Happiest summer!

Tomorrow is August and the summer break is officially starting! This is a quick post simply to wish you the happiest summer! For me, it is already started, as soon as I was back to my dear home town: it is not Paris, but here there's a wonderful sea that was waiting for me and for Fifi!

During a while my etsy shop will be quite empty: only pdf and tutorial will be on-line until I will be back to my atelier. For whom would like to buy some stamps before, I can suggest you to take a look to this website, where some creations of mine are still on. Check them out here....

happy summer!

My favorite illustrators # 10 Beatrice Mallet

During my researches for writing my last post about Le Petit Bateau, I discovered the amazing work of Beatrice Mallet, to which I am glad here to write a personal tribute as my 10th issue of posts dedicate to my favorite illustrators.

Born as Beatrice Fox in 1896 in the Island of Long Eaton in England, she became Beatrice Mallet after having married in 1919 Hervé Mallet. Her family worked as lace-makers at Long Eaton: she met Hervé there, when he was sent by her parents that they were traders of laces in Paris. They both were passioned for the art of drawing, also Hervé was, indeed, an illustrator. They move together to Paris, where she started a quick career as illustrator for advertising ; one of her first work was for the Galleries Lafayette...

Yet one of her best work, for me, and the reason why I have the chance to met her, was to create in 1924 a new advertising for Le Petit Bateau: this firm was at that time changing its scopes from being a producer of hosiery for adults to be an enterprises focused on the children world. For instance, in 1918 the first underwear "without legs" for children was created and soon afterward the name "Petit Bateau" was trade marked. As soon as in 1924, during this industrial conversion, Petit Bateau met on its road Beatrice, whose childish style and dreamy irony became the perfect symbol for this change: Marinette, the mascot of Petit Bateau during this glorious period of its history, was born during 1920s from the genius of Beatrice Mallet!

Differently to the other old illustrators that I was glad to present previously (such for instance Hervé Morvan), Beatrice Mallet is nowadays not very known, in spite of her huge talent of illustrator and his former first class reputation in France where, more than being the "pencil" of Galleries Lafayette and of Le Petit Bateau, she was also the author of many spellings-books and of a lot of satiric illustrations. Many information about her work and her life have been hopefully gathered by this website, which suggest you to visit also for the great collection of Beatrice's draws exposed. I hope that this writing could help to not forget the talent of this great woman, and this hand carved rubber stamp is my personal tribute to her. I hope you like it!

timeless vintage logo #10 Petit Bateau

For this new issue of my posts about evergreen vintage logos, I am going to present you one of most French brand: Petit Bateau! This summer I left Paris for coming back in Italy - as usual - with a new Petit Bateau lined swimwear: I always dreamed to have it but the rainy weather of Paris always frustrated my desires considering silly to buy a swimwear with 15°C outside... and when the summer suddenly came, it was always out of stocks in the shops! This time I took decision to not risk again and in March I have already secured one for me! And while I was waiting for wearing it, I made a special stamp with which I decorated a cotton bag for my dreamed swimwear...

I always considered Petit Bateau a classic of the French style but I was not aware of its age and achievements. I discovered indeed that this brand has a long history beyond it. It was founded by Pierre Valton in 1893 under the name of Valton & Fils in Troyes and it was originally a producer of hosiery. In 1918 Valton had the idea to create a new kind of underwear: until then, all underpants were long and  included legs; the innovative idea of Valton was to cut off legs and to produce, by this way, the first modern pants. The second big innovation of this brand was to create a new working method to produce the typical lined jersey, which nowadays is associated with marine style, able to resist to high temperature washes.

A curious story is linked with the adoption of the name of Petit Bateau. According with the corporate story of this firm, the idea to produce pants without legs pop up in the head of Valton while singing an old French song that says "Maman les p'tits bateaux, qui vont sur l'eau ont-ils des jambes?" (Mammy, have the little boats, which go on the water, they too their legs?). Since than, a little boat became the logo and the name of one of most famous producers of hosiery and underwear in the world, almost a French flag internationally recognized.

For long-time Petit Bateau was chiefly a brand for little ones. The fortune of this firm was indeed built focusing progressively their products on the market for kids and babies, after the starting as adult hosiery producers at the end of XIX century. Only recently, Petit Bateau extended its wears to adults, but it curiously kept sizes as given for children. For instance, an XS corresponds to 12 years, S to 14 years, M to 16 years and so forth up to 20 years that means XL /as shown below). Funny, by this way I still consider to be only 14 years old!

The traveling dog

I'm ready to come back in my born town in Italy, as usual, for the summer holidays. This time, it is going to be more complicated because all low cost air companies do not allow animals on board and, for that, I was obliged to choose the train. Train, at least, is not so bad: indeed I prefer to enjoy the panorama of Alps while passing the burdens between France and Italy, and to admire the natural beauties outside of my window, to be submitted to impositions of low cost companies. I hate the hurry to be at the airport two hours before the flight take off, draconian check-ins, and the grey zone in which people is usually placed before coming on board, while wrestling for number-free seats in the plane.

And, in order to organize at the best my coming travel, I took decision to make a special bag for Fifi, She is going to stay a lot of hours in the train and rules impose me to have a bag in which to place her during the travel: not only for the train, but also to make easier the whole trip in stations while I will grab correspondences to get home. Moreover, this bag is going to be also very useful during the summer to bring Fifi at the seaside with me in my vespa!!!

 

I want to share with you this kind of bag, proposing here a pattern/sketch to produce it: you can download it here. The bag has a hole for your companion's head and sufficient space to take it in: I'm sure that Fifi is going to become, in spite of restrictions and absurd rules that are applied for dogs, the perfect travel companions... I wish you a good summer!

A new friend for summer time

Here's a new little felted friend for this summer! After the little crab, and the cute octopus, here's a little and white jellyfish, the advantage of which is that she does not prickle - differently to true jellyfish that are used to reside in seas! Check it out on my etsy...

And for whom that wants to have fun making their own sea these felt mascots, I have just written a new tutorial that contains instruction to do jellyfish, octopus, and crab felt brooches! You find also this tutorial on my etsy, I hope you like it!

A diamond is (almost) forever

I discovered recently this funny alternative French song, Brigitte's Battez-vous, and I love it! Above all, I find very funny the sarcastic way adopted to deal with the typical womanly desire to be in any way in the middle of men's attentions. This song indeed talks about a girl who, believing in the power of her appeal, spurs her wooers to fight for her love, to adulate her with precious gifts, and to show her to be disposed to everything to win her love. Yet the video shows how this kind of desires can be deceptive sometimes... and we can say that this incitement to a love competition amongst beaus ends in a rather unexpected way....

In spite of this funny irony about women-men relations, I still believe that us, the women, deserve to be court and adulated with precious jewelry and, above all, with diamonds. But not the real ones, which are cause of destruction and dead in those countries where they are taken. For that, I've produced some creations inspired to a more ethic vision of the world of diamonds: a felt brooch and an hand carved rubber stamps set. Albeit these diamonds are not exactly the same precious stones to which many women think about, I'm sure that their cute face make them even more valuable than the real one! You can find them on my etsy!

timeless vintage logo #9 Calimero

For this new issue of my posts dedicated to timeless vintage logos, I'm here glad to introduce Calimero. In this case, Calimero is not really a logo: this cute mascot was the principal character of tv commercial advertising of "Ava", an Italian vintage laundry soap. Between late 1950s and 1970s commercial advertisings in the Italian TV were concentrated in special space of 10 minuts per days (from 20h50 to 21h00) called "Carosello" and each advertising was in the form of a quick humorist sketch or cartoon.  That was the real appointment for little ones, which looked forward to see Carosello before going bed. Each firm had its own mascot as commercial testimonial. Calimero in this case survived and took autonomy from its original advertising nature, and became afterward a popular cartoon diffused in many country all over the world.

Each episode of Calimero had more or less the same plot: Calimero, after having made countless troubles, ended up with complaining and grieving over his sorrow while claiming that nobody wants him because he was "little and black". As soon as these words were pronounced, a voice-over reassured the little chick saying "Calimero, you are not black, you are only dirty" and with AVA Calimero was cleaned up are restored in his original color. That's true, today this plot seems rather racist: the fact that to point out that to be dirty is better than to be black is offensive indeed. Yet this is  partially confuted by that fact that Calimero in white is too ugly; really much better in black!

Aside this little downside, Calimero became a real character of the modern pop culture, and personified a typical human behavior to feel sorry for ourselves. All of us, at least one time in the life, tried to blame external causes about life downturns, as Calimero, instead to adopt an auto-critical reply. The idea to be subject to an injustice independent of our mighty makes us feeling better than to admit our limits and to try to ameliorate them. This is why Calimero survived during times and became the symbol of an attitude. And I had also fun to make a rubber stamp with his shape and I hope you like it!

My favorite illustrators # 9 Afrocat

Perhaps, many of you already know this illustrator, which I'm glad to introduce here in this new issue of this series of post dedicated to my favorite illustrators... based in South Korea, Afrocat is one of my favorite designer of stationery: card, notebooks, stickers and many other amazing items!

The style of this designer is unique: being very inspired to the dreamy world of children draws, I've fallen in love with this style as soon as I have seen it! And I started to collect a certain amount of Afrocat's stuffs and to pill them on my shelves... 

  

Above all, I love the amazing stamp sets that she made. Each stamp fits very well with daily life and the timing of journal is marked by the funny faces and mascots made by Afrocat. Check it out Afrocat's website here, I'm sure you are going to love this cuteness!

Treasures of Paris #9. La cité des sciences et de l'industrie

For this issue of my posts dedicated to special places to pop in and see in Paris, my choice is rather different to other times: I'd like to introduce you the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, located in the Parc de Villette, Paris.

As seen that summer is now arrived also here, and that a hot sun took the place of the former rainy and cold weather, I have a long walk with Fifi along the "Canal Saint-Martin" during this week-end. Following its bank, I arrived to the Bassin de la Villette, a huge expanse of water at the northern burden of Paris. This place was the heart of Parisian industrialization in the past: the canal, with its amazing system of sluices, was route of commodities (coal, grains, wood, metals, etc.) from the north to the productive sites in the town. After a long decline, this place was progressively dismissed: Yet at the end of 1970s it was saved from the ruin and transformed in one main cultural and touristic sites of Paris. And it is also one of most pleasant walk to do here in Paris, even with your dog indeed!

The Parc the la Villette hosts a lot of attractions such as La Cité de la musique, the Conservatoire, Le Theatre Zenith, cinemas, and, of course, La Cité des Sciences et de l'industrie. It is a unique scenario, rather futuristic, with modern structures in glass and steel, the Geode, submarines and other attractions. At the same time, it is a good attempt of preservation of ancient buildings: indeed the old market hall was entierelly renewed and became in a part an auditorium and in another a cinema. But, this space in actually my favorite because dogs are admitted and Fifi played all the afternoon with her ball and with a lot of babies, her great love.

And the Geode and all these modernities gave me the inspiration to produce a vintage futuristic stamps set, inspired to stars and galactic rockets of 1960s: I hope you like it, check it out on my etsy!

Cold porcelain, the magic clay!

Some time ago I discovered browsing on the internet the existence of a material called "cold porcelain". Since then, I have procrastinated to try it because I thought it was too complicated for me... but, actually I tried it and it is easy and fun! And the outcome is simply magic: once dried, cold porcelain is similar to plastic, very resistant, and its pearl white color is really dreamy!

The soft white color, the tonality of which is between a pearl and ivory, seemed to me the same of teeth: for that reason, with my dough of material I've produced many teeth to be used with pendant for cute and funny necklaces! With another portion of my cold porcelain, I made a wide range of owls, to be used as teeth, hanged to your necklace as mascots! I hope you like them, you can find both on my etsy...

... and I'd like to transmit this enthusiasm of mine for cold porcelain: here you find the "recipe" I used and "instructions" to do it; you will seen, it is funny, easy to do, and also ingredients are extremely easy to find! What you need: