The Mustache Factory. The name alone piqued my interest, after all, I am a fellow admirer/mocker of mustaches. The newly opened online shop is capitalizing on the one-inch button craze in a very particular way, with mustaches of course. The shop sells buttons with quirky little characters,
from whales to cupcakes and broccoli, all sporting mustaches and sometimes mustaches as toupees. What I really enjoy about the shop and the whole concept is the sense of humor and play.

The Factory Foreman himself made some time to answer a few of my questions. Turns out the Mustache Factory is a collaborative process between Nat, the Foreman, and Jennifer of Piddleloop.com. Nat designs the characters with plenty of input from Jennifer. You'll even spot some of the same little guys in Jennifer's Piddleloop store on pouches and stitch markers. In response to my asking about their favorites, Nat responded, "Jennifer likes the wiener dog with a moustache hairpiece, and Mr. Whale. I like Mr. Whale too, but I think my favorite is the shark with a moustache because he looks like the moustache is on sideways and is about to fall off." I love the cupcake with a little mustache as well as the weiner dog that extends onto a second button. You are sure to find a favorite of your own at the Factory.

The Mustache Factory is open to suggestions as well. In his own words Nat sums it up best, "Who doesn't love moustaches on inappropriate things? It's like a monkey wearing clothes. You can't not think it is funny." I agree. As adults we never seem to get enough playtime. So if you have a dream of
seeing a mustache on a certain something, just drop a line to the Factory Foreman.
The newly opened Mustache Factory is offering 20% everything until the end of the month. And check out the little creatures ardorning all the goods at Piddleloop.com too!

Beth Doherty's Gourmet Amigurumi take you into a hip fantasy world of goth/punk bunnies, wide eyed elves, creatures dressed to go raving, French lemurs, and disgruntled cats. If you haven't seen amigurumi, that's Japanese, you will soon. The trend is reaching fever pitch in the crafting community with blogs and craft-alongs dedicated to the craft. Amigurumi is a kind of crochet. "Ami" is a short for the word "amimie" which means "stitch" in Japanese. "Gurumi" is a shortening of the word "nuigurumi" which means "stuffed doll or toy".

The first amigurumi I saw that was made by Beth was a shy kitty in a bikini on a blog. I was so taken with it I had to track down who had made it. Beth's amigurumi truly is some of the best around. Her completed creatures are art. That's no surprise since she completed her BA in art from Columbia College and concentrated in painting. Her interest in Pop art made it easy to start making the brightly colored grown up toys. Beth explains the transition from painting to creating her amigurumi, "In Pop art part of the conceptual basis is that there is a really fine line between critiquing culture and creating culture. Paintings critique culture and now I am making culture. It was a really thin line to step over."

It almost feels like Beth is painting in yarn. And she is clearly dedicated to her craft, searching for the right yarn, felt and doll notions to give her creations personality and life. One recent entry in her blog explained a new way to attach arms. And the details on her little ones are beyond amazing.
One part of her amigurumis that really stand out are their faces. Each honestly looks like they're thinking about something and have clear personalities. Beth says "I am pretty sure [the amigurmis] are all teenagers too. That's what makes them so emotional. I was always accused of wearing my thoughts clearly on my face and I guess since I make them, they can't help it."

While her Etsy shop just opened up last June, she has already signed a book contract. (See, I'm not the only one who is so impressed!) But even though making each amigurumi takes up all her time and creative energy, Beth never wants to move towards mass production. She'd like to see her creations in boutiques and galleries. I think that's where they belong too.





You can find her amigurumi at the Gourmet Amigurumi Etsy shop
And find news in the Gourmet Amigurumi blog
Find more Gourmet Amigurumi at:
Mahar Drygoods
Cut + Paste

A couple years ago, my husband and I were surprised by the arrival of a few thousand guests. A hive of honeybees decided to make home in between the walls of our house. Except for the occasional picnic annoyance, I never had anything against bees but let me tell you, there's nothing quite like hearing the pitter patter of a few thousand feet inside your wall.

All things considered, I still think bees are pretty neat especially when used by such creative artists:

Bee Necklace by Erica Weiner
Manuka Honey Drizzle by Bella Lucce
Honey Glycerin Soap by Feto Soap
Honeybee Notecard Set by Heart Tattoo at Copacetique

I would definitely take their well-designed bees over my wall bees any day of the week. You ladies let me know if you need any honey!

I get a kick out of the handmade cards designed by Sidepony, a Los Angeles-based company. Designer Kimberly Dawn Robertson has tapped into a line of cards that will make you miss the 80's so much, you'll want to rent John Hughes movies and slip on your favorite pair of leg warmers.

You can't go wrong with these charming cards that feature blast-from-the-past songs ("The Heat Is On", "Because Your Kiss Is On My List", "Resolution #2: Party Like It's 1999") or say things like, "I heart Fruitcake" or "Everybody Loves a Den Mother". My favorites are "Hello, Tiger" (pictured above) and "Looking For Love?", both of which I bought during Christmas. I intended to mail them out, but I love them so much I think I'm keeping them all for myself. Single cards are $3.50 or a pack of 3 is $10.50 at Sidepony.com.

So, you're an admirer of independent design & craft, but feel a little lost when it comes to finding the coolest places to shop? There are, of course, great online resources (one of my favorite strategies is to check out the "links" pages of shops & artists I like, since they are usually linking up with stuff that they like, & so on) & directories that you can check out, but sometimes nothing but a hands-on shopping experience will do.

Craft fairs/shows are a great way to meet some cool artists & see some cool stuff (in fact, lots of people make things specifically to sell at shows or bring the one-of-a-kind products that they don't sell online), & hip new markets are popping up all over the country. Spring means the beginning of outdoor market season, & shopping a craft fair is a great way to spend a sunny afternoon (although, let me be quick to acknowledge that when I did Renegade Craft Fair Chicago last year, it thunderstormed practically the whole time & there were still plenty of people who thought RCF was a great way to spend a windy & rainy afternoon!).

So, how do you find these shows? Well, if you check out the online indie design scene, you will probably see plenty of people announcing on their sites that they've got this or that show coming up. There's also the Indie Craft Shows Directory, a site where artists & organizers can list upcoming show opportunities, & where you can get the scoop on what's happening when & where. On the local, offline, level, it's really common for show organizers to have flyers &/or postcards at independently owned shops & coffeehouses, so keep an eye out!

To get you started, here are some links* to upcoming shows, as well as some ongoing craft fairs:

Bazaar Bizarre San Francisco (CA)
Spring Bada-Bing (VA)
Renegade Craft Fair Brooklyn (NY)
Art Star Craft Bazaar (PA)
I Heart Rummage (WA)
Crafty Wonderland (OR)
Felt Club (CA)
The Handmade Market (NC)

*links are more or less randomly picked, with a definite West Coast bias! There are plenty of other shows going on all the time -- check out the Indie Craft Shows Directory for more!

The very first blog entry for Shop The Switchboards....ooo, daunting.

There have been many a sleepless night, where I lay tossing and turning, trying to figure out what to write about. I'm a very good sleeper (too good according to my husband) so you know this is important to me if I'm losing sleep over it.

And then comes the Postman to the rescue.

Last week I got my hands on Crafty Chica's latest book, Art de la Soul and I knew instantly my sleepless nights were over. We are more than honored to make the very first blog post about Crafty Chica and her latest accomplishment!

Part spirited craft book, part insightful journal, Kathy's latest release gives you a good look into the glitter-filled world of Crafty Chica. As an avid crafter, I was immediately drawn to the funky craft projects and their gorgeous photographs but eventually (after I stopped drooling over new craft ideas) it was the journal-like stories that really made my heart smile. Kathy has a way of capturing the crazy and spontaneous moments that surrounded crafting for me and many others. Nobody can understand your fascination with glitter and glue quite like another crafter!

The projects definitely have that fun "Crafty Chica" quality to them and are basic enough for even the most novice of crafters. Each project also has a "Take It To The Next Level" section that gives you even more ideas to work with. Some of my favorites are Happy Historia Photo Charms, Love Letters Pocket Book and the Fantastico Fantasy Paper Lights. Just the names alone make you want to break out the hot glue and paint!

Kathy's latest book, Art de la Soul is definitely one to buy for your collection. Even after all the crafts have been attempted, you'll always go back to read the heartfelt stories of creativity. Congrats Crafty Chica on a job well done!