If you like anything you see, email me at info@ich-cha.com or check out my Etsy shop. :)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Photos from the Market
If you like anything you see, email me at info@ich-cha.com or check out my Etsy shop. :)
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Ichcha selling at Astoria Market
If you're planning on having a relaxing weekend then the best way to add on to that is taking a short drive to the Astoria Market at the Bohemian Beer Garden this Sunday. Check out the numerous artisans selling handmade products on Sunday July 10. ICHCHA will also be selling products their, a few hand block printed home furnishing products along with jewelry from India.
Check us out along with many more other artisans!
Come by and say hello and if you mention this blog entry you get 10% off your total sale.
Also check out the Astoria Market Facebook page for updates on future market dates.
Enjoy your weekend!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Taste of Crunch: Taste of Crunch FB Fan Page!
Check out Taste of Crunch and be updated on good food, good health, and much much more!!
Taste of Crunch: Taste of Crunch FB Fan Page!: "Hi readers! Just want to let you all know Taste of Crunch now has a Facebook Fan page! Please 'like' us and pass us on to your friends! ..."
Taste of Crunch: Taste of Crunch FB Fan Page!: "Hi readers! Just want to let you all know Taste of Crunch now has a Facebook Fan page! Please 'like' us and pass us on to your friends! ..."
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sewing madness
I seem to have just discovered the fun of using a sewing machine and just cannot stop. Sorry to ruin the surprise, but my friends, you're only getting homemade bags sewn by me this year for your birthdays. :) I know, contain your happiness. This is just the beginning. Muhahaha..
All of them made from waste fabric I had lying around. :) Go Upcycling.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Wish List
Stepanka Horalkova's ceramics are going on my wish list for when I have money.
The ceramic pieces are so simple, yet fun to have around you. I so want the cups with the little birdies.
The ceramic pieces are so simple, yet fun to have around you. I so want the cups with the little birdies.
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| photos are from www.stepankaceramics.com |
Textile Jewelry
Take a look at Paz Sintes Textile jewelry collection. It is to die for. The necklaces and bracelets are made out of crocheted threads and they are the most delicate pieces of jewelry I have ever seen. They feel and look just right on a person. She was recently selling at the Columbus Craft Fair and I had to share her stuff with everyone.
Images are from www.Pazsintes.com
Friday, May 27, 2011
At the Artist and Fleas in Brooklyn
Let me just say, it was great walking into the Artist and Fleas market last Saturday. It was an awesome space full of creative designers that I have not come across yet in the city. They also had a truck outside selling coolhaus ice cream sandwiches!
After staring at the truck and trying to figure out the ice cream between cookies bit, we walked into the market and suddenly I just wanted to shop shop shop! Lots of vintage stuff going around but also some interesting new ideas.
Take for example ASTALI. She had jewelry made out of gun casings! I took a postcard that had a sample gun casing attached to it. :) Now I can pretend to be dangerous.
Next I had to stop at Webbedware by Courtney Webb. She had great looking cuffs covered in different types of fabrics. Check out her website for other awesome products.
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| image from www.eatcoolhaus.com |
After staring at the truck and trying to figure out the ice cream between cookies bit, we walked into the market and suddenly I just wanted to shop shop shop! Lots of vintage stuff going around but also some interesting new ideas.
Take for example ASTALI. She had jewelry made out of gun casings! I took a postcard that had a sample gun casing attached to it. :) Now I can pretend to be dangerous.
Next I had to stop at Webbedware by Courtney Webb. She had great looking cuffs covered in different types of fabrics. Check out her website for other awesome products.
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| product images from www.webbedware.com |
The one that I couldn't walk away from! Leroysplace.
She had these handmade necklaces with different images put together. I can't describe it well but I can say I had to be pulled away from the stall. She also has these resurrected paintings with her own creatures creeping in to the frame to bring in a twist. 
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| images for Leroysplace are from her website WWW.LEROYSPLACE.COM |
I hope to be checking out a few more markets this weekend and hope to blog about the great finds! I think I tend to say great a lot. :)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A great article
So, I recently subscribed to the American Craft magazine and came across this article on CHEAP products and the downside of going for discounted items.
The article Shop Till We Drop is an interview by Shannon Sharpe of Ellen Ruppel Shell, the author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture (Penguin, 2009). Here are a few excerpts from the article:
"Cheap goods are an illusion, she discovered. While we tell ourselves, especially and understandably during hard times, that we need bargains to sustain our quality of life, in the long run these products aren't helping anyone - in any socio-economic bracket. To sell cheap goods, companies need cheap labor, which keeps wages low. Discount goods also entangle us in foreign manufacturing and labor practices, which may run counter to our ethics. There are environmental costs, both in how we produce cheap goods and how quickly we discard them. And bargains disguise the fact that, in recent decades, prices on housing, insurance, and childcare - what we spend most of our money on - have skyrocketed." (Sharpe, 2011)
Click here to read the rest of the article.
This is just a reminder to us all that when we buy, we should think not only of our pockets but also of how a products weighs next to the initial cost. Look at the quality and pay for the life you want to have with that product. With the life long partnership you're also investing in the good practices that brought the product into being such as the craftsmanship of the maker, possible resource conservation and fair labor practices. As consumers, we do have the power to effect the quality of products and the quantity that is brought to us, thus decreasing the price tag.
The article Shop Till We Drop is an interview by Shannon Sharpe of Ellen Ruppel Shell, the author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture (Penguin, 2009). Here are a few excerpts from the article:
"Cheap goods are an illusion, she discovered. While we tell ourselves, especially and understandably during hard times, that we need bargains to sustain our quality of life, in the long run these products aren't helping anyone - in any socio-economic bracket. To sell cheap goods, companies need cheap labor, which keeps wages low. Discount goods also entangle us in foreign manufacturing and labor practices, which may run counter to our ethics. There are environmental costs, both in how we produce cheap goods and how quickly we discard them. And bargains disguise the fact that, in recent decades, prices on housing, insurance, and childcare - what we spend most of our money on - have skyrocketed." (Sharpe, 2011)
Click here to read the rest of the article.
This is just a reminder to us all that when we buy, we should think not only of our pockets but also of how a products weighs next to the initial cost. Look at the quality and pay for the life you want to have with that product. With the life long partnership you're also investing in the good practices that brought the product into being such as the craftsmanship of the maker, possible resource conservation and fair labor practices. As consumers, we do have the power to effect the quality of products and the quantity that is brought to us, thus decreasing the price tag.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Scarves and Pillows!
How I wish I could have such pretty things.
Check out the products of Matta and Tulu Textiles. Such great prints and products.
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| images from www.mattany.com and www.tulutextiles.com |
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Indian Handpainted Banners
An interesting watch :
http://www.handpaintedtype.com/http://www.handpaintedtype.com/
about the disappearing Hand painting artists in India. This is basically the problem everywhere. The old techniques that took time and talent are disappearing, being replaced by fast machinery. But, there are a few that realize the urgency to preserve and promote. Hopefully this awakening continues.
http://www.handpaintedtype.com/http://www.handpaintedtype.com/
about the disappearing Hand painting artists in India. This is basically the problem everywhere. The old techniques that took time and talent are disappearing, being replaced by fast machinery. But, there are a few that realize the urgency to preserve and promote. Hopefully this awakening continues.
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