Serimony has Closed on Court

I just read on Katia Kelly's blog, Pardon Me For Asking, that Serimony has closed. This was a great little shop owned and run by Karen Van Every. She was one of the 1st people in the neighborhood to let me write a post about her store. Fortunately, she will still be selling her designs and the designers she carries online @ Serimony Here are a few pics from my original post :)

Fan of these felt animal tees for kids & adults and her card line, including Dottie, her dog, below.

Visit Pardon Me for Asking to read Karen's farewell sign :(

Few Crafty Crafters

The 5th Annual Renegade Craft Fair was last weekend at McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I went on Sunday with no intention of blogging about it, but I have to mention 3 crafters whose work I found particularly cute or charming!

The 1st is Zooguu handmade plush toys. I met Jen Gubicza, the owner and creator of these adorable round puffy animals. She began selling her stuffed toys on Etsy in 2006 under the name Sweetestpea. Her husband, Brian Gubicza, a freelance illustrator, is involved with developing character ideas & some of production.




Love this hedgehog! I noticed hedgehogs are giving birds, owls & cupcakes a run for their money ;) Actually, they may have already taken over as most popular character this year!

I find the roundness of these animals to be extremely appealing :D Take a look at Zooguu to see so much more, plus free downloads, games & more! Jen and Brian currently live & work in Brooklyn. She is also a freelance designer for Big Blue Dot specializing in "design & strategy for companies that care about kids."

Below is a sweet necklace by The Intuitive Garden Every piece is made by Candace, who I did not have a chance to talk to since she was quite busy with her customers. You can see her profile and read a fun interview with Candace on her Etsy shop. I was drawn to her jewelry for the color and careful, yet casual line work on pieces like this one called "Space Garden". I also like her photographic pieces. They are all wearable art!

Space Garden Necklace

Spring Fling Ring

Little Bloom Pendant

Tangled Bliss Pendant

Red Fiesta Earrings

Vibrant Pendant-- I love this pendant! It's quietly festive & fun!! Candace lives & works in Northern Massachusettes and you can view a full line of her jewelry at The Intuitive Garden shop on Etsy.


Astulabee is Nicole Licht, she stiches unique limited edition and one-of-a-kind soft sculptures. I found these animals incredibly charming and sweet. Wish I had purchased the bunny I saw. Luckily she sells her pieces on Etsy , but make sure to browse her gallery on Astulabee and also view press, interviews & awards she has received.

Sweetheart Pony (reduced price through Thursday 6/11 midnight)

Mr. Golden Cape Woodlander (reduced price)

Custom Pony

Wintry White Woodsy Ghost (reduced price through Thursday 6/11 midnight)

Nicole lives & works in Brooklyn, NY. Her handsewn creations are carefully crafted and sturdy, too!

This building below is off of McCarren Park and I love the design, even though I usually prefer old townhouses & brownstones. The windows, alone, on this are fantastic! Can easily imagine painting masterpieces in one of these well lit rooms ;)

Can't pass up a cute little doggie!

Full trash cans are a good indicator the fair was popular. Hope it was all successfully cleaned up!

Visit the Renegade Craft website for upcoming shows. There are several coming up-- one in Los Angeles, San Francisco & Chicago, where it originated.

*ps I neglected to mention that I attended the fair with my wonderfully talented friend, Kristine Lombardi known for her colorful whimsical style and splendid hand lettering. I will be profiling her work here at a later date, but feel free to check out her fabulous illustrations on her website anytime :)

Serimony

Here's Dottie, a perfect muse & essential element to Serimony's line of cards :)

This is Serimony, a tiny and adorable shop on Court Street between 2nd & 3rd Place. This space functions as both a design studio & a boutique, specializing in social stationery, custom invitations & greeting cards. You will also find a wonderful array of handmade items such as colorful tote bags, charming T-Shirts for adults and kids, elegant jewelry, as well as playful pieces to brighten any outfit, plus plenty of other fun accessories as you'll see below. It's really a perfect place to find just the right gift!

This is Karen Van Every, owner, operator & designer extraordinaire! Her background is in graphic design and advertising. After creating invitations for her own wedding and receiving such positive feedback, she decided to make a go of it as a business. Karen started her company in 2003 and focused solely on custom designed wedding invitations (produced out of her apartment). Finding initial success, she expanded into other custom products like birth announcements and cards. Originally she was looking for an office space from which to work and meet with clients. When she stumbled upon this space, she immediately imagined selling locally handmade goodies in front and designing her cards in back. So far, it's working :) Serimony opened July 2005.

These cute field bags above & colorful totes pictured here are by Rainbow Swirlz Take a look, lots of cute things-- okay, so Mendy who makes these is in Oklahoma, not Brooklyn, but this is the era of inclusiveness ;)

Most of the cards in Serimony are by Karen, but some are by Andy Pratt , Pinecone & Chickadee and Kristiana Parn

You can't go wrong here, whether you're in search of a whimsical, colorful, sweet or simple and elegant card here!

Before opening, Karen had known many smaller Brooklyn based designers from participating in various markets, she now incorporates talented artists from all over to showcase, but tries to keep most of her products locally designed and made.

These thick, gorgeous paintings are by Alan Van Every, Karen's uncle-in-law. I love oil paint and these make me think-- icing. I just love 'em! I learned this afternoon that he basically painted and put together the whole store for Karen while he was visiting at the time. The round silver display jewelry rack (can see details of below) was made from pizza trays-- neat-o!

Sales are always nice :)

Great earrings by numerous jewelry designers... come in to see, my photo here does not do them much justice.

Jewelry above by Omi Martens, a Carroll Gardens designer-- click link to see more on her etsy shop. *Notice the pizza tray?

Most of jewelry above by We Dream in Colour

Cool glass buckles above are by Kiku and more necklaces by We Dream in Colour

Kentile Floors T-Shirts by Live Poultry

*There is a famous old Kentile Floors sign that remains up at 2nd Avenue and 9th Street. I think everyone in Brooklyn has seen it, hope it will always be there.

This anchor tote above is one of Karen's

Sorry, don't know who made these skirts, but I like them :)

My friend, Melissa, wearing one of my personal tees by Wallco Jr She is a Brooklyn designer but do not think her site is currently up. I love these shirts, she mostly makes them for babies & kids...

Wallco Jr bibs :)

Great way to display and maybe store all of your stuffed animals. I might try it!

This is Karen's beloved dog, Dottie (many new card designs inspired by her on the way!) Karen and her husband adopted her last June from North Shore Animal League

I'll quote Karen here: "I can't say enough about how many wonderful pets there are at shelters and how important it is to rescue them and give them good homes. She has been an inspiration for new card designs. Most of my designs are inspired by nature and animals, as well as urban landscape."

I couldn't agree more! It is a great gift to save an animal and NSAL is the world's largest No-Kill Shelter.

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It's refreshing to talk to Karen who admits that it can be a bit of a struggle to maintain everything, manage the store, design her line of cards, custom work and continue to participate in craft fairs. She has some part time help and her mom and dad help with printing some of her cards, while her husband is the go-to tech guy and her sounding board for ideas. Sounds good :) Karen has found a way to work as a creative artist and handle the responsibilities of running a successful business. It is great to see someone do exactly what they want to do with their life. All the better to include family, if they're willing ;)

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Serimony is located at 421 Court Street between 2nd & 3rd Place

Hours: Mon & Wed-Fri noon-8pm / Sat 11a-7pm / Sun noon-6pm

Phone 718.797.0679 *Stop in to see great things in a small package!*