The Button Dept. : Midnight Sparkle
Back in 2013, my friend Paul of Smash Salvage asked me if I would be interested in checking out some boxes of vintage buttons he had just bought. I was curious and when I went by his shop, I was pretty overwhelmed to see over 30 large moving boxes filled with smaller boxes of buttons. As I peeked under a few lids, I gasped to see beautiful coloured glass buttons and some of the most unusual and fun plastic buttons I had ever seen. I knew that if I bought that lot of vintage buttons from Paul, I would NEVER have to worry about sourcing buttons for the workroom ever again. The Button Dept. was born!
It's been over a decade and we are STILL finding amazing treasure within these boxes. About a month ago, I happened upon some gorgeous jet black beaded buttons, and then I found another size and then a few days later I found a third size. Hello - Licorice Sparkle! These unique buttons reflect everything that is wonderous about something that is crafted by hand, and of course they were made in Japan.
This one discovery really inspired us to get back to cataloguing and sharing these special treasures with you on a regular basis once more.
This first small collection is called Midnight Sparkle, we added in some other fun dark and shimmery buttons. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to keep these to myself. We don't have that many and these are so SPECIAL. Once they are gone, we definitely don't have any more. I'm delighted to know we have a core community of makers who get as inspired as I do by these little vintage closures.
Now that the entire collection is all together here is Sprucedale, we are also making it all accessible when you come to visit us. ALL the boxes that have been hidden in storage are now out on the shelves. The big grey bins of hanging card buttons, sorted by colour, are now upstairs in the studio. Just another fun reason to come visit us at the General Store.
If you're interested in getting early access to our upcoming vintage button releases, you can sign up here
Jump over to The Button Dept. and find some beautiful treasures for your next project..
the shop
Printed & Inspired : Summer Is Here!
Summer has finally arrived and warm weather sewing patterns are starting to appear from our wide format printer. Summer dresses and tunics for staying cool and patterns for upcoming virtual classes with us are proving to be popular however surprisingly pants are the clear winner recently. From flowing wide legs to structured barrel jeans everyone appears to be making pants right now.
We love discovering new indie pattern designers along with you through our A0 PDF Printing Services. Below are a few of the A0 PDF patterns we printed since the beginning of May, maybe they’ll inspire your next make too!
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Madswick - Delft Dress
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True Bias - Lander shorts
- Tauko - Panel Trousers
- Merchant & Mills Tee Shirt
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BF Patterns - Sabrina Skirt
- Allie Olson - Ponderosa Pants
- Just Patterns - Kiara Knit Dress
- Sew Liberated - Studio Tunic
- Merchant & Mills Sanda Jacket
- Helen's Closet - Falconer Pants
- Love Notions - Opus Vest
- Thread Theory - Jutland Pants
All of these patterns came through our A0 PDF pattern printing service - a wonderful way to explore new designers and level up your handmade wardrobe. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s simple to upload your files and we’ll print, fold, and ship them right to you or choose local pick up at our Parkdale Pick up Point or here in Sprucedale.
Printed & Inspired : Me Made May
Happy Me Made May! It's that time of the year when the sewing community wears and shares our handmade wardrobe online and in person. This month is a great opportunity to get inspired and to discover new makers and patterns you'd like to try.
Printed & Inspired : Spring Dresses & Cozy Jackets
There’s something empowering about sewing from a PDF pattern. Instant access. No waiting. A whole new world of independent designers at your fingertips. We love discovering new indie pattern designers along with you through our A0 PDF Printing Services.
