Well, I am very exited by this latest thing! A big thank-you to Heidi for telling everyone about this awesome Porcelaine pen by Pebao. It rocks!
Maybe this is all I needed, in terms of pottery. It is way more fun to draw on it than make it from scratch actually. Plus, who can go wrong with 50¢ (I found the cents button!!) dishes from IKEA. I have to wonder though, if I am supporting a slave dish factory by buying them so cheap...Ugh
Some people (everyone) are getting dishes for Christmas this year.
If you are looking for presents that actually make a difference though, my uncle works for this organisation- AMURT. They offer gifts like small business loans for women in the Philippines, warm clothes for a child in Mongolia and a self sufficiency program for women with AIDS in Kenya, where they train them to create tie died clothes to sell. I am really proud of my uncle, who spends all his time travelling to these places working on aid projects. He really helps people to help themselves. If only I could half as selfless as that!
Why not buy dishes from thrift stores? You could even embellish ugly patterns with your cute ones!
Posted by: Andrea | December 14, 2004 at 02:48 PM
wow! I love the dish with the leaves - beautiful! do you know of any site that sells these pens online?
Posted by: rosa | December 14, 2004 at 05:00 PM
hey great idea with the thrift store dishes!
and rosa,
i don't know. you could probably find it online.
but let me know, i can buy them and mail them to you!
:)
t
Posted by: tania | December 14, 2004 at 05:23 PM
*scribbles idea down in crafty notepad*
Posted by: Judith | December 14, 2004 at 06:00 PM
That mug is SO CUTE! I love those little people. So snazzy :-) And those pens sound awfully tempting...
Posted by: Abigail | December 14, 2004 at 08:35 PM
Rosa or Tania - if you do find the pens online please let me know where! I would love to get my hands on some.
xx
c
Posted by: claire | December 14, 2004 at 08:44 PM
yes yes please share a source for the pens if anyone finds one!
tania the dishes are too adorable! please keep sharing more with us as you make them!
Posted by: sunni | December 14, 2004 at 10:23 PM
Love the pottery :)
And Tania, your uncle must be a beautiful person. I have never heard about this organization. Well done!
Posted by: eduarda | December 15, 2004 at 04:44 AM
These are so wonderful!
Where is the cents button? I realized the day before you posted about it that I don't have one either! It's been bugging me like crazy. :)
Posted by: Jenny | December 15, 2004 at 11:21 AM
You can buy these pens here:
http://www.dickblick.com/
Posted by: Leonor | December 15, 2004 at 12:55 PM
hee!
all these nice comments! thank you! i have so much fun with this blog!!
ok! the cents button! if you are on a MAC, you press the OPTION key and the $ key!
Posted by: tania | December 15, 2004 at 05:59 PM
Oooh, inspiring! Don't worry about the cheap dishes--fact is, even Lennox makes their dishes for pennies on the dollar... they just have the gall to hike up the price 1000%, whereas IKEA prices their stuff fairly and still makes a profit. Seriously.
Thanks for the tuft of inspiration, and the kind support... :)
Posted by: Kate | December 15, 2004 at 07:28 PM
Tania, those dishes are awesome! I think I need to pay a visit to the Blick store this week! Yay!!
Posted by: Giao | December 16, 2004 at 12:35 AM
Michaels also sells them. just got one today! :)
Just wondering though if they are safe for ceramics used for eating. I read the desc at Dick Blick and it says to avoid using it in contact with food.
Posted by: Karen | December 16, 2004 at 02:12 AM
Thanks Leonor and Tania :)
Posted by: rosa | December 16, 2004 at 03:55 AM
The mug and plate - awsome! I hope you keep them just in black and white, they look really great, and I envy all your relatives that gets them! :-)
Take care.
Posted by: Hanna | December 16, 2004 at 04:38 AM
yah, i saw that part about not being safe for food too....
the little pamphlet i got with the pen though, does not mention that...
maybe it's not good for heavy use, just chips or something!
:0
t
Posted by: tania | December 16, 2004 at 03:56 PM
ahh your stuff looks beautiful, those pens sure are fun! :)
Posted by: heidi | December 17, 2004 at 12:39 PM
Good on you for thinking twice about sweatshop labor! I think that Ikea is actually quite socially aware compared to most major corporations. Probably because they're based in Northern Europe. I'm sure you can find out more if you google "ikea" and "sweatshop" or "labor" - the company I'm temping at blocks any remotely political websites, so I can't look it up myself. :(
At any rate, I think your dishes are adorable and you should check out these awesome re-glazed thrift store dishes by Sarah Cihat for inspiration...
http://www.sarahcihat.com/Pages/openpage.html
Posted by: leontine | December 27, 2004 at 11:01 AM