At FOUND, we're tired of snow and frigid weather, so we've declared an early Springtime! Though it looks like March will come in like a lion, we know it'll probably go out like a lamb. New springtime lambs - handmade in Au Gres, Michigan have arrived - along with some new goats and mama sheep for ewe.
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Be sure to look up next time you visit FOUND! Our Holiday displays aren't just at eye level. You'll find antique bears and elves riding a trike on a tall
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The 2014 Christmas Store opens November 6th at FOUND in Ann Arbor!
Here's what we have planned for the 2014 holidays:
November 4 & 5. CLOSED while we work some holiday magic.
November 6th. 9:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Shop reopens for first look at FOUND's 2014 Collection!
Friday, Nov. 7. Holiday Kick off Party. 5:00-7:00 p.m. Refreshments. Merry Multiples begins. $10 gift card free when you make a purchase!
Sunday, Nov. 9. Stamping Sunday. Drop in between 3 and 4 p.m. to stamp gift bags and tags. $3 materials fee.
Sunday, Nov. 16. Kerrytown Open House. 10 am-6 pm. 20% off storewide + Merry Multiples!
Closed for Thanksgiving.
November 29. Small Business Saturday specials.
Friday, Dec. 5. Midnight MADNESS! Sales ALL day until midnight. 20% off storewide + Merry Multiples!
Dec. 12,19. Festive Fridays in Kerrytown - shops open til 8:00 p.m. for your convenience.
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There's been one fat squirrel busy in the Bradford Pear tree beside my driveway every morning this week when I walked out the door. And the acorns are dropping like crazy. A sign of a harsh winter to come? I'm going to just enjoy these magnificent autumn days and let the squirrels worry about that.
Nutty Distraction Topic: Sometimes I try to find a 10 minute "distraction topic" to think about to give my mind a little break from working. It's sort of a silly refocusing alternative to slow, deep breathing.
Last week squirrels were a distraction topic for me. Except for their silly scolding sounds, squirrels mind their own business and just scurry around looking very busy and cute. I wish they knew better than to run into the street though - road kill is not cute. I'll admit it, sometimes I think about strange things - like how I'm grateful I am that squirrels never try to get into the house or even my garage. We grew up singing "grey squirrel, grey squirrel, swish your bushy tail... grey squirrel, grey squirrel, swish your bushy tail..." but I never see grey squirrels around here. Brown squirrels live in my trees. After that little musical ditty looped around in my head for awhile, I was definitely ready to get the song out of my head and refocus on the important tasks of my day. It was back to my book keeping with a clear focus again.
Meanwhile, back at FOUND, you'll find these adorable felted squirrels. They are made in Michigan at the AuGres Sheep Factory up in the thumb area. Burlap acorns go with these sweet faced squirrels for easy autumn decorating.
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Lovely little boats by mixed media artist Kathleen Koopman are floating in the window at FOUND on a dreamy voyage. The sailboats have dainty handkerchiefs or recycled fabrics as sails and float through the air like something out of a bedtime story.
Others tell a story of companionship. Birds join in the journey.
We asked Kathleen to share her inspiration for these dreamy boats:
I'm part collector, part archivist, part archaeologist, and part researcher. I find things, arrange them, organize them, and display them.
My work for the past several years has focused on the assemblage of found objects, scraps, photographs, fiber, and paper, to create a narrative with memories and dreams intertwined.
I draw from a collection of artifacts, found: junk stores, the street, the landscape, the pathways of life: items cast off and abandoned, waiting for the opportunity tell their stories, effected by time and memory.
Constructing boats rose out of that process, out of these materials, as an extension of the assemblage process, and the inspiration grew fueled by the metaphors: voyages, sailing, hulls, rigging, sails, navigation driven by the vagaries of wind and water: discovery, travel, wandering.
Bon Voyage!
Kathleen Koopman. July 2014.
During Ann Arbor Art Fair week, Darcy Bowden will be our featured artist, bringing over one HUNDRED of her ceramic works to the shop! We're clearing out the center section to make room for this fun made in michigan show and sale. Her quirky, modern pieces often have whimsical POPS of color and sensitively drawn lines in the design. Other groups have a mid century feel with chunky sculptural shapes.
Ceramic Art & Printmaking Show with Darcy Bowden
Tuesday, July 15, 2014. Opening Reception Party. 4-8 pm.
July 16,17,18. Meet the artist 3-7 pm daily at FOUND.
Sat. July 19. 11 am - 2 pm. Clay Demo by Darcy! Hand forming & decorating simple, modernist bowls using ancient paddling techniques.
The group above is just out of the kiln over at Yourist Studios where Darcy does her magic. Notice the bowl shapes. The clay is formed by paddling it over a specially selected stone - a very old method with a modern twist. At the Saturday demo (7/19 from 11-2 at FOUND) Darcy will show us how it's done. The vessels below are an entirely different group she does. All these are coming to the show!
Darcy is a long time FOUND friend and inspiration! Many Ann Arborites will recognize Darcy from her days as an art teacher at Huron High School. I almost forgot to mention that printmaking is another of her passions and she'll also bring prints, cards and other fun things to the show. Hope to see you during Art Fair Week 2014!
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When I picked my latest batches of bottles and jars at the antique show, weddings were on my mind. Old jars and vintage bottles can be casually elegant when decorating for events at party barns or outdoor venues. Canning jars are sweet as vases, but the jars with metal bail handles are also great to hang from branches, trellis' or trees with a tiny votive candle nestled inside each one. For safety, you might use the small battery candles or even tiny rice lights which have the effect of fireflies twinkling in the jars. The more the better for a summertime celebration!
Antique "cures" bottles look lovely with a simple, single stem in each bottle. Try tying them together with a wrapping of twine or ribbon in groups of three bottles of varying heights for a unique table decoration.
Jars can be filled with many things, including wishes. Here's a link to our artist friend Lynn Whipple's video on painting messages on bottles. She makes everything easy and FuN!
We also have old milk bottles by the dozens right now. Almost a hundred vintage canning jars. Large brown bottles. And tiny little watch part vials. If you like old bottles and jars, this July is a good time to visit FOUND!
Web friend Bonus: Stop by FOUND and let us know you read this post and what you think about Lynn's video, and we'll give you a FREE milk bottle like those pictured above or a clear bailed pint canning jar - while supplies last.
Here's one final picture. Don't you just love the way blue and aqua bottles and canning jars look with light shining through them?
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100 years ago things were made to last. And functional items were designed to look good. While I love chippy old paint and rust, when I find a beautiful old scale or other industrial age piece in great condition, I marvel at how beautiful a well made machine can be. And it still works.
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DIY is definitely not a new thing. Case in point - I found some vintage HOMECRAFT magazines from the late 1930's through the 1950's at an estate sale last week. I bought the whole stack and took them to FOUND. It's fascinating what this home workshop magazine includes in the "build it yourself" category. I didn't have a chance to read them all yet, but focusing on summertime this Memorial Day weekend, there are water fun and camping projects galore. Along with tame plans to build a cobblers bench and instructions on how to install linoleum, one issue also gives complete instructions to build a trailer to tow your speed boat!
In another issue, you can learn how to build a honeymoon house trailer. The complete cost in 1939 was $60. It's big enough to hold a standard mattress and be towed behind a car. It would sure be fun to see one of these in the campground this summer!
And speaking of summer fun, another issue shows the steps to make your own water skis. And still another has plans for a sailboat.
For the less adventurous home workshop builder, projects like globe stands and planter lamps are included. I'd rather have a sailing kayak or some homemade water skis. Now that I think of it, the old water skis I learned on may have been made by someone who subscribed to this magazine. Right now, we have about 3 dozen different issues of HomeCraft at the shop. Pick some up and build something great this summer!
Craft
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Now it's hanging a FOUND.
It reminds me of something you'd see at Anthropology on an indigo blue wall. At the home decor shows, I've seen resin reproductions. This is the real deal - choppers and all...
So there's another item in the category of you-never-know-what-you'll-find-at-found!
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