frederik roije: breed retreat: henhouse

Frederik Roije's new 'Breed Retreat' architectural wooden hen house, Netherlands. This makes me want backyard urban chickens!

my cats need a new cave

My cats need a 'Katzenhoehle', or cat cave. Each is handmade of felted wool by German artist Dornroeschen Filzunikate. They are wonderful and even washable!
via Oh My Cat

fancy tiger's annual holiday handmade crafts 2009

Last weekend, I snuck down to Denver to enjoy Fancy Tiger's annual local Holiday Handmade craft bash. With such an amazing slew of talented makers, it was a real treat! Several topped the list, they are:
Mukee Design, they take recycled skateboard decks, turning them into jewelry and totally hip belt buckles.
The Kansas City Kitty girls were totally amazing, Christie is the artist who makes the adorable faux fur Friendly Monsters.
Lindsay at Earthlings Pet Care had a great selection of handmade pet toys and accessories.
Rachel of Affinitas Apothecary (affinitasapothecary@gmail.com) blends luxurious salves, tub teas and other herbal delights-her training includes Western as well as Ayurvedic medicine. One item that made me more curious was tumeric infused honey. Whoa.
Knitty Knitty Bang Bang is a cute company making knit scarfs for dogs and kitties.
All Good Wishes is Heide Murray's company, luckily I have taken one of her felting classes-she is so gracious to share her super talent. She is a pro needle felter, offering kits for making some of her designs.
& Kiwi & Company knits superb handbags
This year Holiday Handmade was was held in the beautiful
South Broadway Christian Church with gorgeous floral stained glass windows, soon to be refurbished pipe organ and wonderfully hospitable Pastor Mark.

Lest I forget, one of the highlights was sweet treats by Sugar Bakeshop If you missed it this year--don't miss it next!

haute nature gift guide: for pets

CraftFlare
Petooie
PrettyPeacock
DKCat


PinkysPetGear
houndsongmom
VintageRenaissance
NoCatsAllowed

flat pack prototype chicken coop

The University of Colorado, Boulder has created an Urban Chicken Coop Project to focus on the current backyard chicken raising trend happening in Boulder County. The city has seen an upsurge in its community garden project and 360,000 visitors to the Boulder County Farmers' Market each year. Many local restaurants incorporate the locavore movement so the local food movement and production is a huge priority. The citizens of Boulder are propelled to natural living, outdoor activities such as, biking, hiking, skiing and now gardening and farming have become the latest path to follow. A nationwide dialogue has begun proving that a chicken coop can be maintained in a backyard urban environment.

Two University of Colorado professors-Richard Saxton in the Art and Art History department and Rob Pyatt in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning have challenged their students to revisit the age old debate; can urban exist in the rural and can the rural exist in the urban. The "Chicken Shack Village" installation explores rural aesthetics and farming in an urban environment.

College of Architecture and Urban Planning instructor Rob Pyatt's design and build class to complete the first model for the easy-to-build chicken coop kit for homeowners. The most successful seems to be Jeff Troutman's flat pack chicken coop design (in black). Jeff's affordable design is an easy to assemble coop utilizing digital fabrication methods to cut FSC certified plywood sheeting with minimal hardware into 4'X4' sections, ultimately housing up to 6 chickens when constructed. The design includes a chicken run and is meant to be set up next to a backyard fence, still allowing for easy access to collect eggs.

Currently, in Boulder, there is an exhibit of Troutman and others designs for the chicken coops at the BMOCA Museum.

In addition to "Chicken Shack Village," symposiums have been set up to allow speakers such as the Urban Hens organization to address topics of collaborative art, raising chickens in the urban setting, environmental responsibility, healthy living, building and maintaining coops, as well as local farming and gardening.

More information available on this project at CO &
AB.

molly mutt: doggy duvets

Molly Mutt diy dog bed kits keep textiles out of our landfills. Either cover your existing dog bed with the Molly Mutt dog duvet, or fill it with the old clothes and bedding you've got laying around. Molly Mutt's mesh “stuff sack” makes it easy to grab old soft stuff, then cover with dog duvet.

natural dog & cat treats

Nutritional snacks for your meowey at Catswell. Healthy dog biscuits at Wagathas.

patchwork wool pet bed

This adorable patchwork pet bed makes me want to get sewing!