syko

Take me to the sea!

Imagine the relief when I sent off my part of the Christmas book to the publishers and could move on to Summer projects! The weather is on my side, it is warm and everything is turning green, finally!

We had a picnicin the forest yesterday among all the wood anemones, the best of ways to spend Mother's Day!

I got these slightly dated and stained 1980's marimekko fabrics from a friend, the quality of the cotton is great and the blue painted canvas-like surface inspired me to make a small collection inspired by the sea. The sailing boat above is going to be a cushion.

Ta mej till havet (Take me to the sea) is a traditional Swedish song that seems to reflect my current light-hearted state of mind...

I really like the bright pink letters against the dreamy blue...

I quilted some free motion wave shapes with teal thread (Sulky from gütermann, the thicker quality, I love that thread!).

The letters are appliquéd with vibrant neon thread, hard to catch with the camera!

And there it is on the wall in our studio shop! Welcome! My messy studio is hidden behind that white door...

 

New cutting boards and some business thoughts!

p.s. If you take the time to read this post you get a coupon code at the end. Scrolling down is also allowed :) d.s

I think it's been two years since I first got the idea of having cutting boards with my appliqué prints made and now they are finally here! There are a lot of products that I could have made with my prints, but most of them do not fulfill the ethical and ecological standards and the quality I want my products to have. I want to feel as proud of the products that I have had made by someone else as of a product I made with my own hands!

And I am very proud of introducing these cutting-boards that arrived on our doorstep yesterday! They are made of quality material, that is birch veneer, by a family company who specializes in making trays and such. The cutting board has a durable melamine coating that protects the printed picture, so you do not have to be afraid to use your sharpest knife on this one!

This peas on earth cutting board immediately moved into my own kitchen! I think there will have to be another blog post about the peas that inspire me so much right now, because today I feel like saying something more about quality products and craft business.

Most of you are familiar with my postcards, it is the Syko product that is most well-known and liked by so many people, which I am very grateful of. I have many resellers that sell my cards only. I love to have a product that anyone can afford! And it is pretty cool to have your own postcard collection, who would have thought? Still, I consider myself a crafter and take great pride in what I make and do. Which is why the cards are printed on recycled paper by a small business in Helsinki, were I know people personally. The cards are important, because I try to make a living on this business and I think the people who are able to make a living solely on handmade products in Finland today are not many. Above all I want to make and sell stuff that puts a little (or a big) smile upon your face in your everyday life! And that, I think, can be achieved by selling happy and cheerful things, but also when you know that what you sell has been ethically produced!

So the post about my new cutting boards became a little talk about my business policies, I hope you enjoyed it :) And since this is business, so I would like to offer you free shipping on all orders over 15€ from my Etsy shop until Friday night with the code BOARD4U. 

Voit tehdä tilauksesi myös sähköpostilla! Det går bra att göra en beställning per mejl! order (at) syko.com

Two lost pillows came home

These two pillows have returned from a shop that I hadn't heard from in two years. I assume they have been tucked away in a cupboard for some time now. I had totally forgotten about them myself, so I haven't been crying over them! If you are selling handmade goods on commission in your shop, please give them some loving care, someone put their heart in making those things! I am glad I got my cushions back! The good thing is that these are both designs that I haven't made for a long time and they are going right into my Etsy shop! 

 

Mending knees in kids jeans tutorial

Today I did something that made me very proud of myself! I managed to mend little e's jeans that have been lying in an annoying pile in my studio for quite some time now. It took me about 20 minutes to get two pairs done! I had fun and used some scraps with heat n' bond (that's the iron-on adhesive I use for appliqué) that I improvised with to make the patches. It became a cat and a frog! Scroll down to see how I did it!

1. I ironed the patches with heat n' bond over the hole.

2. I used the mending foot/appliqué foot that allows me to move freely over the fabric. These jeans are very slim so it was a bit tricky! I worked the seams several times to get a durable patch.

3. Ready! As you see the seams are shaky, but when you stitch several times it looks like you did it on purpose. At least this is what I tell myself :)

The kitty looks like he has had something strange to eat... Little e says he's going to wear these jeans to school tomorrow! That's the best feedback I could get :)

 
 

New notebooks!

It felt like Christmas today when a very heavy box arrived in my studio! I have been waiting eagerly to see how my new notebooks with fabric covers would turn out and I am very content! The appliqué was made by me and I then had the books professionally bound. The quality is great and it makes me so happy! They have 100 blank pages that I hope will be filled with your creativity: poems, sketches, garden dreams... Or then good food in form of recipes or maybe lots of happy greetings from friends if the notebook becomes a guestbook!

This was the first time I ordered bound notebooks so I wanted to try out a few different variations. There is appliqué on retro floral fabric like this.

 And appliqué on off-white linen. The linen structure is really nice for books! I also love how you can feel the appliqué and stitches with your hands. You can follow the flying track with your finger of the bird from the front to the back of the book, for example! 

Coffee or tea? And a sharp pencil...

The books made from my Spoonflower prints are pretty fine too :)

Do you feel an urge to start writing? I have listed a few books in my Etsy shop if you would like a new notebook for yourself.

Happy weekend everyone!

 

New prints and a give away!

I just got a box with fresh, new art prints from the printers! They are now in the shop! Note that if you live outside Europe (USA, Australia for example) there is no additonal shipping cost if you order more than one print. 

If you want to be in the draw to win a print, let me know which one you would like to win! Remember to leave a valid e-mail address (won't be visible to everyone) so that I can get hold of you if you are the lucky winner!

Slow down, says the snail! You will have the time to send some love to the passers-by!

"Scandinavian retro" fish! Some are happy and some just a little grumpy :)

Peas on earth print for the gardener or the cook! Goes well with the fish print on the kitchen wall!

Frog prince portrait, inspired by my animal pouches. I hope to make some frog prince pouches for the shop next week too!

And on public demand, the batboy! I designed this in cooporation with my boy when he was four and had a very special pair of superhero rubber boots :)

If you would like to win a print, pick your favourite from my shop and you will be in the draw to win!

 

*edit* Comments are now closed and we have a winner! Laura was picked by the random number generator and will get a sanil print in the mail. Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

Appliqué workshop in Helsinki

It is the time of year when everyhting is happening at the same again! I can't believe it is already two weeks ago since I held a weekend appliqué workshop in Helsinki. I love these events, when you spend to intense days together with a group of ladies (so far there has been only ladies in my classes) who share the joy of sewing.

This was made by a lady who used to teach art to children and had travelled to Africa several times.

"My  birds" made by a lady who loved vibrant colours.

The fox from by book in a very romantic outfit, so pretty!
"Alp village", she was going to quilt piles of snow on it, I wish I could see the result!


Just a few of the pieces made during the class. I hope you have time for some sewing this weekend!

 

Pouch parade + coupon code

If you are fans of Syko on Facebook this might be yesterday's news for you! But I have just finished 92 zippy pouches with animal appliqué and I just feel like telling the world about it! It might be my record so far. The first thing I ever sold on Etsy was a piggy pouch on October 19, 2006 (I had to check that), that's 6 years ago! No wonder I have been cursing these (I can say that today, it's Halloween, right?) every once in a while and thought that I will never ever again sew a kitten in my life. But then people ask so nicely and I have some new fabrics that just seem perfect for a pouch with a Royal Moroccan cat... And I can feel the pouchy inspiration coming and here I am stitching up the whole zoo again!

It might take a few months before I make more of these, so if you want one, this is the time! And now I am thinking, why not celebrate the 6th birthday of my Etsy shop by giving you a little discount? With the coupon code PIG2006 you will get 15% off all products in my shop until Monday morning November 5th. 

Saagor & Sötsaker -- our little shop

I have been a little lost for words lately, or well, that is probably exaggerating, I always have LOADS to say about anything and everything :) I have been a bit overwhelmed about all the goodness that has happened irl lately so I have been avoiding this space a bit, I must admit. But I want to share it all with you! I'll start by showing some shots from our little shop Saagor & Sötsaker (sötsaker is Swedish for goodies, but also translates to cute things). Saagor (= sagas/stories) stands for the linen clothing from Saaga design that we sell in the shop. 

Our cosy knits and felt neckalces are made by Annika Baarman-Sundblom. Quilt by me!

Syko corner, still lots of Spring colours here, but I am working on it!

Cute forest friends from Peikonpoika have moved into my houses!

Thanks for popping into our shop! If you want to visit us in Ekenäs/Tammisaari the address is Gustav Vasas gata 10. 

See you soon (promise)!

Bad flu go away!

There was so much I was going to do this weekend! And here I am coughing and sneezing on the couch. *sigh* I really hope I feel better tomorrow, I want to go to work and SEW! 

I am liking this little corner of mine, but it still needs a lamp on the wall. And another quilt! The light grey quilt I covered the sofa with is actually this christmas quilt I made for an exhibit last year (click here if you want to see me looking silly in the paper...). I was very clever to make the backing this neutral (it is ash/kona/Robert Kaufman), I think, it is sad to hide quilts away in the closet, isn't it?I made the quilt on the wall behind me for the book We love color (Stashbooks). If you would like a signed copy of the book I have few copies for 19€ including shipping whitin Europe. Just leave a comment on this post and include your e-mail if you're interested!

 

I hope you are all well!