The Artful Home: Plywerk Art at Olio United

Portland's eco-chic boutique, Olio United, just added pieces the the website from its great new art show, Plywerk. The collection consists of affordable, ready-to-hang work from artists Betsy Walton, Yellena James, Kim Oanh Nguyen, and Joanna Bean. The pieces were created by mounting images from each artist to half-inch, FSC-certified Plywerk panels and sealing them with a protective laminate finish.

A few of my faves:

Set Free by Betsy Walton, $70

Rainbow Quilt Mountain by Betsy Walton, $70

Burst by Yellena James, $65

Vintage Ballet Dress by Kim Oanh Nguyen, $45

Geometrics 6 by Joanna Bean, $65

See all of the Plywerk art at Olio right here -- and peruse the shop's other great art selections here.

Objects of Lust: Feinedinge Stella Lights

Yet more porcelain loveliness from Feinedinge (aka Austria's Sandra Haischberger) to covet.

Each 16-inch, handcrafted lamp is $485 from Olio United. Sigh.

Cool Stuff: Repeat Pattern Products at Olio United

For its just-opened Repeat show, Portland's Olio United asked ten artists to create limited-edition products featuring "functional patterns." Each item is a piece of art in its own right, but can also "be used for something crafty, clever, and beautiful."

For those of us who aren't lucky enough live in Portland, Olio has made the products available on the store's website. Take a look:

Julia Rothman's Fabric Packs, $18 each

Joanna Bean's Teardrop Postcards, $5 for eight

Palindrome Press's Facets Print Poster, $45, and Facets Letterpress Card, $5

Pattern People's Under the Leaves Poster, $30

Katie Kulper's Handprinted Handkerchiefs, $10 each

Ashley Sheping's Blue Safari Card Set, $20

Katie Kirk's Packing Tape, $12 per roll

Robin Schmitt's Gocco Printed Fabric Panels, $20 each

See all of the exclusive Repeat products right here -- and if you're in Portland, be sure to swing by Olio United to check out the show in person.

Cool Stuff: Artist Series Shoes at Olio United

To help celebrate its first anniversary, Portland eco-boutique Olio United recently asked nine great local artists to customize pairs of TOMS Shoes.

The participating artists -- Amy Ruppel, Jill Bliss, Trish Grantham, Yellena James (those are her contributions, above), Ryan Rubnis, Katie Kulper, Aaron James, Erik Railton, and Max Erdenberger -- have each hand-painted several pairs of TOMS. The resulting wearable pieces of art will be auctioned off at Olio's anniversary party on Friday, August 29, from 7 to 10 p.m. The proceeds are earmarked for Transitions Cambodia, a not-for-profit that helps sex trafficking survivors from the Asian nation.

Click here for more information on the event -- and here to see the shoes for sale in Olio's webshop.

Cool Stuff: Feinedinge Porcelain

Feinedinge means "fine thing" in German -- and truer words were never spoken.

Based in Austria, Feinedinge is the brainchild of ceramist Sandra Haischberger, in whose Vienna studio each delicately beautiful piece is crafted by hand. I love the intricate, ethereal patterns and the subtle tone-on-tone colors. In short, I want all of them:

See the entire collection right here. Stateside, several Feinedinge products are available, for $55 to $135 apiece, through Olio United and Peek Keep.

Cool Stuff: Anna Joyce Pillows

Whenever we're on vacation, my normal thriftiness seems to go flying out the window. (I mean, we're already going to be paying off the credit card for the next year, so what's one more purchase?) Case in point: Today I bought a pillow that cost about three times as much as I'd normally be comfortable spending. But oh, how I love it!

I actually first saw this pillow -- handmade by a local designer named Anna Joyce using linen and appliqued with colorful vintage fabric scraps, filled with down, and generously sized at 20 by 20 inches -- a few days ago at Olio United, a stylish eco-boutique here in Portland. I oohed and aahed over the cushion, stroking it and hugging it to my chest for an embarrassingly long time, until finally I put it down and walked out of the shop like a good girl. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, and today I begged Nick to pilot the car a good 20 blocks out of our way so I could go back to Olio and make the pillow mine.

I'd never seen Joyce's textile designs before, and a Google search didn't turn up much more than some of her other pillows for sale in Olio's webshop. Plus, since I forgot to ask the shopkeeper, I can't tell you what exactly makes these "green" -- but I'm happy to know that they are. And you know what else? I don't regret this little vacation splurge one bit.

A few more of Joyce's lovely designs:

Green Linen Pillow, $105

Grey Linen Pillow, $125

Pink Hemp Pillow, $105

Brown Cotton Pillow, $125

OK, your turn: What did you splurge on during your last vacation?

Object of Lust: Moonstruck Lamp

I think I need to open a lighting store, so that I'll have an actual reason to swoon over light fixtures all day long ...

The play of light and shadow created by the perforations in this handcrafted porcelain sphere by Austrian design studio Feinedinge is so lovely. It would be breathtaking in a bedroom or on a living-room tabletop, where it would throw a delicate pattern of illumination onto the walls in the evening. Talk about mood lighting.

The Moonstruck Lamp is $395 from Olio United.