These are for Curtis James

These are for Curtis James...

Sharon

Periwinklebloom

Everything our good friend and fellow Willow, Tyler Stallings, does is beautiful and Periwinklebloom, her line of toddler clothing and letterpressed greetings is no exception.

Made of domestically grown, 100% organic cotton, Periwinklebloom's tiny togs are handcrafted by local artisans. She also reclaims vintage bits of fabric and notions to nurture the idea of hand-me-downs. Subdued hues,
roomy fit and lush textures echo the carefree nature of a child.

Sherpa hoodie and sherpa jacket




Bubble dress
Her letterpress greetings are printed by hand on lovingly restored Pearl and Kelsey presses. Thick cottony stock, 100% recycled and additive-free, comes from a century-old domestic mill that generates
enough clean energy via water to power the town. And she uses vegetable-based inks and non-toxic solvents, always keeping the environment in mind.

Tyler will be selling her wares this weekend at Ladue Chapel Holiday Mart in St. Louis, so we thought this would be a perfect moment to tell you about her wonderful line. Stop by her equally wonderful blog and say hello. Tell her Secret Leaves sent you!

Sharon

Recycled vintage cashmere scarf by Angelina Accoutrements

PS. Willow Jen Sertl of Angelina Accoutrements will be there too!

Handmade paper goods

Here are some more of our wares...
Write me a Letter single letter kit


Birds & Bees card bundle we will be selling at Unique Boutique. It is filled with beautiful blank cards, notes and gift enclosures with birds, flowers and bees on them.

Christmas stamp gift bags. These are lovely. Perfect for a small gift or gift card.

Map Albums

The vintage brads are so pretty.

Topographical Map Albums. My dad was a cave explorer in the fifties. These are the maps he used. They are simply gorgeous.

Be sure to enlarge to see the detail.

Sharon

New Old Things from Secret Leaves

Our good friend Elizabeth took some nice product shots for us recently and I thought I would share them here. There are a few new products and some items that are holiday-related, so here goes:

Bee gift enclosures. These are sweet and petite and come with their own tiny ochre vellum envelope. They are blank inside to be used as a gift enclosure, but can also be ordered for Valentine's Day with an inside message that says, of course, "Bee Mine."

French Postcard gift enclosures. These are reproduced from a postcard in our private collection. They come in their own little glassine envelope. Perfect for that French or vintage-inspired gift wrapping project.

We also have these Paint Chip prints, which are GORGEOUS in person. There are assorted images and frame finishes. They are professionally framed by the way:

The next few shots weren't taken by Elizabeth, but I wanted to share them nonetheless. This is one of our new products and it is super-cool, if we do say so ourselves:

Write Me a Letter single letter kits contain everything you need for artful correspondence. Two or three sheets of interesting paper, a cool envelope and a postage stamp or two for embellishment.

We are also offering these very cool recycled gift tags made from vintage railroad company index cards. They come six assorted sizes to a set and look awesome tied to a package with a bit of ribbon or hemp twine.

For those of you who own stores, they come packaged and ready to hang.

We also have these kraft gift boxes. They are 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 with gorgeous old government-issued postcards on the lids. They are filled with cotton batting and perfect for small gifts like a journal, jewelry, stationery, etc.

We only have 12 of these left!

We also have these Book Spine Treasure Boxes:

These are being introduced here for the first time. Again, great to wrap a necklace, bracelet, earrings, pen, pencils, book mark...Get 'em while they're hot!

Sharon

In just under the wire...

I have just a few minutes to get a blog post in and still have it count for today (NaBloPoMo). Here is a shot of our business card taken by our good friend Elizabeth, who is getting married tomorrow!

Congratulations Elizabeth and Randy!

Sharon

PS. Our cards were designed by our other talented friend, Tyler. Thanks Tyler, for making us look so good.

In the studio...

Here are some blank greeting cards under production in the studio right now. We are selling these individually and also bundled to create a "greeting card emergency kit." Each ribbon-tied bundle contains 3 blank cards, 2 blank notes and 3 gift enclosures. Nice to have on hand when you need a quick thank you, get well, congratulations, sympathy or just a hello, how are you.

Secret Leaves-designed stamp sheets

The bundles are pretty and make nice hostess gifts as well.

Sharon

It's nice to be appreciated

Our good friend Tyler at Periwinklebloom did a wonderful blog post on us recently. Tyler designs a line of toddler clothing using domestically grown organic cotton and bits of vintage fabric and notions, encouraging the idea of "lovely little hand-me-downs." And soon she will be launching a line of letterpressed greetings. Her wares are absolutely lovely and I will be posting about her here soon.

Visit her blog--she has a highly refined aesthetic, is a gifted writer and finds the most interesting and beautiful things to share.

Thanks for the props Tyler...it's nice to be appreciated!

Sharon

NaBloPoMo - Bats and Swallows

November is National Blog Posting Month and we are participating this year as we did in 2007. The idea is to post every day for a month. Since I have already missed two days, I'd better get started.

I thought I would use the opportunity to share some inspiration.

Bats and Swallows is a mesmerizing blog serving up evocative and ethereal images unencumbered by words:

Be sure to scroll down to view the videos The Outside House, The Lodger and Noir Comme L'Age. Astonishing, unsettling and dream-like.

Noir Comme L'Age

I love this blog.

Sharon

Maija Lepore Marie Antoinette giveaway day

Look what I received in the mail yesterday!


Look at the creative gift wrapping! (By the way, I will be putting the beautiful tissue paper, glittered star and pink seam binding to good use.)




Maija at Maigirlz Madness made three different pieces to commemorate Maria Antoinette's birthday and I was the lucky recipient of this one. The altered canvas has all kinds of beautiful details and tiny surprises. More can be seen here...

Thanks so much, Maija. It was such a treat receiving this.

Sharon

PS. Here is a link to a Wikipedia entry on Marie Antoinette. Although the article is flawed, click on the Discussion tab at the top of the page. There are some interesting clarifications here, especially about her alleged "Let Them Eat Cake" quote. Fascinating!

Vintage Cashmere in Atlanta

A shout out to our dear friend and fellow Willows, Jen Sertl of Angelina Accoutrements, who has a trunk show at Mark Shale in Atlanta this weekend. Jen designs the most beautiful, sensual women's clothing and accessories, all repurposed from vintage cashmere.

To make her goods even more enticing, 10-20% of each purchase
from the current offerings page of her web site is donated to Amani ya Juu, a ministry that teaches sewing skills to refugee women in Nairobi, Kenya so that they can provide for themselves and their families.

Good luck in Atlanta Jen!

For more information, contact Jen here.

Sharon

Winslow's Home & Farm

I have been meaning to do a post on Winslow's Home & Farm, a wonderful new St. Louis store, for a long time. Now that our products are being sold there, all the more reason!

Winslow's is a true general store. You can walk in and purchase items as diverse as a ticking striped market bag, all-natural suntan lotion or a Swedish salad spinner (all of which I purchased on my first visit). In addition to carrying merchandise of the magnificent as well as the mundane type, Winslow's is a restaurant, with a rotating dinner menu, yummy breakfast and lunch entrees (and great coffee, of course) and the most mouth-watering, gorgeous and delectable baked goods I have had in St. Louis.

If you are in the area, drop by if you can. It really is a wonderful experience and unique in St. Louis.

Thanks to Tyler of Periwinklebloom for the use of her wonderful photos.

Sharon