and...scene.

This past month has been saturated with the practical stresses of human life: moving, tying up loose ends, and generally preparing for a new chapter. Sean and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the beginning of this week. It was a welcomed period to the run-on sentence that was our move to a house on the other side of town, an unsavory activity that ate up our entire weekend. Sean is finishing his last bits of work today before summer vacation, and I am making sense of a house littered with cardboard boxes. The end of this week will send us on a long journey north where we will be spending 6 weeks in New York's Hudson River Valley. Basically, it's a busy/exciting/tiring time, which is good. It feels like our stage is being reset, and a whole new act is about to play out. I'm looking forward to devoting my attention to the etsy shop during our time there, while Sean apprentices with a master painter. The Hudson River Valley boasts an illustrious list of artists in it's history, chief among them being Thomas Cole, and a long tradition of plein air painting. We are thrilled to have the opportunity, and excited to get the moving done so we can get to the fun part.
Until then. -hil

photo by Chris Ramirez for the New York Times. Check out the article that goes with it here.

Confessions of a Lamp Tramp

If you were to come to our house, one of the first things you might notice, besides the seemingly eternal stack of laundry that endlessly needs conquering (today it is taunting me, half folded on the couch), is that we have a lot of lamps.

But seriously, an inordinate amount.

I've been this way since I can remember, shuddering at the thought of overhead lighting. When I was in high school I purchased lamps from thrift stores to place around my room. I still have one that is so beautiful I refuse to trash it, despite the fact that it flickers every time I step on the wrong floorboard in our living room. I buy good lamps when I see them, even if it means I have to ship them home, even if it means they sit in the basement for a year before we use them. Because a good lamp is hard to find, and I am a lighting fanatic.

That's why, when I stumbled across Radiance Lighting, a little artisan lamp store in the UK, I was immediately smitten.  I have never seen so many beautiful lamps and shades in one place! It's like a junkie's paradise. Especially these shades to the left. They are these old photographs of different neighborhoods superimposed with vintage floral fabrics. Gosh, I feel like they were made just for me.

On top of simply selling unique and beautiful products, I found Radiance's story inspiring to boot. Sean and I have dreamt many times of having a store with a studio or workshop in the back like the artisans of old, and that's exactly the model that founder Hannah Nunn used when opening her own lamp store. When a storefront opened up in her town, she jumped on it and transformed it into a space where she could work in the back and sell up front. Today she has enlisted other creative lighting geniuses who sell at the store and works alongside family and friends to run the operation. In 2010 Radiance moved to a larger location, and it you're into Before and Afters, you can find the entire process chronicled here.

more on Radiance Lighting after the jump!

Husband of mine...

This may be a bit non traditional for this blog, but my sweet husband did an interview for the high school newspaper where he works. Aside from making me smile, he also has some good insights about art and creativity, so I though I'd share with you today. Enjoy!-hil

Crispy Fish Tacos: impress all your friends.

When I go to the grocery store for the week, I like to plan meals around what's on sale, namely what sort of meat is on sale as that can be the priciest piece of the puzzle. Lo and behold, Tilapia, which is maybe my favorite fish, was on a pretty fantastic deal last Monday. In the cart it went and out came the old smartphone.
I know. I'm becoming one of those people who stands in the middle of the produce section squinting at her iPhone oblivious to the milling patrons trying to squeeze past her parked cart. But let me tell you this: the epicurious app is phenomenal and totally worth it.
No, I'm not being paid to tout this app, I just love it. Let me gush for a moment: it lets you search for recipes on-the-go in a myriad of different ways. One can search by main ingredient, meal/course, dietary consideration, dish type, and season or occasion. For example, when I found the Tilapia, I pulled up the app to search for a meal.I searched by main ingredient (seafood) and cuisine (mexican) and it lead me to this sure-to-please recipe for fish tacos. Plus, once you find your recipes, it will make a shopping list for you to check off as you go through the store and it organizes it all according to produce, dairy, meat, and on and on so you can make one quick pass. AND if you have multiple recipes that call for the same ingredient, it adds up the total for you. Oh my. Pure bliss.

So, back to the fish taco platter.
There were a lot of firsts for me: I had never marinated fish (or really anything) in buttermilk, I had never pickled anything, and had no clue how to make salsa verde. Thankfully those days are behind me now. This fish is pretty straightforward, it's really making all the little accouterments that can be time consuming. The recipe calls for Halibut or Bass, but I think you could use any of the flaky white fishes and this would work. Here's the scoop from the recipe:
Read on for the recipe after the jump!

Whimsical Wedding in Oxford, Ohio

I have the immense pleasure today of sharing with you a truly beautiful wedding. Two of our dear friends, Ellen and Luke, got hitched right here in our little town of Oxford. And while Oxford can sometimes seem small, full of jaywalkers, and home to inexplicably loud frat parties, for a wedding it is only perfect and quaint. Ellen and Luke tied the knot at the Oxford Community Arts Center, a beautiful historic building that used to be the Oxford College for Women. In addition to their lovely venue, Ellen added creative and unique DIY touches to the entire event. She crafted handmade fabric flowers for the groomsmen and centerpieces and even an adorable banner as a wedding cake topper using the fabric swatches from the custom Louise Hedley bridesmaid dresses, which were each sewn with a different patterned vintage fabric. I was honored to get to craft a bridal headpiece for Ellen, as well as a little something for each of the bridesmaids to wear in their hair. They even had a photo booth that doubled as a guest book. It was a lovely day and a gorgeous wedding, which is so fitting for this couple whose love for one another is so beautiful. Enjoy! -hil

 more from Ellen and Luke's wedding after the jump!

Stick Forts as Art Forms: a project inspired by the work of Patrick Dougherty

photo by Bill Franz

You may recall me going on an on last summer about an artist by the name of Patrick Dougherty. Well, I'm about to go on a little bit more. This week in After School Art we hosted another visiting artist, Dan Croswell, who assisted Dougherty in his installation at Wegerzyn MetroPark last year. The piece, entitled "A Wiggle In It's Walk" is pictured above. Dan is a sculptor himself, and after giving students a brief presentation on the work of Patrick Dougherty and other sculptors of a similar nature, like Deborah Butterfield, we went outside to try making our own large scale stick sculpture. Read on to see how our project turned out after the jump!

definitely flattered

flattery blog

First off, sorry all for my long and spontaneous vacation from blogging. I threw out my back at the end of March which landed me on the rug in our living room with an ice pack and a bottle of ibuprofen for about a week. Yes, my extremities were fully functional, so I had no excuse not to get my little fingers typing, but when your back doesn't work, I find it's difficult to put the rest of yourself to work. After I was finally able to hoist myself off the floor, Spring Break rolled around for Sean and I, and we promptly rolled out of town. But now it's back to business as usual, and I've accumulated quite the list to share with you, including an outdoor art project, a gorgeous wedding, and maybe even a recipe or two.
But before all that I wanted to share a couple exciting somethings: HomewardHandmade has been getting some press! I felt so honored to find one of my pieces featured on flattery, an adorable fashion blog. Seriously, I can't look through her posts without turning green with envy. Lucky for me (and you!) you can peruse and purchase her closet. I blushed when I found my little flower crown pictured along with some other creative Etsy women I so admire, like Garden of Whimsy, K is for Kani, and The Honey Comb.
On top of that, the lovely Sam at The Frosted Petticoat featured the same piece in one of her beautiful inspiration boards. If you're looking for some wedding ideas, this blog should be a stop on your list. You can  view real weddings, inspiration collections, and even the bloggers take on what a wedding would look like for an unlikely pair (one of her featured ideas is for the hypothetical wedding of Angelina Jolie and Mr. Darcy). Stop by and give her a look, and thank you for the love! -hil

the frosted petticoat blog