Enunciation

This clip was taken over the holidays in PEI.

Since then, Sadie's vocabulary has grown to include the words "bye", "mommy", "dada", "nononononooooo", "bubba" (aka bottle), and "ticky-ticky-ticky" which is her version of tickling. Oh and I shouldn't leave out the dialect that she has apparently picked up from the Martians, the one that goes something like "ogleeeogleeeogleeegoyeeeoyyeeegeee".

Change is good!

Hi eVeRyOnE!

Introducing the new masthead. Is it too big? Too busy? Too in your face?

It's just that the old one was created slightly hastily; meant for temporary use only, and well, it's almost been a year.

I'm working on new print media for K&P this month and I thought I might as well update the blog graphics as well.

Here is permuation #2:

and #3:

I want to keep it simple and fresh, but also representative of the style and personality of all those Koos, all those Poppets. Who is who anyway? Even I don't know!

View from the top

(as seen through a camera phone)

"Help is a Verb"

“Help is a verb” – we have one world and our neighbor is crying. By Michele Bedigian.

I love the ways of the worldwide web.

The online exchange of information is so astonishing to me, especially at a time like this, with so many people in need of so much.

Think of the ways of the world 20 years ago; information technology was not nearly what it is today (I know, duh). There wasn't really an internet (or at least, the majority of the world's population didn't know how to use it and even if you did, it took ten minutes to load a page) and there was no texting, no instant messaging. When fundraising efforts were in high demand, we relied on toll-free numbers, snail mail and in-person donations. Not to say there's anything wrong with those methods, but here and now in 2010, we can press a button and send help on any scale.

I guess what got me thinking about this is that I realized that 90 percent of what I know about Haiti's current humanitarian situation has come from the internet. And 90 percent of that 90 percent has been information about relief efforts. Where to click, what to text, how to help.

There is one effort in particular that I would like to highlight and, not surprisingly, I found out about it online, from local designer Beth Campbell of bethcampbellcreative.

What it is: for every $50 donated to CARE for Haitian relief efforts, donors receive a limited edition, signed 13" x 19" illustration by the one of the STUDIO 1482 artists.

Click here: OneDrawingADay (see, it's that simple!)

Art at its best, that for a cause.

“Hispaniolan Trogan” – Drawing/collage of the national bird of Haiti, the Hispaniolan Trogan. By Greg Betza.

Thanks to Beth for the info.

Lovelies (things found while browsing the web)

linen curtains: anthropologie

fleur-de-lis tumblers: anthropologie

owl clock: decoylab

nest bowl: Chintz

wall decals: PopWall

curtain rod: umbra

side table: available at Only Human

initial pendant: pyrrha

towels: anthropologie

(I promise there will be more Koo & Poppet updates soon. For now, I'm a little overwhelmed with all the goings on around the house, so be warned that this blog may be inundated by home improvement posts for the next little while! )

Help Haiti

50% of proceeds from orders placed by 12:00 a.m. PST on Wednesday, January 20th, will be donated to Haiti relief through the Red Cross. Please pass it on!

EDIT: offer will continue to be in effect until 12:00 a.m. PST on Wednesday, January 27th.

www.kooandpoppet.com

Featured Artist: MINU

Based in New Zealand, Minu is an illustrator and a toy maker. I am in love with the little stuffed creatures (Bous) and how their ears seem to blow in the wind.

::www.minu.co.nz::

::www.minu.etsy.com::

Koo & Poppet HQ: from a caterpillar to a butterfly! (eventually)

Our basement is currently a construction zone. For the sake of my sanity, last night I at least organized the piles of all the things that have been recently ousted from my office during the reno. All pens, and I mean ALL pens, are in one place. You have no idea how satisfying that knowledge is for me!

Yes, Scott is selflessly slaving away his weekends to give me a brand new sparkly workspace for Koo & Poppet to conduct business and create. I'm contemplating an entire chalkboard wall, which would serve not only as one bigmassivehuge list-making place, but also as the back-drop for photos of new Koos (on little white shelves). Anyway, while I'm sure no one really cares about the office upgrade, I do want to share my first official decor purchase (from derder), and yes, I know these are EVERYWHERE:

For times when I don't notice for 5 minutes that the bobbin thread has run out; for times when I sew over a pin and break a needle; for times when Coco The Whippet eats a Koo.

Featured Artist: Naoko Stoop

I thought I'd add a new segment to the blog this year. Every so often I'll feature artists whom I've stumbled upon via the web. I've marked so many as favourites on Etsy to be revisited later, and this is a perfect way to ensure I do so.

The first featured artist is Naoko Stoop who was born in Tokyo but illustrates from her home in Brooklyn, New York. She writes on her website: "My artwork comes from the everyday life in my neighborhood....Most of the materials I use are from the neighborhood...Since I was little, I was fascinated with creating things on used paper....'brown paper bag collection' came from this fascination. I use used and folded brown paper bags as my canvas....Drawing living things is central to my exploration of life. Combining this with painting, collage and printmaking, I am trying to create images that project the beauty in life."

I think her work can be enjoyed by both children and adults, and several of the pieces would complement each other in triptych form. I imagine them looking beautiful in a gender-neutral woodland nursery....but then, I'm biased!

I've always believed that working with collage requires a kind of deliberate sentiment, if that makes any sense, though I'm not sure it does. Nonetheless, there is a certain something in the quality of her work that convinces me she must be a sincere and gentle person, and who doesn't love one of those?

Visit her website here to see more

A westcoaster flies east for the winter

Here are a few photos from our holiday in (on?) Prince Edward Island:

Can't you just hear the quiet?

One of my very first blog posts was about this distinctive place. You can read it here, if you wish.

Lost Generation

This video has been around for awhile now, so you may have already stumbled upon it a dozen times, but regardless, it's a good one....worth the minute and forty-four seconds of your time!

New friends, new beginnings

Ingrid, Pilar, Sienna and Finnley are the new year's first additions to Klub Koo!

Some are more excited about it than others :-)

So I guess this will be my Ringing In The New Year post, or at least, as close as I will come to one. Let's see.....I don't think I'll re-hash all the happenings of 2009, nor will I set unattainable goals for 2010 (let's face it - I might just have to learn to live with my "kangaroo pouch"). Rather, I will say this:

In 2010,

I hope to be more:

patient with all people and things; my family, my dog, my computer, bad drivers.

organized. My new home office will include the following designated spaces: CUTTING, SEWING, SHIPPING, ADMINISTRATION, STORAGE. Let it be known that I WILL NOT AGAIN LOOSE TRACK OF EVEN ONE SEWING NEEDLE

handy around the house. I usually leave all the manual labour to my husband, but there is no reason why I can't do some jobs myself. Yesterday I removed some old metal brackets from the wall with a screwdriver and changed a lightbulb. Don't laugh - I know there are others out there like me.

I hope to be less:

wasteful. I'm pretty good as it is, but there is always a way to use less.

tardy. I have had problems with punctuality since grade two, and it's something I really wish to change. Also, I always have too many bags with me. You'd think I could put everything I need in one big bag, but instead I wind up walking from the car to the house with a purse, a diaper bag, a shopping bag, and a bag filled with miscellany. Inevitably, at least one pinky finger has nearly been amputated by the time I reach the front door.

of a consumer. Of this, I am truly guilty. I love to shop, and sometimes I shop impulsively. This year, I will only buy what I need (which rules out a lot of the things I love, like shoes).

I hope to do more:

writing. I used to write a lot. Since Sadie was born I've kept a journal of letters to her, but my entries are infrequent. So are the occasions when I actually sit down at my computer and really write something here on this blog.

painting. I used to paint a lot. I used to become frustrated when I was painting if something wasn't working out the way I wanted it to. try a little of that patience.

running. I have a love-hate relationship with running. I dread it like the plague, but I feel so good afterwards. And a little more time to myself might be kind of nice.

I hope to do less:

worrying, especially about things that are out of my control.

procrastinating. Seriously, a girl can only organize her closet so many times.

snoozing, as in snooze button. I want to train myself to become a morning person, FINALLY. I love mornings! I would love to wake up early, go for a run without procrastinating, resist the urge to consume a latte from the coffee shop (but if I did I would be sure to use my own mug and not a paper one), arrive home at the time I said I would be home, fix a leaky tap before sitting down to paint something that goes terribly wrong but I wouldn't get mad about it. And then I would write about it all on this blog without worrying about my grammar.

Oh, and there are lots of other things I hope to be and do in 2010. For updates on the progress, you know where to find me ;)

What do you hope to do more or less of this year? What will you be? What won't you be?

Opinions please, my friends

Welcome back everyone!

I feel as if there is so much to write about this month. Resolution, inspiration, renovation, tales of travel, tales of excessive holiday chocolate consumption.....

I mean to get to all of it, but for tonight I will simply put it to a vote:

I am working on the 2010 Koo & Poppet kollection, and I would like to know: of the five japanese fabrics featured below (all from karaku's etsy shop) which THREE would you like to see adorning the tummies of three friendly misfit creatures?

Polka dots

Strawberries

Trees

Vines

Paris

I'm very grateful for your input, thanks!