Sometimes you find a style that instantly strikes a chord with you. Well, Oh My Cavelier did just that when I came across it on Etsy. The artist behind Oh My Cavelier is Julianna Swaney who lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Julianna lists victorian dresses, furry animals and beehives amongst her favourite things and often brings these elements into her art.
The foxes, bears, bees and wolves are quite simply perfect! I love their limbs - I know that sounds odd - but what I mean is I love the way Julianna represents a fox/wolf/bear leg as it might actually look - rather than in the childish way they are so often depicted.
My absolute favourite image is of a suspicious looking bear cluthing a beehive (first image below). These images look like they've jumped right from the pages of the sort of children's book you cherish in your memory as you grow up. I'm so excited to have purchased a couple of items from the Etsy shop - a bee brooch and a little rabbit card that will most probably end up framed and hung with my other arty buys.
If you would like to see more of Julianna's work, follow the links below:
I came across Eek Design (or is it Fox in the Woods?) on Etsy and thought it was so nice I had to share!I have a softspot for woodland animals and little birds - as regular readers will know - so I love the rabbits and foxes and things scattered throughout these images.
"We disregard what we've got, always chasing what we've not" ~ Slovak proverb
Back in June I made these framed images as gifts for my mum's birthday after coming across some old family photographs. Originally I was going to decorate a few pages in the "Altered Journal" by Jessie Chorley that I'd bought her, but in the end I couldn't bare to glue anything in it in case it went wrong and ruined that present... So I left the altered journal as it was and decided to instead make two framed images as gifts in a similar vein to the journal.
The first you can see here features pictures of my mum as a little girl on holiday with my grandparents, having a donkey ride and playing on the beach. I love these photos of her on a proper, old-fashioned British seaside holiday. The second image is of my parents, me (the baby!) and my brother. It's not the best family photo of us, but I liked the muted colours in it and just the fact that it's probably one of the first snaps of the four of us - and it must bring back happy memories to my mum. (Also the backdrop colour tied in with my idea to emroider some cherry blossom branches. Perfect!) The little bee charm ties in with our family name.
I know they aren't the best collages or images in the world and maybe it's a bit "twee", but it's the sort of thing I knew my mum would like and appreciate - and she did, when she opened them she cried.
Something cute for the weekend? Feast your eyes on these cards from nineteenseventythree cards. The range is called "Claudettes" and features some very sweet animal illustrations. Favourites of mine are the flamingos (obviously), and the fox and its little cupcake.
It's been a slow day at work so I've been getting some quality Flickr-browsing time in and came across this gorgeous, subtle tattoo of little birds in flight . . . I'm far too indecisive to get a tattoo, but this one is lovely.
Jack Penate – iTunes Festival 2009, The Roundhouse
Gig Experience: 3.7.09 Roundhouse, Camden. iTunes Festival Album review: Everything is New
Jack’s back in London after a busy start to the year which has seen him release Everything Is New, the follow up to his 2007 debut album Matinee. There’s no sign of “difficult second album” blues here, with pretty much every song worthy of being released as catchy, infectious and heartfelt stand-alone Singles. In the run up to the release of the album we had Let’s all Die, Tonight’s Today, Be the One and others enticing us in to Planet Penate. Now, with the album’s arrival we’re treated to brilliant songs such as Everything is New, Give Yourself Away and Pull My Heart Away. The album is worth every penny with not a filler track in sight. Development is the word of the day here, with Jack Penate proving the catchy rhythms of Matinee weren’t just a lucky fluke. His song writing has developed with numbers such as Pull My Heart Away and Body Down being bluesy in a perfectly Penate way.
And so to the live show, part of this year’s iTunes Festival where fans apply for tickets via Facebook/iTunes and are awarded them for free. Taking place at Camden’s Roundhouse on a warm and hazy sunny evening, Jack was supported at the gig by the Golden Silvers (last seen by Shoegazer supporting Florence & the Machine in Brighton). Their song True No.9 Blues (True Romance) is catchy and well worth checking out.
Prior to taking the stage, our man Jack could be spied relaxing on the roof terrace in the evening sun as excited fans mingled with those who had applied out of curiosity, and those who had simply applied for a great night out for the price of a tube ticket.
As Jack took to the stage, the crowd greeted him with rapturous applause as he confessed at how he hadn’t played his hometown of London for a while but that it was good to be back. Bursting through a set which included old favourites such as Torn on the Platform, Spit at Stars and Run for your Life, Jack was joined on stage by Kid Harpoon half way through the set to perform Give Yourself Away (“AYA YA-YA YA YA YA YA YAAAAA YAAAAAAA,” sorry, couldn’t contain it.) It says something for the quality of the new material that it by far outshone the old favourites, couple this with the infectious energy of his odd-ball dance moves and you're left with a really great gig supporting a fantastic album.
(Images: ClaireB of Shoegazer)
Check out video footage of Jack Penate with special guest Kid Harpoon performing Give Yourself Away, thanks to ShoegazerVideo:
I love Lungs! Not the bodily organs... although I suppose I love them too since without them I’d be having a little trouble breathing right now. But more specifically, I love the album Lungs by Florence and the Machine (out today) which I managed to get my early-bird hands on over the weekend.
Having seen her live in Brighton a month ago, I was expecting some of the non-single songs to be slightly familiar, but as I listened through the album, everything from the gig came flooding back – the power, the passion and the drama... even the lyrics. It was if I'd known these songs for years. It’s truly an album that will sweep you away with the rabbit-raising, coffin-building, eye-cutting-out fairies if you let it. I find this refreshing in a musical landscape currently so overcrowded with bland electro-pop-mIndie. La Roux? La Poo. LittleBoots? GoldfrappBoots (srsly, did anyone see her on Jonathan Ross?!). Lady Gaga? Don’t even get me started.
Top tracks for my money, aside from the singles Kiss with a Fist; Dog Days Are Over; and Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), are Girl with One Eye (perfect, dark and dangerous song for a girl who’s been crossed by another), Cosmic Love, Howl and My Boy Builds Coffins.... and I’m Not Calling You a Liar... and...oh, and all of them! Definitely worth having a listen to when you get time. I can’t wait to see Florence live again in a couple of weeks at Lovebox. Check out Shoegazer Fashionwhere Poppy talks about Florence’s Topshop-designed Glastonbury outfits.
Australian label Yes Vincent create some wonderful feather cuffs, collars and headbands, as often spied on Shoegazer favourite Natasha Khan who has worn them for various editorial outings as well as during a number of recent performaces, including on Later with Jools Holland (guitarist Charlotte Hatherley is also showing some feather love in this video too) Contact Yes Vincent via their Myspace.
I have found some more etsy treat! This time in the form of these cute and unique necklaces by YellowGoat . . .
I absolutely love the "Perfect Match" necklace - a little silver matchbox with two silver matches tucked inside a tray that pulls out! This is definately an Etsy shop I'll be keeping an eye on when it comes to Birthday List time! Haha. If you like what you see, check out the YellowGoat blog too.
I'm assistant editor of a magazine and live on the south coast of England. I love illustration, art, fashion, zines, jewellery and music - the quirkier the better <3. Thankyou for visiting my blog where I share stuff I've made, places I've visited, things that inspire me and things I've come across that need to be shared! x
email me: ishoegaze [at] hotmail.co.uk
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