The simple play of light and shadow can be so mesmerizing. This new shadow projecting lamp from Brooklyn based Lumen uses a flock of birds to create it’s beautiful shadow play. Measuring a wee 5″ x 2.5″, the shadows it projects get larger as you move the lamp away from the wall. It makes a great conversation piece for living room display, yet I envision placing them on a nightstand (or uber sleek Lumen shelf). I’d just love to have my own flock of birds next to my bed And since it’s oil powered, there are no power cords to tie it down and no electricity being used. This lamp is (almost) free as a bird…
$47.99

Related: Lumen “cedar tree” lamp & Lumen “bloom” lamp

It’s a new month and that means another awesome vintage store shall take the spot light. I hope you all added last month’s hot vintage seller, Filthy Gorgeous Vintage, to your favorite eBay sellers list so you can stay up-to-date with their latest auctions.

This month Blue Bird Apparel is Mable’s featured Hot Vintage Clothing Store and is always rockin’ the vintage styles from the 40’s to 80’s.

Blue Bird Apparel operates out of Rhode Island and currently has some killer vintage coats and sweaters definitely worth checking out. They add over 50 recycled vintage pieces to the store weekly so be sure to add them to your eBay favorite sellers list so you don’t miss out on anything.

Below is a sneak peak of some hot auctions going on right now from Blue Bird Apparel.

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/mables/mables.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/payitforward/payitforward.php on line 122

Since we announced the addition of the Hot Vintage Clothing Stores monthly feature we’ve been finding new stores to feature from helpful visitors like you. We want to thank you all for your suggestions and to keep them coming in.

This month Mable’s is featuring Filthy Gorgeous Vintage because of their wide variety of 60s, 70s, and 80s clothes, their stock is from both coasts of the US, they ship worldwide, and more. View the Hot Vintage Clothing page for more info.

Below is a sneak peak of some hot auctions going on right now from Filthy Gorgeous Vintage.

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/mables/mables.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/payitforward/payitforward.php on line 122

SALE ENDS SUNDAY JULY 20th!

GreenLoop doesn’t fool around during their Summer Sale. It isn’t one of those sad “summer sales” where all the winter wear goes 10% off. They have discounted pretty much everything on their site at 20-70% off. If you’ve ever visited their store – or any green retailer for that matter – you’ve probably coveted lots of the sustainable, organic, recycled, Fair Trade eco fashion and accessories, but loathed the price tags. Honestly, they can be pretty ridiculous sometimes. But when they’re discounted up to 70% off, it’s a really smart time to pick up a few organic wardrobe cornerstones. Here are a few of my favorite picks;

• Stewart+Brown Organic Cotton Collar Scoop Shell
• Simple Green Organic/Recycled ‘Toe Stir’ Vegan Skimmers
• Anna Cohen Silky Soy Halter Dress

New items will be added all week long so check back every few days for fresh eco friendly fashion and accessories. And if you sign up for their newsletter, you will get a coupon for an additional 10% off. Shipping is always just $5 flat rate and it’s carbon neutral!

SALE ENDS SUNDAY JULY 20th!

The title of this post is very accurate. Whether you’ve been to Mable’s blog before or are a new visitor, you’re about to read something a bit different than the usual company or shopping blog. We’re about to get really honest.

Next month will mark Mables’ 2 year anniversary of blogging. It’s been a fun journey, full of interesting products and sales, as well as a learning experience for us personally. And like everything in life, this blog is not static; every post is an evolution of sorts. We’ve been brainstorming about possibilities for growth on Mables.com and today we’re proud to announce the next step for us. We’re changing the way that we write so that each post is really representative of products and innovations that we feel are important to talk about. Our focus on “Unique Gifts” hasn’t really been specific enough. It’s allowed us to talk about everything from handmade Valentines to replica jewelry and even blogs as gifts. Initially, we wanted to cover those diverse topics so we could offer “something interesting for everybody”. After 2 years of blogging like that we realized it just wasn’t us. That’s not what we genuinely want Mable’s to be. We quit our day jobs so we could be pioneers, not take the path of least resistance.

Starting today, Mable’s Unique Shopping Blog will become more focused on the topics we most enjoy and find important. For better or worse, it will also be written very honestly. In the real world we shoot from the hip, and our blog is really going to reflect that. We’ve always been a bit unconventional, but radical honesty is our goal now. In a world where it seems like every inch of space and every opinion is for sale, we want to be a transparent alternative. If we hear about a really great sale at Giant Company X, will we still let our readers know? Sometimes, but most of the time we will be writing about eco-friendly products and technologies, vintage items, independent companies, and a few geeky gadgets. These are our passions, and we’re choosing to follow them. Several of the blog categories might end up becoming a little bare, but we’ll really fill up the other categories to make up for it.

We hope you’ll join us for this new adventure. Come by and watch our progress, let us know how we’re doing, and share your links to other organizations or people who are trying to blog this way. We’re not sure what the outcome will be, but it’s a risk we’re excited to take. One final question: what do we call this kind of online communication? Blogging with Integrity? Honest Blogging? Blogging From the Hip? What are your thoughts?

* Integrity image courtesy of Right Brain Terrain, creators of amazing Alternative Motivational Posters

Father’s Day is just around the corner and buying brand new factory produced items is so 1900’s so be sure to give something special to your Dad. Now you could bust out your craft supplies and make a macaroni portrait of yourself made with love, OR support some professional crafters and buy from Etsy’s Father’s Day Showcase.

Supporting Etsy stores helps keep crafters crafting and spreads the knowledge that we don’t need to shop at big box stores for everything. There are many ways to browse an online store, but Etsy makes it even easier with their Gift Guide section that uses the community to pick gifts for special occasions or that special someone.

Don’t forget about eBay as well. They have a handcrafted category that is worth checking out as well. Below is the most popular item from the HandCrafted category.

On the Mable’s Vintage Clothing page we list our favorite vintage eBay stores, but every now we just got to feature sellers who stand out from the rest. Enter MakiMaki Vintage: a vintage boutique specializing in one of a kind dresses and other exclusive items.

MakiMaki features vintage clothing from the 1950s, mod ’60s, hippy 70s, and radical 80s. Shae, the store owner, used to be a stylist and it shows in her fabulous photos that sets apart MakiMaki from the other vintage clothing sellers on eBay.

MakiMaki has been making waves lately in the media and has been featured in VenusZine, Dorian Magazine, as well as on MTV just to name a few. I imagine one of the reasons her store is so popular – besides her great clothing & photos – is the intuitive navigation that categorize by shoes, dresses, jackets, etc. which is a huge plus for an eBay store.

Be sure to stay up to date with their latest vintage finds by subscribing to the MakiMaki Vintage blog, or by becoming a friend on MySpace or Facebook.

This St. Patrick’s Day, why not keep it green without resorting to the green beer? Mallory at Miss Malaprop organized a 2 day “Go Green and Save” sale that includes 6 Etsy stores that “feature recycled materials predominantly in their work”. Awesome! The discounts will vary by store so check out the full list of participating artisans and get to browsing…

Sunday and Monday, March 16 & 17, 2008

Dan Piraro is a multi-talented guy, but he is probably best known for his off-beat cartoon strip, Bizarro. Although I had seen that cartoon in a few various places over the years, it wasn’t until I read about Dan in the debut issue of Herbivore Magazine that I began to take notice of his work. One particular area of his focus really caught my attention: animals. Outside of being a skilled illustrator and comic, Dan is also passionate about animal rights and isn’t shy about using his skills to raise awareness about it. His latest contribution is a bizarre and very cool looking shirt that he designed for Endangered Wear that gives 100% of the profits to Dan’s favorite farm animal sanctuary. There’s a limited run of 750 shirts being produced by indie shirt company Endangered Wear (limited runs are their specialty, hence the name). All of their designs are printed on made in the USA, sweatshop-free American Apparel t-shirts, too. Whether you’re a card carrying member of the Secret Society of Vegans like us (just kidding, they don’t issue cards), or just not a big fan of factory farming, this shirt is a fun way to spread the word and help animals. And honestly, how many shirts do you have that feature a retro-look piggy being flown to safety thanks to a flock of funky birds?
$22.95

Last year, the handmade revolution caught on like wildfire. Giving handmade gifts says so much more than any factory made item, and it supports independent artists, too. We scouted out some unique Valentine’s Day gift ideas that would make a loving and unexpected gift for your special someone.

It’s official: Etsy is the place to get handmade items year-round. They have a beautiful Valentine’s Day Showcase to make it easy for us shoppers to find those truly unique items.

Let’s begin with a couple anti Valentine’s Day gift ideas, because not everyone thinks hearts and candy on February 14th. The one of a kind creations from Snarky Cards make me genuinely LOL. Over the course of about a week, I’ve read every card to Sean, which prompts us to cackle with delight. (I almost wish I had more questionable relationships so that I would have a reason to use these cards. Almost.) They’ll send the perfect message to your ex, or anybody else you want to stick it to this V-Day.

This Anti Valentines Day bracelet from Ben can Dance Creations is similarly blunt and snarky. With such unmistakable missives as DIE, KTHX BYE, and U SUCK, your target will get the message loud and clear. A perfect piece of jewelry that says “I hate Valentine’s Day”, but is still super cute.

For those of you with more traditional- and functional- relationships in mind this holiday, here are our absolute favorite picks from the myriad of handmade cards on Etsy:


Handmade Valentine’s Day cards (from left to right) from Art by Nakisha, Twisted String, and picklehead.

Although Etsy is increasingly popular, there are still lots of handmade Valentine gifts on eBay, so be sure to check those out, too: