Weirdwolf

Orien MacDonald, a.k.a. Old School Tools, grew up in Alaska and Southern New Mexico, where his parents were part of the Back-to-the-Land movement. His dad taught workshops in building handmade houses out of adobe clay and had a vast woodshop where Orien whittled his first woodworking project at the age of five.

Read the full Etsy blog post and comment to enter to win Orien’s handmade chefs knife!

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I met master weaver Baba while I was visiting some friends in Highland Park, CA. After my morning walk to the local cafe I happened upon an enchanted little import shop with a weaving studio housed in the back. The shop, Pets With Fez run with Baba’s partner Nanette, is a wonderful nook filled with vintage, imported and hand-woven goods. He teaches 15th century Persian rug weaving techniques as well as floor loom weaving.

You can visit the Pets With Fez Weaving Studio at 5123 1/2 York Boulevard in Highland Park, CA or call (323) 478-1969.

Read the full Etsy blog post.

Photo by Faythe Levine

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Here’s the latest video from one of the series I produce for Etsy called Handmade Portraits.

Photographer Sharon Montrose and I had been trying to plan a shoot together for over eight months but our schedules never seemed to overlap. Then Sharon emailed me in February to let me know she was about to shoot photos of a three month old giraffe and I dropped everything to head to LA. What a surreal experience to watch a gangly seven foot tall baby giraffe walk through the door. It was a real thrill to capture the event and to see the incredible amount of teamwork involved in producing one of Sharon’s shoots. Thank you Sharon for being such a wonderful and supportive member of the Etsy community!

Read the full Etsy blog post.

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2/8 with Steve Gunn, Zachary Cale – Matchless Bar Brooklyn, NY

2/12 Unitarian Meeting House Amherst, MA

2/13 Jack Rose Memorial Concert – Latvian Society of Philadelphia Philly, PA

2/14 Issue Project Room Brooklyn, NY

2/15 The Market Hotel Brooklyn, NY

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Here’s the latest Etsy video I produced for our series on home decor and amazing spaces There’s No Place Like Here. Read the full article on Etsy’s blog.

Pam Kueber of blog Retro Renovation was originally looking for the Victorian farmhouse of her dreams in the Berkshires, but for various reasons (price, location, size) she and her husband ended up falling in love and purchasing a 1951 Colonial Ranch house instead. Although the house has aspects of a modern ranch house — the step down living room, the open dining room — a large portion of the house feels more Colonial or, as Kueber coined, “Mid-Century Modest.”

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The Winter ’09 issue of Fretboard Journal has a terrific interview between Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and guitarist Michael Chapman. For the past few years I’ve been producing a short documentary called Fully Qualified Survivor about Michael Chapman’s music and his life on Wrytree Farm with his wife Andru. Michael will be coming to the US to perform at the Jack Rose Memorial Concert in Philadelphia February 13th and playing some additional dates on the East Coast.

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The Jesus Lizard played a ferocious show last Tuesday night at Irving Plaza in NYC. I hadn’t seen them live since ’93 or ’94 in Boston and they were just as amazing and intense. Somehow Shanin, Shah & Zach from Ex Models and I wound up drinking beers with David Yow and Sims after the show. Good times indeed. I would LOVE to go to the New Year’s show in Chi-town… you never know…

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Last night I got to check out Dead Moon’s Fred & Tooty at Mercury Lounge in their latest oufit, Pierced Arrows. Sounded just like all Dead Moon tunes I ever loved. NYC’s own Endless Boogie opened the night with some sonic boogie rock. Good times.

Check out my pals Kate Fix and Jason Summers fascinating documentary on Dead Moon called Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story.

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(Music by Espers)

I met up with Emily Zych, a.k.a. whichgoose, deep in the magical forests of Pennsylvania, where she finds twigs and vines for the fanciful crowns she makes. This wood nymph’s delightful creations are inspired by Greek mythology, pagan folklore and expressive Romanticism.

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(Music by Chinatown)

While I was on vacation in Montreal this past summer I met up with Montreal-based fashion designer Angie Johnson of iheartnorwegianwood. Angie is best known for her structuralist leather cage skirts, vintage trim elastic harnesses and colorful fringe necklaces. With the help of designer Lara Kaluza, a.k.a. lalouka, on the hottest day of summer, we drank some beer and blasted music in the Head Quarters boutiqe and had a super fun time shooting this little promo. Read the full article on Etsy’s blog.

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