Ora di merenda...

IL 10.000 GIVEAWAY!

(Italiano sotto)

This weekend my blog hit ten thousand page views!!! Wow! That is incredible to me. Thank you all so much! I really don't know if that is an achievement in the blogging world, but in my book it is huge!

To show my gratitude I want to giveaway this set of cute melamine plates by OMM Designs. All you have to do is write a comment below and you will be entered to be randomly selected to win these plates. (Please only Italian destinations.)

Giveaway entry ends November 8th!

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Questo fine settimana il mio blog ha raggiunto le 10.000 visite!! Wow! Mi sembra incredibile, grazie a tutti! Non so se sia un grande risultato in generale, ma sicuramente lo è per il mio piccolo blog!

Per ringraziarvi, ho deciso di organizzare un piccolo concorso per vincere questo set di piatti di OMM Designs. Per partecipare non dovete far altro che scrivere un commento qui sotto... il vincitore verrà sorteggiato l'otto novembre!

(A causa delle elevate spese di spedizione internazionali, possiamo purtroppo spedire soltato verso destinazioni italiane) 

Beauty Case

Hi y'all! Last week I restarted my sewing lessons! They went great and my followers did a really great job. They sewed them all by themselves. I even taught people who had never sewn before. I can say that everyone enjoyed their project and took home a one-of-a-kind beauty case! Take a look!

London: The best city in the world? David Letterman would disagree!

It has been over a week since we got back from London. We enjoyed ourselves immensely with ourselves and our friends. We stayed in Notting Hill and for the first time we went to the Portbello Market...

All the houses in Notting Hill reminded me of DC!

...where I bought a lovely vintage silk Japanese clutch, we then rented bikes and biked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. I would recommend this to everyone! Even though I had let's just say "issues" with the bike and the direction of traffic...it really was a lovely ride! The weather was perfect and we really peddled far!

We even enjoyed one of my favorite things in the world..Dim Sum! We brought our friends who had never tried it before. The overall consensus was positive so I hope we return.

We wanted to do Westminster Abbey but can you believe it costs £16.50 to get in?! We were quite in shock...probably because in Italy you don't normally have to pay to visit a basilica. So we went to the Tate Modern instead and saw the Munch exhibition.

We went to the Carnaby area a few times and the Imperial War museum, which we both really enjoyed!

We also got a chance to check out Marimekko's London store! All in all we had a great time even though the weather was hit or miss everyday...but what can you expect from London?

Me at the Marimekko London store in my new rain boots

London calls me again!

Good evening everyone! I'm happy to tell you that we are taking a short break for our anniversary and going back to one of the best cities in the world! Don't worry...we won't be closed! My trusty father-in-law will be holding down the fort for us. He is the best! I, personally, cannot wait to leave. Though, I love my clients dearly, we really need a vacation! These past few months have been, FORTUNATELY, busy for us and we appreciate everything that has been given to us...including this opportunity to enjoy ourselves amongst friends in London. I'm leaving you with some of my photos from our last trip there. Enjoy and be back shortly!

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Koti Girl gone public!

This week has been very busy for us. Not only did I have to get done 80 mini tote bags and 80 zippered pouches...but I also had to prepare myself to give two speeches at the Entrepreneurship Methodology Mediterranean Assistance - SVILUPPUMBRIA SpA fair.

I am not a public speaker...I actually try to avoid it at all costs, but my husband helped me to write a speech to deliver to other female entrepreneurs who specialize in ecological products in Spain, Portugal and Greece. I am very lucky that it was in English until I found out I ALSO had to give the same speech in Italian. I can't tell you which one went better, but I can tell you that I survived!! I think they both went rather well...maybe the Italian speech more because more people listened and (hopefully) understood. I will save you the video and just leave you with some pictures ;)

P.S. I was also on the RAI 3 news for that day (skip to minute 10:40). 

Our stand

I'm wearing a Marimekko dress

RAI 3 Journalist Roberta Serdoz

At the convention about to give my Italian speech

And we're back!

3 helpers (one of which is pictured below)
4 broken needles (two of which flung in my face)
18.4 meters of fabric
over 20 pins stuck in my fingers
24 meters of wrist straps
80 zippers
160 individually sewn handles
160 cut, sewn and hole-punched labels
over 1,500 meters of thread
AND NO MECHANICAL BREAKDOWNS! Thank you Pfaff!

This was the largest order I've ever received and I finished in time! I made 80 zippered pouches and 80 mini shopping bags for an association of Female Entrepreneurs who also invited me to speak at their video conference with 3 other countries. Enjoy the fotos of my work. More fotos to come from the fair!

my enthusiastic little helper :)

bags...

more bags...

Cutting some handles for bags

Le pochette and me

Feelings of gratitude

I was just thinking today how I never thought in all my years of living that sewing would be my passion in life. Not just sewing though, handling such beautiful fabrics. It has become a hobby that has grown bigger than I could have ever imagined. My recent orders have proved just this and even though I feel way in over my head right now, I am content. Sewing gives me possibly more gratification than graphic design has ever given me. Don't get me wrong, my roots are in graphic design. I mean, I grew up in a print shop, for crying out loud, but...sewing and making, using and reusing, custom-made precious one-of-a-kind items made with my very own hands out of a flat piece of fabric...now that is creation in and of itself! I love it. And I don't think I could ever go back.

Take a look at my recent creation available to order or custom-made on my Etsy store.

Borgo Bello invaso da giovani e famiglie

Borgo Bello invaso da giovani e famiglie La Mezzanotte bianca dà spettacolo Un fiume di persone in strada per la terza manifesazione organizzata dai commercianti

City Vintage

It seems like we recently have been on the go go go. Last weekend not only did we participate in the Mezzanotte Bianca (White Night Out), but we also had our stand at the Vintage festival right in our district. With Marimekko and Iittala historical remakes it only seemed right to share our beautiful products with others to appreciate. We also had old-time wooden toys for kids.

We have been working very hard lately to get the word out about our store, especially with the threat of closing. Hopefully that won't be the case for us as we have seen how impactful our district can be for the whole city of Perugia. There are many new stores opening along our street where, for years, these spaces were closed bringing a silence to the area. But with our third Mezzanotte Bianca and much buzz of this reviving district we have many hopes for the future.

Foto from https://www.facebook.com/CityVintagePerugia

Foto from https://www.facebook.com/CityVintagePerugia by G. Belfiore

Koti at City Vintage

La terza MezzaNotte Bianca

La nostra terza MezzaNotte Bianca avrà una connotazione Vintage ed è organizzata in collaborazione con City Vintage: tante iniziative a partire dalla sera di venerdì 7 Settembre fino a domenica 9. Vi aspettiamo!

“MezzaNotte bianca: incontri cultural-conviviali tra S.Ercolano e S.Pietro”, ideata e sviluppata dal coordinamento ‘Distretto del Sale’, piattaforma che raggruppa diverse sigle tra Associazioni e Commercianti presenti nel tratto di strada che va dalla Chiesa di S.Ercolano a quella di S.Pietro, con il patrocinio ed il contributo del Comune di Perugia e la partecipazione attiva di alcuni enti e istituzioni prestigiose.

STAY TUNED ...http://distrettodelsale.wordpress.com/

Clicca sull'immagine per vedere più grande

Marche du Design

We will be presenting at the Marche du Design in Ponte Felcino, PG this Sunday! Lots of handmade Koti Girl things to make before then!! Wish us luck!!

Koti Girl on Etsy!

Double-sided purse: one side heavyweight cotton, other side BELOW in PVC, pockets on both sides.

Good afternoon, or morning, or evening to you! My quest to infuse Marimekko into people's lives has taken one more step for human kind! I have become an Etsy seller.

Honestly, I don't know why I didn't sell before on Etsy. Maybe I didn't have enough courage to actually sell my stuff to such an open environment, but now that I have made countless curtains, pillows cases, tableclothes (and the list goes on) I have found some confidence in making one-of-kind handmade purse and other nicknacks.

Right now, I have a few items up. And ironically, just as I began to make more items to sell I get a ton of orders at the store. Good news for all! Of course, I can also takes orders and custom-make these bags and other stuff with any of our fabrics. Just send me an email (info@koti.it) and it can be done! Thank for looking!

1-Sided PVC Beach bag

1950's style half apron with sewn in hand towel and tissue pocket

Foam padded computer bag with adjustable strap and stainless steel hardware