Filed under: Oddities, Steampunk | Tags: antique, Belgium, Brussels, industrial, lamp, lueurs poetiques, modern, salvage, Steampunk, Zoetises
While wandering the winding streets through Brussels I stumbled upon the most delightful of shops:
Zoétises: Lueurs poétiques located at 10 Rue de la Tulipe, Bruxelles
In her small and very charming studio, Zoé creates magic with salvaged treasures and light. Antique glass cloche 
domes, steel boxes, baking tins, sieves, cages and industrial scrap all become components of her beautiful work. The light from the wide variety of incandescent bulbs highlights the aged, chipped paint and worn textures, casting strange shadows through the mesh, wire and holes of her lamps.
Zoé also shares my love of old fashioned light bulbs, with their coils, filaments and warm glow. She fears that as Belgium, like many countries, switch to compact fluorescents, the beauties at the heart of her wonderful lamps will be harder to find than the salvaged pieces that frame them. Be sure to visit the Zoétises website to see more of her fantastic pieces.
I can’t thank her enough for introducing me to the daily antique/flea and junk market in Marollen quarter of Brussels…it blew my mind…
I am off on a treasure gathering expedition!
Expect many new in-store delights when I return, including the rare Decorus globosa flower grown only in the heart of the Black Forest.
In the mean time, feel free to browse my current selection in the Curious Oddities shop!
xo Kat
Filed under: Oddities | Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Mad Hatter, Red Queen, Tim Burton, White Queen
The first photos for Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland slated for release in March 5, 2010. I am really looking forward this production, and of course it has a great cast including:
Anne Hathaway as the White Queen
Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen
Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter
Really, is there anything that Johnny can’t do?
As well as Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee, Michael Sheen, Stephen Frye and the lovely Mia Wasikowska as Alice.
The landscapes look fantastic too, here are some great shots courtesy of USA Today.
Very, very excited!
Filed under: Oddities | Tags: A Girl in the Sky productions, aerial, circus, Cognac and Sausages, Femme de Feu, Promise Factory, Rebecca Leonard
A really fun night of performances as a fundraiser to help send the Cognac and Sausages aerial theatre production to Montreal, followed by Promise Factory, temporarily moved from Cherry Beach.
Cognac and Sausage’s absolutely delightful, beautiful and comical aerial performance staring Rebecca and Athena (Aka Anastasia and Miranda Spitalotski.)
Very cool fire performance by Femme de Feu: the flames were coming from the ends of their fingers.
Lots of great performances and dancing, great night…must get some sleep…
Filed under: General | Tags: craft show, Curious Oddities, Toronto, Wychcraft market, Wychwood
Curious Oddities at the WychCraft market on Saturday June the 20th and 27th. Fabulous vendors, music and food, and just down the street at the Wychwood Barns, a farmers market!
Stop by the Curious Oddities booth, and say hello! Even better, mention the name of your favorite pirate or privateer and receive $2 off your purchase!
The WychCraft Market operates from May 23rd to the last weekend in October, every Saturday, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, in Toronto, on the lawn of St. Michael & All Angels Church, at 611 St Clair Avenue West on the south side, at Wychwood Avenue.
Here is a google map to the area.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Filed under: General
Congratulations to Positive Spin Hoops, who won the draw for the sand dollar necklace!
Here is the delightful winning octopus!
Filed under: General | Tags: brass sand dollar necklace, contest, Curious Oddities, giveaway, sunken treasure
Well, to be honest, this is more of creative/challenge-giveaway.
Ah, the world of Captain Nemo, 20,000 leagues under the sea. Among the kelp and barnacle encrusted rocks, are the ruins of great schooners, clippers and windjammers. Underwater cities built from forgotten civilizations, fallen to weather and waves. And heaps of fantastic treasure!
This Summer I am crafting a line of undersea jewelry and I am inviting you all to participate in a creative challenge:
CREATE A PIECE OF SUNKEN TREASURE ART.
-Any medium is welcome: photography, collage, paint, felt, paper, go nuts- the world is your oyster!
-Any size is welcome: large to micro.
-You must incorporate at least 2 of the colours pictured bellow, all 4 would be great!
Email a picture of your work to curiousoddities@gmail.com with the subject header: Sunken Treasure
Out of the submissions, I will randomly draw a winner to receive a solid antiqued-brass sand dollar necklace from my new collection…
All submissions must be in by DEADLINE: JUNE 11, 2009. If you have a blog, website or ETSY shop, make sure that you include a link along with your submission!
So much to do before the Creators’ Marketplace show this weekend!! Flowers to make, pearls to wire, table cloth to sew. Really, sometimes I wonder what I get myself into!
As promised, I will post contest info tomorrow: think “Sunken Treasure”
In the meantime feel free to browse the Curious Shop!
Filed under: Oddities | Tags: bizarre, cat toys, Catzilla Crafts, Gooder Goods, Gush 4 Plush, plush, SpellWell
Long gone is the synthetic green pompom, the plastic ball-and-bell, the fluorescent orange tickler. Out is the dreaded hot pink, rabbit fur mouse. Welcome the new generation of fabulous cat toys!
If your cat dreams of a life by the sea, a skeletal fish (pictured on the left) by Gush 4 Plush (visit the blog) or perhaps a tin of crocheted sardines by Handmade Cottage might feed its seafaring spirit.
For the traditionalist, Spellwell offers a de’cat’pitated mouse, pigeon and fish trio pictured at the top (she also offers a robot head option for vegans. The cat with a more adventurous palate might appreciate a felt Paramecium, a Green Egg or a stick of TNT by Caelista.
And we must not forget the overindulgent sweet tooth for whom a low fat, catnip filled, felt donut by Catzilla Crafts or yarn- iced sockcake by Gooder Goods might just hit the spot!
Filed under: Beak of the Week | Tags: Beak of the Week, blackbird, crow, Fawn and Lark, illustration, Michelle Strader, raven
Money Maker by Michelle Strader
This week’s fabulous Raven was drawn by Michelle, who resides in the teeny tiny village of Cape Vincent, NY. In addition to being an excellent photographer and illustrator, she is a full time professional cake decorator. She describes her inspirations:
“I have a peculiar obsession with dead animals, (though I enjoy them alive just as well) while all things organic, botanical, mammalian, avian, medical, linear, and skeletal simply fascinate me. I enjoy drawing from my own photographs and gain inspiration from my vast collection of nature and medical books.”
Prints of her work can be purchased in her shop Fawn and Lark including my other favorite, Thoughtful Crow.
Borrowed from my Etsy profile:
“I have a peculiar obsession with dead animals, (though I enjoy them alive just as well) while all things organic, botanical, mammalian, avian, medical, linear, and skeletal simply fascinate me. I enjoy drawing from my own photographs and gain inspiration from my vast collection of nature and medical books.”
