The jewelry artist behind House That Crow Built creates an engaging and unusual assortment of jewelry using combinations of stones, mother-of-pearl, glass, and silver. Flying birds, acorns, hearts, and buttons become rings, pendants and whatever else comes to the mind of this very creative person in Pittsburgh.

 

Check out House That Crow Built in Lookup. 

Lavish Naturals makes very pretty handcrafted soaps.  They leave out all the synthetic stuff and use mostly vegetable oils and butters, essential oils, botanicals, clays and purified earth pigments. They also sell dead sea bath salts and soaps packaged for gifts.

 

Check out Lavish Naturals. 

Stephanie Teague, in Greensboro, North Carolina, makes dresses and skirts and pants and blouses and the coolest hemp scarves around, all under her Pretty Birdie label.  She makes girly clothes that combine sassy flamboyance with classic themes.  They remind me of 30s movie star garb, but updated for the new millinium.

 

Check out Stephanie Teague in Lookup. 

Chocolate.com is a collective of artisan and gourment chocolate makers from all over the world.  The site provides an online marketplace where chocolate lovers can connect with chocolate chefs and small shop owners offering often ususual small batch chocolate products.  And they make it easy to find important specialty chocolates like vegan, organic, kosher, and fair trade.

The creative energy behind Tortoise Loves Donkey, in Alameda, California, is a violinist/violist who, when she's not making music, creates elegantly simple miniature terrariums using succulents and air plants. These small plantings are great for tight spaces like window sills or bookshelves, and they're also great for gift giving.

 

Get more info on Tortoise Loves Donkey. 

 

eCarpetGallery.com carries a wide selection of handmade rugs, both new and used Persian and Orientals.  They're strictly online, with prices way below what you normally see for rugs of this quality.  They have lots of rug info at the website, shipping is free (U.S. and Canada) and they have experts on hand to help you by telephone.  

 

Get more info on eCarpetGallery.com.

Emily Ryan is an independent fashion designer in Portland, Oregon.  Her style is elegant, classy, laid back, and casual all mixed in together.  It's thoroughly modern with a hint of the space-age look that pervaded fashion in the '60s. 

 

Get the scoop on Emily Ryan fashion.

 

Elsewares is an online catalog of products from independent designers, artists, and entrepreneurs.  It's a wellspring of unique and unusual home and garden products, as well as jewelry and clothing accessories.   The vintage airmail envelope shown here is a good example:  It's actually a tyvek wallet.

 

Take a looksee at Elsewares.

 

Nate Waxman creates original and limited edition jewelry in the dramatic and colorful style made famous by Swoboda in the '60s and '70s, when he worked there.  He continues that tradition of using precious and semi-precious gemstones and 22 carat gold plating to create affordable high-style jewelry that looks like it costs a fortune.

 

Get more info on Nate Waxman Jewelry.

The Book Box Company, a family run business on Vancouver Island in Canada, recycles discarded books by creating storage boxes for personal items like jewelry, passports, or important documents. They harden the pages into a solid mass that they then hollow out through a machining process. The finished product uses the top cover as a box lid. 

 

Get more info the Book Box Company.