For warm-weather outings, we love a cute, basic bag that’s functional too. Alite offers all that and more in their new canvas carry-all (made in San Francisco, CA) with leather straps that work as a backpack or a tote. Inner pockets include one specifically designed to hold a bike lock, which along with an exterior loop for a towel or blanket, makes for the perfect biking accessory.

via Cool Hunting

Everyone loves a comfy sweater but sometimes they are hard to come by –either very expensive or super itchy! Well..Shae NY is the answer! Led by creative director Tony Smith, whose past resume includes working with heavy-hitting brands like Isaac Mizrahi and Billy Reid, and head designer Amber Hofmann, the newly debuted label is fresh, modern, and incredibly easy to wear. “Each sweater is more than a sweater,” says Tony Smith, creative director of Shae. “Our goal is for each piece to have a distinct personality.  Spring 2013 marks the first official collection for the brand, inspired by downtown New York street style, but with bursts of color that the true urbanist’s wardrobe often lacks.  The pieces are a range of bright, poppy shades as well as calmer neutrals and all designed with unexpected details. Sporty color-blocking, nothing new on the trend forefront, is big for them, but feels modern with dramatic peekaboo cutouts.  This knitwear is far from ordinary with vibrant pops of color and unique patterns. “It’s all about the easy, cool street style of New York girls as well as refined sporty pieces, like 1930s ski outfits,” Smith says. “Slightly off-kilter preppy classics.”

We love how comfortable and stylish the knits are and how great they pair with denim!

www.shaeny.com

With one of our favorite summer music festivals (Lollapalooza) getting closer and closer, we can’t help but get a little nostalgic for the Windy City. What you may not know is that Chicago is actually a mecca for fashion, and is currently turning out some of the best designers and fashion start-ups. One of these companies shaking up the fashion scene is Stock Manufacturing Co. Launched back in early February, Stock Mfg. Co. has a fairly simple mission: to produce high-quality, American-made fashion at the lowest possible price. How do they do this you may ask? By collaborating with emerging designers, and every couple of weeks featuring pre-sales of the designer’s pieces and designs on their site (stockmfg.co). Similar to Kickstarter, the Stock Manufacturing consumer then gets to decide if the item(s) featured on the site should get produced or not. Once enough people purchase the item during the pre-sale Stock Mfg. will finance and manufacture the product in-house within their factory. And it gets even better! Once an item is approved Stock Mfg. doesn’t charge any additional fees to the designer, or charge shipping fees! Pretty cool right?

We love this idea of not only supporting emerging talent but also giving the consumer a voice in what they are purchasing. This is one cool company, that five cool guys (with a crazy amount of fashion experience) have really pulled off. To see what is on the docket for this week (don’t worry they feature and sell women’s clothing too), or purchase product from Stock’s collection of jackets, shirts, bow ties, pocket squares and jackets, head over to their site!

Established in 2000, By Boe, is a cult jewelry and accessories brand that began as an intimate retail shop in Manhattan.  Due to the designer’s uncommon take on architectural and nature-inspired pendants, cuffs, and earrings, this company immediately captured the attention of jewelry guru’s all over the world!   By Boe became so popular that it had no choice but to expand with a larger retail outpost.  Judging by how vintage and fierce the pieces look, who wouldn’t want to get their hands on these? Today, By Boe continues to thrive and expand in new and exciting markets such as in Japan, Singapore, Greece and many more cities.

Our favorite part of this designer’s collection is that it’s handmade right here in the USA (New York City to be exact)!  The jewelry is created using the perfect combination of 14-kt gold-filled sterling silver and a mix of new and vintage materials from around the world.  Below are some more fab items up for grabs on By Boe’s website including earrings, bracelets, and rings.

How adorable is this vintage By Boe “Delicate Square” necklace pictured above? For the minimalist at heart, the tiny square brushed metal plate is a perfect detail to complete this super cute accessory!

It’s time to replace your boring dust-collecting wall clock with something a little more unique.  Add an eye-catching piece to your home decor, by switching out your traditional clock for a retro recycled vinyl record.  Sacramento based shop, Re-Spin It, provides just that. David Enos and Daniel Woodson, started the company with the goal of creating great products with as little waste as possible.

David and Daniel are advocates for taking something old and revamping it by recycling! According to the company, digital music is taking over leaving no more use for physical album covers or vinyl.  Re-Spin It not only features recycled clock vinyl, but also features re-purposed album cover notebooks.  For the clocks, the company uses vinyl that has been declared unplayable yet, still has the label in great condition.  The vinyl is then combined with old scrap materials to prevent it from taking up space in landfill.

Clocks are usually 12” in diameter and are mounted onto a stainless steel background.  If you don’t see any products of your favorite artists or bands listed on the shop site, simply email them your request. We are definitely going to take advantage of these amazing collectibles that are all made in the USA.

Based in Berkley, CA, Claflin Thayer &Co., is a unique leather goods and accessories line created by leather goddess Liz Thayer. This all American family business was inspired by Liz’s father, Edward Claflin Thayer, who opened a leather shoe shop around 1820.Some of the most popular items the line carries are the adorable baby booties and “JoJo Lips” bags. Each leather hide has a history based on the animal it was taken from, no leather will be identical. Claflin Thayer &Co.’s website states that blemishes, scars and marks on the leather will only add to the uniqueness of the item.

Perfect for a night out, the “JoJo” lips are made in different colors and are also offered in metallic or suede. We definitely see these bags being used for carrying ID’s, phones and make-up on a night about the town!

Although the website only lists the “JoJo Lips” and baby booties for sale, Liz Thayer has made some other really cool items listed on her blog. In the past she has designed studded leather bags and jackets, this woman has an eye for fashion!

All items are designed, cut, and constructed on a made-to-order basis; make sure to check out some of Liz’s work.

Obsessed with your pets as much as we are? If you can’t physically take them with you everywhere than what better way to feel their presence than getting a custom embroidered portrait? This ready to hang piece shown above was created by Portland native, Nichole Alvarado, and can be purchased on Etsy.

Made from 100 percent cotton embroidery floss, the portrait of this bulldog was stitched onto off-white 100 percent canvas and stretched onto a 5” wooden embroidery hoop. To prevent this cute portrait from disintegrating, excess fabric was glued to the back for reinforcement and the stitching was covered with a soft felt circle.

Animal portraits are not the only type of hoops Nichole creates; she also embroiders a phrase or a word, wedding themed hoops, personalized kids hoops and even your favorite kind of doughnut! She can pretty much do it all and strongly encourages customers to email her with new ideas.
Check out more of Nichole’s work on her Etsy store, SHOPHOOPLA, or follow her blog here.

Designed and produced in Brooklyn, NY, Etten-Eller first began when designer Cristina Bloom started playing around with the inner workings or timepieces to create jewelry pieces. You’ll notice now, Bloom no longer creates jewelry from watch parts, but her pieces still are somewhat time stamped. Instead of an anonymous serial number, each item has a date associated with it. Bloom shared that every piece carries a date with some significant date in time. The one piece that caught our eye was a piece from her Fall 201o collection, dated 05.20.1873 – the day blue jeans were patented!

While we want to say that Cristina is an “artist we love,” her jewelry line Etten-Eller is actually a play off the title of Danish philosopher’s Søren Aabye Kierkegaard work, “Enten-Eller,” meaning “either-or” in Danish. In a recent interview with The L Magazine, Cristina Bloom explained that she named her line Etten-Eller because her designs question whether or not something has to be defined as either art or craft. We adore her pieces “either way” – art or craft.

With a desire to have a watch that wasn’t just serviceable and unattractive, but also not “too nice” that it’s almost like a jewel, Ted Brown, who had spent the 22 years of his life previously at his architecture and construction firm, decided he was set out to create the perfect watch – The Tool Watch. Inspired by his grandfather’s hardware store in South Dakota, Ted started his own brand in Illinois, Berkbinder & Brown. The brand, which is built on “rugged, functional beauty,” includes metal forging and welding, fine metal work, precision machining, architecture, casting woodworking and sculpture. Every piece of The Tool Watch is finely crafted and hand-built by Ted and his team to provide a unique design and still practical usage. We admire the intense amount of thought and care Berkbinder & Brown brings to the product and his honor to carry on his grandfather’s legacy. Watch the great video below to learn even more about the process and company!

Today it seems like there is no shortage of nautical inspired items. The style and color scheme of the Eastern Seaboard’s favorite pastime continues to make its way into the hearts and homes of those out West.

Another amazing “Made in the USA” line, with superior craftsmanship and a 110% dedication to its customers, is WM J. Mills & Co. Hailing from a quaint little coastal town on the tip of Long Island, it’s five generations of authentic heavy-duty marine canvas – and nautically trend-setting bags.

First popular in the fifties when yachters used them as a way to carry their seafaring accessories these highly practical totes have since made their way into the closets of numerous fashionistas.  Bob Mills’ statement behind their product, “We overbuild our bags,” could not be closer to the truth, as the legacy of William J. Mills, the sail maker from Scotland who founded Wm. J. Mills & Co. in 1880, continues on over 100 years later.

Mills’ canvas bags retail from $110 to $200 and can be found at http://shop.millscanvas.com.