Launching a new product and some behind the scenes

Today is the day.
I've been working on this launch for over a month.
I sketched a lot, practiced my sewing skills, picked the perfect linen among many, created new printing blocks, picked the inks and made 4 different design scarves. All printed by my two hands.
They're finally here and I'm super excited!

At the moment I have only 2 scarves available for each design, then each one will be a pre-order item and will be available again from middle September.

I would love to have your opinion about them, so please go and have a proper look at here.

I want to thank you my friend Giulia for the precious help (as a photographer and model) and the laughs!
Here a bit of behind the scenes for our shooting.

Giulia pretending to be a serious person!

some work in progress and a limited series of block printed canvases

In the last few days I experimented a lot combining materials that I usually use in different ways.
Watercolours on cardboard, white pens on wood panels and block printing on cotton canvases.
I felt in love with the latest combination and I made a tiny series of small block printed canvases. What I really like of these is the texture: where the ink meets the surface. Every time gives a different result. Each one is unique.

waves

feathers/leaves

gems

I was also busy picking colours to use on my new line of block printed scarves and at the end I'm going with these: blush, copper and black. The patterns will be geometric, but organic and I picked the most beautiful organic linen to use.

I created 4 new printing blocks, this one below is one in progress

sketching new patterns for new home goodies!

Hello!
Last month or so was pretty busy. I had a few retail orders to work on and I had my first wholesale order through Etsy Wholesale. I couldn't really find the time to work on something completely new.

Now it's that time. I started sketching new patterns using different mediums like gel pens and paint, watercolour and pencils, to give myself a bit more freedom. I love this part of my job, it feels like new all the time, it feels like I can put a bit of myself into it.
Once I'm happy with some of these sketches I will put them in digital so then I can use them to carve new printing blocks. This is how I do it most of times, the new thing is that this time I'll use the blocks to hand print organic cotton and linen, using new tools and new inks.

So I'm happy to announce a new line of home goodies, all hand printed using high quality and eco-friendly materials: I'll start with some tea towels and tote bags, expected to be in my shop at some point in June.

I would love to know what you think about these kinds of products, would you like to see anything in particular in my shop?

shop update: some new original illustrations

In the last few weeks I've been working on a new line of products for mi+ed design.

I sketched a lot of patterns and shapes and some of these are going to become stamps, other ones I really like but decided to not carved them into stamps; instead I'm going to sell them in the Etsy shop as they are, minimalist black and white ink illustration.

Each one is an original drawing done in black ink. I drew them on a beautiful recycled Favini paper containing seaweed from Venice, Italy.

You can find the first 3: grids, pods and prickly pears in my handprinted/original art section

enjoy the little things

Hello!
I thought to start writing posts about those little things I like and share them with you. It may be a way to know me a little bit better.
This series is going to be called Enjoy the little things, one of my mantras.
I hope you like it!

one of my little drawings done with one of my favourite pens

I made this weaving using organic vintage wool, you can find it in my other shop

love these little clamps, I use them to keep pages together when bounding my journals

a piece of my liquorice plant, inspiration for my new botanical illustrations

I found this gorgeous envelope in one of my old books a little while ago

today was filled with some important decisions

Today was definitely decision day!
I pondered for a few weeks now about certain things and finally today I decided some pretty important stuff about my handmade business. Please stay tuned, I'll post something about this soon.

On a lighter note, I have a winter sale in my little shop starting today until Jan 31.

Sketchings, leaves and Christmas postcards while moving studio

Hello!
This is part of a bigger news, I'm moving my studio from our home to a space I'll share with other creative people. I'm actually in the process and this explains (no excuses here) my lack of activity on the blog. I'm so sorry about this, because I miss sharing things here, but my move has priority over pretty much everything else at the moment. Once I'll be in the new place something bigger than mi+ed design will start. I'm super excited about this, please be patient with me!

Because at the moment I have a few of my things in the new place and others still here at home, my work is a bit different. Last night I wanted to make new cards, but I was missing the right paper. I grabbed a large rustic kraft placemat and started drawing on that. Not sure what to do with it, but sometimes is just so nice to sketch.

This morning I went to the market as I do every Wednesday and came home with lots of persimmon fruits. There was also this little leaf with them, I love the colour and the texture created.

Last new thing is that I'm in love with my new little micron pen. I can create so much detail with it.
I'm using it to draw unique Christmas postcards that can be also framed, love the simplicity!

hand painted wood brooch in black and gold

Hello!
I just want to introduce the first black brooch (available here) that is part of a very limited series created for Christmas. I hand painted a little round piece of birch wood using a matt black no toxic colour and then I drew on in it (with a tiny brush) a small branch of leaves using a golden paint. This paint is really nice because is not flat, but it contains tiny particles of gold.

The result is a matt black and golden wood brooch, you can still see the grains of the beautiful birch piece.

back from holidays, trying to get organised!

Hello!
I'm back from my holidays and I'm full of energy and new ideas!
At the moment I'm finishing to fill orders and trying to organise my studio space to get ready for some new work.

I'm also trying to organise my blog a little bit more, trying to be more consistent (so difficult when multitasking). I'm doing my best to follow some sort of schedule and have stuff done every week.
I would like to bring you more posts about certain things I love, a bit more about me.
For example I'm working on a little series of food related posts made up of my photos and some recipes, would you like that? I love food and I love cooking :)

These are some photos I took during two weeks in Puglia (South Italy). I had a great relaxing time. I mainly ate a lot, read a bit and saw some amazing places!

a little promotion with free shipping

Hello!
From today until the end of summer I will run a few different kinds of promotions based on one product at the time.
Sometimes it will be a discount other times will be free shipping (worlwide or in certain areas).

I'm doing this because I still have a very small stock of few items that I won't make anymore.
This week the promotion is on this handmade and hand bound pocket notebook, with an anchor pattern I drew on the cover (front and back).
I have only 3 copies left and I won't stock it anymore.
For this I offer free worldwide shipping form today until Friday the 5th.

Thrift finds and some new work

Hello!
I spent Sunday walking around a great open air market here in Milan where you can find a lot of vintage stuff: furniture, books, clothes and accessories, decor pieces, stamps, dolls and a lot more.
To get there we just walked along the canal which is my favourite part of the city, because it looks like an old village still full of character with colourful little houses and many wild flowers growing along the water edge.
I took a photo of this incredible old house that has been left like this for a very long time, you can see there are trees growing inside it. I would love to have the money to buy this and restore it to its former glory!

At the market my favourite kind of stalls are those full of wooden and metal old pieces, like old tools, frames, keys...
I love buying small quirky things without having a plan for them and this time I got these!

These little fishes are very heavy, I think they're made of brass and are some sort of little handles.
The old man who sold them to us was really nice and told us lots of stories about the pieces he was selling. This is something I love about this kind of market, the stall holders are just great story-tellers!

When we got home I was so full of energy that I decided to create a new gift set for my shop, so I made this hand printed tote bag and this little grid notepad. Obviously both with fishes on, using a small stamp I hand carved a little while ago.

tote+notepad set

What were you up to during the weekend?

inspiration for summer

I usually spend the summer in Greece or in the South of Italy.
In places where sea panorama is only interrupted by a particular kind of cactus, the prickly pear tree.

This is my "prickly pear tree" collection summer 2013. I hope you like it!

friendly and shy notebook set

cactus jotter

small print

pink cactus notecard set

white cactus notecard set

mint catcus notecard set

eco friendly set: tote and mini notebook

eco-friendly set

Hello!
Last week was working on a new idea.
I wanted to create a set for people on the go.
I came up with this.

It's an eco-friendly set made up of an organic cotton hand drawn tote and a hand bound nautical jotter.

They're practical and unique. Perfect for when you go on holiday or just out for a walk somewhere.

Every time I leave the house I carry my phone with me (for pics), a tote bag and a little notebook. This way I feel ready for anything: doing a little sketch or writing down a quick something.

This is the first set in the shop and it's made-to-order.
The nicest thing about this idea is that you can put your set together choosing from the totes and the mini notebooks available in my shop and writing me a note.

Shortly after that you'll receive you very own eco-friendly personalized set!

What do you always carry with you when you go out?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/130497353/eco-friendly-set-organic-cotton-hand?ref=shop_home_active

handmade packaging for new line

Last week I've introduced a few hand painted organic cotton totes to mi+ed design collection as part of the new textile line.
Last weekend I worked on creating a cohesive, minimalist but warm packaging for this collection.
I wanted something simple but recognisable that could work well with the totes but also with pillow covers and other products on their way.

My priority was to use materials I already possess and use for other things (use, re-use, recycle) and are not a big impact on the planet. So obviously no plastic.
As you can see I decided to use some lovely kraft paper and a organic cotton string, to be coherent with the idea behind these totes.
Each tote is hand painted with no toxic colours and the bag is 100% organic cotton.
You can pick the colours among the available ones or ask for a particular one.
These totes are perfect for the market, or for your holidays or for everyday.
They're sturdy and reusable.
I hope they can help us to get rid of plastic bags!

"big dot" organic cotton tote

"adventure" organic cotton tote

"grid" organic cotton tote

I used the same packaging for the pillow covers (these 2 are the first ones in the shop!)

"pineapple" cotton pillow cover

"adventure" cotton pillow cover

All my products are gift wrapped using lovely recycled papers (all hand printed by me) when bought in my Etsy shop.

new projects on the way

This week I worked constantly on a new side of my label.
It has been a while since I've decided to introduce different products in the line.
I've studied the way of doing it for a few weeks.

I started working on tote bags and I tried different techniques, finally setting on the process of hand painting them, one by one, to make them really unique.

You can see some of the work in progress in these pics

creating the design

painting the anchor

creating a new pattern

drawing the pattern on the tote

I'm pretty happy about creating new different things, I'm still in love with paper, but I think I'm discovering that what I truly enjoy is creating patterns and illustrations and use them to create different kind of products. So I'll keep doing this for sure!

If you are curious about the two totes you can see them here and here

Design Fair and summer collection

Hello!
Lately I didn't share with you much of what is going on in my studio and I preferred instead to give voice to some talented designers and crafters, with interviews and features.

Now I can finally tell you what I was doing behind the scenes..
First the big news: I'm going to show and sell some of my pieces during the most famous and incredible design fair in the world, "Salone del Mobile and Fuori Salone 2013".
For those who will be in Milan from tomorrow to the 14th of April, you'll find my stuff at TUG (via Muratori 48, Milan) just in front of the amazing Cascina Cuccagna.
For those who can't make it, don't worry I'll share some pics of the event (and of Salone in general) very soon!

On top of that I've been working on the summer collection and the core is finally ready and you can find it in my Etsy shop. Mainly divided in 4 different collections: Pineapple, Nautical, Cactus and Geometric.
I'll still add pieces, a few new paper products and (this is the second big news!) also some textile pieces.
After a lot of pondering I've decided to create some cushion covers, tote bags and kitchen towels using the same patterns I'm already using for the rest, but also introducing some new drawings.
The first bunch should be in the shop in a couple of weeks.
Below a sneak pick for you: the exotic pineapple design hand painted on a pink cotton cushion cover.

new handmade decor: mixing vintage with new

you can find it here

Lately I've decided to create and sell different things because my creativity can't be constricted into one category!
This little mixed art canvas is one of the three vintage/modern decorations to hit my shop.
I love to go to thrift markets, especially I love to look for keys, keyholes and other little bits and pieces such as bolts and hardware.
Last month I made some little decorations like this one to hang in our new bathroom (which I love!) and I've decided to make few more to sell in the shop and at craft markets.

Obviously each piece is going to be unique because is very difficult to find two vintage keyholes that look exactly the same and also because of the fake frame I paint with watercolours.
I really like to mix old and new and I love repurposing some of my thrift-finds.

Do you like to find a new use for your great finds? I'm really curious to know what you've done lately with your vintage treasuries!

a new little product

A new little product just hit our shop!
It's a mini wrap set, all handmade by me. The set is made of: 1 handmade kraft bag and its sticker, a little notecard with its hand folded envelope, a lovely scallop garland printed with our triangle pattern and a cute painted mini peg.

What I really like about this set it's that the mini garland can then be kept as a cute decoration!

This is the first set available, but soon there will be more. I love wrapping my presents with something as nice as the presents, don't you?