Local finds: LouLouBell and Love Me Boutique
Even before I took the "Handmade Pledge" this holiday season, I was a fan of shopping for not only handmade items, but locally produced handmade items. I've always been a sucker for a Christmas Craft Fair. And even though Etsy makes it so easy to find awesome handmade goodies, I still love to troll around craft fairs and farmer's markets for the perfect gift.
This Christmas, despite being on a strict budget, I set out looking for something (a) awesome, and (b) available within walking distance as a gift for my best friend. Although I've known her since we were 11, shopping for her is a challenge as we live in different cities in different provinces. It's not always easy to buy something that she'll want or use. Since we dont' get to see each other all that often, I'm not always sure what her style is these days and I've never been inside her house to see her decorating style. So when I happened about the craftiness of LouLouBell at the Halifax Farmer's Market, I was pretty excited. She makes the cutest little bags/pouches and felt birds. Her fabric choices are super fantastic and the pouches were all lined in denim. It was hard not to pick out the fabric that would suit me best (as opposed to suiting my friend), but I think I managed:
It's one of those gifts that you want to keep. And not only are they super cute, this one cost only $10! I know that I'll eventually have to buy one for myself.
I also liked her felt birds, although I wasn't able to buy one as it looked similar to some things I've made. I haven't actually made bird ornaments per se, but I have started to make some felt crafts lately. I'm a little weird like that - if I think I can figure out how to make it, I probably won't buy it (whether or not I will actually get around to making it). It's the reason why I haven't been able to buy any hats/scarves/mittens since I've learned to knit. No matter how cute, I just cannot justify spending my money on something I could do at home. The only thing I do give into is sweaters - while I can technically knit a sweater, it's a project that I'm unlikely to finish in a reasonable amount of time and there is no way I could knit most sweaters for a reasonable price. (Nice yarn doesn't really fit into my budget these days).
Regardless, her stuff is great. And I was also excited to see that she sells them at a local shop - one I hadn't heard of before. I really need to get out more. If you're in the Halifax area, it's Love, Me Boutique on Birmingham. I only found out about it yesterday, so I haven't actually been yet - but they sell only Canadian handmade products and they're located downtown, which already makes it awesome in my books. I'm really excited to check it out.
Posted byHello Pineapples! on Friday, January 11, 2008
0 comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
