Hasta La Ideas

Handcrafted rings inspired by surreal structures and existential themes

Influenced by existential Nouvelle Vague films and the dark Northwest wilderness, Eric Saeter‘s eponymous jewelry line is marked by rich detail and surreal structures. The Seattle native was initially driven to the trade in 2008 by what he felt was a lack of inspiring jewelry on the market. Since then his work has continued to grow in its level of craftsmanship and unique, unisex style.

Saeter uses only solid sterling silver, 22k and 24k gold vermeil—rather than finger-staining bronze, nickel or pewter—throughout the collection for a weighty effect, casting each piece in a series of molds and finishing it by hand. The holistic, hand-crafted approach ensures no two rings are alike, each earning its own naturalistic character in singular imperfections and blemishes. The Earthworm ring pays proper homage to the mother of mulch with deep ridges on a substantial band, showcasing the designer’s knack for detail and texture.

The geometric Salt riffs on the jagged natural crystal of the ocean in gold vermeil with smooth surfaces and softer edges. My personal favorite, this statement piece bears tiny witness marks that help create an organic aesthetic reminiscent of something one might find deep in the mountains of Mordor.

Playing on themes of mortality, Snakes is a “textural serpent” devouring itself in a coil of intricately detailed scaled bands. The Oyster hides two small pearls deep inside the ring’s structure, kept safely close to the hand and away from the prying eye.

Jewelry by Eric Saeter is available in select boutiques and directly through his online shop where rings range between $355 and $515.

Music and animal hijinks come together in a handmade children’s book by Breathe Owl Breathe

For a child, the ritual of bedtime reading is as important as the story. They enjoy the togetherness, the feel of the pages and the imagination that the illustrations inspire. It’s refreshing to hold something that looks and feels like a family treasure, which is exactly what Micah Middaugh of the band, Breathe Owl Breathe has given us in his new children’s book “The Listeners / These Train Tracks.”

Structured as two stories that read from either cover into the middle, the endings culminate at the centerfold where a seven-inch vinyl record awaits, holding two musical renditions of the stories by Breathe Owl Breathe. Everything from the canvas cover to the pages—hand-printed from wood blocks—was made in Michigan by Middaugh, the final product a result of three years’ work.

“The Listeners” is a comic tale of the friendship between an ostrich and a mole who meet by chance one day in a hole. The mole with sightless eyes and the bird with flightless wings join to form a band called “The Listeners,” and perform together in an underground concert for their friends. “These Train Tracks” is a story of metamorphosis, in which a set of train tracks transforms into everything from a caterpillar to the night sky to a set of pajama buttons. Its mood is both whimsical and soothing, a perfect end to a child’s long day.

“The Listeners / These Train Tracks” is a limited-edition production and is available from Breathe Owl Breathe’s website, shipping in time for the holidays on 6 December 2011.

Watercolor illustrations combine Wes Anderson style with wildlife and folklore

Brooke Weeber‘s delicate, darkly humorous watercolor-and-ink illustrations are one
part Wes Anderson, one part Edward Gorey. Fantastical wolves and deer roam freely
through pastel-tinted clouds and trees, sharing space with bearded strongmen and booze. Though the Northwest native admits that she’s a huge fan of Anderson, she cites Greek and Native American art as her primary influence.

“I love the simple line figures painted onto vases and sewn into tapestries, and the use of geometric shapes and patterns [in Greek and Native American art],” says Weeber. “They also show an obvious appreciation for the natural world.”

Weeber studied fine art at the University of Oregon, but moved to New York shortly after graduation to exercise her artistry in a completely different field—cake decorating. After four years on the East Coast, she began to miss the wildlife that plays such a prominent role in her illustrations and moved back to Portland. “Once I was more acclimated, I started to really appreciate the amazing things that New York had to offer—the culture and diversity alone is much harder to find in Oregon,” reflects Weeber. “But alas, in the end, the chaotic lifestyle wasn’t for me.”

Besides illustrating album covers for local luminaries such as Blitzen Trapper and Loch
Lomond, Weeber shows her work locally and sells it through Etsy. Her fruits and
vegetables calendar is a beautiful and practical guide for anyone who likes to eat locally and shop at farmers’ markets but has no idea when figs are actually in season. Her “Animals of the Pacific Northwest” print might also reassure anyone who has been duped by the latest crop of teenage vampire romances; werewolves are not endemic to this corner of the United States.

Prices range from $4 for a greeting card to $50. For more of Weeber’s work, check her website or her
Etsy shop.

Simple, rustic jewelry from two Austin artists captures the spirit of the Texas landscape

by Miranda Ward

Launched last month, Fail+Canoe jewelry brings together two Austin-based designers, Christine Fail of Fail Jewelry and Natalie Davis of Canoe. Fail earned a BFA in studio art and starting creating her own handmade jewelry after spending more than five years with two major designers, while Davis—who works with butcher Ben Runkle to produce goods “crafted with a sartorial eye and workhorse materials to last a lifetime” for her Canoe line—is also a print designer and typography teacher.

The collection of hammered brass and leather cuffs, necklaces and earrings combines what the designers call their “shared love of the dramatic Texas landscape” with a simultaneously rough and sophisticated aesthetic. Organic shapes and thick leather contrast with delicate details to capture, as Fail describes in a blog post, “the marriage of refined and elegant with rustic and natural.”

Fail+Canoe pieces can be purchased online through Fail or Canoe, as well as their Etsy shop, with prices starting at $56.

Dossier37’s Olivier Dupon explores the handmade revolution in a new book on craft

A long time buyer, retailer and blogger of artisanal products, Olivier Dupon has turned to print, documenting some of the most talented individuals and mesmerizing products of the handcraft movement. His book “The New Artisans” takes readers into the studios of influential craftsmen as they shape one-of-a-kind items that reflect their personal style. The majority of the book showcases the artisans and their studios (including CH favorite Esque), with the latter part organized as a directory in which products are arranged by type for catalog viewing.

While the artists often draw inspiration from their region, reviving forms like “Danish porcelain glazing, Norwegian birchwood carving or Portuguese letterpressing,” Dupon insists that all of the artisans “have a creative force that is ingenious and knows no limits.” Dupon sees an intricate connection between the artisans and their customers, explaining that clients “wish to acquire products that have meaning, a singularity and a charge of human work.”

The book serves well as both a collectible and as a reference guide, featuring a current crop of designers whose products are available online. The book is a must-have for arts-and-crafts types looking for inspiration or those just interested in learning about contemporary handmade production.

“New Artisans” sells online from Amazon and Thames & Hudson.