Today is Frances’s birthday, so we took a day off from the trade show to go ice skating in Central Park with Stephanie Hargrave. Then we went to MoMA, where we took in the amazing Tim Burton show. Frances found the atrium to be a work of art in and of itself:
Tomorrow it’s back to the show for Accent on Design and Tabletop!
Click! and Dinah Coops have been trying to get together for quite a while and it’s finally happened. We knew we loved her aesthetic but didn’t know how perfect the match was until the work was in our grabby little hands.
table mat $35, two napkins $32.
In her own words, “I work toward efficiency in materials, labor and energy; use less toxic materials and those made in the Northwest whenever possible; and create things that last and are made from recycled or quickly renewable materials.”
hemp/cotton dish towels $19.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to come in and see them for yourself or for someone on your list. It is rare to find function so seamlessly entwined in art that you have to consider whether to dry your hands with it or frame it. Thanks Dinah!
Cookies and Cake oh my! There are so many beautiful treats around this time of year and I just found a way to make them look even more tempting…cookie and cake plates by Stylegarden. Made in Tacoma of carefully procured vintage dishware, they are certainly useful around the Holidays and will probably resurface frequently during the rest of the year. If you ask nicely, we may give you a chocolate when you buy one…even if the plate is a gift for your friend.
two tier cookie plate $36, single cake plate $24
I popped by at the tail end of the Urban Craft Uprising show at the Seattle Center this weekend and took this shot of the lovely Rachel Austin in a rather sparse looking booth.
She had a fantastic show which is no surprise. The really cool thing is that she also brought along new work for Click! We’ll have it all hung for the West Seattle Artwalk this Thursday the 10th (6 to 9pm). With the variety of prices and sizes of her work, gifting Rachel’s artwork is a great holiday idea .
It’s true that when you buy someone a nice plastic gift card, they know you probably risked life, limb and paid for parking…but art – the thing that people make – is awesome!!!
You know, it’s kinda weird buying Holiday decorations in August. But it’s exactly what John and I are tasked to do every summer in the sweltering heat/ice cold air conditioning, of the NY gift show. Well, things are arriving. It’s actually pretty exciting unpacking all the boxes. It’s a bit like Christmas, and as it turns out, I think we did a pretty good job.
These stockings are irresistible and it doesn’t hurt that that their designer Fernanda Bourlot is one of the sweetest people we’ve met at the shows. Originally from Argentina, she now lives and has her studio in Boston where all of Simplemente Blanco designs are made. Everything she does has such a pure, optimistic, beauty.
Certainly a refreshing take on the holiday stocking. $37 each
Several months ago, Frances went to one of our local indie craft fairs to look for artists who might be a good fit for the store. She hit the jackpot with Rachel Austin, a full time artist living just a three hour drive south of us in Portland, Oregon. Rachel brought us a nice collection of her paintings for our 5 year anniversary last month, and we’ve sold most of them. She was nice enough to box up a few more pieces that just arrived:
Ralph 5x5 $70
Brenton 8x8 $90
Rachel’s paintings begin with a wood block frame (that she builds herself) and a map. She then layers her paints on top of the map; usually sweet depictions of birds and paper airplanes. Her paintings have a beauty and a simplicity that has been resonating with us and almost everyone who walks in the door.
Saturday, November 21 from 6 to 9 PM, she will be joining us for an artist reception and promises to bring more new work, including some larger pieces and some based on Northwest maps. Mark your calendar! Art makes a great gift, and her work is very accessibly priced.
Just got a box full of Poppi rings in from the Poppi “factory” in Alexandria. We love Poppi, especially on a gloomy day. Thanks Dawn and all you Poppi makers!!!
Purple Haze $68
May (detail). Actual piece 12 x 12
Gail Howard will be our August artist. You can check her work out here, but don’t miss her West Seattle Artwalk opening at Click! from 6 to 9pm on Thursday, August 13th. Her paintings really must be seen in person to be appreciated and beside that you’ll enjoy having a glass of wine and chatting with her. She’s been a Click! customer for ages and we are really excited to have both her and her work in the store.
West Seattle Blog coverage of GOTR, August 1st.
Also, try to catch those Girls on the Run from 6 to 9pm on Thursday August 27th! While tasting several lovely sparkling wine selections, you can find out about this excellent nonprofit and it’s mission to “Educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.” Click! will donate 10% of all sales during the event to Girls on the Run – pretty good motivation to do a little shopping. Gail’s work will still be at Click! if you aren’t able to make her opening.
Our friend Stephanie Hargrave recently introduced us to Roger Shurtleff and we are so grateful! He is a really stand up guy, a solid artist and as a result of our introduction he is our featured artist for May.
Roger tends to paint a series of pieces around a theme before changing out his brushes and paints to approach another idea or story. We checked out pieces from several of his series. I was struck by the way he is able to reference previous imagery but make it completely relevant in its new context. There is a graceful evolution about his paintings.
We will have work from Ghostland.
Flyover 16 x 16″
We will also have his latest series, Tools of the Trade.
Finisher 12 x 12″
Join us for the West Seattle Artwalk, Thursday May 14 from 6 to 9pm. We’ll open some bubbly, have some bites and chat with Roger. Oh…you can also do some shopping and perhaps even aquire one of Roger’s paintings.
Remember that beautiful credenza by urbancase that we had upstairs at Click?
Before they head to NY and the ICFF show, the urbancase designers will unveil their new line of contemporary furniture, lighting, and home accessories tonight at Cairo Gallery. The preview is from 7 to 9pm and the gallery is located at 507 East Mercer at the corner of Summit and Mercer on Capitol Hill. John and I will boogie out of Click! promptly at 7 this evening. Hope to see you there!
The Pratt Fine Art Auction takes place May 16th. It’s a grand event – amazing artwork and 700 or so art lovers celebrating and supporting the arts in Seattle by raising their bidder numbers. If you want to buy artwork, be inspired by artistic talent and the generosity of a crowd, get your tickets now and tell them you want to sit with Frances and John at the Click! table.
If you’re not certain that you can make it to the auction you still have the opportunity to get excited about the art and support Pratt at the same time.
Click! and Mission Latin Restaurant are hosting a sneak peek of artwork donated by talented West Seattle artists. Come out to the Admiral District on Tuesday April 21st from 6 to 9pm. Both businesses will have auction artwork displayed and will be donating 10% of product, food and drink sales to Pratt during the event.
Morula 7, Stephanie Hargrave
Many of you know that I have been on the Board of Trustees at Pratt Fine Arts for several years. Both John and I have taken classes in the studios at Pratt. Much of my jewelry education and inspiration happens at Pratt. Truly, if you’ve ever thought about taking a painting class, trying your hand at welding or even checking out little bit of everything, Pratt is the place to start exploring. We’ve always got catalogs in the store. Come by and we’ll tell you how great Pratt is.
So…a while ago, Gini Johnson, a West Seattle real estate force, came into Click!, bought a few lovely things and suggested that some of her real estate associates would love to gather at Click! for some wine and socializing. Well it’s happening.
The group is 360 Modern www.360modern.com. They are real estate agents who specialize in representing, selling and geeking out on modern homes in the Seattle area. We are pretty excited to host a room full of folks with modern tendencies. So come out during the West Seattle Artwalk www.westseattleartwalk.blogspot.com this Thursday the 9th, from 6 to 9pm. Save 15% on all your purchases, snack on tasty things, sip a glass of wine, adore Kate Fluckinger’s www.katefluckinger.com amazing artwork and chat about that modern dream home you know is in your future – You may even find someone to help you find it!
The opening party for Megan Bailey was a huge success. Her show Length Wise came together just in time, defying every technical challenge that was put in her way. Having been told that it couldn’t be done, she blew everyone away with Crocodile, a seven piece spread in which each scale was painstakingly illustrated.
Megan’s work is about line and form, and it is about animals that are at once figurative and very literal. She started with a series of small 4″x4″ blocks, and soon found herself working larger, as in the series of Albatross images entitled “Bird Parts”:
Megan has been our graphic designer for the last year (remember our anniversary cupcake?), and we are thrilled to be hosting her first art show. She has priced the work to be very accessible, and we expect the pieces to move quickly.
If you do not live in the Seattle area, please call or email for sizes and pricing. Note that all of the images here link to larger versions.
When we heard about Karen’s accident we were shocked. Karen used to work with us at Click! We know her to be a very focused individual who set high standards for herself whatever the task.
While we constructed jewelry, she and I had conversations about riding and her bikes — a Kawasaki and a Harley. She is passionate. I particularly remember how long it took Karen to leave work. There was ritual; the jacket, the chaps, the hair pulled back, the helmet and the bike warming up. It seemed to take forever, but none of it was optional and she took care with each step.
We’re so glad to see that Karen has made such amazing progress since her accident. We are also glad to have her and her photography at Click! She will be joining us sometime after 6:30pm for the West Seattle Artwalk so come by, wish her well and take a look at her wonderful photography.
BTW, Click! will not take any commission on the sale of her work. 100% of each sale goes into her pocket for expenses during rehabilitation. So consider a purchase (cash or check, please). We will also have envelopes available if you would like to make a donation directly to the account set up by her friends to help her out. Friends Of Karen Derby, Account Number 3622621070, at any Wells Fargo Bank.
Hope to see you!
Also, we mentioned this all in our newsletter, which you can view here. And you can sign up over here.
At home, we have a wide assortment of handmade mugs. We use them daily, defiant of the increased risk of breaking our beloved one of a kind functional art pieces. There is something about waking up to a lovely drink (like, say, coffee) when you are drinking it out of a mug that loves you right back that makes you feel like the world is actually a pretty good place, and that it will be OK to leave the comfort of the breakfast nook and be a part of it.
Introducing Lollipop Pottery, the creation of Tyler and Jessica, who got married and had babies and made mugs and bowls, and who make us happy every morning when we wrap our hands around their creations (the mugs that is… we haven’t actually met their babies). They hand throw each piece, apply Jessica’s hand drawn decals, and hand embellish with lead-free glazes. That’s a lot of hands!
You’ve got to get up pretty early to get the matching bowl:
Food/microwave/dishwasher safe. $27 – $32.
We went to a gift fair in Northern California mostly to show our line of cork jewelry to the wine industry. Who knew that we would find the brilliant Joanna Mendicino, who’s handmade ceramics she describes as “crafty modern”? Her simple, clean forms appeal perfectly to our sensibilities.
Check out “sea kelp”:
and “shorebirds”:
We should be receiving her work shortly! UPDATE: It’s here!! And even more lovely in person.
Summer is here (finally!) and that’s worth celebrating. This weekend we’ll be kicking up our heels at the West Seattle Summerfest in the Alaska Junction. The free, three-day festival is in it’s 26th year and will feature booths from area merchants, works by local artists, and tons of activities and demonstrations for all ages.
Click will be setting up across from Northwest Art and Frame, showing off a sleek, new red loveseat and handing out coupons for 15% off in our booth or at the store. You can find us outside from 10am-8pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am-7pm on Sunday, taking advantage of the live music and food vendors and trying to appear as though we’re working. Come enjoy the lovely weather with us!
It’s really exciting to have Dixie’s work in our Jewels in May show. Dixie was our jewelry production manager up until last January. Her reason for leaving the perfect job you ask?, so that she could make her own work. Well she has. We have her bold brass hooped earrings freshly spray painted and literally dripping with color, her meticulously sawed and shaded feather pendants and her amazing one of a kind felt rings. We are also thrilled to hang her Paper Doll series of paintings on the walls of Click! Dixie found some old paper doll books at a second hand store and gave the ladies a new life. They are all grown up now and they each have something to say.
Paper Doll Series #4 $350
You can meet the one and only Dixie Darling at our Jewels in May artist’s reception on Thurday, May 8th from 6 to 9pm. The show remains up at Click! through the month of May.
We’ve often said that we live in a parallel universe with our good friend Daphne. She and her husband make jewelry together, and have opened a contemporary home furnishings store in “the other Washington” (DC). They recently bought a home on Chesapeake Bay (does that mean we we get a place in the San Juans?) which has inspired her to do a line of “botanical” jewelry, cast from the wild plants and seeds she finds on the property.
Her work is carried by many of the same shops and galleries that carry Frances’s designs, which makes sense as they have a similar, clean aesthetic. We will be featuring Daphne’s jewelry May 1 through 31, along with a few more of our favorite jewelers!
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