Week. We're not sure what to expect, but we're very excited to see what it's like. We've been snapping loads of photos, but haven't yet found a way to upload them for blogging - so we may have to wait until we get back to share all the goodness!

The US election results are exciting, and we're following the news as best we can from here. It will probably be another long day and late night tonight, but I'll try to get in another post when I can!

Big News!

It's time for me to confess that I have been keeping a secret from all of you for a long time - over a year. It's been a very tough secret to keep, and I have been close to spilling the goods many times. But, today is the day when I can finally make the announcement and introduce my biggest WIP yet!

You know how some things were just meant to go together... like peanut butter and jelly, wine and cheese, campfires and s'mores... Well, today is the big day for the best pairing yet - a special collaboration between super eggplant and buzzville! You see, Mariko and I started talking a while back about awesome Japanese fabrics, and what a shame it was that they're nearly impossible (or at least ridiculously expensive) to get our hands on. We schemed and planned, made new friends, traveled a bit, and learned a lot. After hundreds of email messages and phone calls, many longs hours of work, and becoming more than just a bit familiar with scanners, web development, and Illustrator, we bring you:

We think that superbuzzy.com will be your best source for the cutest craft supplies, including fabric, notions, and lots of other fun stuff.

But, all of this could not and would not have been possible without the help of some fantastic and savvy crafty friends. You see, superbuzzy's first purchases were sought out and hand selected in Japan by the incredible Molly and Jan, and they have been constant resources for us throughout the development process. We've also found a tremendous ally in Kat who has helped us locate resources in Japan, navigate our way through details of Japanese business, and been available at any moment to answer loads of random questions. Huge thanks to these 3 fabulous, crafty women for supporting our venture and helping it become real.

I hope you have a few moments to check out the site and let us know what you think. Although we've tested and tested, we've probably missed something, so do let us know if you find anything weird on the site. If you're interested in finding out about new items, just create an account and sign up to receive our newsletter. We're expecting 2 big shipments in the next month, so there will be even more eye candy very soon.

oh, my aching feet!

Or at least they were really hurting on Saturday... I spent the entire day pounding the carpeted halls of the LA Convention Center at the California Gift Show. While weaving my way through the seemingly endless maze of vendors, I was fascinated to see the piles of schlock that will be filling our landfills in the next year or two. Consider that many of the "shoppers" at this particular trade show are stocking their Hallmark and tourist gift shops - ugh!

BUT, there were a select few fabulous vendors there (thank you indie crafters!) who were displaying shiny, sparkly wares and were a joy to chat with. You may already know some of these folks, but here's the rundown of my favorites.

http://xyzhandbags.com/  Can you believe that she letterpresses her own papers, and then makes cards and bags out of the papers - so amazing!

http://fluffyco.com/  She does some really great screenprinting on vinyl and tees - love these hummingbird luggage tags!

http://funktionhome.com/  I've blogged about this talented couple before, and it was great to see their work in person. They manage to fit both retro and modern designs into their products, and I can't get enough of their aprons and tea towels!

http://luckylooloo.com/  These Portland-ites have the cutest little 4-month-old boy I've seen in a while! And, they are making some fantastically cool jewelry designs that I'm drooling over. Their website doesn't offer all of their amazing stuff, so see if you can find a shop for even more goodness.

http://redcapcards.com/  Created by another husband/wife team, Redcap Cards has an amazing illustration style (I could make comparisons, but I won't!). I love their cards, but they also have a line of adult and children's tees - don't you love the sea pony?!?

So, this post is my way of sending a little love to these great companies, as opposed to those that were selling freeze dried starfish souvenirs or moose figurines or bedazzled and embroidered sweatshirts from the beach town of your choice.

Shoes for Summer

Lately I've been in some sort of fog - my motivation to work for my "real" job is nonexistent, and all I want to do is craft - but when I have time to craft, I just sit and daydream about all the potential projects (oh, there are so many!). In the end, I get absolutely nothing done! I'm a list-maker by nature, so I'm trying to turn all this around by making lists of projects and just jumping in. But, I've also set a rule for myself that I must *complete* some projects before I begin new ones... I don't want to have 20 active projects - 4 or 5 is about all I'm allowing myself at the moment. So, the big problem comes when I really need to finish a project, but I just don't want to sit down and do it! N.B. the beautiful olive green sweater (my first knitted garment!) that has been sitting here, completely finished, just waiting for me to do the seaming... what's my problem?!?

So, this may seem totally unrelated, but somehow the changing temperatures and the prospects of summer have given me a jolt. Last weekend I went out to do some shopping. My goal was to find a reasonably priced rash guard to help me avoid a summer full of sunburns (Yes, I do use sunscreen, but I always seem to miss that one tiny spot that gets horribly burned - I am of Irish descent after all!) - I didn't find the rash guard, but I did find a pair of shoes for each of us. I don't normally fixate on shoes and take pictures of them, but something about the thought of new shoes for the family was extremely pleasing.

This picture has now become a symbol for me - new shoes, new season, fresh start for all of us. This summer is going to be fantastic, and I'm going to finish ongoing projects, start new and exciting ones, and take steps toward achieving professional satisfaction. Don't get me wrong - I'm not going to be too manic! There will also be lots of time for dancing in the living room with my family, making sun tea, playing red light/green light with Brynne in the back yard, splashing around in the pool (must find that rash guard!), and eating all the berries I can! I'm so glad I'm not the only one thinking about cleaning up and fresh starts!

Mid-week madness!

I've just returned from a super fast trip to Vegas - in one day and out the next - and I'm totally wiped! I just don't think I'm built for 10 hours of driving in 2 days. In fact, I'd say that my trip to the Las Vegas emergency room is proof positive! While driving out there, I had a sudden sharp pain along the shin of my right (accelerator) leg that felt as if I had been electrically shocked. Immediately following the pain, the entire area went numb. It was pretty freaky, but I figured it was just one of those bizarre random pains we all get every now and then... But, 8 hours later when my leg was still numb I started to get a bit more worried. I called the advice nurse at the local clinic from my hotel, and she urged me to get to the emergency room immediately. I shuddered at the thought, having dealt with the excruciatingly painful ER wait times in the past, but decided I needed to take care of myself nonetheless. After 3.5 hours waiting to be seen by a doctor, I was told I had peripheral neuropathy - really just a lot of jargon for a damaged nerve that was probably a result of sitting in the same position for an extended period. The doctor seemed to think it would get better on its own as long as I took it easy on the leg for a bit. She was right - when I woke up the next morning my leg had returned to normal. I'm always annoyed by these little reminders that I'm getting older, and that maybe I'm not quite as spry as I think I am. I made it back home without further ado, although I used and abused the cruise control so that I could move my leg around a lot during the trip home. I share all of this just to remind everyone out there to take care of yourselves. I hear lots of folks who end up really, really sick because they didn't get something checked out in the beginning. My little trip to the ER was me trying to learn from the mistakes of others and try to keep an eye on what my body is doing.

I also wanted to quickly share a beautiful new online shop that has some amazingly cute handmade stuff: Mahar Drygoods. The site is beautiful, with illustrations by the incredible Jen Corace, and the carefully selected stock is really fun to browse through. Enjoy!

Some days are *really* good thrift days...

Although I don't post about my thrifting much these days, I'm out there all the time, scouring the best spots for all the fun stuff we look for: sewing and crafting goodies for me, clothes, toys and books for Brynne, and vintage synthesizers and odd electronics for Jerry. I rarely come away without anything, and some days I find armloads of amazing stuff just waiting to be re-purposed in our home.

A week ago I had a particularly good day and walked out with these:

9 volumes of The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls! These were published in 1963 "under the supervision of The Editorial Board of the University Society" and they are so cool! Each book has an inset color illustration of the cover like this:

and the end papers are fantastic:

Each volume covers different topics. At first I thought the Index, labeled the Bookshelf Parents' Guide, was intended to help parents use the books effectively, but then I flipped through this volume and realized it's actually a guide to being a parent! Certain sections will certainly come in handy for us in the future: Impudence and Disrespect; Tics, Twitches, and Other Nervous Habits; and Family Meetings to Settle Grievances.

Despite the fascinating topics in this volume, my favorite by far is Volume 5: Things to Make and Do:

Just look at some of the amazing projects:

how to make an apron, "Mexican blouse" and hat!

dollhouse project, complete with furnishings!

paper dolls and tons of different outfits!

a puppet theater!

I am totally overwhelmed with all the goodness in this book alone... it will take me forever to actually get through all of them and get cracking! If I'm really ambitious, maybe I'll try to scan some of the stuff in to share with all of you one of these days... we don't have an operational scanner at the moment, but it's on my list to get a new one!

Don't you just love thrifting?!?