I just took a very quick spin through this week's 1st dibs listings and came across this sweet little piece from American Primitive Gallery. Cute, huh?
It's true, I'm a sucker for simple, repetitive graphics. However the strawberries' graphic simplicity—the pops of red placed on a broken grid—are made all the more interesting due to the variations of size, color, texture, and technique due to their handmade nature.
The gallery's description says women used to make these strawberries and fill them with iron shavings to sharpen their needles. So i did a bit of hunting around and found this great post that provides a bit more background on emery strawberries. I love it when I get to learn something new!
The striking visual simplicity of this piece and it's representation of the domestic labors of women have me smitten. I'd love this for my office and it would look great in a crafting space or sewing room.
If you want to assemble your own collection, I took a quick spin around the web and found plenty of vintage and handmade strawberries available at very reasonable prices. Here is a lovely little example currently available on ebay. Biding starts at $4.99!
Or if you are feeling really crafty you can follow Martha's tutorial (of course she has one) and use vintage materials to produce your own collection.
Happy Hunting!
One of the things that constantly fascinates me are the regional flavors that exist in the world of interior design. No doubt there are national and global trends that dominate, but I do feel that places like Texas, California and even New England have very strong and unique design voices. Its something I find that so refreshing in a world that feels more and more homogenized.
Joni from Cote de Texas has done an amazing job documenting the unique aesthetic that has emerged in Texas. Houston, where Joni is based has some great decorating resources (SO J). I was lucky enough to visit recently and while I was making my way around the many amazing shops including Watkins Culver, Neal and Co, Tara Shaw, Carl Moore, and M Naeve among others I noticed by the herbiers in many of the shops.
In one of her more famous posts, Joni showed Sally Wheat's wall of herbiers.
Similar to the ever-so-popular Stark Antelope rug (you know the one), my sense is that herbiers add some color and visual interest while staying within the very neutral color palette of the Texas aesthetic. I really had not given the herbiers much thought.
Until these babies popped up at Maison Maison on 1st Dibs a few weeks ago and I had one of those OMG heart racing, I have to have these moments. (Why do I have so many of those?)
I really adore everything about these. The large size,mostly symmetrical composition, and the punches of bold color. Just spectacular. And those simple grey frames? Just the right note, they really let the flowers sing. These, I decided, would be perfection in my older daughter's bedroom (just one of the many works in progress) as they are a lovely way to bring in pops of color without being too overwhelming. 
Alas, my love affair is not meant to be. These, my darlings, are the real deal and my budget is not quite so real. However as we like to say around here,anyone with enough hubris and the internet can DIY. So I am off to learn about the world of presses, labels and acid-free paper and figure out how to make my own. I'll share my adventures soon I promise.
In the meantime, someone PLEASE buy these and then send me a picture of how amazing they look in your home.
