Artist Series: Chloe May Brown Ceramics

June 30, 2016Leave a comment

I’m thrilled to be sharing this interview of Chloe May Brown about her ceramic work. We have a collection of her pieces at Personify Shop (email me for more info) and I have loved working with her. I love how the pieces are both whimsical and graphic at the same time. Chloe lives with her cat in Portland, Maine and also works as a designer at the dreamy shop More & Co.

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1. How did you get started making ceramics?

A handful of years ago I fell in love with a ceramic necklace. I treated myself and I wore it almost every day. It was wildly inspiring for me, so simple, but beautiful and it quickly became a part of my everyday life. I wanted to be able to create something that had that ability to integrate into another’s life. I started to experiment with clay and fell in love with making pinch pots. I loved the control that I had over the clay with just my fingers. I have been working in clay ever since.

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How would you describe your aesthetic?

My aesthetic is simple, natural, and fun. It is important to me that in each piece you can find signs of where my fingers have shaped the clay. My pieces are imperfect and at times a bit wonky, each one is unique.

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3. What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I love that everyday I am able to do a bit of what I love. I can get my hands dirty and play with a ball of clay. It is a dream.

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4. What’s your least favorite?

It can be difficult for me to separate my personal life from my work life. They so seamlessly flow into one another at times. I try to keep my work at my studio, but inevitably it comes home with me. My mind is always running around with thoughts of work tied together with my week’s grocery list. I have to pause, step back, and take time to just do nothing. That can be hard for me to do.

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5. Business Advice?

Oh gosh, I feel that the best advice that I can give is to do what you love. It sounds simple, but it can be so difficult. If there is something that you truly love to do, and you want to make a go at it, stick with it. Make sure that you would still be doing it if money was not a factor. Finding happiness in my work has been such a large factor in any success I have had.

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6. My favorite party question: If you could hang out with any three people this Friday night, who would you pick?

If I could, I would spend this Friday night with my parents. We would pack a picnic and eat it by the ocean. It would be magic for me.

So there you have it! High fives for Chloe and her beautiful work.

Jam Session: Lake Street Dive Playlist

June 21, 2016June 21, 2016Leave a comment

Ben and I and a friend went to see Lake Street Dive at the Buckhead Theater on Saturday. I was too excited to sleep. If you’ve come into the store the last year, you’ve heard me playing Lake Street Dive. I could listen to their music endlessly, as everyone in my family knows all too well. All the great things about them: they’ve got great vintage style, the lyrics are quirky & clever, their lead singer is a woman (yas queen), the vocals are so unique, Rachael Price (lead) is a babe who also has incredible hair, and of course, the music.

They were even better in person. Rachael’s voice is so clear and loud.

I’m obsessed with their new song Side Pony. Also, can we talk about the bassist’s nail color? Come on!

Check out our “best of” playlist below. I could put every single song on there but I refrained because then it wouldn’t be a “best of.”

My friend aptly put that they belong in Scooby Doo.

Here they are in Atlanta at the Buckhead Theater. One of my best nights.

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Artist Series: Ringo Yu of Yu Square Knitwear

June 6, 2016June 4, 2016Leave a comment

I’m excited to share this Artist Series with you all! I saw Yu Square socks not long ago online and I knew they belonged in Personify Shop with their bright colors and bold patterns.

Yu Square is a knitwear, textile design studio started and run by Ringo Yu. The first year she started the company, she knitted all the clothing garments herself, gradually adding scarves and beanies to her collection. After careful consideration, she started working with local manufacturers to produce knitwear pieces and socks. She currently works full time as a textile designer and a machine knitter at her studio in Taipei, Taiwan.

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It’s been a joy working with Ringo and I loved reading her answers to our interview questions below. After reading, head on over to our New Arrivals section to see our collection of Yu Square socks!

1. How did you get started with what you do?

I’ve loved to draw and make stuff since I was little, so it was a natural path for me to study textile design. There I can combine my passion of both drawing and making. After graduating from CSM I started to work in the high fashion industry, but the fast-paced intensive lifestyle left me stressed out and uninspired, surrounded by bling sequins and luxury fabrics. In order to find my passion again, I began to design and knit some garments in my free time and tried to sell them online. With more and more orders from people I realized that this is what I should do! Eventually I quit my job and working full time for YU Square.

How would you describe your aesthetic?

Vibrant and cheerful. I can’t live without colours and I want to design things that make people happy and smile while wearing them, or even just looking at them. Life can be awful and we need colours to rescue our souls.

What’s your favorite thing about your business?

The greatest thing about my job is that I enjoy it more than anything else. No kidding, I love knitting THAT MUCH. Besides it’s nice that I have full control of my time, for example during low season I can arrange a short vacation time without approval from a boss…

What’s your least favorite?

The muscle of my right arm gets bigger and stronger due to constantly knitting. Errr Nrrrrrr!

Business advice?

Grab every chance to learn new things. Be brave to accomplish your goals, though some of them may not work out in the end. Trying and learning it doesn’t work is better than not trying and regretting not doing it, at least now you know where it can be improved.

What’s your favorite thing at Personify Shop?

Those amazing bottle openers! I love drinking with friends on Friday nights and these openers would definitely add some fun to it.

My favorite party question: If you could hang out with any three people this Friday night, who would you pick?

Nigel Peake, Nicola Rowlands and Kelly Puissegur! They are my most favourite illustrators by the way.

Before and After: Furniture Edition

May 19, 2016October 11, 20164 Comments

Yay! It’s time for another before and after furniture post.

1. The Find:

We found this dresser and thought it was very unique and had great detail, like the curved front and the flower drawer pulls, but the wood was in bad shape on the top, on the legs, and on the bottom. So, we decided it needed a paint job.

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2. Picking out a paint color:

We’ve been on a green kick lately so we knew it was going to be green. I pulled a couple of images that I loved with some green.

We were looking for a bright green that was way over on the blue side, rather than the yellow side. I love the pops of green in these spaces, which was the goal for the dresser.

Here’s the one we landed on:

Kilkenny Green from the HGTV Sherwin Williams paint collection. Kilkenny is a city in Ireland. The paint guy asked me twice if I was Irish. I said no, I just like green.

3. The painting:

We sanded the piece with a belt sander and then primed it. We let it dry then rolled on the paint with a foam roller (supposed to be the smoothest) and brushed on the front. We let that dry for about 3 hours and then painted one more coat. And VOILA; I give you the finished piece:

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It turned out even better than we expected and I LOVE the green color.

Here are the flower pull details that we fell in love with:

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Here’s the piece all decked out in merchandise at the shop:

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Come by to see it at the shop or call us at 706-782-0388 for more details.

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Best of The Avett Brothers Playlist

May 9, 2016June 21, 2016Leave a comment

Ben and I went to The Avett Brothers concert this Saturday at the Verizon Amphitheater. They’re definitely in my top 5 fave bands and we like to think going to their concerts is one of our “things.” In honor of their new album “True Sadness” coming out June 24th… I made a “best of” playlist (which is really just a “my favorites” playlist). If you haven’t heard their new song Ain’t No Man – it’s a keeper. Enjoy!

Love them ❤

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Summer Collection of Herschel Supply Co at Personify Shop

May 9, 2016June 4, 2016Leave a comment

I love this collection of Herschel bags and accessories for the summer. The pink, blue, tan, and black is the perfect intersection of colorful and cool. I think many of the pieces are unisex and can be used all year.

My favorite style is the packable daypacks. I’m always looking for ways to fit more stuff when I’m traveling… especially on those cheeeeeap Spirit flights (ya feel me? ).

Creative Friends: Abbitt Collective

May 5, 2016June 4, 20161 Comment

Yay! Our second installation of creative friends!

I’m super excited about this one. I met Stephanie of Abbitt Collective at Gather Workshop in Atlanta last fall. She had not started her product & brand styling, photography, and lettering business at the time but it’s now in full swing and BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, go to her website and check out all the lovely projects she’s working on. Follow her gorgeous instagram feed too!

She styled and shot these photos of some of our brand swag (designed partly by the amazing Mallory Overton of Castle Paper Co).

Read my interview with her below (I love her advice on fear) and stay tuned for some guest contributions by Stephanie on our blog!

1. How did you get started with what you do?

Ever since I was little, I wanted to create. I loved looking at things to try to draw them or recreate them. So the desire was always there, but the focus and direction wasn’t! Two years ago, I graduated college and started my career as an elementary teacher. I devoted hours upon hours to teaching and quickly realized I wanted/needed an outlet outside of teaching. Also being a newlywed, I wanted to take “adulting” on by storm, so naturally I needed to be an amazing cook and home decorator! I started a blog as a place for me to be just that! I found out I loved creating pieces for our home while trying new recipes and figuring out what our go-to foods were going to be! I literally couldn’t get enough of it. (I still can’t!)

2. How would you describe your aesthetic?

My aesthetic is bold, fresh, genuine and warm with a kick of edge to it! I love creating and styling in a way that reflects people’s missions, values and heart- honesty. There’s something so beautiful about rawness!

3. What’s your favorite thing about your work?

I love the people behind it. I love hearing about people’s stories and why they are doing what they are doing. I love to see the passion in their eyes/words as they walk me through their passions. It’s crazy inspiring to me to hear the determination and strength that they show through what they do!

4. What’s your least favorite?

All the legal stuff + taxes. I am just not that person at all, so even when I prep myself to sit down and try to understand it.. I’m left feeling like a rhino just plowed through me.

5. Business advice?

Don’t let fear get in the way. Your fear of failure needs to be less than your fear of not doing something that sets your soul on fire. If you love something, just go out and do it- you can figure it out along the way. It takes time and be okay with that!

6. What’s your favorite thing at Personify Shop?

Oh my, the new catch all dishes along with the tea towels. I LOVE a good patterned towel and dish for decorating and styling. They are on my to get list and I get so giddy when I look at them!

7. My favorite party question:

If you could hang out with any three people this Friday night, who would you pick? In this moment… James Cordon, Adele and Melissa McCarthy in a carpool karaoke. I’m straight obsessed.

8. How do you know the ladies at Personify Shop?

I met Maddie in November ‘15 at Gather Workshop! I remember the moment I met her I thought she was the coolest and wanted to be her friend. I was amazed at the way she knew and owned her style in a refreshing and real way. She is so fun, spunky and on it. She’s one rockin’ lady and I am honored to know her and cheer her on!

Mother’s Day Gifts

April 22, 2016June 4, 2016Leave a comment

Everyone needs a reusable Baggu to stash in their purse for extra carrying power… especially moms!
for the Boho moms out there… this southwest navo necklace (handmade in atl) will make a statement.
Barr-co hand cream is one of our top sellers. Help mom feel pampered with this luxurious hand cream.
Sweet turtle card.
You can never have too many tea towels.
The New Bohemians by Justina Blakeney is full of eye candy your mom will love.
What more do you need to say to your mom than “Thank You“?
Splurge on your mom with this cowhide envelope clutch.

Artist Series: Keep Company Ceramics (collaboration by Shayna Stevenson and Jen Collins)

April 15, 2016June 4, 2016Leave a comment

Keep Company ceramics is a collaboration between Toronto artists Shayna Stevenson and Jen Collins. Shayna wheel throws the ceramic pieces and Jen illustrates and glazes them. I fell in love with the contrast of the clean lines and the adorable illustrated animals. See them under our new arrivals.

How did you get started with what you do?
We were each working on our individual lines when Shayna suggested working on a little collaboration, where she would throw some pieces that Jen would draw on. It started out as something fun to do, and the response was very positive, so we decided to make a go of it.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
We combine our appreciation of clean simple design with objects that feel good in your hands. We aim to create pieces that you can display in your home that will comfortably sit alongside things you already have, but still stand out as something a little different.
What’s your favorite thing about your business?
Working with a friend and having someone to share successes and frustrations with. It’s also nice to have someone who can help complete an idea one of us has. Shayna can ask Jen to draw an animal and she’ll try it out, and Jen can suggest a shape that might look good for a design and Shayna will make it on the wheel.
What’s your least favorite?
The looks we get at the post office.
Business advice?
Recognize that you’re part of a community – connect with makers, customers and stores. Also, be measured and realistic about your expectations and spending – keep overheads low where you can.
What’s your favorite thing at Personify Shop?
Jen: The illustrator in me always appreciates a good greetings card selection, and there are some favourites by friends of mine at Personify Shop.
Shayna: The Kalalou Glass Display boxes. I’m always looking for something new to put plants in.
My favorite party question: If you could hang out with any three people this Friday night, who would you pick?
Carson Ellis, PJ Harvey and Kate McKinnon. LADIES NIGHT. [Check out this adorable book we have by Carson Ellis].

Spring Clothes

April 12, 2016Leave a comment

Our new clothes arrived last week and were very popular in store this weekend. They have a freestyle, weekend relaxation feel. I actually tried them all on and want one of each! To add to the fun, we are offering free shipping on ALL clothes through Thursday (4/14/16): use code SHOPCLOTHES to get free shipping anywhere in the continental United States.

See all the new styles below: