Urban Beast Project

Jimmy - Canis Boriqua - Boricua Dog and Clyde - Venator Absque Odorus Noseless Hunter or Tycho's Beast from The Urban Beast Project (read about in TinHouse). See also, the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists.

Melbangel on Etsy

These are seriously unreal (literally I guess)...They make me want to go to Denny's (sort of). By Amy of Melbangel on Etsy. While there, don't forget to visit our Etsy shop.

Celebrex

Celebrex has to have the worst marketing team imaginable...Their ad basically shows a world made up of the risks of Celbrex. I mean, they are everywhere! They make up the roads, the houses, even the dog. I know what drug I don't want to take.

Jesus Rocks!!!!

Thanks Matt!

Lunch

From Michael, made in 2000 (way ahead of his time, as usual)

Pizza Hut Double Roll

Ew (as seen on Plastic Bamboo)

Amazing Story

I read this amazing story on decor8. It just goes to show you how putting yourself out there can lead to wonderful things.

New works on Etsy

Hi all, I just wanted to share the new pieces Michael has been working on for the Liasynthis Etsy shop.

Leonard Nimoy's Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

uy vey!

More on Hobbits

Flight of the Conchords sings a rejected theme song for the Lord of the Rings.

Success is for hobbits

Michael and I were briefly discussing how physical attractiveness relates to success when he said "if we lived in Hobbit Land we'd be stars". That was not a compliment. If I was a hobbit, my name would be Pansy Brownlock of Overhill and Michael's would be Berilac Brownlock of Overhill. Find your hobbit name. Image from The Loom.

SkyMall

Thanks to our neighbors upstairs (we'll call them D2) we are now the proud owners of yet another issue of SkyMall. They slip one through our mail slot every time they return from a vacation.

This lovely catalog is full of useful (and not so useful) products. These images are of The Forearm Forklift and to be honest, it seems like a pretty useful piece of equipment, if you can call two straps equipment. See how these loverly petite ladies can lift that heavy solid wood armoire with ease? Piece of cake.

Cj O'Neill

Thanks Oh Joy! for posting these great ceramic pieces from Cj O'Neill. I love what artists are doing with vintage and recycled furnishings and table-wear. No wonder I haven't been able to find anything good at yard sales lately.

Fly anywhere (I mean to Columbus) for $10

Thanks to Matt (my new co-worker and friend) for pointing out this excellent company, Skybus, not to be confused with Airbus (the first wide-bodied, twin engined, yadda yadda). Skybus' main (no, only) hub is in Columbus OH. Fly from Boston (when they say Boston, they mean Portsmouth, NH, which to those of you who don't live in Boston, should know is exactly like Boston and only 2 minutes away...this is a lie) for $10, yes, $10 (taxes not included). Skybus also flies to a bunch of other places but of course you have to fly from or through Columbus. You can get a flight from Columbus to LA in February of 2008 for about $50, so a $60 flight from Portsmouth (uh I mean Boston) to LA is really not bad. Basically, finagle the site and I'm sure you can get some great deals. I'd love to hear about any great combinations you put together to get cheap flights. Good booking! Thanks Matt.

Etsy Treasury poster challenge

Etsy's having contest. Contest ends August 1st so get designing. Use this tool to enter.

Chairs for book lovers (even though they don't look to comfy)

Thanks to Jessamyn at librarian.net for posting these cool chairs. The top one is designed by nobody&co the second (on wheels) is by German designer Nils Holger Moormann.

My blog as a graph

Very cool applet (by Sala), that allows you to make a graph of your website, blog, whatever starts with an http://. See other people's sites. They're really quite beautiful. That's the Liasynthis blog.

Great Cover

More for listening then for watching but I needed to share it.

Etsy Bloggers Carnival

The Etsy bloggers carnival hosted by Miss Malaprop shows of some of the wonderful artists who's work is on Etsy.

Karen Ryan

I read about Karen Ryan in the latest UCDA designer magazine. I visited her website this morning...if you are prone to motion sickness or seizures, I recommend not visiting it. Too much movement so, I had to scour the web for examples of her work elsewhere. Here are some of the places you can read more about her.Time, Dezeen, Inhabit, Crib Candy, Design Boom... ok, it wasn't hard to find stuff. Her recycled chairs are interesting but I'm really in love with her plates and vases.

Seidler Bernstein needs your guts

This job listing (for a copywriter at Seidler Bernstein) on Creative Hotlist is great! What do they need a copywriter for when they have whoever it is who wrote this posting? With snappy lines like "Can you shine under pressure, thrive amid chaos, and write a brilliant ad for a percutaneous nephrolithotomy?" they've got all the writing staff they need. Who writes ads for kidney stone surgery anyway? Oh, I guess Seidler Bernstein does.

"Now you can have an exciting career as a healthcare copywriter and find the poetry in the words: immunoassay infectious disease menu." Who knew?!

Do you share their "belief that high tech medical communications can be fun and inspiring"? I'm starting to think I do!

If this job sounds too good to be true, visit Creative Hotlist and read the listing yourself. Let me know if you apply for or end up working there.

Ashley G

Etsy seller Ashley G has got it down. Her work is sometimes funny, sometimes whimsical and is always a pleasure to look at. She also has a blog where you can catch glimpses of her studio and her work in progress. Definitely worth checking out.

Speaking of blankets

Here's one for the kiddies. "If your kids are like ours they love to be rocked back and forth in a blanket. Ours like it so much you think they can hit the ceiling at any moment and you wonder sometimes whether or not it is safe. This blanket from e27 Berlin is however especially made for this purpose." Order one on Tiny Dodo, where they also have lots of other cool stuff for kids.

Eileen Fisher at Garnet Hill - On Sale!

Yippeee! Select Eileen Fisher for Garnet Hill items are on Sale (only until August 7th so get shopping). I originally posted these items in April.

New on Etsy

Look for more animal equations in our Etsy Store.

Taking Things Seriously

I had to let you know about Taking Things Seriously, a book co-edited by friends Joshua Glenn of the Boston Globe and Carol Hayes of Bread + Butter. Copies available on July 19th. This book is sure to entertain & delight. Available through Princeton Press, Amazon and Chronicle Books. Makes a great gift!

2 Free Papers is 1 Too Many Free Papers

OK, so every morning when I get to the train, there is the Metro lady and the Boston Now lady. I've been wracked with guilt for months as I take the Metro and lower my eyes in shame when I pass by the Boston Now lady.

Today, was different. I took a Boston Now (and a Metro). The only redeeming thing about this paper (today at least) was the front page story about how the MBTA stinks. On the cover, was a tease that read "QUEEN'S PHOTOS Beauty keeps crown"...eager to read about Queen Elizabeth's controversial photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz, I turned to page 22, only to find an article about Miss NJ Amy Polumbo and the photos of her acting in an "un-ladylike" manner.

Very tricky Boston Now. I don't like to be tricked by free newspapers (no matter how many sudoku puzzles you tempt me with). Especially before I've had my morning coffee. I don't think I'll be feeling so guilty the next time I shun your paper, tricky Boston Now lady.

Underwater Inferno

Michael saw this http://www.jul.com/. So he made that. "There's nowhere to run...but up".

Knitted Ferrari

Holy cow! This car is made of yarn. Thanks again Coudal Partners.

I can't get this out of my head

now neither can you

So you think you can Dance (dance dance)

OK, I admit it, I like the show, I even like the host. What can I say?

I have one issue though, who styles Cat Deeley?! Please! The poor woman. She's beautiful and seems charming but her clothes! Maybe I don't know anything about fashion (it wouldn't surprise me if that was the issue) but she always looks like she has a little belly or something...I don't know. I keep thinking she's pregnant.

Of course now I can't find any pictures of her in horrible dresses but watch the show! They're right there on TV. Maybe I'm not one to "jidge" (as she would say).

Eating Clothes

from my genius of a husband, Michael Lewy

Radical Honesty

I have always said that there should be one day every year when people say exactly what they are thinking...call it a holiday if you will.

Dr. Brad Blanton of Radical Honesty does just that, but he does it every day. Last night, Dr. Blanton was on NPR on On Point with Tom Ashbrook and I was all for where he was going with his radical honesty lifestyle until it was mentioned that at their events, everyone gets naked...A quote from the website:"At the Center for Radical Honesty, we are building communities of intimate friends who are creating a revolution in consciousness ..."

I'm sorry but I don't need that kind of intimacy, and that my friends, is the truth!

Tiny Street Art

I love these (via Boing Boing). They're like this... only, dare I say it...better.

Two more Etsy-ers

Powder Mill Studio

Yankee Girl Designs

Etsy in New England

I sent out a message on the Bostonia Craft Mafia Yahoo list looking for Etsy shop owners in the area...I got a great response. Thanks everyone. Here are some of the finds.

Lady of Lake magnet from Magnets of the Round table series by Sonjaboo

Tilted Eight sterling earrings from Stone Soup Jewlery

Moonlight Tiki Party skin therapy creme by Relaxation Works

Lime in Coconut Sparkle Fluff by Sparkle Cookie

Birdy bobby pins by Muchachak

Ah to spend a day reading in this room

From Michael Haverland Architect via Desire to Inspire.

Two Sarahs

When Michael & I were in Portland (yes Oregon again), we bought a great piece of art by Sarah Landwehr. I just found her Etsy shop and had to post to it. I love her stuff.

Plus Minus Zero

Thanks to Josh Glenn (of Brainiac and the HC) for pointing out this great humidifier (the blue donut above) designed by Plus Minus Zero out of Japan. Other great designs of theirs are the flashlight (torch) and the 8" LCD TV. Very cool.

Raul Frisneda Jewlery

During our trip to the Berkshires this weekend (which I will write more about later), we went to a crafts fair at Butternut on Rt. 23. I have to say I was not impressed (in the least) with anything there (sorry if you happen to be one of the "artists") EXCEPT for the jewlery at Raul Frisneda (which I was blown away by). I can't afford any of it but the work was really exquisite.

Etsy a plenty

Our Etsy life is finally coming alive. We've sold a couple of items from our store and most notably, we've been sited on a couple of blogs. Marjorie at Marmee Craft wrote about us on her blog on Friday. Her stuffed bunnies are adorable. Louise at Arts and Ghosts also listed the Liasynthis store as one of her favorites. She creates ethereal photo collages that evoke memories of fairy tales.

Paper Planes on Liasynthis by Michael Lewy

Marmee Craft Choco Bunny

Art and Ghosts Proud Sally

On another note, longtime friends Kelly, Deb and Carol at Bread + Butter in Brooklyn had their Etsy shop written up on Design Sponge. (examples of their work are below).

The only thing better, I think, would be a write up in Domino (where one of the three talented women used to work, I won't mention which one). You never know...