Monday, May 24, 2010

New Pottery from Marlene Galperine

Raku Spiral Bowl - $75

Michigan clay artist Marlene Galperine has just dropped off a fresh batch of ceramic goodness for the gallery. We are now freshly stocked with an array of her bowls, textured bud vases, sushi trays and whimsical turtle sculptures.


Assorted Bud Vases - $20ea.

Turtle Sculpture - $45

You can browse additional work from Marlene Galperine in our photo gallery.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Mielie Bags from Be Sweet


The Dancing Eye Gallery is now carrying brightly colored and unique bags by Mielie from Be Sweet.

Mielie works with recycled materials to handcraft their unique range of products in Cape Town, South Africa. Mielie was born in 2002 around Adri Schutz's dining room table and since then has grown to a family of fifty proud South Africans. Their mission is to design and produce innovative, export-quality hand-crafted products using reclaimed materials - with the aim of creating employment and restoring dignity and financial independence to South Africans.

A portion of profits from the bags go to support local schools and create jobs within the south african communities.

As far as is possible all their products are hand-made, and they are committed to using locally produced materials. The fabric of the Mielie range is reclaimed, and their finishes (cotton thread, needles, genuine leather handles etc) are locally produced. Mielie strips - from which their bags and other products are woven - are a byproduct from cotton mills. Once a week Mielie buys them by the kilogram from local factories. Because the shades vary every week and seasonally - like a box of chocolates, they never know quite what they'll get. Their solution is to work with broad colourways - i.e. lagoon = dark blue to aqua, emerald to bottle green. This guarantees every bag is unique!

Check out more bags after the jump.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Arrival of the Zum!

New Zum Bars have arrived! What's a Zum Bar you say? Delicious soaps made from goats milk, packed with natural oils and available in yummy scents like Almond, Frankincense-Lavender, Geranium, Rosemary and of course Patchouli!