Sweet little button flowers in our bud vases from upcycled silverware make a perfect Springtime pairing!  Emily has been busy at FOUND making lots of these colorful button bouquets for Mother’s Day.  It’s an easy project – just thread thin guage foral wire through the button holes, then hold the flower “head” while you twist the wire tight. If desired wire several together and add ribbon leaves for a vintage bouquet.  It’s a great project to do with kids.  Small vintage bottles make great vases, too.

You’ll find charming Mom’s Day cards at FOUND (handmade in Ann Arbor) that incorporate vintage story book images.  What Mom wouldn’t love these?  

This week, all  jewelry and candles are 10% off at FOUND. And  Saturday morning (May 12), we’ll have a drop in button flower making session for kids between 10 a.m. and noon.  We’ll help them make a couple flowers and wrap them up for Mommy or Grandma. 

Happy Mother’s Day from FOUND!

Above: Cre Fuller’s robots with admirer – photo compliments of Charlene Plagens.  Below: Sarah Stanton metal wall art.

Above: Bingo Twin wooden dolls.   Below: Fashion collage. Both by Marsha Filipiak.

Mirror (2 views) and cottage assemblages by John Gutoskey.

Below: Jewelry made from watches by Rena Hopkins.

Below: bags constructed from vintage neckties and handstitched heart pillows by Celibeth Donnelly.

Below: more robots by Cre Fuller.

What a fun show!  Next post will announce winner of our $50 FOUND gift card drawing.

Here’s an introduction to the 6 artists in our  first annual Eco-funky Art Show.

 Cre Fuller is the Ypsilanti artist behind Tin Angry Men Industries.  I’ve admired Cre’s incredible robot lamps and sculptures for years and am thrilled that he’s agreed to bring a collection of tin men to FOUND for this show.

 Rena Hopkins is a Detroit area artist who will be bringing “steampunk” jewelry created from such found objects as watch parts, old keys and game pieces, but as you can see on her website, the Divine Iguana wears many other artistic hats as well.  We think you’ll love her jewelry as much as we do.

Many of you know and wear the  jewelry we carry by Ann Arborite  Sarah Stanton.  For this show Sarah is doing wall art with an industrial flair for us!  Sarah is inspired by unusual materials, textures and patterns and loves to work in metal.  We’re looking forward to seeing the larger pieces she’ll bring to this show. 

Hailing from Royal Oak, Marsha Filipiak has been a stained glass artist for a few decades, but recently became facinated by digital minipulation – her use of vintage photos and ephemera as source material is what we like.   Made by Marsha digital collages are mounted on salvaged wood blocks and embellished with found objects for a whimsical effect.

Seamstress and artist Celibeth Donnelly is a jack-o-all-trades and master of many!  She’s the inspiration behind this show and friend of many of our favorite artistic people.  For this show, we’ll feature her new line of bags made from vintage men’s ties, as well as her delightful collage prints and notecards.

Last, but not least, we’re thrilled that John Gutoskey has agreed to participate.  I’ve long admired his creative process and attention to minute details.  We know that he’s bringing the mandala created from salvaged game parts, and look forward to seeing what other mixed media assemblages he’ll have at FOUND for this special weekend show.

Dates and times for Eco-funky Art Show.  April 20-22 at FOUND.

Opening Reception.  Friday April 20  7:00-9:00 p.m.

Saturday April 21  9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Sunday April 22   11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

I’m really excited to be featuring these 6 artists – all of them use recycled, found or vintage materials in ways that make me very happy!  Watch this space for details about the artists and what they’re bringing.

The FOUND  facebook comment winner is Deborah King Larson – who favors homemade shamrock shakes to the traditional corned beef and cabbage.  And the FOUND blog commentor who wins a $17 lucky FOUND gift card is Shawn M. who celebrates her sister-in-law Pat’s St. Patrick’s Day birthday with cake!

Congratulations Deborah and Shawn!  I tucked your gift cards in envelopes for pick-up next time you’re at the shop.

Do you have a favorite St. Patrick’s Day tradition?  I come from a long line of somewhat Irish folk – my grandmother celebrated with an Irish blessing and a shamrock pin on her sweater.  Mom made corned beef and cabbage.  Dad and my brothers once painted their shoes bright green to attend a cousins St. Patrick’s Day wedding!

Comment about something you like to do on St. Patrick’s Day  at the bottom of this post or on our facebook page for a chance to win a FOUND gift card.

At FOUND, we celebrate March 17th with 17% off any green colored item in the store – even if it has the tiniest wee bit o’ green in the packaging, it’s on sale…  

Frogs are on sale of course – and the mint lotion with green on the label.  All the Green Daffodil soy candles have the color green in the packaging.

10 foot rolls of burlap make great table runners.

Green candles in 5 different shades, candle rings, wreaths and florals add an instant touch of springtime to your home.

There’s more than a bit of green in this jewelry!

Just noticed that some of the stamp sets by Yellow Owl Workshop have green on some of them, too.

These little birds have green stands and almost everything in the front window would be part of the St. Patrick’s Day special.

And looking forward to Easter, these bunnies and eggs are 17% off on Saturday.

Hope this St. Patrick’s Day finds your Irish (or not so Irish) eyes a smiling, and your day full of the luck of the Irish!

If you find yourself in Kerrytown (an Irish place, at that), stop by FOUND and save a bit of green on anything green.

oh, and one more thing…comment below or on our facebook page about one of your favorite St. Patrick’s Day traditions, and we’ll enter your name in a drawing for a $17 FOUND gift card!

 Felted bunnies and eggs.

We’ve added a lot of charms, pendants and jewelry findings so that you can assemble your own necklaces and bracelets.

 (check out our workshop page for info about the upcoming Patera workshops)

Stop in soon and see what else we’ve found!

Here are a few favorite valentine images from FOUND.

We only have a few vintage valentines left - people have been shopping early this year!  But we still have lots of great jewelry, candles and gifts.  Our latest pillow style from Kriss LeCocq states LOVE in bold graphic style.

These needlefelted strawberries just arrived from the AuGres Sheep Factory.  Would be sweet valentine gifts.

 Sweet plaques with hearts.

A few weeks ago, we went to Beckman’s handcrafted show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and found some great new things to carry at FOUND.  This week, our orders started to arrive!

Chicago jewelry designer Veronica Riley Martens works with colorful beads made from South American tree nuts called tagua.  This is a newly popular, eco-friendly material that was previously used to make lovely carved buttons in the early part of 20th century.  We’ve had a variety of vintage tagua buttons at the shop before.  The meat of the nut is noted for it’s ability to take colorful dyes.  In natural form, it resembles ivory from elephant tusks, thus is often referred to as vegetable ivory. It’s smoothness makes it easy to carve. When plentiful “modern” plastics became available that could be used to make cheaper buttons, tagua nut use fell from favor during the 1930′s.  Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of products being made from this plentiful natural material.

Veronica includes this info with her jewelry: ” Tagua Nut Beads are made from the fuit of a palm tree from the South American rainforests.  This eco-friendly product helps sustain rainforests by harvesting a renewable resource without damaging the trees.  The use of tagua nuts also provides jobs for over 35,000 people in Ecuador alone. (pronounced TOG-wa).” 

All the tagua nut jewelry at FOUND is designed by Veronica Riley Martens and handcrafted in Chicago.  We love the necklaces, earrings and rings she sent us in a wonderful palette of greens, orange, grey and brown. 

The material is lightweight and easy to wear.  Stop by and see our collection and the sample nut – we think you’ll be seeing a revival of the buttons, beads and other products made from the versatile tauga nut in the future!

You all know that I love vintage children’s school books. Last week I found a couple of little Chinese readers. The images are so sweet.

I found a great 1920′s menswear style portfolio from a Chicago tailor shop – these oversize fashion posters would be terrific framed. There are 20 in the collection, priced from $18-$28 each.  One features knickers and a wool jacket for golfing.

If you’re looking for some small ephemera to make cards out of, we recently added a bunch of old Popeye & Olive Oyl playing cards.  Playing cards often feature images that lend themselves well to repurposing for paper arts.  Check out our selection next time you’re in the shop.

From a time when quill pens and beautiful script was the norm in business. Palmer Method of Business Writing.  Actually, even when I was in school, Palmer Method for schools was the standard for learning to print, and for the big move to cursive writing in third grade. 

Lots more vintage ephemera at FOUND!