Indie Fixx is now international! Introducing our first non-American indie designer feature on Indie Fixx. Well, technically I think I may have already featured a designer from Canada, but I’m not going to let a little thing like fact checking stop me from posting about Grainne Morton Contemporary Jewellery. Located in Edinburgh, the design modus operandi of the artist is to collect obscure and miniature items and through experimentation create jewelry art from both formed and found objects. She then groups her designs into collections of like objects and houses them in handmade boxes. I am all about found art and I think her designs are just about the most elegant found art jewelry pieces I’ve seen in a while.

Wow, I just came across Sharon Spain Textiles and I am totally blown away by her designs. Her hand screen-printed minimalist motiffs are nature-inspired and are printed on natural fabrics including silk and linen. You have your choice of pillows, purses, cards, and t-shirts all with her distinctive and elegant patterns. I’m loving her bangle bags, which come in a variety of lovely color combinations and are just perfect for fall.

She also offers t-shirts with a charming posy image. I like the blue t-shirt with mustard design and the brown t-shirt with sky blue design.

And for your home, there are absolutely beautiful pillow designs. I’m not sure which one is my favorite—I would have to take them all. The foundation of Sharon Spain products is quality construction, natural materials and organic designs and the results are one-of-a-kind objects in an artisan tradition.

I like to give clever gifts. It is sort of a badge of honor to me to give uncommon gifts—presents I can be sure no one else is going to give and that the gift recipient has never even seen before. I scour the Internet looking for indie items that fit the bill. New from inscribed jewelry maven, Amy Peters of Amy Peters’ Studio—Fortune Cookie necklaces. The best part of any Chinese dinner is the fortune cookies and now you can get a permanent keepsake necklace to pay homage to that fun tradition. The sterling silver necklaces include an inscribed fortune and a gold-plated floating fortune cookie charm. Each necklace is packaged in a small teal take out box with tissue. Very clever and uncommon, indeed.

You may have already heard about Feto Soap, but what you don’t know is that I am Feto Soap addict. Feto Soap offers handmade soaps, lotions, lip balms, and other bath and body products, which are made by soap diva extraordinaire, Lisa Chouinard. Her chocolate and food scented soaps, which I can tell you first-hand experience, smell so much like the real thing you have to keep yourself from eating them. Any of her chocolate soaps are just amazing. The honey soap is pretty awesome too. I also really like the presentation of some of her soaps—the basket of strawberry soaps, the box of bon-bon soap, and the chocolate soap shaped like a chocolate bar are just perfect for gift giving. We gave out Feto Soaps as bridal shower party favors at my sister-in-law’s shower and everyone was just completely blown away by not only the novelty and decadence, but also the quality. Don’t pass up the signature fetus soaps–I really think the Punk Feto is just adorable. Make sure to check out some of the new products—I swear I can smell the lemongrass soap, the ocean rain scented candle, and the basil lime soap right through the monitor. It must be time to place another order…

For me, August and September are big months for birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions, so I am on the prowl for cute and clever indie cards. I am not a big card person, but when I give cards, I like cards that are unique—cards that are more like a gift in and of itself. I think Dear Monday cards fit that description. I especially like the Cheer card. It’s cute without being cutesy and it’s just a pretty card. I have a birthday for a friend coming up and this would be just perfect for her. She is kind of girly and I think she would really like this card, since it’s hand-decorated with glitter, Swarovski crystal, beads & ribbon. I also really like the Dear Monday everyday and special occasion cards. Be sure to take a look for your special occasions.

Nothing says, “I love you,” like giving someone a chicken butt card. No, seriously, I mean it. My sister and I say, “Guess what? Chicken butt!” to each other as a show of affection all the time. We also call each other bad names to show that we love each other, but that’s a different post. The Chicken Butt card from Young & Withit Industries is one of the cleverest things I have come across in a long time. It makes me realize that there must be lots of nerdy siblings out there in the world. If chicken butts are not your thing, the husband and wife design team behind Young & Withit Industries do offer other designs. I like the Aw Shucks and Gnome cards.

My sense of style is what you would call eclectic–boho, classic, funky, it all depends on my mood. I’m all over the place and it’s even worse with my decorating style—my home is kind of a hodge-podge of things that I like, most of which don’t match. But, my bedroom is definitely girly. First of all, it is pink, and secondly my walls are covered with faerie and elf art prints. Some of my favorites are by artist, Kate Dolamore, of Pencil Shavings. Kate creates illustrations of fairy tales, faeries, and modern life, all done in traditional mediums such as watercolor paints, colored pencils, and markers. She sells prints, cards, stationary, and even some original work and her illustrations are just completely lovely in person. I’ve got my eye on a couple more, but I especially like Amaryllis. Now is the time to check her out, since everything is on sale through September 7th.

Pink and brown is one of my favorite color combinations, so it is no wonder that I love absolutely everything at Pink Loves Brown. Nicole Balch, the designer behind Pink Loves Brown, creates the cutest paper products. Her designs are simple, yet very chic and feminine, and I just love the themes she uses in her designs. There are glasses for the librarian in your life, scissors and a needle and thread for those crafty grrls you know, a kitty for all the crazy cat ladies, and the signature skirted lady silhouettes, among others. I really like the Glasses Suitcase Gift Set, which includes the most adorable pink paper suitcase, a glasses card, and glasses stationary with optional personalization. Everyone should buy one for his or her favorite librarian.

Since summer is the season of travel, I thought I would share these novel travel journals by Destination Unknown. Each wire-bound handmade journal includes: plenty of paper for recording travel memories, grid paper for record keeping, blank paper for sketching, handy pockets for saving mementos and for keeping your tickets and receipts safe, and an elastic band to keep everything all tucked inside. You can choose your cover from a selection of tempting papers, but I like London Calling the best. Time to hit the open road! Bon Voyage…

Metalsmith Amy Tavern endeavors to make lovely pieces and I declare that her work is indeed lovely. I just love the form of her designs and I love the way I feel looking at them. I feel all light and airy, yet substantial and strong at the same time. I think it must be wonderful to wear Amy’s designs and I bet it is pretty wonderful making them too. I like all the collections, however, the ratio collection is my favorite—especially the Version earrings. They are just beautiful in all their simple elegance.

Alicia Freile, the artist behind, Gauchita creates the most charming hand-embroidered fabric bags. I’ve had the honor of seeing her bags in person and her stitching is absolutely perfect–I only wish I could get my embroidery stitches to look so neat and orderly. I really like her simple designs, especially the Costa del Sol bags available at Art Star. The Costa del Sol’s are reminiscent of the Molas created by the Cuna Indians of the San Blas Islands.

Little by Jenny creates hand printed clothing and pillowcases. Her Farm Life collection is inspired by the impact of corporate farming on family and organic farming and use as motifs imagery of traditional farming. Her designs are unique and thought provoking. I especially like the Birds with Royalty and Plants with Windmill pillowcases.

I could not pick just one design to highlight from the Edge of Urge. It was hard enough narrowing it down to two, but I did it. The pink Dawnie dress is just so perfectly lovely and the best part is it is available in sizes 0-18. Wonderful! You can also choose your color from such great colors as eggplant, hibiscus, mango madness and peacock among others. I also love the blue and white Split Fade hand felted scarf, but sadly, it looks like it is no longer available. Just stunning! Take your pick–you will not be disappointed with any of the absolutely exquisite designs available at the Edge of Urge

Tobi of Tobi Wood Designs believes that anything handmade is a gift. She also believes that her designs are fabulous and the next big thing. I believe she is right on all counts. I have purchased some of her journals in the past and I carry one in my handbag with me at all times, but her latest designs are even cuter. I especially like the flower designs—they are definitely indie goodness.

Twin sister silversmiths, Kerry Alice and Heather Collins, of Twigs and Heather create simply the most delightful jewelry using natural found objects. They cast twigs, acorns and maple seeds into simple yet elegant jewelry pieces. They will even do custom work—just send them an acorn or twig from your own favorite tree for an utterly charming tangible memory.

I’ve had my eye on these organizers from Good Morning, Morning for quite a long time. I’ve dropped hints for both Xmas and my birthday, but to no avail. So, I am being reduced to posting the following, “I want a Good Morning, Morning organizer! I am so disorganized and this is only thing that would help me pull myself together and actually become organized.” There, now maybe someone (hint, hint) will read this. I love the fabrics and if necessity forces us to become organized, then we should be able to do so with cute accessories.

Love, love, love the secret agent tees at gohgirl. I love the whole back-story and the clean modern designs. Being somewhat of an anglophile, the London tee is by far my favorite. It would be so handy if I could use my bun as a pogo stick. Cute and clever.