Field Trip: Tender Buttons

Tender Buttons, an upper east side institution, is an emporium devoted to vintage buttons. Rows of cardboard boxes line the walls containing buttons, each one carefully organized by color, motif, and material.

T is for Telephone

...and for Théo.

Bon Voyage little man as you make your first journey to Paris.

Printer's Block

While I was meandering through the Brooklyn Flea back in August an antique Indian woodblock caught my eye. At the time Ronak was in India on a business trip and I was just settling into "our" apartment. I was on the hunt for a housewarming present for us that spoke to both our tastes.

I pondered over the worn woodblock for a while, drawn to both its form and function. I knew Ronak would appreciate it sculpturally being that it's dark wood and a relic of Indian handicraft. And for myself, I saw it as a new toy to play with and was excited to test out its printing capabilities.

Here I've finally found the time to experiment with the block using a lightweight cotton fabric and Jacquard screen-printing ink. Despite not having pre-washed the fabric to remove the sizing, the pitted wooden block made a satisfying impression and a seamless repeat design. It's become clear to me that I've only just begun to graze the surface of this beautiful old-world printing technique.

Field Trip: Fishs Eddy Vintage Collection

One of my favorite things about working at Fishs Eddy is having the opportunity to visit the vintage collection which is housed at the store's distribution center in Jersey City -- and most likely one day, the Smithsonian.

Each time I go out there I discover that everything's been rearranged and the collection has grown up and out. The soot-covered pieces are beautiful individually, while the rambling stacks and piles tell a story of shut-down china factories, hotels, restaurants... and the passion to preserve every last piece.

Hunting and Gathering

This past trip to Paris I was on the hunt for inspirational materials to work into my projects. Everywhere I looked I found graphics, colors, and materials that excited me. The hard part was finding the time to shop with only 5 days, and a million beautiful sites and things to do. Alas, I think I gathered enough to keep myself busy for a while.


In the Marais I returned to one of my favorite shops, Entrée des Fournisseurs, a beautiful shop tucked in a courtyard off rue des Francs Bourgeois. Stepping into the store I was greeted with a vista of ribbon spools, bolts of fabric and buttons filed neatly on cardboard. My favorite finds this time were embroidered sew-in labels: one that reads "Crocheté main" for my upcoming crochet projects and another that reads "Fait par Maman" for my mom.





At Ultramod I rummaged through vintage ribbons and made out with a collection of blue & gray striped ribbons to feed my maritime obsession. They're almost too precious to use. I could have spent hours at La Droguerie in the 2e arrondissement sifting through jars full of beads, buttons and feathers. There I found bias tape made of Liberty fabrics(!!).


The Marché aux Puces turned out to be another great source of inspiration-- furniture, prints, clothing, brocante. I happened upon a booth selling bundles of vintage piping. I couldn't decide over red or blue, so in the end I just bought both.

Out of Print

Dave, one of the owners of Fishs Eddy, made a fortuitous find on a recent buying trip to the Midwest: Vintage metal stationer's engraving blocks from the 1940's and 1950's! He came back with hundreds of initials and full addresses, most in their original boxes with handwritten names and dates of when they were last used.

When I saw them they reminded me of my friend Josephine and the types of objects she often paints: aged and weathered surfaces, objects with historical content and traces of text. You can see some of her truly amazing works here. I thought if these engraving blocks didn't serve as her next muse, they would at least look great displayed in her studio.

I wrapped them in pages from old Anthropologie catalogs and adorned them with spare buttons.