Cinemagraphs by Jamie Beck

Have you all seen these moving images, coined "cinemagraphs," by New York City photographer Jamie Beck? They are pretty awe inspiring to look at and take the concept of an animated gif up quite a few notches in my book.

How amazing would something like these be for wedding memories, birth stories, and other landmark life moments? I'd just love to be able to get one or a few made in this style as a promotional photo for my jewelry line.

Could this be the next wave in photography? They seem to be in a category all their own. Find more cinematography and inspiration over on Jamies Beck's Tumbr.

Dog Days of Summer

I wanted to share some photos from our walk down by river near our home. As I've previously mentioned, the heat has been unforgiving over the past few weeks and has made it hard to let Basil go outside to play for any extended period of time during the day.

Once on the riverbank, he didn't waste any time jumping right in. While weims are known hunters and swimmers, it was fascinating getting the chance to watch him jump in and just pick it up like a little swimming pro.

The water not only cooled him off but gave him some of the much needed heavy exercise he's missed out on in the heat. Every time he swam out and returned, he shook off and excitedly turned right back around for another round.

I hope you are enjoying your summer days wherever they might take you. Would love to hear any tried and true tips you have for keeping dogs happy in the heat!

From the Etsy Offices

This past week I made a quick overnight trip to be in the Etsy offices in person for a few important meetings. The shots above show some views of the office from my corner of the world and a little goofing around during off hours.

One of my favorite parts about the Brooklyn office is the fact it's dog-friendly. Each time I make the trip up I seem to be greeted by yet another new pup spending the work day in the office - that little cutie-pie above is Danielle's newest addition to her family, Miss Myrtle. She is a rescue dog from a puppy mill. Also, as you can see - one of my coworkers is out of the office on paternity leave so Christine and I decided to try his (armor gloves?) on for size.

The Etsy Photo Booth

Last week I was in New York working in the Brooklyn Etsy offices. We recently had the Magnolia Photo Booth Company build one of their famous custom booths to permanently live in our dedicated Etsy Labs space - it's completely open for use by anyone attending events in the space and staff members alike. Read more about the Magnolia Photo Booth Company and their innovative take on the photo booth right here.

While in town, I finally got a chance to take the Etsy photo booth for a spin. Technically it was for a project to retake Etsy profile photos, but as you can see one thing always leads to another...

Some of my all time favorite photos came from spur of the moment photo booth sessions. There's something about the candidness of the frames, the washed out look of the film, and the limited physical nature of the strip you are left with - know what I mean? When in Brooklyn, check out the Etsy events calendar so you can hop on over and snap some shots of your own!

P.S. That's the DanielleXO and some of my fellow marketeers from Etsy posing here with me.

Behind the Scenes of The Sartorialist

I caught wind of this captivating look behind the scenes of The Sartorialist first over on Refinery29. Scott Schuman, the face behind this street fashion blog, explains how with the internet, "really the whole world is open to you now."

Being an avid fan of people watching, this little window made me yearn for those voyeuristic morning walks to work in DUMBO and reminded me of how lucky (I, too) am for being able to do what it is I love via this vehicle they call the internet...

Photo Recap of the Long Weekend

Some of my favorite preserved memories and found relics from the long holiday weekend at Beechwood:

The time away was indulging, grounding, and gave me that sense of renewal in order to gear back up for the busy holiday season both on and off Etsy - what an exciting time of year.

Nesting Robin Eggs

As you can see, we stumbled across a handful of the most pristine and delicate robin eggs you could imagine. Here's hoping the wives tale of the danger in picking up eggs and placing them back in the nest is simply that...a tale.

They were in the path of Tim's lawn mower and instead of running them over he stopped to place them lightly back in the nest with gloved hands (after grabbing me to come peek first of course).

Wish us luck with the sound of some chirping baby birds!

Spring Update: Ranunculus Blooms

Ranunculus blooms are among my very favorites. This little bunch was headed straight for my collection of mason jars and glass bottles the second we met eyes. It's easy to feel like an expert in the field of floral arrangement when working with ranunculus as the stems on these blooms possess an effortless way of positioning themselves in an offbeat yet aesthetic grouping.

I incorporated a few daffodil blooms from the back garden and voila: an instant spring face-lift for my space.

Stop Motion film: Alison Sudol, Angela Kohler, Ithyle Griffiths

If you haven't heard, Etsy has just launched two new international blogs in Germany and France. A UK series was also newly introduced on Etsy's main blog. In honor of these international debuts, Etsy's been promoting Euro Week over the past several days.

Included among the features was Lost Things, a great little stop motion film written & directed by Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths. It grabbed me because I'm already a fan of Alison Sudol's music, the fact Angela Kohler has an Etsy shop, and she used other Etsy artists in the film. You might recognize the similar stop motion work this team has put together for an Amazon commercial.

Hope you enjoy this little 2 minute break as much as I did.

In Good Company

I dwell with two talented musicians, both of which have recently released new projects I'd like to share with you.

The talented singer/songwriter (and my BFF), Emily Easterly just released a new single "The Only Two On Earth/Montreal." Download and enjoy these two free tunes by clicking the image below:

My other talented roomie, J Seger, just completed a video collaboration project outlining his musical point of view and recent move to Brooklyn. This video is a collection of photos, videos, artwork, and mixing by many in his creative circle of friends. I was honored to shoot parts of the video, which you'll notice in the indoor stop motion photography streams:

Creativity breeds creativity...enjoy.

City Squirrel

You don't see squirrels like these down south...

I saw him while walking home from work, and yes, he let me get this close to him before scurrying away. I guess the nuts and berries are better in NYC trashcans these days?

Alternatives to the traditional vase

Lately, I've been really into the idea of using household items as flower displays. I've been sprucing up my space here and there with odds and ends as the weather continues to hint at spring. Below I've used a water pitcher from a restaurant I used to work for, and a glass sauce bottle to house recent blooms.









Before you go looking for that same old glass vase in your cupboard, take a look around at what else there might be to add a touch of je ne sais quoi. You just might surprise yourself.

Clever camera strap

I'm thinking about snagging one of these clever camera straps made from seat belts. These handmade camera straps come straight from the benches of wreck yard automobiles and I love the idea of an eco friendly option. I love the color descriptions from the site: Porsche Purple, Mercedes Gold, T-bird Teal, and Dodge Silver.

I think I'm gravitating towards the turquoise in this photo, but feel like one of the other more neutral colors would be a better choice...like the gray or maroon. Lemme know what you think in the comments if I should go one way or another.

Photojojo has a selection of other clever camera and photo accessories, check em out. You can also find the maker of these straps on Etsy, here.

A new camera makes a difference!

So I splurged a little and decided to invest in a nicer camera than my trusty digital point and shoot. While it's gotten me this far, I really felt I was ready to take my jewelry photos to the next level. So in my own little self serving way to stimulate the economy, I went with the Canon Rebel XSI. I couldn't be happier at the moment while I'm learning the ins and outs of my very first SLR camera.

Check out the fruits of my recent shooting labor below:

I'm loving the revamped look of my jewelry with the help of a macro lens, I think it just adds that needed touch of professionalism I couldn't quite achieve before. It's still a learning process and I have a way to go, but am super happy with the purchase thus far. Just click on any of the photos above to view more shots of each piece!

P.S. If you're interested in upgrading your own camera (or anything for that matter), check out this great shopping comparison site, pricegrabber. After hearing about this site, I saved over $200 on the camera just by buying it on Amazon vs. a big retail store.

No joke.