FINAL DAY to Shop Greenjeans Online!

Today is the FINAL DAY to shop our Spring Thaw Sale and Greenjeans Webshop!

Make your final selections before it's ALL GONE!

We've sold out of most everything in stock, which is great (for us!) but if there are still a few things left tomorrow I will be offering some pretty crazy post-sale deals. They will be extremely short-lived, though, so be sure to check back here to learn more on Monday.

Also, to all you Moms out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Image: Clustered Ovals Pendant by Alison Mackey, on sale!

Afternoon Snacks!

NY Times on Design in Brooklyn Posted: 07 May 2009 11:57 AM PDT Long article in anticipation of BKLYN Designs, which opens tomorrow.

Emboridery Talk at American Craft Council Posted: 07 May 2009 08:36 AM PDT Read the recap and listen to the podcast of this interesting evening that explored the past and present of embroidery.

Etsy Moving to Dumbo Posted: 06 May 2009 09:06 PM PDT Yo, Etsy! Welcome to the neighborhood!

Craft Fair Pricing Tips Posted: 06 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT Great tips for pricing your work at craft fairs.

Gilbert Rohde: Modern Design for Modern Living Posted: 06 May 2009 08:58 PM PDT Expect to find copies next year at an Ikea near you.

Preview Coverage of BKLYN Designs Posted: 06 May 2009 08:53 PM PDT The blog 3rings has been posting excellent previews of designers and designs appearing later this week at BKLYN Designs. Includes an interview with the organizers. (Hat tip to Gerry at Brooklyn Modern!)

Craft Corps Posted: 06 May 2009 08:42 PM PDT Based on the idea of Story Corps, this is a blog and forthcoming book capturing the stories of some influential crafters.

Goings On in the Real World

Open Studios @ 68 Jay
TODAY Thursday May 7 (6-10pm)
68 Jay St.
Meet dozens of artists, designers, and craftspeople as you snoop around their Dumbo, Brooklyn, studios.

Brooklyn Blogfest
TONIGHT Thursday May 7 (7pm+)
Powerhouse Arena
Come blog with your fellow bloggers from the borough! (I'm SO annoyed I can't be there tonight!!!)

Affordable Art Fair
May 7-10
7 W 34th St
Head to midtown to find 60+ galleries from around the world offering works of art at recession-friendly prices (most $100-$5000).

BKLYN Designs
Various locations in Dumbo
May 8-10
Furniture makers and product designers from Brooklyn and beyond convene this weekend for this annual exposition of new work.
(Check out the thorough pre-coverage of BKLYN Desings on 3rings blog.)

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Did You Hear?

The checkout code THAW is now worth an extra 20% off your order in these final days of our Spring Thaw Sale!!

Only 5 days left before the sale ends and we close our webshop for good.

So what are you waiting for?! Check out the sale and make a selection (or two or three...).

Sale HIGHLIGHTS here
Browse ENTIRE SALE here

Prices are very recession-friendly -- you'll score big (up to 75% off!) on fabulous handmade work for Mother's Day, weddings, showers, birthdays, and more!

Thank you for shopping Greenjeans Webshop!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Fast & Eco-friendly Tarnish Removal

Customers often ask me, "What's the best way to polish silver?"

I recommend this easy, irritant-free, eco-friendlier way to keep SILVER happy and bright, (that's actually FASTER than polishing cloths, dips, or other chemical methods).

BEFORE YOU START: Make sure your jewelry has no glue, paper, or other elements that would be damaged by water. Safe for gemstones, but not pearls and opals.

STEP 1:
Line a bathroom SINK (or large bowl) with ALUMINUM FOIL.
Sprinkle with BAKING SODA.
Fill sink with STEAMING HOT WATER.

STEP 2:
DROP pieces of jewelry one at a time into the sink.
Make sure ALL SIDES touch the foil.
Let soak 10-20 SECONDS.

Step 3:
REMOVE with chopsticks or tongs.
DRY with paper towel or hair dryer.
Tarnish that doesn't dissolve in the water should come off with a little RUB.

CODA:

Tarnish in HARD-TO-REACH places?
Try gently scrubbing with TOOTHPASTE and a TOOTHBRUSH.
RINSE and DRY with towel.

Voila!
Refreshed silver,
without that weird aftertaste.

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
Jewelry featured:
Pebble Bracelet by Valerie Mitchell, and
Wonky Bangles by Melle Finelli.

Afternoon Snacks!

Looks from the Met Gala Posted: 05 May 2009 11:23 AM PDT The Costume Institute Ball at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of THE top fashion events of the year. Check out what all the fancy people wore to the ball last night. (Note: waaaay too much dingy dove gray, but lots and lots of leg.)

How Worms Make Silk Posted: 05 May 2009 11:05 AM PDT Fascinating.

A Bag A Day Posted: 04 May 2009 08:25 PM PDT An unconsumption idea: Make your kid or yourself a souped up brown paper bag to carry lunch in, and see how many times you can reuse it before it's gotta get replaced.

Accident-Explanatory Slings Posted: 04 May 2009 08:21 PM PDT Brilliant.

Afternoon Snacks!

Crochet Museum Posted: 04 May 2009 10:33 AM PDT In Joshua Tree, CA. Rad!

Naked World Gardening Day Posted: 04 May 2009 08:41 AM PDT Held annually on May 2nd. Who knew? Next year, community gardens, watch out!!

Live Moss Carpet Posted: 04 May 2009 08:36 AM PDT At the Milan Design Fair. I LOVE this.

Summit of Awesome Posted: 04 May 2009 08:34 AM PDT Coverage of Day 1 of this weekend-long craft convergence in Washington, DC.

Toilet Paper Roll Art Posted: 04 May 2009 08:27 AM PDT Remind me of the apple head dolls people were into making in the 70s.

Bamboo Bikes in Brooklyn Posted: 04 May 2009 08:23 AM PDT Two of my favorite entities -- Columbia U's Earth Institute and Bushwick's 3rd Ward -- are bringing developing-country-friendly bamboo bikes to Brooklyn. Talk about worlds converging!

Handwashing = Stealing Ideas from Jenny Hart

Well-established indie embroiderer and embroidery kit purveyor Jenny Hart (Sublime Stitching, pic top right) is justifiably outraged that a corporate interest called Urban Threads (pic bottom left) is apparently copying her designs, her business model, and her indie vibe.

As reported on Whip Up, "Jenny says that Urban Threads has disingenuously positioned itself as a small “indie” operation, that it is actually an “indie” front for a bigger, machine/digitized embroidery stock art company, Embroidery Library Inc. And says that “Urban Threads” appears to be their attempt to enter the “indie” market with hand embroidery, complete with a supposed “indie crafter” for a figurehead."

Read more about the issue and Jenny's concern here.

I wonder if one way artists and designers can protect their work is to trademark their name and thereby all the work they sign? I'm not a copyright lawyer, but there must be some way for especially higher-profile artists like Jenny to protect their work.

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Afternoon Snacks!

Green Design at Milan Furniture Fair Posted: 01 May 2009 06:36 AM PDT Inhabitat's coverage of green design at the huge furniture fair in Milan. Links to further coverage of, um, non-green design.

Amanda Browder's Show & House Blanet

Looking for something fun to do tonight? Have some extra fabric/clothes you'd like to donate to good use?

Then head over to Williamsburg's gallery 303Grand from 5-8pm to catch Amanda Browder's new show & donate to her newest project!

Browder is a "mad scientist of scavenger art assemblage," who is working on a cool new project: the House Blanket. Her goal is to get enough fabric to sew a colorful blanket that will cover an entire building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

"The project will be a warm wake-up to the monochromatic droll of beige siding...ugh!"

Donations of fabric (the more colorful the better!) will be accepted at 303Gallery through May 5.

See more of Amanda's work at www.amandabrowder.com.

Click here for directions to the gallery.

So come by, grab a drink and have a chat with the artist herself!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Greenjeans Gazette for Spring 2009

The new issue of the Greenjeans Gazette drops today!

Click here to read online.

Want to subscribe? Sign up right here!

Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.

Afternoon Snacks!

Enjoy the snacks! Brought to you by my delicious feed.

Brooklyn Flea's 2nd Outdoor Location Announced Posted: 30 Apr 2009 10:05 AM PDT The Flea will be setting up in the yet-to-open park area directly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge starting in May. Cool!

KnittaPlease Coming to Tag Brooklyn Heights Posted: 30 Apr 2009 09:56 AM PDT And you can join the fun!