[uhp-steyt fan-see] - adjective

1. not exorbitant or extravagent by city standards, however in a rural setting (like upstate new york) it is in fact, quite fancy.

2. a wonderful blog dedicated to art, design and other things that are indeed upstate fancy.

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Sep
30 design
A VISUAL WAY to look at your space

This morning I found myself out of space. Not physical space actually, but virtual space on my imac. As an artist I always find visual representations easier to follow and understand than numbers. So, thank goodness for Grand Perspective! This handy program scans your hard drive, or really any folder you want, and then gives you a handy visual representation of what is taking up space where. If you click on any of the colored boxes it will let you view the actual files in your finder and you can choose to trash them, keep them, or back them up. It’s such an easy way to free up some much needed space. As much as I like Grey’s Anatomy, today they will now live on on a backup drive instead of taking up precious harddrive space.

Sep
25 art
GREMLINS, GOONIES & GHOSTBUSTERS

So I am a little late on posting this but I have just been catching up with whats been going on with my favorite West Coast galleries. Gallery 1988 just had an awesome show called 3G, featuring art inspired by three of my favorite 80’s movies. My favorite peices were these technology pieces by Justin Gray. I would love to have all three of them to hang side by side but right now they are just a tad bit out of my reach. You can check out all of the art from the 3G show here and be sure to take a peek at Justin Gray’s blog for upcoming work from this awesome guy!

Sep
18 design
OLD ORCHARD BEACH car show

Matt and I spent the afternoon checking out the classic car show in our new Maine home of Old Orchard Beach. I had my eye on an old wagon that was a bit out of my price range but I had a great time day dreaming. There is just something about old cars that really resonate with my design sense. It’s all about the pinstripes, bullet lights and pretty script typography because they just don’t make cars the way they used to.

Sep
04 art
BEAUTIFUL underwater photography

In honor of the last unofficial weekend of summer, check out these amazing photographs from Elena Kalis. Seriously how stunning are these photos, and of course the girls in them!

Sep
01 illustration
THE MOST AWESOME school stickers ever

Check out these back to school stickers by Illustrator Jennifer Bell. Seriously how cool would these have been in third grade. If you are thinking the same thing, you can get a printable version along with some other cool back to school stickers, from a few other artists as well, at the We love to illustrate blog. I also really liked this little bunny illustration of hers as well… I just couldn’t resist putting the two side by side!

Aug
30 crafts
PICNIC ARTS FAIR in portland maine

This past Saturday I had the good fortune to check out the Picnic music and arts fair in downtown Portland Maine. It was the first smaller sized indie fair I have been to but I have to say it was just amazing. It was so refreshing to see new vendors that aren’t part of the usual suspects of crafters and DIY’ers that I typically see in the NY area. Of course I picked up a few awesome pieces for myself but I didn’t want you to miss out on the fun either… so enjoy!

Heather Toupin, aka heatherjeany had these hilarious kids shirts that had me in a giggle fit. It was such a pleasure to finally meet her in person. As always her both looked so well put together and you couldn’t help but pop in to take a look at her printed cards and paper goods.

Kyle Durrie from Power and Light Press had a slew of witty and unpretentious letter pressed greetings. I actually almost missed her booth but I am so glad I spun around at the right time. My personal favorite was the WTFWJD which I promptly bought to send to a dear friend in New York.

Matt and I were both drawn to the bags by Jared DeSimio, aka dappermonkey. He had such a range of ideas and I loved them all. Of course my my favorite were the lumberjack themed laptop sleeves, I wouldn’t mind thinking of my little macbook as Paul Bunyan. But in all honesty all of his other up-cycled bags were just stunning as well, I love having something that is a functional art object as well.

I loved seeing Morris & Essex at the show as well. I don’t believe I have ever gotten the chance to see their work up close and personal. The hand printed cards and wrapping paper have the most gorgeous colors and really draw you over from an aisle away.

I was also pretty stoked to see former Brooklynites Zooguu and Goobetsa. Jen and Brian (respectively) always have a great looking booth. Of course the critters in the Zooguu line always make me smile but Brian has some new superhero paper cuts that really take the cake.

Sarah McCann had these great little finger puppets of monsters and mysteries. The yeti might have been my favorite. I really enjoyed seeing local artists, and some not so local artists gather in Portland for this awesome fair. I really hope next year I can be apart of it, in the meantime I will keep my fingers crossed for a holiday indoor version. After all I heard it does get cold here in Maine.

Aug
21 food
BMAC product debut

Tomorrow I am headed down to Baltimore for the buyers market of american craft. I have two new products that will be debuting there ( and will be up in the shop shortly after). I thought I would give you guys a sneak peak at one of these products, a set of 6 reusable cheese markers. I love cheese almost as much as I love making new things. This is definitely the best of both worlds!

Aug
16 housewares
AWESOME METAL WORK by these creatures

I love when someone can take something that is normaly a little bit drab and punch up the color and design to make them fabulous. The sibling team behind These Creatures has done just that. They have taken some fabulous silhouettes, combined them with steel and a little powder coating and made them into some beautiful pieces. Normally I am not a big fan of wall hooks but these look amazing. They also carry a wide range of good for you and your pet such as fencing, mini hooks and bookends. Check them out.

Aug
13 life stories
MAINE’s welcome wagon

We officialy arrived in Maine a week ago. And while there are a few things we are still working out,  we couldn’t be happier to be here. I started a new job, and have been having a blast exploring our new surroundings. Even Einstein has made some new friends. Our current neighbor has a lovely cat who goes by Clark (I call him Clark W. Griswold) that Ein treats as a fellow dog. So far Clark has been nice enough to allow him into his ragtag group of outdoorsy animals as well greeting me on the front porch when I arrive home. Unfortunately though we will soon have new neighbors as we found out the hard way that Freight Trains do not make good neighbors. Upwards and onwards.

Jul
28 life stories
CRAFTY BASTARDS 2010 here we come

Well it’s actually quite a while until Crafty Bastards (over 2 months away). But I am so excited to be invited to be part of this amazing indie craft show. This will be the farthest I have ever traveled for a craft show, but some awesome people have reminded me that the leaves will be changing and the drive from Maine to Washington D.C. will be beautiful. Hope I will get to see some of you there!

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