Shauna, from Something's Hiding in Here, bought a beard for her husband Stephen for Christmas. Apparently, it was well received, and Shauna sent over these lovely photos of Stephen in his new beard. He looks absolutely dashing in this version of the lumberjack beard, wouldn't you say? So glad this beard has found it's soulmate.

decisions, decisions.

Oh, Paul Rudd. It seems you've got some thinking to do. Shave the rest, or wait for the other half to grow back in? Tough decision.

Photo taken from his recent interview in Paper Mag.

more beards in the news

Talk about divided media: while the Portland Mercury is trashing beards, Portland Monthly had a big feature this month celebrating Portland as the beardiest city in the US! The article was filled with awesome quotes, like this one from Justin "Scappers" Morrison (pictured above):

“A beard is a bullshit filter. It keeps me from working at lame places and 
interacting with lame people... A beard is a scarf that works great while bike riding in this climate—it’s better than wool! A beard is a confident vote for manliness. A beard is a friend who is always there to give you a hug... A beard helps solidify the cultural significance of the Pacific Northwest 
and the rugged people who live here.”

There are some pretty awesome beards featured in the article, check it out at the Portland Monthly site.

Beards kicked to the curb?

Hey, Portland readers! Did you catch this week's copy of the Mercury?? If you did, I'm sure you read the (hilarious) article "Not Invited Back: 2008's Most Annoying, Ridiculous, and Terrible Things that Won't Be Invited Back to 2009!" Were you as shocked as I was that BEARDS were on that list?? Whoa there, Portland Mercury. Whooooooa. Let's just take a look at the argument against beards, shall we? Here's a quote from the article:

"Listen, we all love us a nice beard—from Ernest Hemingway to our rabbi—but unless you can actually grow a proper one (without those creepy patches of hairlessness) please don't bother. File it under one of those things that just because you can do it, doesn't necessarily mean you should do it."

Actually... now that I've taken a second look at the quote, this makes a lot of sense to me. Don't get me wrong! There is nothing shameful about a starter beard. You've got to get at least a few training beards under your belt before you can grow a masterful beard to rival Zeus. I'm not saying you should shave off your starter beard just because part (or most) of it isn't growing in. I do think it would be advisable, however, to take a sabbatical while you grow your beard into it's prime condition. You just take a nice long vacation from everyone you know, and rejoin society once your beard is fully grown and beautiful.

To give credit where it's is due, most other things on their list were dead on. Some things the Merc and I agree should not come back in 2009? How about the word "blogosphere," Greg Oden's glass bones, tweens, and $6 beers at the Crystal Ballroom. I'd be totally fine with most things on their list being banished from 2009. But beards?

Well, Mercury, I'd say you're safe this time... but watch what you say. The beards of Portland are listening.

This is Julie, from yoursecretadmiral fame! I made her a fancy white beard for her holiday party, and it seems like it went over well. She posted some photos to her flickr, one of which was this studly combination:

Faux bois + beard = super hip. Possibly the hippest thing I've ever seen.

Other people's beards

I meant to post this earlier... the holidays kinda consumed my life this week:

Karen, the lovely crafter behind ballofyarn, sent me photos of the beard she crocheted based on my beard designs! I love the way the crocheted version looks... now I want to cut up doilies and make them into beards. They would look so fancy and delicate, don't you think?

blurry holiday moustache!!

Blurry... but you get the idea...
Wanted to post a little note here, as well as in my Etsy shop: I am closing my Etsy shop from now until the new year. I really could use a nap. I'll probably still be posting here during my beardy vacation, but in case you are looking to purchase a beard, keep an eye out for lots of new beards come Jan 1, 2009!

Woo hoo! I'm off to wrap presents! Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays, and thanks to all you devoted beard blog readers out there.

Some beards I forgot to show you

I have been thinking a lot about a beard I sold at Crafty Wonderland. I liked to call it, "the mermaid beard," because it was a lovely sea foam color. I didn't get a chance to take a photo of it before I sold it, so now it's just a fond memory. I'll have to find more of that yarn!
In the meantime, here are some beards you might have missed.

whoa.

so maybe you noticed, maybe you didn't, but all my beards sold out this week! even this new one i posted today! whoa! apparently i was featured on boingboing.net, as well as metafilter.com and a bunch of other blogs and websites, and there has been a run on beards. who would have thought?

not me, apparently. but that's ok! i'm currently working on a bunch of custom orders, but will be restocking the shop with beards periodically this week and next. woo hoo! lots of beards to go around.

thanks to everyone who sent me notes this week about the blog mentions, as well as those who wrote in with their own beard-related art and music. awesome to see so much creative beard work out there. will be posting some of the things i was tipped off to later this week.

the other etsy front page!

thought i'd post a screen shot of the other day i was featured on the etsy front page! there were a lot of beautiful items featured in that collection, including these beautiful "natural crowns" made by whichgoose on etsy. I wish I had the guts/style to wear something like that, they look really lovely on her.

Etsy Front Page!

Woo Hoo! I was featured on the front page of etsy.com yesterday! Here's a screenshot:

I was featured on the main page a while back too, just a few days after I joined! I got about a trillion emails that day, all informing me of this fact. It was really exciting! Weirdly, still really exciting the second time!

NPR votes yes on bearded musicians!

From All Songs Considered on NPR, we have more confirmation that beards are taking over. A quote from the description of their year end roundtable discussion of the best albums of the year: "It was an impressively bearded year — a year when many bands seemed to retreat to the woods, literally and figuratively, to make quieter, more personal recordings." To hear them talk about Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, and other beards in music, listen to the program at npr.org.

Busy posting lots of goodies to my Etsy shop! I've put up quite a few beards, plus some of the small paintings I posted about earlier. Here's another one of those:

the face of a happy crafter!

I am a happy bearded lady. Crafty Wonderland was really fun, despite the tribulations of the snow this morning. I met so many awesome people, and it was great to have so many people take an interest in the beards. Genuinely one of the best things I did all year. If you met me late in the evening, sorry if my smile was a little strained... 2 1/2 hours of sleep can really get you down the next day... I was completely excited with how many people came up and introduced themselves, and it was a pleasure being in the company of so many amazing artists and crafty geniuses. PLUS, I shared the booth with two of the best people I know in this fair city, Misha and Jake. Both super talented, and both incredibly wonderful for putting up with me in my stressed out moments.

Hope everyone enjoyed the show! I'll be posting this lovely blue beard, as well as many of the remaining available beards in my Etsy shop this evening! Hope you find something you like!

P.S. Now that I don't have to be on the road, I am seriously awed by how gorgeous the snow covered scenery is. Hope it doesn't melt overnight, I really want to take photos (and make a tiny snowman) in the morning.

CRAFTY WONDERLAND, YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Do you live in Portland, Oregon?? Well then! Come visit me from 11-7 at the convention center (hall E)! Crafty goodness all day long. Beards a plenty! Lots of fun to be had! Plus, I think the first 200 peeps get free bags of AWESOME crafty surprises! I wish I could get one...

See you there!

I am in love with this beard bird painting by marc johns! too cute!

new work

Some small paintings I will be selling at Crafty Wonderland, and maybe later on Etsy. I've made a whole series of these, I call them my bearded grandpas and grandmas. I love their winter sweaters!

A cleaned up version of the little guy I've been stamping on everything lately... he's kinda cute, right?

the view from here

Can you tell I've been busy? Not that my desk is usually very neat, but i think this might be an all time high for messiness. I'm sure other crafters' desks are looking this way as the holiday season takes hold. This is only month two of selling these things, so I'm encountering a lot of surprises as things speed up. Mostly good, but I'm wondering how I'll feel as Crafty Wonderland approaches... hopefully I will have things all finished up by then, but I've still got a bit of work to do (to say the least).

My business cards arrived today. They are ridiculous. More on that later.

for all the girly girls.

ladies, this one's for you.
there has been some chatter lately about beards not being the best way to accent your femininity... well, what better way to proclaim your girlish inner self than with this much pink on your face?
glorious.

There is nothing I love more than seeing a satisfied customer wearing one of my beards. Luckily, a lot of people have been sending me portraits in their new beards, so I thought I'd just post one of the most recent ones:

You can see more photos here.

If you have a self portrait in a beard that you'd like me to post, feel free to email me!