Coquette

Go Behind the Scenes with Luxury Brands: Goyard & Louis Vuitton

(Photos: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle)

French luxury brands Goyard and Louis Vuitton and known for their history of craftsmanship and their recognizable canvas patterns. I love getting a peek inside the studios of these two brands where you can see artisans working with their hands to create art.

Goyard

The SF Gate recently covered Goyard's painting workshop located in San Francisco in it's article Goyard Monograms - ABCs of Luxury. It's only one of three around the world where artists carefully paint and embellish bags with monograms, stripes, flowers, or custom designs.

A custom cable car design on luggage.

Louis Vuitton

(Photo: Marie Hennechart, The New York Times)

This week, Louis Vuitton opens up their exclusive doors to their atelier in Asnières, France (a suburb of Paris). The New York Times has official coverage of A Rare Look Inside the Atelier of Louis Vuitton. The article includes a plethora of photos that show the process of creating Louis Vuitton bags and luggages. Drool worthy!

(Photo: Purseblog)

Back in the U.S., Purseblog also has a preview inside the new Atelier at Louis Vuitton Soho in NY. Take a look!

American Craft: The Craft of Design

American Craft magazine has a special digital bonus issue out now. The Craft of Design goes behind the scenes with 25 artists and craftspeople and showcases what they create. You won't want to miss Wendy Stevens metal purses and Jennifer Merchant's layered acrylic jewelry.

Download the interactive app from iTunes or browse the issue online.

Finny Stools by Scott McGlasson

Lost & Found Mug Set by Andrew Gilliatt

DIY Half Moon Nails from the Book Nails, Nails, Nails! by Madeline Poole + Giveaway

Today I am so excited to have a project excerpt from the new book from Nails, Nails, Nails! by Madeline Poole (published by Chronicle Books). This small format book features 25 gorgeous and creative DIY nail designs. Each project comes with step by step photos so you can make your own nails fancy!

Giveaway
One lucky Coquette reader will win a copy of Nails, Nails, Nails!. To enter, please leave a comment to this post telling me why you want this book. Please note that you must be a resident of the US or Canada. The giveaway will end on Friday, June 14, 2013 at 5pm PST. Good luck!

Half Moon Nails

from Nails, Nails, Nails! by Madeline Poole

This is a girly yet grown-up look, featuring painted crescents and retro color contrast. Color-coordinate your outfit for two-toned fun.

Get the full DIY for the Half Moon Nails after the jump!

Bookmarc x Krink: Markers & Paints Get Stylish

I can get pretty nerdy over pens, makers and paints. I'm already drooling over Marc Jacobs' Bookmarc and their new collaboration with Krink, the maker of the highest quality inks and markers. Bookmarc x Krink features three special pieces that will bring your design, art, or crafty projects to life. Choose from the K-12 Paint Marker ($9 in Black, Silver, Gold), K-47 Permanent Ink Marker ($8 in Blue, Green, Black, Magenta), and K-60 Paint Marker ($14 in Red, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Black, Light Blue). Time to get creative!

Pre-order your Bookmarc x Krink at marcjacobs.com.

Book Review: So Pretty! Felt by Amy Palanjian

So Pretty! Felt by Amy Palanjian
Published by Chronicle Books.

When I received Amy Palanjian's new book, So Pretty! Felt my 4 year old immediately said "Oh Mommy can we make these flowers?", referring to the beautiful array of felt flowers on a fabric clutch pictured on the cover of this book. Amy is the former deputy editor of ReadyMade magazine and her previous book is So Pretty! Crochet, one of my all time favorite crochet books (Coquette post here.) Needless to say, I am excited to be a part of the So Pretty! Felt blog tour. The book contains 24 stylish projects that are really easy to make. Many of them are so wonderful to make and give as gifts. Perfect for anyone to start DIY'ing!

Here are a few of my favorite projects:

I have a good felt collection and I love working with felt. It's one of the easiest materials to craft with because you never have to worry about frayed edges. These Rosette Hairpins are an easy way to get started and break into my felt stash. I love how they can dress up your ordinary bobby pins. I plan on making a few for my daughter.

This Double Ruffle Necklace is perfect for a little pop of color and texture to an outfit.

Likewise for the Spiral Necklace. It's such a beautiful statement necklace and the color combinations can take your outfit to the next level.

If you're interested in making very stylish projects that are easy, So Pretty! Felt is for you!

Please visit the rest of the blogs below for the So Pretty! Felt blog tour happening through next week!

Thursday, May 9 – The Sweetest Occasion and Ambrosia Creative
Friday, May 10 – West Coast Crafty and One More Mushroom
Saturday, May 11 – Mod Podge Rocks
Monday, May 13 – Handmade Charlotte and Fabric Paper Glue
Tuesday, May 14 – MINT and A Spoonful of Sugar
Wednesday, May 15 – Positively Splendid and Hart and Sew
Thursday, May 16 – Rouge and Whimsy and So You Think You're Crafty
Friday, May 17 – Aesthetic Nest and Dollar Store Crafts

Crafty DIY Roundup

Spring will be here soon and the weather isn't quite warm yet even though I keep wishing it will be. I love keeping cozy with a cowl and Stephanie from All About Ami has crochet patterns on her site to make this long double crochet cowl. She also has a pattern for a smaller chunky double crochet cowl that looks wearable for me in the chilly SF summer months!

Update your bedding for the spring/summer season with your own one-of-a-kind DIY painted pillows by Alicia of Whimseybox.

I just finished this Cloverfield Cardigan knitting pattern by Vickie Howell for my 4 year old daughter Chloe. Find out more about it on my mom style blog, Coquette Maman.

Now I am starting the Miette cardigan by Andi of Untangling Knots. It's the perfect little sweater to wear over spring and summer dresses. I'm knitting it in Blue Sky Alpacas cotton yarn in this wonderful tomato red.

Enter Whimseybox's Giveaway for a Stylish Jordana Paige Knitting Bag

Attention bag lovers and knitters! My crafty pals at Whimseybox is having a fantastic giveaway for this Jordana Paige Cezanne bag in Stone Gray ($119 value). I've been carrying around my trusty Proenza Schouler PS1 bag for two weeks straight now and I love this style of satchel that works as a crossbody as well as a handheld. There are lots of compartments and pockets inside this bag including a section where you can hold all your knitting needles (or crochet hooks, if you please). This is probably the most stylish knitting bag I have ever seen!

Head on over to Whimseybox to enter the giveaway. The giveaway ends on Thursday, January 24, 2012 at 11:59 Central Time. The giveaway is also only open to U.S. and Canada residents. See the Whimseybox post for more details on the terms and conditions.

Crafty DIY Roundup for the New Year

(Photo: Whimseybox's Instagram)

What better way to invigorate yourself for the new year than with a fun craft project? I'm totally obsessed with Downton Abbey and the fashions of the 1920's. You won't want to miss Whimseybox's DIY project to make a DIY Jeweled Ribbon Headband which can also double as a chic ribbon belt.

Inspired by Valentino, I Spy DIY makes these chic studded kitten heels.

Erica from P.S. I Made This shows you how to make a stylish box clutch made from a wooden box and textured paper.

Design Sponge helps you get organized with their roundup of their best DIY Best of: Organization projects. This modern looking mail basket would look sleek in my loft.

I love this project from CRAFT on how to make these dessert stands by upycling your old dishware. Perfect for entertaining or as a special decor piece.

Lastly, I love this little tidbit post by Jenny over at Sublime Stitching showing some of Greta Garbo's sewing stash that was recently listed as part of her estate auction.

I hope these links inspire you to make something. Happy crafting in 2013!

Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Show this Weekend in SF

(Pictured above: Top: Chunky Wool Shawl/Scarf from Nisey Knits and Wishbone Necklaces by Sora Designs, Bottom: Love this City iPhone Case by Mantra Style and Elephant Pillow from Lil Fishy)

Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Show
Concourse Exhibition Center, East Hall
620 Seventh Street (@ Brannan Street)
December 1-2, 2012
Saturday and Sunday
Hours: 11am - 6pm
web site

I am a craft fair lover and my favorite show has always been Bazaar Bizarre. This year's Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Fair happens this weekend! Over 200 vendors will be selling at the event so you can get your holiday shopping done by supporting local artists, designers, food makers and crafters. The first 200 visitors on both Saturday and Sunday will receive a limited-edition tote bag designed by indie illustrator Martin Hsu and packed with free goodies.

Get Crafty
The DIY Funhouse will have lots of workshops and demos from local arts organizations and non-profits including Workshop SF and Rock Paper Scissors who will offer silk screening DIYs for wrapping paper and t-shirts, creativebug who will teach attendees how to make books from matchboxes, and The Crucible who will host a jewelry making booth – just to name a few! For those who want to get competitive SCRAP will be holding a birdhouse-building competition with supplied recycled materials.

(Pictured above: Bacon Crack by Nosh This and Bow & Sparrow's Cookie Tree)

Bay area food lovers will enjoy lots of great eats curated by Forage SF and populated by some of the best food artisans the Bay Area has to offer including Kika’s Treats, Uncommon Pickle, Oaktown Jerk, Maison de Monaco, and more. You can also explore a non-profit area celebrating some of the cities most loved organizations including Center for the Book and Creativity Explored.

Celebrate Batik Day on October 2nd

(Photo: coquettenatalie on Instagram)

October 2nd is Batik Day, a celebration in Indonesia and around the world for batik fabric. Batik fabric is created by an intricate technique that uses a manual wax-resist dyeing. The technique is very detailed and batik artisans usean intricate copper tool to draw out the liquid wax. It can take from a month to a year to finish a piece of batik cloth, depending on the complexity of the desige. Because of this complicated production process, batik can be considered to be high end and expensive.

I was honored to be asked by Shinta from BatikAntik in Indonesia to help bring awareness to the art form and help celebrate the amazing artisans in Indonesia who painstakingly create these beautiful pieces.

In 2009, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, which is "the totality of tradition-based creations of a cultural community expressed by a group or individuals and recognized as reflecting the expectations of a community in so far as they reflect its cultural and social identity."

(Photo: coquettenatalie on Instagram)

I am wearing a pink chiffon crinkled batik scarf made by Riana Kusuma. The colors are beautiful pastels of pink, purple and coral featuring beautiful hand drawn flowers. As a crafter and fabric lover, I am amazing that I had not known about all the details on what goes into creating batik fabric. I of course knew about the patterns, but didn't realize how tedious the actual production work was.

This fantastic BBC article about Batik designer Josephine Komara of Obin explains a lot about the creation of this artform. Obin has brought batik out from the shadows of state functions, to to trendy cocktail parties where batik and Hermes bags go hand in hand. Watch the video above to see more of the handmade process of batik.

Today you can see batik fabric designs used by some of the top fashion designers like Dries Van Notten, Diane Von Furstenberg, Armani and Nicole Miller.

(Photo: BatikAntik)

Here's a photo of Nicole Richie wearing a batik scarf while 4 months pregnant in her true bohemian style.

Note: Batik scarf for this post was provided by BatikAnik.