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.