Need some new ideas and ways to promote your small handmade shop?

If you make and sell handmade goods then chances are you’re probably spending a lot more time than you thought on marketing your small business. How else will people find you. Between banner ads, blogging, maintaining several stores filled with your products like Etsy and ArtFire in addition to your main store, attending craft shows, google adwords, facebook fanpages, tweeting, writing articles, bookmarking, networking and maybe even trying to raise the family, it can seem like a never ending job. It’s annoying but it’s a necessity. Youtube is yet another way you can promote your handmade goods and hopefully make your stuff go viral. It costs next to nothing and only takes a few minutes of your time.

How you ask? The way I did it was easy and fun. All you need is to make a sideshow using photos of your products and add a little music. If you don’t know how to or don’t think you have the time you can easily crate one in less than 15 minutes by using an online service that lets you mix your videos and photos with music with special effects. Take a look at the video Below. It literally only took me 15 minutes to do. Most of the time i spent uploading my music and photos. The effects were part of a premade montage which I selected from the many montages that OneTrueMedia has available.

Sleep Mask For Night Owls (640×480).mp4

The online service I used is called OneTrueMedia. It’s free to try and if you like it you can purchase a month membership for around less than $4.00 and make as many as you want or pay for a year’s membership for $39.00.  The paid version allows you to download your video to your computer. The best part about it is that you can post directly to your youtube account, facebook account, twitter or blogger page. Email if to your family or clients too.  Keep it on your iphone to show people you meet or potential boutiques your visiting. If you are dead set against paying consider the amount of time you save because of the ease of use. When marketing your business, you never know which one of your efforts are going to pan out. Give it a try and let me know how your video’s turn out. If you don’t like OneTrueMedia than give
Kizoa a try. It’s not as Robust as OneTrueMedia but the Interface is easier and simpler to work with. I don’t think it has the capability to connect to your youtube or facebook account but you can download your creations and manually upload to youtube which is just as easy. And then from within youtube, you could connect to your twitter and facebook accounts.

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Annie André is a self taught Indie designer, crafter, owner and creator of Le Neko Noir: a quirky online Boutique filled with her cute & cheeky handmade designs. She also writes a funny Indie Field Guide Blog about unusual handmade things people are making and selling. Read her Blog: www.lenekonoir.com/blog Visit the Shop:www.lenekonoir.com. Become Facebook Friends: www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

If you’re into fashion, shopping, Project Runway and you like to coordinate outfits than you’re going to love Polyvore.com.

It’s a really neat fashion / shopping 2.0 website. Polyvore let’s you Mix and match products from your favorite stores to create fashion sets. Just by dragging and dropping photos you find around the web and adding them to your sets. I came across this site by accident. But you can check it out below. There’s a really neat social feature too which lets you share your fashion sets with others. Case and point. Check out sweet dreams set below. Look closely at the picture. It has a really cute owl sleep mask made by yours truly. You should check them out.  www.polyvore.com

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Annie André is a self taught Indie designer, crafter, owner and creator of Le Neko Noir: a quirky online Boutique filled with her cute & cheeky handmade designs. She also writes a funny Indie Field Guide Blog about unusual handmade things people are making and selling. Read her Blog: www.lenekonoir.com/blog Visit the Shop:www.lenekonoir.com. Become Facebook Friends: www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

When You Need More Than Flowers

Recently my entire family had a terrible stomach flu. I was inspired to search for gifts that would commemorate our week long hell of puke and diarrhea. I scoured the web and found some unusual vomit themed gifts.  The perfect get well gift for recovering sick people with a sense of humor.

1- E.T. Puking: original art painting on wood panel 3×5 For the hungover artist?

The perfect Get well gift for the art collector who loves E.T and hates flowers? I wonder if the artist had a similar experience and felt compelled to have life imitate art.  For $80.00 you can buy this lovely original oil on wood panel of E.T. puking up bits of candy into a dead Geranium. Click the photo or the link below to get it now.
LegendaryTigerHero at Etsy

2- Set of three 8×10 Prints of Jaba the Hut, Batman puking and King Kong on the toilet.

From the same seller as E.T. Puking is this lovely set of 3 8×10 posters of, of, of well bathroom mishaps.  Perfect for the friend who’s feeling under the weather all of the time and wants to hang some posers in his room to announce his morbid depression. For only $45.00 you can get all three posters.
LegendaryTigerHero at Etsy

3- Morning Chicness Bags: Morning sickness bag for the chic expectant mother.

These are awesome. Get this for your pregnant wives or pregnant friends for their morning sickness. Now they can look chic while vomiting no matter where they are.  There’s nothing that will scream more class than these vomit bags reminiscent of airline vomit bag only much better because they’re also lovely different designs to suit each woman’s style. I like the bags with bubbles. They’re only $7.50 for a pack of 10. If you know someone who has really bag morning sickness you could pick them up a pack of 50 for only $27.50. I pity the husband who’s wife needs a 50 pack.  Get yours here  http://www.morningchicnessbags.com/index.html

4- Ralph The Crazy Puke Kid: Making puke cool again

Palph The Crazy Puke Kid

The perfect get well gift for the nerdy doll collector? Designed by Fernando Berger, these are hand cast and hand painted. I mean look at the detail. Neon green puke.  Only $15.00
http://overkillcreations.bigcartel.com/product/raalph-the-crazy-puke-kid

5- Puke Pillows: For the sweet person (no longer available. Darn!)

The perfect get well soon gift for that Martha Stewart type person. Actually, I would by this for me. Alas, the seller is no longer making this. so now we can only pine over these.

6- Kitten Puking Rainbow Journal: For the sick journalist in your life.

Get well my literary friend. That’s what this little Black notebook with a Rainbow spitting Cat scream. Wow! You’ll hit all the stops here with this 3.5″ x 5.5″ notebook. 64 pages to document all of your sick thoughts, I mean pleasant thoughts. Only $15.00 too.  Get yours quick.
Nowvember on Etsy

7- Whimsical Girl Puking: 8×10 poster: For a hungover girlfriend perhaps?

I think all your

Cupie doll hating friends will love to get this as a get well gift. Pinkytoast designs and sells these original 8×10 posters at Etsy for only $14.00.
PinkyToast on Etsy.com

8- Kitty Puke Button: For the friend who’s cat is sick and puked everywhere

This pin button meant to pin to your bag or lapel will defenitely cheer up that friend who has a sick vomiting cat. Or maybe it will depress them more. It’s only $2.00 plus shipping so you can’t go wrong. Pick yours up from this seller on etsy. roundwords on Etsy.com

8- Baby Onesie: “Come Closer So I can Spit Up On You”.  For the friend who has a puky baby.

Baby’s are so cute. Until they puke on your shoulder. Have a friend with a baby who won’t stop puking? Cheer them up by giving them this awesome baby oneseie sure to lift their spirits. Only $12.00 from mammamonkey on etsy.

mamamonkey on Etsy.com

9- Puke Green, Hand Knit Arm warmers

Not into the direct approach? Still want something funny for your puky friend? Give her this lovely chunky puke colored hand knit arm warmer to remind her that she’s loved. she’ll be thanking you the next time she has the chills.And can you believe it’s only $20.00? Seriously. This would take me a month to make. What a deal steal. Get it from Lucy’s Post Car Quilts on Etsy.com LucysPostCardQuilts on Etsy

9- Puking Mermaid T-shirt

The perfect get well soon gift for the friend who’s into t-shirt art. This original design of a puking mermaid blowing her martini everywhere is just too much. i think this would be a great t-shirt for a gang of girls to wear before they hit the town for drinks. Kind of like foreshadowing. Just $27.00 Tsaifi on Etsy

That’s all for 10 sick but funny handmade get well soon gifts for people who puke. Let me know if you find any crazy weird handmade things by posting them in the comments below.

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Annie André is a self taught Indie designer, crafter, owner and creator of Le Neko Noir: a quirky online Boutique filled with her cute & cheeky handmade designs. She also writes a funny Indie Field Guide Blog about unusual handmade things people are making and selling. Read her Blog: www.lenekonoir.com/blog Visit the Shop:www.lenekonoir.com. Become Facebook Friends: www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

This weeks quirky gift ideas are all about hat’s and masks that are not only unique and offbeat but also handmade.  So if you’ve been looking for a quirky gift for a skier or snowboarder, or a night owl who needs a new sleep mask, take a look at what I found. Warning: If you’re looking for out of the box L.L. Bean, Banana Republic or the gap style stuff then this may not be what you need.

Quirky Hats For the Slopes

Fleece Gas Mask Hat and Ski Mask

$80

I can’t decide if this fleece gas mask hat and ski mask is cute or disturbing. It’s definitely clever and much more interesting than the  dread lock hats  I have seen some folks wearing while snowboarding or skiing on the slopes. A seller on Etsy.com is making these to order.  For$80 dollars you can give this quirky mask as a gift too.

Knitted Bearded lumberjack hat

This is another one for the skier or snowboarder friend who likes quirky one of kind gifts. It’s a little hard to describe It but i’ll try anyways. It’s a hand knitted hat with a crocheted beard attached to it. Um, ok, you just have to see it.  Still, it’s pretty clever and quirky.  Cool if your a guy, but I’m not sure a woman would want to be seen wearing this.  It’s not exactly the most feminine thing I’ve seen around. On second thought, maybe you have a female friend who lives in a bad part of town.  She could wear this for the night she’s unaccompanied.  Maybe no one  would mess with her because she looks like she’s  some big scary bearded lumberjack guy.
You can pick one of these made to order hat beards from a seller on Etsy for $39.  click on the picture to be taken to the store.

Knitted Cat Ski hat pattern

$5

Ok, this one does disturb me a lot!  I think it might be the mannequin and not the actual knitted hat.
The seller is only selling the pattern in PDF format for this hat and not the actual knitted cat hat itself. Great if you know how to knit. Awful if you really really want this and don’t know how to knot. Maybe you can ask grandma or your great aunt to knit it for you.  Pretty funny though.

Perfect for the Mardi Gras or Costume Party

DIY owl mask kit

Price Unkown

It’s an owl mask kit that comes with everything you’ll need to make it including the patter, fabricl and embroidery thread. I’m a little bummed that the seller has no more of these left. She’s on etsy though. Maybe she’s in the process of putting some more kits together. Let’s hope so, after all Mardi Gras is right around the corner.

Sleep Masks: For cat and owl lovers

Blue Night Owl Sleep Mask

From the Le Neko Noir Shop
$19.95

I love owls. I’ve loved owls even before I knew that I loved owls. Here’s is a super soft and super comfortable owl mask from my own shop Le Neko Noir.  I hand sew these on my Pfaff sewing machine and then hand embroider the eyes with White embroidery Floss. These Adorable Quirky owl masks are the perfect gift for the night owl who needs some rest. Also makes a great travel gift for the person who travels alot.  Either way, it’s the cutest thing you’ll ever wear to bed. Besides your birthday suit.

Knocked Out Cat Sleep Mask

Get more than a cat nap with this adorable sleep mask. You’ll be knocked out. From the Le Neko Noir Shop

$19.95

You will be purrfectly rested with this soft fleece sleep mask. Here’s another quirky sleep mask from my shop.  Complete with pointy ears and hand embroidered X’s for eyes. Get them while you can. I’m not sure how much longer i’ll be making these for.

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Annie André is an emerging indie designer who runs a charming and quirky boutique called Le Neko Noir. It’s filled with unique gifts & unusual handmade lifestyle products inspired by dark fairy tales, forest creatures and wanderlust fashion. She designs and makes everything herself in California. You can visit her shop at www.lenekonoir.com. Read her Blog at www.lenekonoir.com/blog And become friends on Facebook www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

My Herbivore Linen Lunch tote was featured at www.styleflash.net

Here’s what the editor had to say about my bag.

“Need a reusable carry-all with which to fetch your delicious finds from the market?
This charming handmade Herbivore Linen Tote from Le Neko Noir will charm you with its peppy polka dots and darling silkscreened deer.

Made from 100% natural linen with a 100 % cotton lining, this picnic basket-inspired design can be used for everything from toting your tot’s diapers and playthings to keeping your lunch crisp and cool with its insulated interior.
Best of all, you can throw the 9″-Wide, 6″-Deep, 6.5″-tall bag in the wash when it needs a little sprucing up.”

I’m very excited about this and I hope I can get more buzz around my linen lunch tote line.  At all the design fairs I’ve attended, these seem to have stirred the most interest.  At the 2009 Renegade Holiday craft fair, I was approached by one of the co-owners of “The Green Apple”, an awesome used bookstore in San Francisco.  They are thinking of putting Lunch related items in the store. I’m supposed to get a hold of him some time this month about puting this and / or other lunch related items in his store.  I havn’t contacted him yet.  I want to have a couple more designs completed before hand. I have an bento bag design that I think will be even better and cuter than this one.

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Annie André runs a charming boutique called Le Neko Noir. It’s filled with unique gifts & unusual handmade lifestyle products inspired by dark fairytales, wanderlust fashion and the black forest. She designs and makes everything herself in California. You can visit her shop at www.lenekonoir.com. Read her Blog at www.lenekonoir.com/blog And become friends on Facebook www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

My last post was about being a sailing mom which wasn’t really all that cute or quirky.  But today I found something that can be interpreted as either very cute or very very disturbing depending on which way you look at it.

It’s a little boy playing with fervor his rendition of “I’m Your” on his ukulele. He can’t be more than 5 years old. Playing a stringed instrument is no small feat. My own husband Blake has been taking lessons and is no where near as good as this little boy. So either this boy is really good naturally or his parents make him practice this song over and over and over again, day and night locked in some closet, like some star child athlete prepping for the Olympics. In that case this would be a little disturbing and sad. Who knows. In any case, the end result is sweet and his parents must be very proud.

Where did this boy come from? How did this boy get to be so good?  How often does he practice?  How do I get my children to play like this for me as we all sit around an open fire in our living room?  I had to find out more about this ukulele boy, so  I did a little more digging on Youtube.  I did not find out more about ukulele boy, but Low and behold I think I found his instructor.  His name is Mr. Michael Lynch of Christ The King School in Seattle, Washington.  Below is a video of him giving a little lesson. He reminds me a bit of MR. Rogers.  I feel soothed when I watch him.  I feel like, I too can play the ukulele with fervor.  I want to be a ukulele player. No not really but it’s fun to imagine. If you want to learn how to play you should check him out. Here’s a link to his lessons where he teaches you to play cool inspirational Beatles songs and wonderful Hawaiian songs.  According to Mr Michael ” A ukulele player is just not worth their salt unless they know a few standard Hawaiian songs.”  So there you have it.

Get your ukulele on and happy strumming

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Author: Annie André runs a charming boutique filled with cute, unique gifts & quirky handmade things inspired by the romantic spirit of France, dark fairytale’s and forest creatures blended with the cute but quirky off beat style of Tokyo Japan. You can visit her shop at http://www.lenekonoir.com. Read her Blog at http://www.lenekonoir.com/blog. Become friends on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

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My 13 year old son Kieran has been sailing and racing optimist boats for almost 5 years. He’s a member of PYSF which stands for “Pacific Youth Sailing Foundation. They are located in Redwood City Ca. You should check it out. My husband Blake sails leisurely but it seems he doesn’t get to sail as often as he would like. And me, well I don’t sail. I’m not really interested all that much in sailing. I like being in a boat, near the ocean sipping champagne. I guess you could say that I’m interested in certain aspects of sailing. The reality of it all is that sailing and being the mother of a young sailor is not all that exciting or glamorous.  In fact, it can be back breaking, time consuming, expensive and it can get down right boring going to my sons regattas. Watching Kieran’s boat turn into a little dot as he sails away from the dock into the San Francisco Bay is the highlight of the race most times. More on that later.

I sometimes wonder what life would be like had we chosen to get Kieran involved in soccer or cross country or some other typical kiddie sport? The truth is, on some days I envy soccer moms and dads with their minivan full of kids.  Getting home from work and taking their kid to the next soccer practice or game. Occasionally buying a new uniform or a soccer ball.  From the outside it seams that the investment in time and money would have been far less had we chosen a sport for Kieran like soccer. Don’t get me wrong,  I’m not trying to minimize the effort in time or money of those parents. I realize it’s a lot of work no matter what the after school event is. I even know some parents who do Chinese school, and hockey and sailing. Not me.  I can barely handle one sport for one kid.   I often wonder how other parents do it all when I’m barely hanging on. So when I say that I envy other parents who do other sports that’s just me thinking the grass MUST be greener. I sometimes rationalize my inability to handle everything and to take on more things to the fact that having 3 children is a lot of work.  More often than not I, blame it on the type of sport we chose for Kieran;  Sailing.   There’s just so much to do as a sailing parent.  I’m not just talking about getting your kid dressed in uniform and throwing a ball in the back of the mini.

1. There’s the loading of the boat. It’s only about 9 maybe 10 feet long but still, it’s heavy and it takes two people to hoist it on to a trailer or the back of the truck. We load it at every practice and every regatta. So we really can’t ask a friend to carpool and take Kieran to practice because that would be way too much to ask of them.
2. Then there’s the rigging.
   
   After unloading the boat, it needs to be put on a dolly which we bring along with the boat. Then we roll over to hopefully some grassy area and start rigging the boat.  Floating devices need to be checked, dagger boards need to be dealt with and more. The sail has to be taught but not too taught. It all depends on how windy it is that day. There always seems to be some voodoo magic involved in this but somehow it all works out. Rigging is not so bad anymore. Kieran is older now and does most of his own rigging.  It used to be bad before when he first started out because my husband Blake or I had to do a lot of the rigging and it seemed that Kieran had the attention span of a gold fish. Andre my other son used to sail too. That was trouble times two. Back then, I knew nothing about how to rig a boat. I still know very minimal. I can get by if I need too. But I still don’t call things by there proper names.  Instead of  saying “did you tie the sail ties to the boom”. I might say “did you tie the sail thingy to the pole thingy before doing that other thingy”. It’s all so technical. Thank God my husband Blake enjoys sailing.  So he’s in charge of all that rigging stuff.
3. Then Kieran has to get dressed.
   
   I think parents of football kids can relate to this. there’s a lot of stuff to put on for sailing. Sailing gear consists of PFD vest (always). On warm sunny days, a hat and maybe a pair of sunglasses. Booties, rash guard, sailing bibs or overalls, water shorts. If it’s especially cold, then extra layers are in order. Something warm and water repellent like a thick pullover and a spray jacket which helps block out the wind and all the splashing water wile sailing.    Sunblock seems to be optional but really it should be mandatory given the fact that they sail for 3 or 4 hours plus at each practice and regatta. It always seems to be an afterthought to the kids.
4. Then there’s the launching. This involves putting the boat back onto the dolly and rolling it over to the dock and sliding it into the water. At practices this isn’t so bad. There are only 5 or 6 other kids on the team and everyone helps one another. But at regattas sometimes there’s 30 kids with 30 boats and each kid has one sometimes two parents helping and everyone is trying to launch,  rig and do stuff to get ready at the same time. It can get down right crazy.
5. Then there’s the waiting. I hand Kieran his lunch and we wave goodbye and drive away for at least 4 hours. Again at practices it’s easier. We can drive home because we only live 5 minutes away.  But at regattas we usually drive to places that are over an hour away like San Francisco yacht club in Tiburon, Or Saint Francis Yacht club in San Francisco or The Richmond Yacht club in Richmond. At those places, we can’t drive home because it’s too far away and we would have to turn around to pick Kieran up in a few hours.  If we have a clear view of the race we’ll stay and watch.  There’s nothing more invigorating than watching the racing and rounding the marks.  The Saint Francis Yacht Club: Heavy weather regatta had one of the best seats for watching the kids.  We sat just outside the club restaurant. One of the marks was quite literally 40 feet from us.  Unfortunately, most of the time we can’t stay and watch because the kids usually sail way out into the bay. They are little dots in our binoculars and it’s hard to make out who is who.
   So we usually go into town, have some lunch, hang out with other parents and chat, read a book or do something to pass the time.  We do something to pass the time because we have about a 4 hour wait until the kids return from racing.
6. After four hours we go back to the club and check to see if the kids have come back from racing. We never know what time they come in. There’s no set time. It all depends on how many races they were able to get in.  If there’s not a lot of wind, the kids don’t get a lot of races in. Sometimes they get only one race in after 4hours and the racing committee decides to keep them out longer so that they can get one more race in. Other times the committee may  decide to bring them in early because they think there’s no chance of getting any more races off. And on other days it’s perfect. There’s lots of wind, and lot’s of races.  For the parents, it’s all just a lot of speculation and guessing as to what the day will bring and what time to come back to the docks.
7. It’s a scramble after the kids finally do return. Everyone helps out here. When the days races are completed. All the kids come in at the same time.  So all the boats need to be pulled out of the water in or around the same spot.  And this part is actually a lot of fun.  There are parents running to the docks, pulling boats out of the water. Boats being loaded onto dolly’s and hauled past you, booms swaying, the sound of all the sails flapping in the wind.  Boats being hosed down. Kids walking around soaking wet, exhausted after having been on the water all day and parents are helping whoever they can to get the boats out.  It’s true team work and sometimes back breaking. But all the parents seem to be working independently yet working together. Like a well oiled machine.
8. Once the boats are out of the water, the kids have to hose down the boats of all that salt water. Then they cover the boats up and put it off to the side.  We don’t load it back onto the trailer because a regatta is usually 2 days long. So we just put it off to the side with the other boats so that it will be there for the next day.  That’s right, we have come back again the next day and do it all again. so we drive an hour or so to get home but we’re too tired and it’s too late to cook so we stop over in San Francisco on the way home and have some Za Pizza. Sometimes the regattas provide diners but usually we just eat on the way home.
9. The next day we wake up around 7 or 8 a.m. and drive around an hour to get back to whatever club we were at and it starts all over again.  Rigging, launching, waiting and helping. When the kids come back in from this second day of racing there’s a sense of relief. Kind of like when you’ve worked long and hard at something and now it’s over. You think wow, that was hard but somehow you feel a sense of accomplishment and proud. So After we pull the boat out of the water it’s time to de-rig, hose down and load the boat into the back of the truck again.
10. It’s not over yet. It’s now 4 or 5 p.m. We’ve all been going at this since the day before at 7 a.m.  Now we wait for the award ceremony.  There’s usually a first, second and third place for each of the boat classes. There can be as many as 5 or 6 classes of boats.  Ranging from  FJ’s Lasers, 49 ers, Bytes and Optimists (that’s Kieran’s class of boat at the moment). In the optimist class, there’s four sub levels. Green, White, Blue and Red. Kieran is now in the Red. It’s based on age for the most part. Red is for 13 to 15 years old. After that they age out and have to graduate on to one of the other boat classes meant for the bigger kids. Kieran is currently transitioning to FJ’s while concurrently sailing his Optimist.   So this part of waiting for the awards usually takes an hour. sometimes less. It jsut depends.
11. Now we drive home. Most of the time we get home around 7 or 8 p.m. at night. Way too exhausted too cook. So we’ll pick up some Take out on the drive home. Eat at the table and fall asleep.

So that’s what’s involved in being a sailing parent. I have no idea what other parents do for other sports.  This is what we’ve chosen to do.  It’s been an investment and a lifestyle for quite a while now. It transcends our daily lives at times and it involves the whole family. I hope one day Kieran appreciates how much work and sacrifice is involved. I have to say that it’s not all hard work. We do enjoy ourselves when we take Kieran to his regattas. Even if it is only just to hang out. The venues are usually beautiful. Especially Tiburon and San Francisco.  We usually get in a nice lunch and hang out leisurely while we wait for Kieran to finish up his races. And I have to say that the conversations we have after wards about how he trimmed his sail to make his boat go faster, or how he capsized and continued to race and still finish the race give me a sense of purpose. I feel proud that Kieran has something that he is good at, that he enjoys outside of school, video games and school friends. I suppose it’s a lifestyle thing.  It’s the values, the freedom of being on the open water, the accumulated knowledge of working at something and seeing the fruits of your labor come to fruition.  After it’s all said and done, it all seems worth it.

A friend of mine sent me a video about the BMW Oracle : BOR 90 that was built for the World Cup.    This video about the Bor 90 reminded me about why my husband and I are working so hard and sacrificing so many things to keep Kieran involved in sailing.   This boat is massive, it’s elegant, it’s beautiful.  It makes me want to sail.  I hope one day Kieran may be lucky enough to sail and race on a boat that’s 1/10 th  as impressive as this boat.  Anyways, If you like the history channel then you’ll probably enjoy this Video. It’s short and has just the right amount of sensationalism mixed in with education. Just to give you a better understanding about the magnitude of this boat, here are a few of the specs.

Equivalent Size: The infield of a professional baseball diamond or Two basketball courts
The hull alone has taken over 130,000 hours to build to date

Mast Height: Up to 185-feet/55 meters
Wing Height: 187 ft / 57 m (compared to 102 ft / 31 m span of a Boeing 747 wing and 143 ft)
Overall Length: 100-feet/30 meters
The Mainsail: 6800 square feet

And here’s the video.

You can learn more about the Bor 90 from the Golden Gate Yacht club website at http://www.ggyc.com/

p.s. My husband has a similar point of view. He is much less wordy at explaining things. You can see his write about the boys sailing at www.blakeelder.com

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Author: Annie André runs a charming boutique filled with cute, unique gifts & quirky handmade things inspired by the romantic spirit of France, fairytales, forest creatures and the cute but quirky off beat style of Tokyo Japan. You can visit her shop at http://www.lenekonoir.com. Read her Blog at http://www.lenekonoir.com/blog. Become friends on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

I recently did a few shows in San Francisco over the 2009 Christmas Holiday. The Bizarre Bazaar and The Renegade Holiday fair. I was pleasantly surprised to find so many people liked my linen lunch tote bags which are adorned with animal kingdom eating behaviors. It really brings a tear to my eye and gives me a modicum of validation to know that people enjoy my work.   I wanted to immortalize some of my satisfied customers and share their lovely smiles.  So here’s the first of many happy customer photos. If you would like to submit a photo of yourself with one of my shop items. Please, please email me the photo with a small blurb and I’ll post them here and in my shop.  Send all photos and testimonials to happycustomer@lenekonoir.com

I still have some bags left in the shop. You can get your own Carnivore lunch tote too.

Check out this Carnivore. She’s not ashamed of her carnivorous ways

Here’s a happy meat loving lady.  She bought this lovely Carnivore lunch tote for her best friend for Christmas.  I’m pretty sure her friend doesn’t have a bag like this to tote around her lunch meat. Wait is that meat in her hand organic?

Merry Christmas you Carnivore you!

Doesn’t she look lovely? What a thoughtful unique gift. She is truly loved.

Guys are carnivores too

Doesn’t he just look so Suave yet tough and sensitive holding this Carnivore lunch tote?

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Author: Annie André runs a charming boutique filled with cute, unique gifts & quirky handmade things inspired by the romantic spirit of France, fairytales, forest creatures and the cute but quirky off beat style of Tokyo Japan. You can visit her shop at http://www.lenekonoir.com. Read her Blog at http://www.lenekonoir.com/blog. Become friends on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/lenekonoir

Here’s the first in a series to come called “10 quirky, unique gift ideas” Each will be themed.

This weeks theme is “BEER”.

Buying good gifts can be hard.  Especially if you’re on a budget or trying to buy something thoughtful and unique for someone who seems to have everything already.  I scoured the web and decided to see if I could find some unique Holiday gift items for beer lovers for under $50.00.  I wasn’t really sure what I would find, but I did find some very unique and fun gifts. Some are even eco friendly and green. Others are truly craftsmen quality while others are well….. you’ll just have to see for yourself.

Enjoy, and keep an eye out for the next post of 10 quirky and unique gift ideas.

What beer guzzling girl wouldn’t squeal with delight at these cute little beer stein mug earrings, full of ale and a nice frothy head. And you can get these gift wrapped in a tiny kraft box and bubble mailer.oooooh!! And what a deal

$4.00 USD

Because you never know when you’re going to have your next beer.

Field tested and approved by experienced bottle openers worldwide! This unique buckle makes a perfect gift for that hard to shop for person and comes in handy at those parties or camping trips where no one can find a bottle opener!

$25.00

For the beer loving guy or gal who loves soft and fresh skin.

This 8oz this bar is twice the size of a common soap bar. Made with organic and vegan stout beers.Now the natural properties of vegan beer help to nourish the skin and hair.  This soap has been mixed with vegan stout beer and castor oil. Made from scratch, using the cold process method. Handmade soap contains moisturizing emollients and will leave your skin fresh and soft.

$10.00

Not your grandmas cozy

These cute little hand knit beer cozy’s are perfect for the ladies who like to drink a cold one and still look dainty while keeping their little fingers from getting frostbitten.

$49.00 USD

This hand knit monkey face beer can cozy is just a little off. But I had to throw it in. Maybe it would be a good disguise for your beer can?

Crocheted from 100% acrylic yarn. Just right for the average
drink can.

$18.00 USD

For the business man who likes his beer and is eco conscious.

These cuff links are made from re purposed beer bottle caps that are set into sterling silver. The cuff links are around 1 inch round, welded (NOT GLUED)to a sterling silver link on the back. You can order as is or pick the caps that you would like them set into.

$42.00 USD

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. Perfect for when you need an extra hand while drinking a brewsky.

The belt loop has a solid nickel snap, and the rivets are sporting a western throwback flower design, and the front and back pieces are embossed by hand, including the tooled lettering. Each holster is hand cut, handmade, hand dyed, has burnished edges, and the leather is treated with Atom Wax so that it can withstand the moisture from your frosty drinks.

$28.00 USD

For all you eco conscious beer drinkers with champagne taste and a beer budget.

This is a real Corona bottle that was melted flat. It comes with a handmade cheese spreader tied on with an elegant bow.

$28.00 USD

Promote, promote promote. The Le Neko Noir shop has been open for business now for just a bit over a month.  Contrary to popular belief, build it and they will not come. Something I learned from a previous company which shall remain nameless and the movie “Field of Dreams”. Hence i find myself marketing, advertising, blogging and marketing some more.  It’s been more about marketing than it has been about making and designing. Unless you count designing banner ads and making Facebook fan pages. Here’s mine. If you care, please, please, show your love and Connect and Become a Fan on Facebook.

What follows below is the product line up that I opened my store with and possible designs for the future. Let me know if you have any good ideas. Just post them in the comments area.

Linen Carry All Bag

Here’s a pint sized carry all bag Inspired by red riding hoods pic nic basket. It’s cute, demure, cheeky and Handmade of course.  100% Linen outer and cotton lining. Each bag is hand screen printed with an animal kingdom eating behaviour and their definitions.
4 to choose from so far. ? Omnivore, Carnivore, Herbivore or Fungivore?

I designed these bags to be on the smaller side ,  Roughly 9 x6 inches for when you needed an extra bag to carry around things.  These would make great lunch bags, market bag to throw your change purse in. Or even use it as your daily bag.  I’ve given them as gifts to teachers.

Possible Future design series:
In addition to doing the feeding behavior series, i was thinking of doing a line that focused on names associated with  eeeh hem, loose or fallen women and including their definitions.  Words like…….

Trollop, Hussy, Jezebel, Harlot.  What do you think?

Toliet Paper Cozy
Cute, Cheeky, Decorative and Educational Toilet paper covers. Learn to say shit in a different language.

Have you ever seen one of those crochet toilet paper covers that little old ladies use to cover their toilet paper rolls?  If so than you’ll appreciate these toilet roll covers.  This is a tongue in cheek, modern take of the crocheted toilet paper covers of yesteryear. These do double duty as educational reading material for your guests too.  Each one hand screen printed and adorned with a cheeky message. Featuring a translation of the word “caca” in different languages.
2 to choose from so far. French: Merde, Japanese: Kuso. These would be the perfect gift for the modern domestic goddess who’s also a little …. you know different. I’ve had guys who love this too. It’s not overly feminine and has a kind of twisted sense of humor to it.

Possible Future design series:

German: scheizer, Chinese: Dabien. I’m still noodling. Give me your suggestions.

Utensil Burrito
Eco conscious and stylish. Super cute linen travel utensil holders.

This is my way of helping save the planet. No more plastic forks and knives. This little Travel utensil holder is the perfect accompaniment to those of you who pack a lunch daily that requires a fork and knife. I think it’s rather dignified actually. It’s made with a 100% linen outer and cute cotton linings like polka dots and cupcakes. It has four slots to hold all your lunch utensils.  For now, these utensil burritos come with a handpicked set of vintage flatware circa 1960’s. I think they make the perfect foodie gift for teachers, friends, students and business people who are on the go and who want to reduce their ecological footprint without sacrificing style. Featuring hand printed animal kingdom feeding behaviors and a set of handpicked vintage flatware. These match my hand screen printed linen bags.
4 to choose from: Carnivore, Omnivore, Herbivore and Fungivore.

Possible Future design series:
“Man Eater”
“Miam miam miam” : This is how you say yum yum in french
“Oishi” = Delicious in Japanese.

Message In A Bottle

Sweet, flirty and cheeky messages to profess your dire love or desires.

Plush

Poop shaped plushy doll

Originally I thought these would make great potty trainers for kids. There’s a little pocket on the backside to put bon bon’s and treats.  But now i think it has a wider appeal. Not just to kiddies but to adults. They’re fun, and cute and they’re shaped like poop dollops.
Possible Future design series:
for now i’m using linen to make these. But I think i’m going to change to a chocolate colored fleece.
Rotten tooth plush- black of course to convey a big giant cacity. I think these will be fun.

Sleep Mask
Sleep masks with clear but polite messages so you can finally get some rest.

Inspired by the sleep mask worn by Audrey Hepburn in breakfast at Tiffany. I have two sleep masks so far. This one pictured doesn’t need any explaining. I have others in the shop too.

Crack Head Plushy
Cranky egg shaped plushies

I just like having something in my shop called Crack head. These guys are really just little egg shaped plushies. I use them as pin cushions. Each one is hand embroidered with a different facial expression and a little crack in it’s head.

More to come…..

Good luck and happy shopping.

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Annie Andre
www.lenekonoir.com
Connect and Become a Fan on Facebook.
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