Elia Maurizi - vintage, unisex, beautiful shoes

Born into a family of Italian master craftsmen,  Elia Maurizi is an Italian playful shoe designer  with a fresh and modern aesthetic that represents his individuality. His innovative creations merge lively colors and materials with notes of eccentricity. Colors, prints, images and strong ideas are his trade mark and his favourite characteristic of his creations are the bio, organic and natural fastenings.
I love these uni sex shoes....
Elia has won several prizes like the men's section ofWho is on Next? 2009.
www.eliamaurizi.eu/

Elisabeth Lecourt - paper clothes

Elisabeth Lecourt, a French artist who is based in London,  creates clothes out of maps from cities like Paris, New York and London. The clothes are meant to hang on the wall as art, not to wear. 
I just love them...

http://www.elisabethlecourt.com/about/bio/

Ceca Georgieva and natural jewelry

Ceca Georgieva is a Bulgarian textile artist loves to work with natural materials, and her passion is  visible in her green and sustainable jewelry collection, which is crafted out of fresh vegetation. 
She has a nice blog where you can see her work (if you are interested in buying one of her creations look for her on  www.etsy.com)

cecageorgieva.blogspot.com

Taranta Shoes - When fashion meets tradition to create beautiful shoes

I am always looking for young, creative designers who want to promote their work through my blog...when - a few days ago- I was contacted by Erica Valentini and saw what her website....it was love at first sight!

Erica is the designer of the Taranta shoes, shoes inspired by the famous dance from Salento, Puglia, Italy.

Her shoes are beautiful, original in the shape and  available in a wide range of colors and materials, all created from a template of spider …

A few simple gestures and a pair of nodes are enough to transform the 2D shape in a greta shoe.

You can buy the Taranta shoes online at www.tarantashoes.com.... believe me....they are truly unique!

Recycled clothes and Art: Guerra De La Paz

2 2 posts in one day!! When I saw these images on the internet I could not resist the temptations to dedicate a post to Guerra de la Paz, http://guerradelapaz.com/book8/book.html

Guerra de la Paz is the composite name thas represents the creative team efforts of Cuban born artist, Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz.

Their work is based on a combination of traditional disciplines and experimentation. They have created a series of sculptural art works out of discarded, recycled clothing. The figures of sculptural iconography are made from t-shirts, shoes, boots, socks and more, many of which have been dug out of secondhand stores in Little Haiti, Miami. The message Guerro De La Paz conveys with their recycled clothing art is about the consume-and-discard nature of our mass-produced lifestyles.

I LOVE THEM!!!

Tanzania Maasai Women Art

Bologna today looks exactly like the image above: grey and full of snow.

As a reaction to snow and cold, I have started to search for colorful images and handicraft jewelry on the internet.

A few days ago I have seen on a fashion magazine a beautiful reportage on masai jewelry in Africa...and I think today African jewelry is just what I need.

(the contrast between the image above and the ones below is quite impressive :)

Interesting enough - thanks to my researches - I have come to know an association called Maasai Women Art http://www.tanzaniamaasaiwomenart.com/.
It supports the beautiful beadwork jewellery of the women in Mkuru, Northern Tanzania and helps the local women to launch micro enterprises so that they can have an income...
I am going to get in contact with them and see what I can buy online to support the association...

Brussels - some shops and a night tour

Well, I didn't write much - all right nothing at all- in the last few days....the reason for this is that I was in Brussels and I was working :(
I didn't have much spare time but one night I took a walk close to the Grand Place (you see a part of it above), had some chips (they are a hit in Brussels) and went window shopping (Cora Kempermann is one of the stylists I love the most)

I discovered great 2nd hand vintage shops and a beautiful deisgn shop  (www.espacebizzarre.com) which sells Nordic design in Rue de Chartreux 19...

 Since it was cold (-15°C) I could not rent a bike but I was really tempted to take for free a velo like the ones below

Now I am back to Bologna and guess what? It is snowing again..there is already 1 meter of snow in the streets and it keeps snowing and snowing...OMG!!!