By AML Publisher
Photos Courtesy of Marie Labbancz

‘Peppermint’, $115
“We do our research and we want people to look twice at our arrangements. Right now I am using a lot of cabbages and artichokes in my designs-finding unique greenery, unusual combinations of flowers,” explained O’Brien.

Think outside the box, er, the vase. That’s the advice of renowned Philly floral designer Donna O’Brien from Northern Liberties’ Beautiful Blooms. Beautiful Blooms is a full service décor design company that works with discriminating clients to create event concepts-from dream weddings, corporate events, bar/bat mitzvahs, intimate dinner parties and more. O’Brien’s bustling business was recently honored by The Knot as a Best of Weddings Winner 2010 as one of the best florists in Philadelphia.

Holiday centerpieces and wreaths in 2009 don’t have to follow any rules according to O’Brien, who prides herself on setting trends and concepts within the international design industry. Beautiful Blooms Boutique has created several floral designs and custom cedar or pine wreaths (ideal for the corporate client/thank you) that can be purchased for the holidays or throughout the winter season. These designs can be picked up or delivered ($55 or over for delivery) in Philadelphia. Variegated white, red and peppermint poinsettias wrapped in chic metallic paper have been flying out the door, said Donna, for delivery to several Philly corporations for office décor and gifts.
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By AML Publisher
Photos Courtesy of Fallen Hearts

In the upcoming New Moon movie, Jacob Black gives Bella Swan a dream catcher for her birthday. Fallen Hearts’ pewter pendant with turquoise colored enamel accents, $24.

If you have not been privy to the media buzz surrounding this Friday’s release of New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight saga, then well, you must be living in a cave. Although considering New Moon’s storyline is based on a troubled vampire, perhaps a cave is a good place to emerge from just in time for the November 20th theater debut. The highly anticipated flick is based on author Stephenie Meyer’s four book blockbuster—of which 70 million copies have been sold and subsequently translated into 45 languages across the globe. Last November’s Twilight earned $70 million in its first three days and has since grossed close to $400 million worldwide.

With her Twilight-inspired Etsy store Fallen Hearts, West Philly jewelry designer Desiree ReDavid (pronounced Ree’-David) has tapped into the tens of millions of Twilight fans, known collectively as a Twilighters. Starting her sensationally successful jewelry line was, as ReDavid explained, “a happy accident.”
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By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Vida Carson Photography

AML CEO and ePublisher Sarah Lockard.
Photo courtesy of Vida Carson

You’ve probably noticed our popular ongoing series on AroundMainLine.com called ‘Etsy Phavorites.’ It’s a fun tribute to Philadelphia-based Etsians who are successfully running an e-commerce business through Etsy.com. For those of you still new to Etsy-in essence, Etsy is an incredibly successful online marketplace that allows small business entrepreneurs to sell handmade items, including art, photography, clothing, vintage items, craft supplies, food and much more. Many people refer to it as an ‘EBay for artisans and handcrafters.’ Time Magazine recognized Etsy as one of its’ Top 50 Websites for 2009.

On October 29th, a special article on Philadelphia-based Etsians from yours truly was featured on Etsy’s popular blog, the Storque. Check out the Shop Local Philadelphia piece and our selection of incredibly talented Delaware Valley entrepreneurs successfully selling their wares on Etsy. Some names (Krista Peel, Pearl Stationery, Jadite Kate) you will recognize through our features on AML or through our cool “Etsian of the Night” series on our Facebook Fan page. Over a hundred people commented on our Shop Local feature on Etsy, it was so cool to read the comments about our Etsy artists and the gorgeous photos that made the article so successful. Special thanks to AML staff photographers Kristen Hudson-Nichols, Laura Kicey and Vida Carson who worked very hard with me to coordinate this exceptional opportunity.
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By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Pearl Stationery

Pearl Stationery’s charming line of trick or treat favor boxes, ideal for your chic Halloween party.

Philadelphia native Stephanie H. was invited to a card making class about a year ago with her cousin. It seemed to awaken her child within. Stephanie had a passion for scrapbooking, crafting and paper projects as a little girl—spending hours working her way through stationery kits and playing with stamps, construction paper and embellishments. And, thus, a few weeks after her class, Pearl Stationery-her popular line of high-end custom stationery-was born.

Now thriving on Etsy.com, an online store for artisans, collectors and hand crafters, Stephanie finds inspiration abounds from just her daily life. “I was riding the train into work one day this summer and noticed all the men in their business shirts that looked so crisp-white with the pinstripes. I thought the designs were very intricate and clean and summery, so my mind started thinking. A few weeks later, I put together a set of cards from that one thought. Inspiration can come from anywhere and with stationery, you can really go in so many directions-have fun, be creative,” enthused the young designer.
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By AML Publisher
Photos Courtesy of El Lohse

Lohse was discovered on Etsy by a writer for NBC’s hit show, The Office, who came across her illustration of the character ‘Dwight.’ Lohse was commissioned to do work for their wrap party last season and now has strong ties with the show’s producers and cast.

The four pack of Golden Girls fridge magnets did it for me. Working through some late night leads on Etsy for the AML Phavorites series, I stopped dead in my (online) tracks. Before me was a mesmerizing collection from West Chester artist extraordinaire El Lohse and her kitschy, interpretation of pop culture icons entitled ‘elloh’. Her endless array of work, acrylic paintings, brought me instantly back to some of my fondest childhood memories and the TV shows, movies and characters that were a part of it. El’s art includes odes to Sixteen Candles, Mr. T, John Cougar Mellencamp’s hit song Little Pink Houses, Willy Wonka, The Golden Girls, Mr. Rogers, The Sound of Music and more. I found myself entranced with each piece on her Etsy site as my mind went into memory overdrive!

My delight in elloh is shared by many a fan, and customer. Lohse is one of the Delaware Valley’s most successful Etsy artists, having sold over 2,700 pieces of her fine work in less than two years. Even a call up to my corporate Etsy connections (mind you they manage a database of over 250,000 vendors) garnered an immediate, “Oh, sure, El Lohse is a great Etsian!” That’s when I knew Lohse’s line of art, entitled elloh (purposefully spelled with a lowercase ‘e’) was a fantastic pick for our Etsy Phavorites series.
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By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Krista Peel

Amber Resin and Glass Necklace, $55.
Peel’s pieces are all one-of-a-kind, handcrafted works of art using some of the earth’s most gorgeous gemstones.

Artist Krista Peel is a self-proclaimed “rock fanatic.” Peel grew up surrounded by the picturesque plains of Cheyenne, Wyoming where her childhood days were spent appreciating the undisturbed elements of nature. “It was very serene, and as a child in a rural area I was surrounded by these intricate rocks and stones. There were not the distractions children have today, so I developed a very keen sense of the land around me and nature,” explained Peel.

Fast forward to 2009 and Peel is one of the most successful Philadelphia-based jewelry lines showcased on Etsy.com, the world’s largest online marketplace for designers and artists. That’s quite an accomplishment considering the tens of thousands of designers from the Delaware Valley who showcase their wares on the site. “Etsy allows me to have an audience that I can interact with. It really is a friendly community, a positive environment of artists that all support each other. And, looking around at the company of awesome talent on Etsy is so inspiring for me to keep producing beautiful pieces. Whenever you are in a situation like that (as a designer) there is nowhere to go but up. Etsy has been just great.”
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By AML Publisher
Photos Courtesy of Jadite Kate (Kate Smith)

Martha Stewart and her daughter Alexis are avid Jadite aficionados and catapulted the glassware to another level a few years ago.

Kate Smith always dreamed as a young girl of opening up her own antique store in her hometown of Allentown. And, now, the twenty-three year old graphic designer by day (shabby chic collector by night) has done just that. Her booming business featuring popular Depression-era kitchen ware is run out of her own house and through her successful Etsy site, Jadite Kate. And, as her name suggests, a large focus of her sensationally shabby chic collection consists of Jadite.

The most well-known producer of Jadite was the Anchor Hocking Glass Company, which was founded by Isaac J. Collins, in 1905, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In the 1940s and 1950s, Jadite, a stain-and heat-resistant glassware, was quite common and sold in hardware stores and five-and-tens. Sometimes a piece of Jadite would be included in a bag of flour or a box of oatmeal as an inducement to the consumer to buy the rest of the set. Today, Jadite is an increasingly popular and valuable collectible. A ball jug that once sold for $5 could sell for as much as $5,000 today.
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By AML Publisher
Photos Courtesy of Etsy Artists
Featured Brooch Image on Homepage Courtesy of Philadelphia Artist Katie Reim and Her Etsy Line: cultivar.Etsy.com

Inspired by raw materials and semi-precious stones, Krista Peel’s line of jewelry (kristapeel.etsy.com) is funky, flirty and irresistible. It takes about fifteen minutes to ‘open’ up an Etsy online store.

In 2005, a group of internet entrepreneurs had a novel idea-launch an online marketplace and community that caters to the millions of artists, handcrafters and designers across the world. Since retail store fronts are costly to maintain and limited with their reach, the idea filled a real niche in an evolving economy. Four years later, Etsy.com has revolutionized the small business world-think an Ebay for artisans. The concept has resonated with buyers and sellers as Etsy boasts artists in over 160 countries around the globe and 250,000 sellers.

In May of 2009, Etsy reported record sales of $10 to 13 million per month, an increase perhaps boosted by consumer interest in cheaper and more personalized goods due to the United States recession. Etsy is popular as a side-business as well as a place to buy goods made from recycled and upcycled materials, along with less expensive or more unusual versions of mass-produced items. The unique nature of many of the items for sale is part of their appeal to some shoppers.
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By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of April Ziegler Photography

The pattern dubbed ‘Quiet Birds Homecoming’ is Scherzer’s best selling collar.

Burberry meets houndstooth, a row of powder pink owls pair up with a robin’s egg blue background, comical turtles with silly expressions dance on a crisp white fabric. Sounds like a sampling from a chic Main Line baby boutique-but in actuality its part of the preppy, fashion forward selection of dog collars from Big Doggy Bling. A Medford, New Jersey based online company, Pam Scherzer’s dog leashes are catching on as one the hottest pet products on the East Coast-and throughout the country. “I received a tweet the other day from a producer from the Oprah Winfrey show; she ordered some collars from me. That was pretty cool! I love my patterns and selection and I work really hard with the line so it was very exciting for me. Of course, when I shipped out the order I put a few extra collars in the mix for Oprah to check out. So, we shall see,” enthused Scherzer.

A very exciting ‘tweet’ considering Big Doggy Bling (www.bigdoggybling.com) has been hand sewing super sophisticated dog leashes, collars and harnesses for just over two years. In an extremely competitive industry of pet products, Scherzer decided to start offering collars for bigger dogs because of a void in the market. “I’m a crafty person naturally and I just decided to make custom collars for my own dogs because I could not find anything I really liked. And, what was out there was way too cutesy and they all fit the tiny, lap dogs. There are plenty of companies producing for those breeds but not too many catering to Bulldogs and the larger guys and gals,” explained Scherzer.
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By Elizabeth H. Ayerle
AML contributor, Main Line Fashion Expert
Photos Courtesy of Kevin E. McPherson

Top Women’s Fall 2008 Fashion Trends According to Fresh Ayer Owner Liz Ayerle

A Breath of Fresh Air
Fresh Ayer, Wayne, PA

Fashion has always been about expressing yourself, but for the past decade or so designers have really been celebrating the individual spirit. Ladies of all shapes and sizes can appreciate the variety of choices and customize their wardrobe to their individual taste. Thankfully, we no longer have to be slaves to the hem and color of the moment! The new mantra on the runways from the world’s most respected designers–wear what works for you! So here you go, ten of the top Fall 2008 seasons’ trends to choose from and make your own Main Line fashion statement.

1) Plaid: Maybe you thought you’d seen the last of plaid at a Nirvana concert in 1992, but no…plaid is making a comeback in a big way. At Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren at the Bellevue, 200 South Broad Street Philadelphia) you’ll find plaid on coats in a chunky red and black version, short or long and definitely belted. Lauren showcased a breathtaking capped sleeve, turtleneck (in bright Kelly green and black plaid) ball gown in his Fall 2008 collection. Carolina Herrera showed it in more subtle tones, layered as tailored vests, capes and pants. Marc Jacobs put it to use in his Marc by Marc Jacobs line on funky minis that feel graphic and ‘pop-arty.’
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