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new pins in the shop!

Posted on 24. May, 2012 by Princess Lasertron.

Today I added twelve new flower pins to my online shop offerings. Here’s what I currently have for sale in the store:

Prices range between $13-30.

xo
meg

this month’s make it pretty mailing!

Posted on 17. May, 2012 by Princess Lasertron.

Little handmade macaron cookie buttons made into to pendants, barrettes, earrings, and rings!

>> make it pretty subscription club, $15/month

new in the shop: baby bow ties and shoe clips! (okay, they’re the same thing…)

Posted on 12. May, 2012 by Princess Lasertron.

When one of my former brides Alison (it was so long ago that I don’t even have a blog post about her flowers!) asked me to make a bow tie for her new baby boy (so exciting), I thought that was a great little product that I could make for lots of new babies. The ones I sent her had little safety pins to attach them to a collar, but I didn’t think that was the best way, so I reworked them for my shop to attach to baby’s collar with a shoe clip. It’s secure, comfortable, and a little safer than a pin.

So by making them with shoe clip hardware, naturally, you can also buy two as shoe clips!

There are seven colors available in each style.

Bow Shoe Clips: $10
Baby Bow Ties: $5

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So I made some birds! Felt embroidered birds for Meghan and Jhonson’s wedding

Posted on 20. Apr, 2012 by Princess Lasertron.

I love getting orders once in a while for things that I don’t do very often…or things I’ve never done, like a flock of embroidered felt birds!

These are for Meghan and Jhonson’s wedding (I’ll show you their flowers next week!) and they’re going in each centerpiece, flying over each table of birdhouses and beautiful foliage. I made a small flock of colorful birds native to California where they are getting married, inspired by sketches sent to me by Meghan’s stepmother Barbara. I also made some purple and pink fantasy birds in their wedding colors embellished with vintage crystals and pearls. They each took a long time to make, so I’m really proud of these little guys.

xo
meg

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ask a furniture designer: a conversation with peter cales

Posted on 06. Apr, 2012 by Princess Lasertron.

Peter Cales is a designer, woodworker, and friend I have known socially for a few years, but we recently became closer friends and I’ve really enjoyed learning about his craft and his process, which he shares in generous detail on his blog at Measure Cut Cut. A few weeks ago, he delivered my newest purchase–a commissioned “black and birch” striped table for CAMP Coworking. We were in need of a new conference table, and I wanted something well-designed and bold, with some feminine je ne sais quoi. He sourced reclaimed wood from the Witherspoon Mansion and hand-cut each leg with the perfect amount of detail and curve.

I interviewed Peter about his inspiration, what he’s learned, where he’s going, and his process when working with custom clients. Try working with a local independent furniture designer in your area–it’s such a cool way to go handmade.

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Q: What right now are you really excited about and inspired by, and how is it influencing your current projects?
Peter: I’m really inspired by the Kent Bellows Studio right now – especially the building and the sort of “living” sets Kent made for his paintings and drawings. I’ve been interested in exploring textures and opaque tones in the work I’ve been doing lately. I just scheduled my first solo show to take place at KBS next September. I’ve had the opportunity to work with the kids there on a weekly basis for much of the last year and I just feel a unique energy every time I walk into the space. The building – and my mentoring experience, the kids, the staff, the history – it’s all influencing the work I’m doing and pushing me to take chances and try new things with my work.

Q: Are you ever stuck on ideas? What do you do when you feel like you want to create something, but you don’t know where to begin?
Peter: I get stuck sometimes in the design process, but usually I know I only have a small window of time to effectively work with a client, so I try to push through those kinds of things. Typically, I’ll just start drawing shapes and individual elements until things start to click. I like to make things for people who are interested in the design or fabrication process, so I usually end up trying to incorporate details that directly relate to their story or life. Those tend to be pretty inspiring in terms of working through road blocks in the design process.

I’m notoriously guilty of starting projects without really knowing how they’re going to reach fruition. Usually I’ll get a mental image of a completed piece. And if I know it’s something I really feel strongly about and want to make, I’ll just work until the real things matches the picture in my mind. I’ve made some of my more interesting chairs, and developed some of my signature pieces by doing this – particularly my star tables and signature wooden hot air balloons. Sometimes I end up wasting material because I’ll get so far into something and realize the piece just isn’t working. But generally I like the freedom of doing things really intuitively.

Q: What do you love about where you live?
A: I love living in Omaha because of the opportunity here. I mean, I’m able to work and support myself (most of the time, anyway) by making stuff. Who wouldn’t want to do that? I don’t think I could do what I’m doing in many other places. Access is a big thing in my world. I’m talking access to a network of clients and supportive people, resources, affordable housing and workspace. Omaha seems unique in the sense that if you want to do something here in the arts world, you can just do it. You don’t have to jump through hoops or know the right people. You can just do stuff and have a chance to be successful. There are definitely some drawbacks, too. I think there are some cultural ceilings here and there certainly aren’t the markets here that exist on the coasts. But the opportunities far outweigh the limitations right now for me.

Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to support a designer like you but has never ordered custom commissioned work before?
A: I have a sense that most people are nervous about inquiring about custom work. They either think it’s going to be really expensive or that I’m going to be weird or something. But custom work is sort of my bread and butter, and I’m used to working with people who have modest budgets. Most of my clients tend to be younger professionals who have a little money to spend and want something unique that they can’t get at Ikea or Nebraska Furniture Mart.

I try to approach this kind of work in a really personal way. I want my clients to feel comfortable with me, but I also want to feel comfortable with them. After all, my work – kind of a part of me, really – is going to be in their home forever. And they’re likely going to incorporate the piece into their day to day lives. So I really work hard to seek out clients who will appreciate the experience of working closely with me. I want to know peoples’ stories – what they’re like, what they’re interested in and how our aesthetics match up – before we even start talking about what kind of piece they’re interested in. But I invest a lot of time in the custom/commission process because it’s important and valuable to me. After all, this is how I’ve chosen to spend the majority of my time, so I want to really enjoy my work experience and feel fulfilled by it. Custom work is time consuming and definitely not as cost-effective as more streamlined things. I could make more money making simple cabinets or repetitive designs, but it’s more worthwhile to me to consistently enjoy my work than it is to make a little more money doing something I don’t enjoy.

Q: Is there anything that you haven’t done or learned that you’d like to try?
A: There are so many things I haven’t learned. I want to be a better craftsman. I think I have an unfounded reputation as some sort of great craftsman. I’m probably better than most people who don’t make furniture and art for a living, but I have a long way to go before I earn any sort of great title. I think everyone should continuously work toward perfecting their craft or whatever they’re passionate about doing. I also want to ride in a hot air balloon. I have a pretty terrible fear of heights, so even flying on an airplane kind of freaks me out usually, but someday I will take a balloon ride. I also want to be a guest on Fresh Air with Terri Gross someday. I want to go back to Southeast Asia too. There are loads of things I want to do. But mostly I just want to make something amazing and leave a significant legacy. That’s what it’s all about for me.

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One cool thing Peter is working on right now is a side project called Tiny Wooden Box, a limited-edition line of just that–small handcrafted wooden boxes–priced at $50 each. I think they’re adorable and you’ll have use for them for a long time. I visualize a man buying one to hold an engagement ring for his wife, his wife using it to store her favorite earrings and rings, and maybe using one to store locks of hair from a baby’s first haircut or teeth for the tooth fairy. What don’t you need a tiny wooden box for?!