We’re gearing up for Artwalk Ann Arbor next Friday.  As a special treat, artist Katherine Larson will be set up with her easel, brushes and paints creating miniature scenes of Ann Arbor right in our hallway!  You may recognize Katherine’s illustrations from her years of being one of the local artists who produced Ann Arbor Observer covers – last year she released a wonderful compilation of those covers in a lovely book called Ann Arbor Observed.  We carry this popular book at FOUND – during Artwalk, Katherine would be happy to autograph a copy for you.

She is also the illustrator behind the “Ann Arbor and the Rest of the World” posters that are always best sellers at graduation time – the poster is based on an iconic New Yorker cover.

Although Katherine will be working on miniature canvases during Artwalk, she’s well known for creating large scale murals.  The latest mural was a series of panels for the new Whole Foods Market in Detroit.  Here’s a link to a short video made during the creation of that mural:  Muralist Katherine Larson. Detroit Whole Foods.  It’s fascinating to watch the progression from single panel to full mural installation on the huge brick wall of the new building.

Katherine is also the graphic designer behind our FOUND ads and a personal friend. It’s been a pleasure to get to know this multi-talented woman – not only has she written and illustrated numerous children’s books, but she is also a trained opera singer, makes custom fairy houses, does fine art portraiture and plein air painting, creates Ann Arbor ornaments, presents school assemblies, builds props and generally just knows how to get things done.  On her website there are photos of other large scale murals and projects she’s done.  On Friday, June 21 from 5-7 p.m., we hope you’ll stop by FOUND to meet Katherine as she creates miniature scenes of Ann Arbor.  She’ll also have limited edition prints of Observer covers for sale – the perfect size to fit in our Urban Ashes frames!

ABOUT ARTWALK 2013: Artwalk Ann Arbor is a one evening event – from Kerrytown to Main Street – sponsored by Art Showcase Magazine and Ann Arbor State Bank.  Friday, June 21 from 5-9 p.m.  Most of the events in Kerrytown will be finished by 8 p.m.  In addition to Katherine’s painting demo, we’ll also sponsor an ArtTalk by Paul M. Hickman at 6:30 in Fustinis Oils & Vinegar Shop and the first ever Urban Ashes frames second sale at FOUND. Great locally made frames at a great discount!  16 Hands and Heavenly Metal will have demos and trunk shows.  There will be live music, refreshments, chalk art by David Zinn, wine tasting and more.  Stop by the Ann Arbor Public Schools art exhibit in the former Hollanders Kitchen space.  Details about this and the Main Street features can be found in the summer issue of Art Showcase.  Flap through this online version with 6 pages of Artwalk 2013 info or pick up a print version at FOUND!

And don’t forget to enter to win a $50 FOUND gift card on the evening of June 21st.  It could be an extra lucky night for you!

About 12 years ago, I scanned hundreds of  family photos onto “zip disks” – at the time, the latest, greatest thing to store large numbers of high res images onto.  Just over a decade later, I’m dismayed that I no longer have a means to access those images.  Of course, Mom still has all the originals, but as I was writing this post I had hoped to include a few of my favorite pictures of my dad.  Here are some photos I’d include if I had the files.  One of my absolute favorites is a 1960′s photo of him wearing a white t-shirt stirring a huge copper caldron of apple butter in the back yard, surrounded by us little kids.  I’d also include photos of him dressed up at baptisms and parties – looking dapper in madman-era suit and tie.  And others in his overalls taking care of what needed to be done.  Still another favorite finds him wearing a yellow sport coat and raising a PBR on the deck of the lake house at one of the many huge family gatherings Mom and Dad would host each summer.  Whenever I go to the lake house, he is there in spirit.

My father is always a part of me – I look in the mirror and see his face.  When I figure out smart ways of moving heavy things, I think of Dad.  When I see the Coke cooler in the shop, I think of Dad.  He reused what was available to serve a new purpose.  After I started FOUND, Dad loved hearing about ways my customers upcycled and reused things.  Ask me about the rusty locker basket story sometime.  I know I have a special talent for  fitting more in the back of my van than anyone would think possible – it runs in the family – from my paternal grandfather who knew exactly what space something would take up without needing to measure.  Dad and I can’t quite claim Grandpa’s ability but we definitely both got the spacial gene.  I also got the short legs/long torso genes from him, but never mind about that.  What really matters is that we strive to emulate the best qualities of those whose lives touch ours.  This Father’s Day weekend, I’ll be remembering and celebrating things about my dad that have made me a better person.

(insert photo of Dad on porch at lake house here…. OR substitute more recent picture since I don’t have that image file at this time)

Here’s to you, Dad!  Love you and miss you.

The spirit of collaboration and thinking outside the box by the Urban Ashes Picture Frame Company is a Michigan success story!  As one of their first retail partners, we’re pleased to be a small part of that story.

Urban Ashes founder Paul M. Hickman will be presenting a FOUND Art Talk on Friday, June 21st at 6:30 p.m. during Artwalk Ann Arbor.  For this half hour Art Talk, Paul will share stories about working with municipalities, businesses and non-profit groups in an endeavor which creates jobs for transitional workers while keeping felled urban trees from being turned into mulch and firewood (or out of the landfills).  Paul will also talk about the latest collaboration with non-profit groups who are deconstructing Detroit homes scheduled for demolition.  His line of Detroit DeNailed frames are born from that effort. Providing work and sustainable products is what it’s all about!

The art talk will take place across the hall from FOUND at Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars on the second floor of the Kerrytown Market & Shops.  Fusinis will be sampling hor’dourves made from their incredible products during the evening.  If you weren’t already aware,  Artwalk Ann Arbor is a new one night event with about a dozen walkable venues from Kerrytown to Main Street.

CLEARANCE SAle. We have a great selection of made in Michigan Urban Ashes frames to choose from every day.  As a bonus on the weekend of Art Walk, we’ll have even more – at reduced prices! As the company has evolved, Paul has amassed a good sized group of experimental, one-offs and “seconds” that will be available for sale at great discounts. Still pretty wonderful for your favorite photos, but don’t go with what they are doing now, so they are being cleared out of the warehouse.  This special sale will begin at 5:00 June 21 – and end promptly at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 23.  Come Friday evening for the best selection!

Here’s the link if you’d like to follow Urban Ashes on Facebook.

I’ll be adding more info about what FOUND is doing for Art Walk in the next few days, but here are a couple tidbits – muralist Katherine Larson will be painting little scenes of Ann Arbor right in the shop from 5:00-7:00.  Our neighbors 16 Hands, Heavenly Metal and Metal, plus galleries on Main Street will have trunk shows or demos as well.  Food, wine, art, friends, good conversation all on a Friday night.  With time to head to Top of the Park afterwards.  Ann Arbor in the summertime, ahhh….

Using vintage metal folding rulers to create unique bracelets and rings is a novel idea for upcycled jewelry.  Lightweight and eco-funky, these are a new favorite with our customers.  Made in Wisconsin – available at FOUND.

Below are some other pieces by the same artist who uses old road signs, heavy aluminum restaurant trays and salvaged industrial metals.  Rings, bracelets AND these awesome money clips = great gift ideas!

Cuff bracelets with vintage Coca Cola tags on various recycled metal bases.

For some of the cuff bracelets, the artist used parts of old fire extinguishers.  All these have a very industrial look.

One of my favorite things about FOUND is the variety of merchandise that works with our concept of mixing old and new and handmade into one fun store.  This post features photos of some of our latest finds in each of those categories.  First up are these nutritional teaching aids from the late 1950′s.  I love the vintage Fiesta style dishes.   Pick out your favorite food combos. Check out the nutritional stats on the back.  Interesting for recycled paper arts or just to hang on the fridge.  We have dozens available, but when they are gone, I don’t know if I’ll ever find them again.

Here’s a uique photo frame for the cottage – handcrafted from vintage water skis   The bindings are left on the back side to hold the frame upright.  How awesome is that for that photos at the lake?

If you’re more into sailing than water skiing, then we have a couple vintage books with yachting instructions!

This toy lithographed tin blue & white tea set is in rough condition, but we still love it.

I first saw these special little notebooks at Detroit Mercantile in the Eastern Market area.  Now we have them at FOUND, too (thanks,  Robert, for sharing your source).  Perfect for laying out your big ideas – and to note all the little steps to fulfill those schemes and dreams.

Speaking of Detroit, Urban Ashes has a new “Detroit DeNailed” line of frames in which they collaborate with a non-profit group that deconstructs homes that were slated for demolition.  On Friday, June 21st at 6:30, come to Kerrytown to hear Paul M. Hickman tell the Urban Ashes story, including how Detroit DeNailed evolved.  The talk will be part of the first Art Showcase Art Walk Ann Arbor event.

If you have a dog, you might get a chuckle out of this magnet:

Here’s a little vintage dog that you never need to let in and out.

Lots more to show you, but need to go…. more later!

Frost earlier in the week – 80 degrees yesterday. And beautiful sunny skies this morning.  It’s time to plant flowers this weekend!

Below are some things we have in the shop this week that may give you a bit of inspiration.

A vintage salmon pink trowel!  This is the first one I’ve found.  Have some other nice sturdy green ones.  These old trowels don’t bend when you dig into a bit of clay soil like a lot of the new ones.  And we have a few vintage McCoy pots.  I’ll be out searching for more vintage pots and garden tools this weekend.

I picked up couple dozen of these rusty orange buckets at the Ann Arbor Antiques Market last month.  Not sure what they were originally used for but they have drainage holes in the bottom so they are perfect for annuals.

Also took in a bunch of old fashioned bushel baskets this week – an inexpensive big planting container – just line it with garden cloth before adding dirt.  And how about using a mop pail to plant a big geranium?

Antique tool boxes are the right size to plop a couple of big pots of flowers in – or to use as a coffee table on the porch!  Bert’s tool box is painted orange inside and has the original liner tray.

FOUND has some plant holders made with rulers.  These are manufactured, but we also have yardsticks for those who prefer DIY!

Enjoy these beautiful Spring days!

p.s.  the Ann Arbor Farmers Market had a wonderful selection of annuals and perennials yesterday.  check them out on Saturday or Wednesday…

Right on cue, April showers turned to May flowers last week!   In this part of Michigan, it’s too early to plant annuals, but flowering bulbs and perennials are alive with color.  Daffodils just finished blooming. The bleeding heart by my front walk is looking sweet in pink today.  And the fresh green of spring is everywhere.

Mother’s Day is Sunday.  If you are still looking for a gift, a bud vase made right here in Ann Arbor from recycled silverware is just right for a special spring flower (or even a dandelion that the kids pick).

We also have a fresh selection of  colorful flower pins, handcrafted from old zippers!

If Mom likes to garden, she might like this vintage gardening book.

What about this vintage nursery chalkboard sign?  It would be fun to hang this near your garden or on a covered porch!

The Ann Arbor Farmers Market will have lots of Mother’s Day flowers this Saturday.  Once again this year, photographer Myra Klarman will be taking free portraits with mom in the outside market area Saturday morning from 10-noon.  Her lovely informal shots in the Farmers Market are always special.  The prints will be available for pickup in Kerrytown after May 25th.

On Mother’s Day, the Sunday Artisans Market has a wonderful lineup of artists and entertainment scheduled from 11 a.m. in the Farmer’s Market area. FOUND is so fortunate to have this Artisan’s Market on Sundays AND the Farmers Market on Saturdays and Wednesdays right outside our windows!

We’re thankful for Spring Flowers and for Moms!  Enjoy these beautiful Spring days.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that Urban Fairies have built a little workshop and garage in front of FOUND in Kerrytown.  Or perhaps you’ve walked by dozens of times and never even seen it.  Close to the floor is this 3 or 4 inch high entry door to the space where Ann Arbor fairies come to work and play (in the wee hours of the night when the rest of the building is all locked up).  The latest evidence appeared last week when a fairy sized typewriter appeared.

Here’s a closer look.

And an even closer look.

I wonder which fairy knows how to write… as I understand it, most fairies are illiterate.  But could this be the beginning of a story or a fairy poem?  Is it a to do today list?  Or a letter to a friend?  Or just banging on the keys and getting them all stuck…  The tiny type is too small for me to decipher.

Do you know about the Washtenaw Wanderers Fairy Door Walk on Sunday, May 5th?  Join them at the Michigan Union Sunday morning - click here for details.  We’ll have cookies at FOUND during the Fairy Walk.  Or you can find a map on the Official Urban Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor website that you can explore as your convenience.

Mentos and Vernors and…bubble gum?!!

What kind of music do you think urban fairies prefer? Or do they just pound on the keys? (that keyboard looks a bit rough for a fairy real pianist….

We’ll have to have an expert on urban fairies come to the shop for a Q and A before too long.

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It’s graduation weekend at the University of Michigan.  On a personal note, our daughter Laura is getting her MSW on Saturday and we couldn’t be prouder!  Here’s a big congratulatory shout-out to Laura and to all those who are moving on – best wishes from all of us at FOUND.

It’s been a popular week for cards and inspiration prints, with our manifesto cards from Holstee among the most popular.

An abridged version –  This is your Life.  Do what you love and do it often.  If you don’t like something change it.  If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV.  Start doing things you love.  Stop over analyzing.  Life is simple. Travel often. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them.  Life is short.  Live your dream and share your passion.   A great message for grads and for the rest of us, too.

Over at the Hostee.com website, people are sharing their stories and folks are getting involved in all kinds of ways to make the world a better place.  An article in the Refreshed section even includes a snippet about Urban Ashes.

It’s a week for looking back and looking ahead.  Embrace the transition.

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