8.28.2010

Fresh Totes



The harvest of fresh totes for fall! Printed with sunshine on Peconic Bay, and still drying on the line, before being brought to market in New York City.

Handmade On Peconic Bay "Numbskull" Van Dyke Brown printed totes, $25.00, from a selection at Hester Street Fair.

8.26.2010

Candid Camera




Rare, candid moments from the life of Marilyn Monroe, snapped by American photo-journalist Eve Arnold. Here we seem to get fresh glimpses of the real Norma Jeane Mortenson. Far more interesting and intimate than any studio portraits of the Hollywood sex symbol and tragic beauty, don't you think?

Images courtesy of MailOnline.

8.18.2010

Silk Impressions



My husband, Matt Shapoff, is a scientist who filed for a patent when he was 16 years old, and an artist-photographer, with a predilection for vintage hand mixed photochemistry recipes.

So three years ago, when a friend suggested that Matt’s experiments in alternative photography would make great product designs, it took me about 30 seconds to say “Let me make a logo and some packaging!”. Handmade On Peconic Bay was born that day, and has grown to become a full line of modern vintage goods, using 19th century photographic processes to create art prints, note cards, and our latest addition, cyanotype silk scarves.

The scarves, which are not dyed, are one of a kind photographic prints on silk. The iron-cyanide based photochemistry is applied to the fabric, turning it Prussian blue as it oxidizes in the sun, and leaving behind a stark white impression on the silk, of the objects that were arranged on it. Read more about the scarves on ecco*eco and Hand/Eye.

Here's a cool video of Matt making a feather scarf.


Handmade On Peconic Bay cyanotype silk scaves are available at Hester Street Fair, weekends through December. Check the HMPB Facebook page for upcoming dates.

8.17.2010

The Well Appointed Kitchen


I believe that a small, well appointed kitchen is all you need, to create fabulous meals for two or more, and investing in a few traditional high quality cookware items, like Le Creuset cast iron and enamel pieces, is a great place to start. I also love their modern stoneware serving pieces and accessories. They come in a range of cool colors, my personal fave being Dijon.


I grew up in NYC in the late 60's, with the kind of parents that wallpapered our kitchen with psychedelic yellow and brown daisies. Coppertone brown appliances, ochre countertops and a Saarinen walnut tulip table completed the hideous picture. Needless to say, I was entirely uninterested in cooking and preferred my Swanson's TV dinners in the living room. This promo film for Westinghouse shows the range of 60's kitchen insanity. We had the Herman Miller clock at the 1:30 minute mark!


Things changed, the summer I spent in Italy, in the hilltops of Tuscany. I may have been there to hone my painting skills under the Tuscan sun, but I was far more interested in shopping the local markets for the exotic fresh foods we prepared and ate alfresco, in our farmhouse, overlooking gardens, a vineyard, and orchards. At age 18, I fell in love with the art of Mediterranean cooking and vino rosso fatto a casa.

Today, my own kitchen is stocked with vintage and modern pieces in those same shades of brown and yellow. I don't miss the wallpaper or TV dinners, and base my cooking on what I learned that summer in Italy. My husband and I look forward to the August bounty of fresh vegetables from our local farmer's market, which we make into soups or stews, and serve with grilled meat, some ciabatta bread and a nice Long Island wine.

Images courtesy of cookware.com, vi.sualize.us and retrorenovation.com.

Post sponsored by cookware.com.









8.16.2010

Stunningly Sustainable

Cynthia Rybakoff Collection, Modern Vintage Charm Bracelet

Salvatore Ferragamo, Fall 2010

Cynthia Rybakoff Collection, Modern Vintage Charm Necklace

Not wanting to fully embrace the fall fashion season just yet, here are some late summer offerings, made from vintage and recycled organic components, including stone, raffia, wood, coral and bone. The aqua-celadon green and salmon-ivory color palettes transition well into early fall's neutral mood, including my new favorite shade of brown, burnt sienna.

For more stunningly sustainable jewels, including my Modern Vintage Charm Bracelet visit ecco*eco for a round up of Summer 2010's ethical style gems!

Ferragamo image courtesy of Style.com.

Cynthia Rybakoff Collection jewelry available exclusively on CynthiaRybakoff.com.

8.11.2010

Sigmund And The Sea Monsters



My husband Matt and I are beach babies, and love to collect pretty shells, but also scary things that wash up on the shores of Peconic Bay. The most fierce creature by far is the horseshoe crab (if ever their was a reason to wear aqua socks!). But nothing we've ever found compares to fascinating prehistoric sea creatures, like ammonites, in both beauty and potential ick factor. Ammonites are related to squid, and their golden spiral shells were once home to creepy-crawly multi-limbed marine animals.

Matt's Van Dyke Brown print for Handmade On Peconic Bay, featured in the current issue of Hamptons Magazine, depicts a variety of ammonite forms, from Ernst Haeckel's 1904 Kunstformen der Natur. Framed in upcycled vintage wood molding, with the original paint, it's a pleasant reminder of a time when sea monsters ruled the planet.

Handmade On Peconic Bay "Art Of Nature" one of a kind Van Dyke Brown framed print, $225.00 at A Little Of What You Fancy, East Hampton, 631.324.3113.

8.04.2010

What's Old Is New

Art print note cards

Van Dyke Brown prints

Cyanotype prints

Cynthia Rybakoff-Shapoff

Matt Shapoff


Hester Street Fair, located in a beautiful park setting on the corner of Hester and Essex, was once home to New York City’s largest and oldest pushcart markets. Established in 1894, it was was the busiest outdoor market in New York City, by the turn of the century. The new Hester Street Fair has sought to create a space that reflects the dynamic energy of the Lower East Side then and now. Mission accomplished! If you haven't been yet, make a point of visiting soon.

Today, the Hester Street Fair focuses on curated local crafts, artisan food and vintage goods. It's the perfect place for our Handmade On Peconic Bay modern vintage wares, including cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown photographic prints using techniques that date back to the mid 19th century.

Handmade On Peconic Bay will be at the Hester Street Fair weekends through December. For fair dates and announcements, follow Handmade On Peconic Bay on Facebook.
 
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