New A(r)mor website

You might recall A(r)mor Jewelry from a M.I.S.S. post way back in the beginning of June, where we featured each of A(r)mor’s delicately crafted creations. (If you don’t remember, check out the original story!) M.I.S.S. has been hot on A(r)mor’s trail since then, and we wanted to give you an update on the brand. A(r)mor has recently launched a new Web site, where you can browse all the A(r)mor pieces and shop online.  The new site features A(r)mor’s look book as well, which gives you a little taste of how you can adorn an outfit with your A(r)mor garb. The look book beautifully illustrates the versatility of each piece - wear your A(r)mor with your favorite comfy tee or dress up a chic button-down for a night on the town. (Especially helpful for anyone who’s unsure of how to rock such a unique accessory!) And remember, each A(r)mor piece is created from vintage materials and made-to-order - your A(r)mor jewelry is literally made just for you!

New A(r)mor website

For more information, check out A(r)mor’s newly launched site. You can also purchase A(r)mor pieces online from Etsy. And as always, stay up-to-date with A(r)mor via the A(r)mor blog!

Armor Jewelry

It’s a fashion generalization we all know: an accessory can make or break an outfit. The right accessories can jazz up a plain old Hanes wifebeater, and the wrong accessories can kill any carefully constructed outfit. A(r)mor jewelry pieces are the types that can revolutionize an outfit (changing it for the better, of course), and each delicately structured piece of A(r)mor jewelry is made to order. New this year (’09 marks the brand’s launch!), A(r)mor is the effort of designer Sandee Shin, who - luckily for us - turned her jewelry-making habit into a business with A(r)mor.

To label Shin’s pieces as necklaces would be somewhat of an understatement: her designs drape one’s torso, each piece containing its own unique qualities and construction. For instance, the ‘Jade’ features overlapping chains in the front, while the ‘Lupa’ is quite the opposite: a bare front, with a pendant accenting the wearer’s back. Also featured in Shin’s debut collection are the ‘Rei,’ another piece with a detailed back; the ‘Sasha,’ which features a metal fringe detail in the front; and the ‘Toro,’ a simpler design featuring a braid-like detail in the front.

Armor Jewelry

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“Somehow drama is always attracted to me and Kat and there’s just no way to get around it. We hate drama sometimes but sometimes you just get too pulled away by the excitement of it all.”
Kaila of Nylon Pink, J-Popworld

Where most cringe at the thought of more drama in their lives, “Hello Drama” welcomes it as a fun inevitability. “Hello Drama” is Kaila and Kitt.E.Kat of the pop-rock sensation Nylon Pink’s brainchild; their fusion of music and anime created a dramatic jewelry line that has made waves in many elite magazines.

Birthed in the L.A heat and inspired by their lead single “Hello Drama,” this line of edgy and funky yet feminine and sweet jewelry has adorned many celebrities such as Kat Von D, Macy Gray, The Veronicas, Raquel Reed, Ruby Rose and Torry from The Donnas. Hearts, crosses, ribbons, anime characters, skulls and guns pervade this line, showing off the dark and masculine, and wrapping it up with a pink ribbon. Despite their appeal to the rich and famous, this line is still reasonably priced; most of their pieces fall within the 20 to 40 dollar price range.

“Hello Drama” is now carried at Chic Little Devil Style house, the largest styling house in Los Angeles. It can also be found at Etsy, and other selected boutiques.

For more information and/or to peruse their online store, visit the Hello Drama site.

I can’t get enough of Etsy! If you’re not familiar with this online gem, it’s a homemade everything paradise. Treasures abound, and one such find is the photography of the lovely Anne Kristoff. Based in NYC, Kristoff’s work incorporates an impressive bevy of photographic methods and cameras. From the beautifully unpredictable Holga, a 35 mm Pentax SLR, her cell phone and even a classic, DIY pinhole camera, she has embraced experimentation. Her work speaks to this approach in its broad range of subject matter: Southern bar interiors, road signs, carnival rides, and rural and urban landscapes. The images have a dreamy, whimsical snap shot quality, almost the personification of fleeting moments and memories. This is most notable in the Holga images, with their vignetted edges and soft focus.  Shot in a variety of locales, the work possesses a documentary feel; this sentiment is echoed in her write-ups of each image on her Etsy store page, in which she gives a brief often hilarious anecdotal context to each image. With digital photography so mainstream,  it’s refereshing to see a photographer still doing it the old-school, film way. So get your nostalgia on, and add some Anne Kristoff to your collection. I know I will be!

Among my favorites are Enchanted (“ this was taken with an old film point and shoot with probably 400 speed film. I was on the Enchanted Highway in North Dakota – it’s a little strip in the middle of nowhere with the huge metal sculptures along it”); Carried Away (”this was taken at an annual fair in upstate NY. We used to go there every year when I was a child and it holds a lot of fond memories for me. That ferris wheel is sort of the visual representation of that feeling”); Easy Like Sunday Morning (”that’s my bed. I loved the way the light was streaming in through the windows”);  and my personal fave, Ladies (” taken in a subterranean pool hall in Nashville”), all of which can be seen below.

Read on for an interview with Anne Kristoff in which she explains her process and inspiration.

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Sisters Amber Zezeck and Heather Zezeck started their jewelry line, Brookadelphia two and a half years ago and haven’t looked back since.  They specialize in laser cut acrylic pendants and earrings with clever sayings, names and shapes.  The chains and earring clasps are sterling silver or gold fill, depending on the style.  Amber and Heahter hand assemble all of the pieces in their studios in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, and each season they add new designs.  For those inclined to rep where they’re from, you can rock your state pendant, or if you’re really proud to be born in the U.S.A., you can wear the entire continental U.S. around your neck.  My favorite pieces are the witty “Post Post Modern” necklace, faux bamboo earrings, tie necklace and the ‘read.” pendant.  The newest pieces in the Brookadelphia line are the color necklaces that were created especially for a show/sale in San Francisco on the 25th (more info to come!).  You can find Brookadelphia online at Etsy.

Read the full story to see more pieces.
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This project by Anja Louise Verdugo, aka Clever Nettle, is a little on the genius side!

This booklet is a collection of original illustrations: selected portraits of the members of a secret society known as the Billuminati. Inside you will find nine different portraits of some of the world’s favorite Bills & Williams, from actors to presidents. This project is a combination of secret fake history, humor and art.

The original black & white portraits were worked on over several months and were drawn in ink on a larger format but have been compacted into a nice little 8.5 x 7″ booklet that is 12 pages long.

The Bills: Bill Murray, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Bill Cosby, William H. Macy, Bill Clinton, Billy Corgan, Billy Bob Thornton, Wilfred Brimley, and Billy Dee Williams.

See more Bills, after the jump!

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Every year for the past seven years, I’ve made Christmas gifts for friends and family. I came up with the idea of the Organic Cotton Muscle Packs/Neck Wrap/Eye Pillows last year after seeing similar products on the market that were not very “Green” and also not washable, and being a slight germaphobe, I thought, ewww. The Muscle Packs are made from rice infused with chamomile and lavender essential oil, and are encased in a 100% organic cotton cover that is removable and machine washable. You can heat these in the microwave for heat therapy (wrap around your neck/place on abdomen/ lap) or freeze them for a cooling effect (good for puffy eyes/face and headaches). On cold winter nights, I heat a couple up and toss them in my bed, and in the summer, sleep with ones I have stored in the freezer. These make great practical gifts and people love them. They can purchased at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6343986

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Jenny (made it Italy)

I love glasses - whether for seeing or for sun - they are one of my favorite accessories.  And, like diamonds, the bigger the better!  I especially love vintage glasses as they are of impeccable quality and the design, sigh, is just so much better than a lot of what’s on the market today.  I was so excited when I stumbled upon Mine Yours, a vintage sunglasses boutique on Etsy.  All of the sunglasses are vintage, and many of them are designer deadstock (vintage but brand new/never worn).  They are all in amazing condition and Mine Yours has designer brands including Esprit, Porsche Carrera, Renaissance, Anne Marie Perris (made in Italy), and Jenny (made in Italy). All of the glasses are under $100 and there are some steals from $10 to $20 too! Glasses are an excellent way to freshen up a look on a budget and with vintage you won’t have to worry about wearing the same thing as the girl next to you. All of the glasses on Mine Yours are so cute that I just want to scream, “Mine Mine!!”

Check out more of my favorite styles after the jump!
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New Yorker and designer Lillian Crowe sells these hot little authentic Chanel button necklaces on craft haven Etsy. Obvio, they’re mad limited due to their handmade nature, and the limited availability of authentic Chanel buttons so snatch fast, cuz the ones I linked above….already gone. Prices on her goods range from $32 - $40. Check some more examples of her work after the jump.
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Holy Patsy Cline! Is this not the most bad-ass hair dryer you’ve ever seen?!

This 357 Magnum Hair Dryer is a vintage find via Domestikate who sells “fine vintage novelties and housewares” via the magical world of Esty.

I love how the designer of this gadget rode with concept of the 357 Magnum and even made the hammer and trigger functional!

Pull the hammer (on top) to the desired heat setting, squeeze the trigger and let’er rip.

Am I all kinds of wrong for wanting this so bad?!

Make sure you check out Domestikate’s Etsy shop for other vintage goodies!