Makie Clothier - Spring 2012

Brooklyn + Japan = Makie Clothier

For children & women

As you can see from the photo - basically breathtaking

At Long Last : The Return of Mad Men

When it comes to t.v., it's pretty much ad Mad Men & 60 Minutes for me. Or, at least it was. Until the Hollywood writer's strike [remember that?] combined with stalled contract negotiations [over creative control (always worth fighting for)] put Mad Men on hiatus 1 1/2 years ago.  

But, patience pays off :

The wait ends & the story line resumes with the return of Mad Men this Sunday.

NPR / Fresh Air ran a good, quick, anticipation piece on the show this morning.  

Here's a link to the transcript:

 So excited.

This Shoppe : Maude Rare Finds

 In this recent issue of Sunset Magazine

There was a small feature of this equally small shoppe, Maude Rare Finds, in Petaluma, CA. 

When I last visited Maude, they were in a space about the size of a walk-in closet.  But it was packed to the brim with - truly - rare finds for children.  To name a few : Flora & Henri, Makie Clothier, Atsuyo et Akiko

I was sort of stunned because, within the blurry bounds of Northern California, there are basically no brick & mortars that carry these lines. I later found out that one of the owners is Jess Brown -- who is the force behind the uber-popular-in-the-boutique-artisan-world : "Jess Brown Dolls."

 Maude has since moved to a larger space (which I haven't been to) & added a number of carefully-curated lines for women.  Some include : Erica Tanov, Qi cashmere, & the very hard-to-find Japanese line : Fog Linen Work.  I hope to return to Maude in 2012, but in the meantime, the Maude blog provides a good glimpse into the shoppe.

Nominated & Documented : woody allen

Going back to 2011.  There was one reason I tuned into the 2011 Grammys : Arcade Fire was set to play, and then expected to lose, in their nominated category -- Album of the Year (for The Suburbs).  Jaws dropped when, lo and behold, Arcade Fire actually won.  

 

But that's sort of old news, or the stuff of legends.  More current is this year's Academy Awards.  The one reason I'll tune in : Woody Allen's nominations for Best Director/Picture, Midnight in Paris.

 The picture is pretty good.  And Woody Allen gets nominated a lot. But, would it have been nominated if it was the work of, say, a 1st-time director rather than a Woody Allen vehicle?  

And like Woody Allen's nomination, I wonder if Arcade Fire's recognition had to do with The Suburbs as a stand-alone album ... or more of an appreciation for the band's entire body of work (hitherto missed or ignored by the music industry until 2011's "ah-ha" moment). 

Regardless, I'll be watching the Academy Awards.  And wondering if he shows up.  

In the meantime, this bio-documentary film was just released.  It originally aired on PBS : American Masters & just showed up in my mailbox.  It's like the Eric Lax biography, updated & put on film - -

"the only genius in cinema today"

-- Manhattan

This Sale : Bonpoint France

It's possible that Bonpoint makes the most expensive children's clothing on the planet.  And while I usually don't believe the hype for massive luxury labels [i'm talking to you, Chanel] , Bonpoint is really freaking fabulous.*  Unless you lived in a major city [New York, Los Angeles, Chicago] , Bonpoint was extremely difficult to find ... until a couple of years ago when the company broadened their market to include an American web site. 

Although the selection for the U.S. site is not as large as that found on their French site , it's still ample & shipping can be as low as $10 - - including beautiful gift wrapping.   

[Word of caution : the "default" shipping rate is $30 for expedited shipping / customers must take care to manually change the shipping rate to a "standard" $10 rate]

Anyhow, 1 of their twice yearly (winter & summer) sales is happening right now.  It's a little "hush, hush," as they do not send out email notices.  Markdowns from 20% - 50% -- worth a look.

* except their pants

This New Year

I've kept a piece of binder paper on which I wrote "2012 The World Ends" (underline, underline) after watching a Nostradamus special on t.v. when I was 10.  I wanted to be sure my future self didn't forget this potentially life-altering piece of information.  

But then NPR recently aired an interview with an expert on Mayan prophecies who explained the academic interpretation of 2012 is that of a year of "transformation," not ruin.  That is so completely preferable.

i was running around town today & picking up on a lot of positivity, or maybe optimism.  This is when it seems people are at their best. 

Gifting : Waldorf-Inspired

Long before I had children of my own, I worked at a Waldorf school. The experience was really impactful.  I loved this new world of legends, watercolors & Eurythmy.  In keeping with those themes, I tend to opt for children's toys that are made of natural materials for imaginative play.  Loving this for my girl's Christmas present :

 Portable Playhouse from Nova Naturals

 As opened in alternate color choice

It's a mobile dollhouse formed completely out of wood, with a natural stain.  All pieces fit inside as pictured above.  It wraps together with a piece of felt & string - so Waldorf.  We ordered the pink / orange set; so excited.