Blog of Note: Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Jim Linderman documents an impressive variety of ephemera on his blog, Dull Tool Dim Bulb - he's got posts on fashion trends, amusing imagery, pulp illustrators and things you can make...and that's just the start of it. But there's something beyond the endless photos and postcards and weird propaganda from another time that he lovingly documents - I think it's the collection as a whole, the portrait of a person fascinated with culture and communication. I have met people like this before, and in reading Dull Tool Dim Bulb I feel I have been lucky enough to meet one more. This site is a golmine in terms of links - I've found so many great blogs by clicking around here. Thanks, Jim!

Mieke Willems

I have been reading this blog for the past few years, marveling at the beautiful things these two girls have collected, made and discovered. Their images have inspired some of my sewing projects, and I decided I had to go to Antwerp to see the shop they opened a while back. With no online store, it seemed like they were beckoning me: come, shop, explore. I like specialty stores that only exist in one place - it's a destination, a sight to be seen.

So I booked a flight, and got to see the shop and buy some lovely handmade things. And when I got home - poof! - they opened a webshop so everyone can buy their wares. I think it was a bit of magic - if the shop had opened sooner, I might not have discovered all sorts of other nice things in Antwerp.

The Smell of Summer

I stopped writing for a while to smell the warm air and wander around a little. It was a dreamlike summer (and autumn) but now I am back in my cozy hovel, with no vacation in sight. Time to hunker down and mull over the things I've seen, beginning near the end and winding my way back.