fawn&forest

New from Q Collection Junior, the Alberto Winged Glider. It is absolutely breathtaking. The Alberto Glider is inspired by traditional wing chairs which in early American homes were meant to protect the lounger from a draft. This Winged chair envelopes the lounger and quiets the noise of the everyday bustle.

The Alberto Winged Glider is also meticulously crafted, with sustainable hardwood construction and 100% Belgian linen slip cover is pesticide and herbicide free, 100% biodegradable and available in 3 color options. 

The Alberto is beautiful. Stunning.

Danridge Geiger of the Make Believe Company is the imaginative type, a multi-media artist + woodworker. The mission of the Make Believe Company is to create beautiful handcrafted objects made from sustainable woods that last and inspire the imagination. The voice-powered guitar (above left) is amazing. My son Eliot loves his. 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I didn't know the word designer, so I wanted to be an architect. I liked to draw and make things up.

What's the most inspiring aspect of working with wood?
It can be anything. From a toy to a chair. The only limit to the material is your imagination. 

What does 2009 hold for you?
To get a Make Believe Guitar into the hands of every kid on the planet.

Thank you Danridge! Be sure to check out his blog.

New to f&f, surface-wall graphics by notNeutral! I think if you don't know what to put on the wall, and want something fun to do with your kiddos for the afternoon, these wall graphics are the way to go. 

The Season set is my favorite, which includes tree trunk parts, leaves, flowers, birds and butterflies.... 44 pieces in total (shown above right). You can also buy the booster set for the Season called Elements, a 52 pieces pack which includes clouds, birds, butterflies, frogs, ladybugs and snails (shown above, left).

notNeutral wall graphics are made of removable and reusable vinyl, so you can stick 'em.... and the rearrange them as you wish. Cool.

The Bumbleride Flyer in action at Mio Gelato in Portland, OR.  

Color: Seagrass
Favorite Feature: Adjustable handlebar so I can "face baby". Baby Owen liked that too.
Unexpected awesomeness: The zip-pocket on the front of the footmuff has ended up being quite useful. Pacifiers, toys, etc.

Also nice? The footprint of the Flyer does not take up the whole walkway at Anthropologie!

From the coziness of his walnut desk, Chris Meyers is the creative + design genius responsible for everything visual on fawn&forest. He also curated this month's Forest Finds which was quite nice of him to do. It looks like he had fun. Thank you Chris!

when you were a kid, what were your top 5 favorite things?
1. drawing fighter planes and tanks, basically things that would blow other things up 
2. rollerblading - also called fruit booting, or aggressive inline skating... i was pretty into it. lets not talk about it
3. fighting with my sister
4. kick-the-can with the neighborhood kids----basically tag - with a can-- also at night ...
5. being right


your top 5 favorite prods on f&f?
here we go --- not in order
1. gloggomobil: if i was neaf this would be huge-- and loud
2. monster truck vessel: other vessels are not as fun as these, and should feel bad about themselves
3. tiny warbler whale: perfect for a windowsill, if you're into stuffed things, and handstitching. summer was nice enough to gift me with one of these-- thanks summer!
4. boiled wool overcoat: if i was a child, and a girl, this would be an amazing christmas present, beautiful
5. the table: its a table


top 5 favorite sites?
1. fawnandforest.com  : its a site geared towards parents who love their children
2. notcot.org
3. grainedit.com
4. designiskinky.net
5. pandora.com


five of your favorite words?
1. goodgood
2. pontification
3. any word you can add "ers" too, like thanksers, because its better that way
4. doogie howser
5. fawnandforest.com


five things you want to do in the future?
1. not let the internet take over my life
2. make sculpture again..
3. continue living in portland...
4. learn to spell a bit better-- or possibly check my spelling a bit better?
5. continue loving my friends and family...only better---

My life with the Beaba Babycook continues. This little appliance really rocks it. I am loving it. My 3 year old calls it the "baby baby cooker" which makes me laugh.

Part .02 Organic Apples 

1. Wash + chop 3 small or 2 large organic apples (above, left). Because organic apples have never been sprayed with nasty pesticides + chemicals, the peels are ok to eat. I left the peels on which gave the puree a nice rosy color. Side thought: non-organic fruit is a really bad idea.
2. Follow the directions on how to use the Beaba, here. Super simple.
3. Feed fresh apple puree to baby or freeze in Fresh Baby Food Trays (shown above, right).

I was always a bit nervous when making my 1st son baby food. Back then, these were some of my questions + concerns:

How much baby food do I make at one time?
Not much. To start, babies do not necessarily eat much - a tablespoon (about 1 "cube") or so at a time. Making your own babyfood in small batches  not only makes it easy on you (you can literally do it while you make your morning coffee) but also allows you to try foods out on your baby to see what he likes. No big commitment to a 5 lb. bag of sweet potatoes!

Thick or thin?
Big decisions, which depends on what stage your baby is in. Once you have reach the pureeing step you can decide how thin (super smooth) or thick (chunky) you want to make the baby food. You can control the texture by using the steaming liquid (water!) in the pureeing process. Which is helpful. 

Added bonus: Instant healthy pasta sauce.

Baby food puree marketed as "sauce" for pasta is a perfect toddler lunch. This is perhaps the best idea i've had in a long time. Here is my brilliance:

1. Toss a handful of fresh (or from the freezer) mini-pasta (like ravioli) into a pan of salted boiling water + cook to the instructions on the package.
2. Defrost a couple cubes (if you use Fresh Baby Food Trays) of sweet potato, butternut squash etc.
3. Once the pasta is cooked, mix the defrosted puree with the pasta and a bit of butter or olive oil.
4. Slice up a crispy apple or grapes and you have a healthy, quick lunch for the kiddo.

I am now seeing the long term potential of the Beaba! Next week my series "My life with the Beaba Babycook" will continue as I bring to you butternut squash. Total excitement. 

Have you ever held a linocut? Lisa Price's linocut prints are absolutely amazing. The prints have an wonderful depth, each print is slightly different. The colors, so thoughtful. Thank you Lisa for kicking off this month's Forest Finds Q+A! 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wasn't one of those kids who had a particular career in mind. My parents encouraged us to keep our options open instead of guiding us directly into one career path. Naturally I have created things all my life. Drawing has been a huge part of my life ever since I could pick up a crayon. I also spent a lot of time playing with fabric and hand sewing doll clothes which led my grandmother to believe that I would become a fashion designer. My interest in nature and animals led me to write a paper on becoming a veterinarian in eighth grade. That was a momentary lapse created by force and was quickly trumped by more art classes. I believe the creation of artgoodies has been building my whole life. It's wonderful to be doing something for a living that makes total sense and seems to have had such a natural progression.


You are a very talented printmaker. What is your favorite part of the process? What inspires your imagery?
Thank you so much. It's hard to nail down one particular aspect of printmaking as it really is an amazing process as a whole. Carving the block and making intuitive decisions that can't be taken back is pretty exciting. Once you cut the block there is no going back, and I like the permanence and boldness of making those marks. Pulling the very first print is a really great point too. It's really exciting to see your print come alive. Mixing color ranks near the top for me. I mix all my own colors from scratch using only the primaries and white. I usually have an idea of the color direction but never hold up fabrics or color swatches to match. It fascinates me because later on when I am making aprons or stuffies the vintage fabrics have a way of matching almost perfectly. I tend to use fabrics almost exclusively from the 40's-60's and I guess I just have some kind of inner color retrometer.  The process as a whole is very intuitive and therapeutic to me.

As stated in my bio, I am heavily influenced by nature and vintage items. I have spent a lot of time studying both. I find them both to hold elements of wonder and whimsy. Sometimes the simplest things can make us the happiest and be the most beautiful.

What does 2009 hold for you?
2009 holds more travel for artgoodies. I hope to venture into new territory as far as indie craft shows go. I love to be out with my work meeting new and existing customers face to face. There's a great sense of community at these shows and so many awesome vendors. There's a major account in the works, and also some of my pieces are supposed to make their big screen debut. I am particularly excited about both of these but have to keep them under raps until they are officially out. I am researching some new product options and hope to see some other exciting opportunities come to fruition this year. There will be some new designs of course, and I am hopeful for more exciting press, new accounts, and unexpected surprises!

Felt is one of those materials that we all relate to. It takes us back to the 3rd grade. Filzfelt products are felt, updated. Available in delicious colors and in 100% wool. 

Coaster + placemat excellence!

Pirates are super cool. Who doesn't want to play pirates? For the over-zealous mom/aunt/grandma/friend who loves kits: the Pirate Kit by Miss Natalie! 

The kit includes a bunch of pirate-y goodies, including an eye patch, booty bag with coins and a treasure map.  Wow.

Carboard Safari is the cardboard version of taxidermy. Trophy heads of moose + deer, they're quite woodsy and with it. We have small bucks and moose as well in case you need your cardboard taxidermy micro. And I know some of you do.

Hmm... tomorrow is Valentines Day... and you still.... need to give a bit of love? How about a love letter + a faw&forest e-gift card?

Perfect!

Also check out last years felt heart project here.

Valentines Day + chocolate = chocolate cookies.. a fun project to do with the kids! These  Milk Chocolate Cookies are from the February '09 issue of Food&Wine (and it's also on their website). While the recipe is for frosting filled cookies, we skipped frosting because they are so amazing on their own. Besides being chocolate-y, these cookies are also crispy and a bit carmel-ish. We have made them 3 times in the past week or so!

The Beaba Babycook is one of those baby gadgets that I thought was slightly ridiculous because why should making baby food require a separate appliance? Some things seem so ridiculous that I have to try them out for myself. Perfect timing: our baby son Owen is starting solids.

This is what i found upon making sweet potatoes for the baby: i absolutely love the Beaba Babycook! It's amazing, right? Even though I am not a first time mom + have made baby food before I found it incredibly.... effortless.

Day 01: Organic Sweet Potatoes
1. Wash + peel 1 large organic sweet potato. Roughly cut into chunks (pictured above right).
2. Place the sweet potato chunks in the basket + follow the simple instructions concerning how much water to add.
3. Put the lids in place + turn the dial so the Beaba can do it's thing.
4. About 20 minutes later, the sweet potatoes are mushy-tender when I poke them with a fork. Good!
5. Carefully remove the "basket" that sits inside the steamer bowl. Hot!
6. Some water remains in the steamer bowl (above, left) so i poured about 1/2 of it out. I knew I will need some of it when pureeing the sweet potatoes.
7. Click the steamer bowl back in place and dump the sweet potatoes back into it, putting the lids in place, etc.
8. Now the fun part: puree! Turn the dial to the right + blitz away.
9. When you reach the desired consistency (slightly chunky to super smooth).... you're done! I blitz the sweet potatoes to super smooth....
10. At this point, the baby food is still warm... feed to your baby on the spot or freeze in cubes in Fresh Baby food trays (above, left)

I was always a bit nervous when making my 1st son baby food. Back then, these were some of my questions + concerns:

What about keeping things sterile?
I was using a pan on the stove to steam + a mini food processor. The Beaba, however, is self-contained. You steam + chop in the same container, and it's only used for baby which seems more sterile to me. Also, clean-up was shockingly simple.

How long does making baby food take, anyways? Ah!
I will admit that people may think you are a super mom if you make your own baby food. It seems time consuming. And, back then, sorta was for me. Not so much the cooking.... but the mess I seemed to make. I have been converted! The Beaba is self-contained and literally took 30 minutes start to finish, including clean-up, even with the "help" of my 3 year old. Most of that 30 minutes was waiting for the food to steam.

I am now a fan of the Beaba Babycook + will continue to bring you my new series "My life with the Beaba Babycook"...!

Liz Clay, the very talented artist of Cici Art Factory created Valentines goodies for you! She has put together a collection of valentines notes for you to print out + share with your loved ones. For free, how sweet is that!?

Click here to download free valentines sheet pdf!

Thanks Liz + Happy Valentines Day!

Perhaps one of the best parts of Lisa Price's collection of Art Goodies is that they are printed with a linocut. This adds a lovely depth to the prints on the stuffies and tea towels. The sailboat will make you say "Wow! I love handmade!".

The sailboat stuffie is my favorite but i can't get over how amazing the whale tea towel is too!

Boon really knows how to make bathtime more fun: Splat and Water Bugs.

Splat is the bathtime take on horseshoes or ring-toss. Water Bugs reminds me of water-skippers on a lake. Except Boon equips the kids with a cool net to catch the little buggers. 

Also: Boon's plastic is happy. It's BPA, Phthalate + PVC free. And the pricepoint won't break your piggy bank at $7.99 each.

Anything on wheels is a hit with the kids. You know it. The Corkels by Ben Blanc blend wheels with eco chic.  A lion on wheels? Sure!

Ben Blanc is a talented and witty American designer. The Corkels are a fun toy at a great pricepoint ($10) but also are really witty and I think I will snag a boat... for my own desk. 

I recently gifted myself with a Bumbleride Flyer. In the name of research, of course. I have a handful of different strollers and so I am not easily impressed. But I have to tell you, the Bumbleride Flyer really blew me away.

It has an amazing amount of features for a very reasonable pricepoint ($329). My top 3 favorite things about the Flyer: 1. The handle reverses so you can face your baby or have the baby face outwards. 2. It comes with a lot of cool standard accessories including a raincover and infant carseat adapter. 3. Super easy fold! Fits in the trunk!

Also, new for 2009: New Colors: Lava (black) and Vita (pink). Redesigned canopy, wheels and footprint of the Bumbleride Flyer. New 1 touch harness system. The raincover is also now a standard accessory. Cool!

The proof is in the pudding: my 7 month old sat in the Flyer for 1.5 hours during a recent Ikea outing. Amazing! No tears. Total happiness for all involved.

I'm not sure if you know that Richard Hutten, is a mega desiger or not. But he is. AND he made a cup for kids called the Dumbo Cup.  It's super sweet and it's part of this month's Forest Finds.

Taking the training cup to a whole new level. Available in white and orange.

The start of the new year is always exciting. New products + product updates...new colors + fabrics. Quite fun! Bumbleride's collection for 2009 is no exception. Starting with the Queen B, a modern approach to the classic pram style stroller. 

What's new? Lava! The new black color with grey accents. Also, the Ruby has been updated with new interior accent fabric. 

Other new features for 2009:

• New, one push harness system
• Redesigned canopy
• Now comes with a rain cover

Also note that we still have a sale going on for the 2008  Queen B.... free toddler seat and bassinet with purchase of the Bwana Queen B.

Check it out! The February Forest Finds has just been revealed, take a look! Our very talented Creative Director, Chris curated this month's selection. And what an amazing assortment of goodies it is! Cardboard taxidermy (Cardboard Safari), block printed stuffies + towels (Art Goodies), cork animals on wheels (Ben Blanc), wool felt goodness (Filzfelt) + a dumbo cup (Richard Hutten).

And seriously, check out the amazing navigational design Chris did! Thanks Chris! 

The new Guitar 2.0 from Make Believe Company is total rocker style (holographic, colorful + lightweight too). For $45 this takes family karaoke night to a whole new level. 

Happy Groundhogs Day!