For the shop’s anniversary, the lovely ladies who work here gifted me with some incredible cookies that spelled out the sweetest message. If that wasn’t enough, I found out that the cookies were made by the deliciously talented Nikole. Too much!

It’s Friday, which seems like the perfect day to post a slew of my favourite links from the last month. What better way to ease through the work day and daydream over the weekend?

• where the wild things are clothing. i want the first one! (via my vintage secret)

• a little peek into manon gignoux’s paris studio….

• next time i’m in paris – ladurée macarons for sure.

• brilliant idea! pennant rubber stamp roller. i. am. doing. this!

• ok, joy the baker. i will try your easy no roll pie crust, but if i learn to bake pies, i might never eat anything else.

• the perfect autumn palette by tinctory

• alabama chanin is always so inspiring

• i could use these perfect boxes + drawer organizers in my eternal quest for organization

• i always love bold graphic eley kishimoto

• these steel lace etched tables are lovely

• so excited about denyse schmidt’s new quilt patterns – there’s a little sneak peek on her site

• just words. brilliant.

• lavender le creuset. swoon.

• so cool.

• paint by numbers-looking tapestry

• very pretty walnut pendant light

• cutest masks

• i like this! mud is the medium.

• this recipe for pear beignets sounds so yummy!

• mmmm… vanilla bean scones.

Have a super weekend. I’m working on a new section for the blog that I think you’re going to like. Check back on Monday!

October 13 is a special day on the calendar for me. It’s my birthday. It’s also my parent’s anniversary. They got married exactly one year before I was born. I also share my birthday with several dear friends. Happy Birthday Liz, Ashley and Esther! I hope your birthday weekends were as fun as mine.

If that wasn’t enough, October 13 is the workroom’s birthday too! I don’t think I could jam any more wonderful things into one day.

My Tinctory necklace arrived last week and it’s even more precious and delicate in person. I’m so incredibly delighted with subtle colours of the silk and the thread. Thank you, Eva!

p.s. Happy Birthday to Angelune, whose birthday was also this weekend!

Today I decided to embark on a little photo project involving colour. I’m not exactly sure where it’s going to go, but I’m feeling the need to do some colour exploration.

Also, I’ve been wanting to try smocking since I wrote about Tinctory. Now that I’ve found this tutorial {via whip up}, it’s going on the list.

p.s. I couldn’t help myself. I just bought bought this as a birthday treat to myself. It’s not for a couple weeks, but hopefully it will arrive just in time.

One of my very favourite daily reads is Creature Comforts. Ez has great style and she has a special knack for pulling many elements things together into a perfectly pretty package on a daily basis. I’m always sure to fill my eye candy quota with a visit to her blog. A few weeks ago she posted about an artist that I haven’t been able to get out of my head, Tinctory.

I’ve spent lots of time already just looking through Tinctory’s flickr page, not only are her pieces absolutely intriguing and unique, but her photographs are incredible. I had to know more and so a new feature is born on this blog, “Introducing”, a chance for me (and you) to learn more about someone especially inspiring.

The woman behind Tinctory is Eva, who lives in the UK. All her jewellery is made entirely by hand and goes through an intensive process that includes the embroidery technique, smocking. What I hadn’t realized about smocking was that it is functional, as well as decorative. It was developed in the Middle Ages and is used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Long before there was fantastic elastic, there was smocking. When I look at Eva’s pieces I really feel she has captured a historical essence in her interpretation of this age-old technique.

What is the meaning of tinctory?

EVA: Tinctor means ‘dyer’ in Latin. I don’t know if it’s a legitimate word but tinctory could mean ‘a place where things are dyed’. I picked it as a name for my Etsy shop when I thought it would sell mostly fabrics dyed with plants. The direction has changed since then but I’ve kept the name.

What is your creative background and what do you do for a living?

EVA: My interest in textiles started with a silk painting kit I got as a birthday present years ago. That lead me to dyeing, batik and shibori, knitting and most recently smocking. Most of what I know about textiles comes from books and experimenting. Craft is my only job right now and a lot of the time I feel there aren’t enough hours in the day. Hats off to people who have a day job, manage to make things, run a shop while maybe looking after a family as well.

What inspired you to start making these amazing smocked pieces of jewelry?

EVA: I was looking for a textile technique which would create permanent texture on natural fibres and require minimal space and equipment. Smocking was the perfect answer because a piece of fabric, needle and thread are all that’s needed. When I learnt the basics I played around with shapes and stitches until I was pleased with the result.

Thanks so much, Eva! I’ll be ordering one of your necklaces as soon as I can decide on just which one I love the most.