ETSY FINDS #2

Another thursday of cool Etsy finds. I myself was waiting for this since it's a nice way to stay inspired and active.

A Satchel that speaks "fall" out loud : I'm in love with this shade of orange! / link here

Alright, this might be a summer dress but ... layers, anyone? / link here

How perfect is this lapel pin? / available here

Wild Animals Notebook by Clap Clap Design / found here

"Say yes to new adventures" / grey organic sweatshirt by Depeapa / link here

"Strange Days" canvas tote bag by TriangleTrees / get yours here

Cotton Message Mini Doll / Big Bad Wolf / found here

Hope you liked this week's selection.
Don't forget to link me something that you found on Etsy!



Best,

The Sea Awaits

The sea awaits. It sounds like a poetry for us.

The Sea Awaits - Gym bag

It all begins in Trieste, a seaside city in Italy where in July we participated the first handmade market of our life: Barbacan Produce.

It has been a funny and intense experience, where not only we have received feedbacks from our lovely customers but also we have had the occasion to meet so many wonderful sellers of different craftmade products.

During lunchtime I had not visited the market yet, so I decided to left my sister Irene for a while to look at what the others were doing meanwhile. 

As I said, there were a wide range of sellers and many different products but what caught my attention were some wooden made fishes. I met the artist, a nice guy called Lorenzo, 40 years old more or less, who told me that his "job" consists in gathering  from beaches some old wood branches which have been carried by the waves of the sea for many kilometers and time.
Lorenzo was so happy to tell me everything about him and his work, which he do not actually considers work at all but pure passion to do what he loves.

The Sea Awaits tote bag on the left, gym bag on the right

After this incredible and deep moment I came back to the Busking Bears' stand and told to my sister what happened to me few minutes before. Irene wrote down some notes and a quick illustration about fishes and the sea.

Trieste is a seaside, and every year in October one of the major sailing events happened to be in this city, the Barcolana competition.
It is a moment for the entire city to have fun, drink into the streets and taste new food coming from every place in the world. Furthermore, a new handmade market edition of Barbacan Produce took place during the Barcolana event.

We decided to participate again to the handmade market in Trieste with some products that are dedicated to the sea and that can inspire someone to travel because The Sea Awaits You.

The Sea Awaits gym bag on Busking Bears' shop: LINK

The Sea Awaits light blue tote bag on Busking Bears' shop: LINK

The Sea Awaits navy tote bag on Busking Bears' shop: LINK

Have a nice day sailors!

MONDAY MORNING #2

Yet another week has begun. Ready to face reality?
Maybe we can grab our second/third/fourth (woops, hopefully not!) cup of coffee and go through this together.
Here's my selection for today.
Enjoy!




1. Interesting illustrated project for the Deutsche Bahn (german railway). An interactive career orientation tool targeted at young people looking for a job. Want to try it out? Click here
Based on the results, I'd be an office manager. What did you get?

2. Fancy for a new free font to add to your collection? Here's Lombok, created by Alexandre Pietra.

3. Hungry? Don't worry, there's a book that will make you possibly hungrier. Filled with nice-looking illustrations, "Taste" is an awesome product born by the mind of Vicky Turner. Check it out!

4. "How to be an essentialist" an inspiring article served by Kinfolk, written by Greg McKeown

5. I have a thing for scandinavian style regarding design, home decor and pretty much everything.  This is why "My Scandinavian Home" is one of my favourite blogs ever.

6. Well designed (by Cody Petts) and funny, this Cocktail Kit is definitely eye-catching. The kits themselves are pocket sized and can be transported anywhere. They include two main ingredients alongside a recipe instruction card and a muddler spoon. 

7. Wait, what? A living type made out of bacteria? Apparently it's all true: created in a lab by Israeli designer Ori Elisar for his final project at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, the project is a new innovative approach to lettering and it deserves a look.

Don't forget to tell me how's your monday going.


Have a nice one!

Saturday Suggestions: Trieste (Italy)

I'm so happy to write posts in this section called "Saturday Suggestion"! It excites me because it'll be a tour of every place I've been and where I've found serendipity.

Guess which place I want to start from? Yes you can read it in the title, Trieste.

During these last 3/4 years when I meet new non Italian people and they ask me which city I come from, our conversation goes like is: "I live a hundred kilometers to Venice" - "Oh really? I love Venice, but you're not so close to it. Where exactly do you live?" - "Well... it's a city called Trieste, next to the border with Slovenia, I don't think you..." - "Trieste?!? I know it! I've been there last year when bla bla bla...".

Trieste is known, and there's more than a reason for this.

Piazza Unità d'Italia

Let's say you've got just 5 minutes for visiting Trieste. The most important thing that I'd suggest you to watch is Piazza Unità d'Italia. A large square faced to the Adriatic Sea that used to be the old port of the city and nowadays it is a perfect example of Austro-Hungarian architecture, a nice environment for drinking a coffee, chatting and take some monumental pictures.

2 minutes from the square it is possible to admire the Canal Grande with its typical Austrian buildings and the S. Antonio church at the end of it.

Canal Grande

Or, if you just want to enjoy the sun no place is better than Molo Audace, in front of Piazza Unità d'Italia

Molo Audace

For those who are more willing to discover the Austrian origins of this city a must-to-visit is for sure the Miramare Castle, the old House of Habsburg.

Miramare Castle

The more I'm writing, the more I realize there are plenty of things worth to be discovered, as the Piazza Cavana.

Piazza Cavana

Do you like being immersed into the nature? Trieste is located next to a natural reserve called Val Rosandra.

Val Rosandra

And finally, my favourite one. If you like handmade markets as much as we do you cannot miss the Barbacan Produce market in Piazza Barbacan which takes place every three months.

Barbacan Produce in Piazza Barbacan

Do you want to know more about this splendid city? Leave us a comment in the section below or in our Facebook page. We'll be glad to answer to every single question.

Have a nice weekend guys, I hope I've inspired you for an outdoor trip to Trieste.

ETSY FINDS #1

I've been around for a while and I'm always astonished by all the amazing things I spot on Etsy everyday.
In this serie I'll pick a few of my favourites and share them with you. Hope you'll enjoy!

Handwoven Blanket Wrap / Black sheep and white sheep / link

In Wilderness We Trust / Patch / link

Travel Journal / link

Awesome wooden pins! / link

Custom rubber stamps / link

Wander Patch, a great one! / link

"The Answer is Always Tacos" Pennant / I can't agree more! / link

Don't forget to link your favourites in the comments section below.


Have an amazing day!

The Minerals Tshirt

The “Minerals” tee.
Everyone asks: why the minerals? Why did you decide to put them everywhere? Which material is it made of?

Ladies and gentlemen, sit down on your chair/sofa/bed and relax, because now every answer (and more) will be given to you!

One of the things I love most in being an active part of Busking Bears is that I have to personally take the big thousand pages catalogue, read every product description of plain t-shirts, pay attention on materials composition, shape, colors, ethical of the production process , order the chosen products and finally test them.

Busking Bears is a brand for adventurers, travelers and hikers, so essentially people who sweat. A lot.

Our best selling tee, the “Minerals” has been tested by myself during the long way to Santiago: a 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) hike from the border between France and Spain to Santiago, close to the Atlantic Ocean.
It has been an hard, intense, hurting, funny and emotional experience. 

What I didn’t believe at first was the freshness that the Minerals tee would have guaranteed to my body. It is 100% ring-spun cotton textile so basically one of the most breathable cotton that I’ve ever experienced!

The result for a person who likes to hike, run and sweat (because I know you like to sweat) is the same of a “Decathlon fluo t-shirt 100% polyester”.

And what about the minerals? Why the minerals and not, let’s say… tomatoes?

My sister Irene made the illustration of this particular object.
In that period she was so obsessed with natural science handbook designs that we agreed to print on our apparel something that everyone of us has treaded on during a walk in the mountains surrounded by nature.

The sound of the trekking shoes on minerals and rocks on the path is symbolic for us. Being boy scouts for long part of our lives and living close to the Alps are the deep reasons of our choice.

Finally, the screen-printing. 
It’s been hard, but the professional screenprinters of Corpoc (Bergamo, Italy) did a great job since they used a particular frame and printing technique. And the rest is history.

I’m happy about my sister’s choice to print the minerals in full-front as a fall from the sky.
It’s particular, unusual and totally unique. 


The men "Minerals" tshirt in our etsy shop: LINK
The women "Minerals" tshirt in our etsy shop: LINK

Have a nice day,

MONDAY MORNING #1

Everybody hates mondays, it's a fact.
I know I'm not the only one out there: I never think about monday as a new beginning but more as a curse, so I'm the first one who needs a good old kick to start the week.
From now on, I'll try to make your monday mornings less rough with a little bit of inspiration.



1. Going to Amsterdam? Then you might want to get an unusual and well designed guide. Here's a nice one, designed by Mara Vissers and Judith van der Velden.

2. I've recently came across the work of Liekeland, and you should too. She's a great designer and illustrator with a twist: each of her illustrations is printed on Arctic Paper from Sweden. With only a minimum amount of water and energy Arctic Paper produces ecological and FSC-certified types of paper.

3. If you haven't read "The Outsiders" (Gestalten) yet, maybe you should. I bought this book last week and I can't be happier: great pictures, great stories, aka great publication.

4. If I've designed our "Minerals" tshirt there's a reason for sure: since I was a kid I've always been attracted by stones, pebbles, rocks and minerals. I found this awesome Minerals calendar, enjoy!

5. Aw, this patch. Do I need to say more? I would love to have it straight on my denim jacket!

6. I don't know what's your relationship with cactus: I'm terrible at keeping plants alive and cactus are on the list as well. I'd prefer seeing them as a pattern, why not on socks?

7. I'm into notebooks and sketchbooks and I can't imagine to have none in the house. I keep more than once at time for various functions (illustrating, small notes, diary, agenda ... the list is long). I found this cool one by BirdPlusBird: cool design and eco-friendly recycled paper.

Hope this will do. Tell me about your monday and if you liked my selection.
Now I'll probably go to get my third coffee.


Have a nice day!