My latest shopping spree & what's up with me lately!

Bloom in Black Headband is from ChristineCecelia
(sorry for the bad photo, it was taken by a phone!)

Time is passing by so fast, it is crazy! I've been preparing mentally and shoppingly (I just created a new word as I often do!) for the last few weeks for my trip to Turkey! As some of you know I'm originally from the beautiful city of Istanbul in Turkey, and my whole family lives there, so I go and visit them about once a year. Now, that 'once a year' time has come again, but with a little extra reason for me as a 'have to go' this time, which I don't complain of course.. My brother is getting married, yayy! So, most of my shopping was about the very important part about his wedding; 'what am I going to wear??'..

Thankfully with the help of my friend/fellow jewelry designer/stand by mama (a hot one)/personal therapist/shopping buddy/personal stylist Elsie, it was a fun and a little exhausting but with a happy ending experience! The exhausting part was because -from my understanding-; most of the designers of evening dresses have the mentality/assumption of a woman who is going to wear those dresses would want to reveal their boobies! So most of the dresses I tried and actually really liked was too low cut, after tens of trying, I found myself thinking about getting one of those and add a lace or something to cover the 'decolletage' area, out of desperation! Finally and thankfully I found a very nice and sophisticated dress that fit me well and didn't need curtains for the window! *wink wink*

Along the way, since I was already in the shopping mood and my antennas were working perfectly for spotting potential items to purchase, I got a few extra pretties not related to the wedding at all! ;) It wasn't limited just with the local stores, Etsy had it's role too of course in this spree!

I'm leaving this Sunday by the way, and I'll be in Turkey for 7 weeks!! The idea of leaving my honey behind all that time hurts, I already miss him, so this week is going very emotional for me, spiced up with tears and all, mostly sudden or when watching a love scene on the T.V. or even simple commercials.. :/ Then I comfort myself by reminding all the bead shopping I will do at my favorite places in Istanbul, all the partying with friends I'll have, and the wedding of course! So, I wipe my tears off with the back of my hand and get calm.. I know I'm mean like that sometimes! :P

Back to the FUN subject; shopping.. Besides my new favorite headband that you see at the top of this post, I have some other goodies to share with you;

This is my latest #1 skincare product; Rose water cleanser by UnicosCauldron . I have been looking for a all natural cleanser for my face with rose water for a while, and I came accross her shop on Etsy. I ordered and tried the sample size first, and loved it! Especially the fact that it is not only a cleanser but it is a moistruzer as well. The humactant ingredient in it pulls the moistrure from the air and locks it on your skin. I reccomend it if you have dry skin, or combination skin like me!

And these are my favorite new sandals I fell in love at first site at Nordstrom while shopping for my dress! I got the black one!


Aaaand these are my HIGHs from Forever 21, YES I can walk in them but not too long! :P


Much love!!

Derya

Don't miss this sale!

Did you know there has been a great sale going on in my shop? Yep, some of my really cool customers have been taking advantage of it too! Don't worry, there are still many unique and fabulous designs are left waiting for you to take a look!

Buy one get the second for half off! The details are at my shop announcement, go and check it out!

Below are some of the sold items during my sale! (if you see anything you love and want me to re-create for you, please don't hesitate to contact me!)

How could you NOT tell me about Ron Mueck??

Clearly I just found out about him, and I don't know what to say or what to write here, sometimes words don't do the justice.. I'm mad because nobody told me about him! (can you tell I'm just trying to blame it on somebody?) Ron Mueck , I think I love you! ;) (I can't even think about my cute new gladiator shoes and fabulous dress I bought today! *wink wink*)

My studio!

Life is a funny thang.. ;)

One day a couple of months ago, we were sitting at one of the window tables of Gypsy Den Cafe in downtown Santa Ana with my husband, drinking coffee.. As I look out the window towards one of the Santora Building's windows with the most beautiful architectural details, I told him; 'I wish I had a studio space there.'... He offered me to check the building for available spaces and I told him that even if there was any, rent would be too much for me to afford..

Anyway, we still went there after finishing our coffees, to look around a little bit, and saw an empty space available. He was calling the number on the window to ask about the rent etc., I looked around and saw an artist working on a reproduction of a Rembrandt painting at the back part of a store, behind some vintage clothing and accessory displays..


My husband couldn't reach the person on the phone, so I decided to talk to that artist to see if I could get any info about the space. Long story short, the artist guy (named Moises) tells me that it'd be great if I would be interested in moving in with them to share their space! I go yayy, and now I'm there! ;)

This is my studio on the left corner, on the right side where Moises paints,
and the front on the store has really cool vintage clothing and accessories
handpicked by Gretel..

Inside of the Santora Building, I'm on the second floor! The building
was built in 1929 in Spanish Colonial Revival Style..



The painting on the left is by Moises Camacho, and on the right is
a work of Joseph Hawa (another artist I share the building with)

There are many many other artist's studios and galleries in the Santora Building/ Artist Village. Every first Saturday of the month those studios and galleries open to the public, so you can come in and get inspired maybe purchase something you fall in love it by also supporting the local artists.

I'd also love it if you can stop by to meet me in person there, anytime! Just let me know beforehand so I make sure that I'm there when you come in! :)

Santora Arts Building

207 North Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92701

Meeting at the 'eggz neighbourhood' with Faulty Carpenter

The weird thing is, in my previous post my goal was to introduce you a new Etsy artist I've recently discovered "faultycarpenter"..

I started talking about people are like gift boxes and you never know what you will find in the box blah blah blah, and right after that intro, I was meaning to tell you that I met this new cool artist on Etsy.. And somehow I found myself writing more and more, even about cabbages!! haha. It was way too much of an intro, it became a post itself and I just decided to leave it that way.. *sighs*

I had a pleasure learning more about Adam Grath of "faultycarpenter" after I added his very personable 'eggz neighbourhood' to my favorites. Chatting him a little bit, I immediately decided to feature him here in my blog, because I'm sure you will like to hear his story as well..

Adam is a 48 years old artist who grew up in Kalamazoo Michigan, currently lives and works in Bloomington Minnesota with his wife Anne and their two dogs Moby and Mabel. He says; 'I found etsy via a co-workers girlfriend. Her shop has had some success, so I thought it would be fun to start my own store.' And adds: 'I'm digging the etsy community and find it has been very helpful and encouraging to see the wonderful array of objet that comes from the minds and hands of others.'

Although Adam opened his shop in Feb, 2009 , he has always been in art & crafts world. He says 'My dad David Grath is a fine artist (painter) and my mom Donna Grath is a spectacular quilter so I've been around art/crafts since I was a wee tot.' He has also studied ceramics at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art.. 'under a super cool artist named Tom Lollar' he adds.. One of his other passions is music; ' I sell guitars for a living and have played for (gulp) 43 years. another story'..

Adam's Etsy shop name is coming from his illustrated short story book "The Faulty Carpenter". He actually has a video of the story on youtube which you can watch by clicking here. Although I love that story (and the music, which is also his own), my favorite one is 'Emmet The Flying Chair' which is another illustrated story by him! (click here to watch)

Going back to our conversation starter, the 'eggz neighbourhood' , he says: ' I started making "neighbourhoods" of smashed heads in 1971 and selling them in the divided coke crates that hold 24. It's getting almost impossible to find the old crates anymore and when you do some antique shop wants 20$ for one, so I started making my "eggz neighbourhoods" using recycled egg cartons instead.' and adds 'I love to look at objects and consider what other uses and personalities they might have. '

Adam says he also paints with acrylics mostly on large canvas, and planing to list them in his Etsy shop very soon! He also has a blog 'click here' which he tries to post a chapter and a drawing everyday..

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Adam as much as me.. Add him to your faves , and keep an eye on his shop for soon to be filled with many other cool artwork! His book 'The Faulty Carpenter' is currently available for purchase in his shop for only $7.. *wink wink*

Much love,

Derya

We are gift boxes and cabbages..

.. Every person is like a gift box waiting to be given to you, not just in special days, but mostly totally random, when the most unexpected. And you never know what's been hiding in that box unless you open it. Those boxes also contain other boxes inside (in different sizes), like those 'joke' ones people give to each other. The smallest is the hardest to open, because it is the most sacred and secret one. That's the one most of us prefer to keep to ourselves, the one that is a mystery to most , and complicated, and honest, and pure.. The ones who opens most of our boxes and get closest to the smallest ones, are our true friends. They are called 'gift' boxes, because we are all gifts to each other..

I also consider humans like cabbages, we have our layers. Many many layers! To truly get to know someone, we need to carefully peel and eat (also enjoy while eating) and digest the layers starting from outside, and slowly reach to the root (or core?). And you know what? you get the most nutrition from the root of the cabbage, that's where all the good stuff is! Personally I find that part the most delicious, mmm crispy and filling..

Don't be afraid of opening boxes, you never know what you will find in it, or what you will be surprised with! They are not presented to you already open, you need to take the packaging wrap off first, and untie the ribbon!

And eat your cabbages! It is good for you, it even makes you lose weight! ;)

Much love,
Derya

P.S. Cabbage chair (the photos above) are by nendo , click here to read more.. Isn't it the perfect design to pair with my post??

Looking for pen pals..

Facebook is such a blessing.. Especially if you are living in another country than your own, like me! I've found many many of my friends from past otherwise I'd have no idea how to reach them. I recently chatted with my high school English teacher through facebook, after 10 years! She mentioned me that it is a great way for her students to improve their English by being pen pals with other kids of their age, from other countries. So she asked me to let her know if I can find anybody around me who is willing to do that with her current students. I'm originally from Turkey by the way, so the students are Turkish!

Do you know any high school student who might be interested in doing something like that? I think it'd also be a great chance for them to experience such a thing, learn about Turkish culture, appreciate another culture, have a new friend, enjoy helping someone, and last but not least to HAVE FUN! So please let me know if you or someone you know would be interested in it by leaving a comment to this post, then I can contact you in private to exchange address details etc. If you are from Etsy, send me a convo!

much love,

Derya