We’re pleased to welcome MICA’s freshest crop of Fashion Graphics students and their products to Shine. Join us tonight with the opening of 1209 MICA at SHINE where 15 designers from MICA will be showcasing their stuff. (Some really great holiday gift ideas!)

Friday, Dec 4, 7-9pm
The MICA installation will be up through December.

Local tee maker Natty Paint (Emily Li Mandri) has created hot new tees especially for us in the softest Am Apparel tri-blend athletic grey. For men & women. Only $28!

MICA faculty and Renaissance woman Hadieh Shafie has done it again with all new creations in leather for her line Veri Hedi. We will have fun wearing these super versatile and edgy pieces with just about anything. Makes a heavy statement yet still lightweight and wearable.

Hadieh will be a featured ‘Built in Baltimore II’ designer at Shine’s next First Friday, June 5.

Shine Collective’s Julie Bent was recently selected as a semi-finalist in IKEA’s ingenious sewing competition ‘Sew Me What You Got‘. A new Fashion at Artscape programming component, this competition sought out skilled and creative fashion designers to create and submit a stylish garment from IKEA fabric. The winning designer will receive a $1000 cash prize and a photo spread in Iconography the Magazine.

True to reality-style competition, people can vote for their favorite designers’ garment in-store and online at artscape.org, fashioniconsonline.com, or on Artscape’s Myspace and Facebook sites. The $1000 grandprize winner will be announced at Artscape, Sunday July, 19 at 7:30pm after a final competition where five semifinalists will showcase their garments.

Julie commented on the process: “Working with IKEA’s bold fabric prints was a bit of an adventure, but I really like the way the print came together in my finished piece.  I was surprised to see how well the IKEA fabrics work for apparel.  I hope to advance to the next round so I can work out some more ideas I have in a collection of 5 pieces, which will show at Artscape in July.  Oh- and also for the chance to win the $1000 grand prize!”  Vote for Julie!!

Karen Garalde (pictured above) took her love for accessories to a whole new level when her family and friends encouraged her to start a career as an independent handcraft designer.  While living and studying patternmaking and design for two years in the Philippines, she ventured into jewelry design and began making a few pieces as gifts which evolved into small orders from boutiques- and soon after- her line KalaiKai was born.

Karen’s collection has been influenced by her cultural background. With a Filipino-American heritage, she is inspired by the beauty and culture of traditional and natural materials.  She fuses this with a variety of experiences, sights, textures and of course, her own unique touch.

These one-of-a kind pieces are individually designed and handcrafted.  Our favorites in the collection are the pieces made with candy colored pearls intricately sewn together with silver (LOVE the cocktail ring), so fun and fresh- yet still very elegant. Her mission is to provide pieces that make a statement with distinct sophistication, complimenting the wearer’s own style and the desire for self-expression.

Karen will be a featured ‘Built in Baltimore II’ designer at Shine’s next First Friday, June 5.

We love Baltimore for many reasons, but it’s the independent-minded people that make this city a thriving place to be!  Our most recent discovery, Michele’s Granola, is part of this fast growing group of Baltimore entrepreneurs.

Moving here from the DC area three years ago, Michele knew Baltimore was the ideal place to grow her business. ‘We wanted to be a part of the supportive atmosphere this city has to offer small businesses. We love the spirit of the city and knew it was a good fit.’  When asked, why granola? Michele exclaims ‘It is the quintessential health food and people want simple nourishing food with a sense of where it has come from.’

Plus, word on the street- ‘Granola is the Cupcake of 2009′.

Michele’s Granola is dairy and egg free–which means it is free of cholesterol, trans fats, & is 100% vegetarian friendly. But don’t let all that healthy talk fool you. From Original flavor (our favorite) to Pumpkin Spice to Cherry Chocolate Macadamia Nut each are as indulgent as candy. Yeah, it’s THAT good. Oh and yes- her delivery truck does run on vegetable oil.

You can find this yummy goodness at the Waverly Farmers Market every Saturday, Whole Foods,  your local Eddies or just call her for barrels of the stuff @ 301.693.1241.

Michele will be giving samples at our next Built in Baltimore II event on First Friday, June 5.

As the creator of Umlaut handbags, Michelle Li personally designs and handcrafts the bags from her independent studio in Baltimore with great care and attention.

In her words: “My association with fabric began at an early age, when as a child I would hand sew “pockets” that weren’t attached to anything, but came in handy when I needed something to put a tooth in for the Tooth Fairy, or store my “treasures”, like candy and rocks. By my 12th birthday, I had moved up from “pockets” and received my very own Singer sewing machine. This grew into sewing my own clothes in high school and even selling some of my original handmade creations in the school boutique. I studied fashion merchandising and design in high school and college, was a pattern maker and seamstress for a summer, and crafted and sold handmade beaded jewelry at local craft fairs. I also earned a BA in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Studio Art (i.e. drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.) from the University of Maryland. All these past experiences have come together in the handbags I design for my company. I began Umlaut Studio with a dream of doing something independent, and as a creative outlet to craft beautiful, yet functional and unique accessories.”

Umlaut Studio bags are not mass-produced. Each boutique-style handbag is made by Michelle and is fun and distinct, with an emphasis on design, detail, and quality.

Michelle will be a featured ‘Built in Baltimore II’ designer at Shine’s next First Friday, June 5.

We’ve been eagerly waiting for the launch of John Marsh’s tee designs for the new Baltimore-based Charm City Surf Co.  We recently interrogated him on his modus operandi and thankfully he didn’t go AWOL- but gave us a heavy artillery of info on their latest operative mission:

What is CCSC?
I consider CCSC a collective. I’ve been kind of the driving force/cheerleader here but I’m surrounded by really talented and über smart people. I’ve learned that it takes a village to print a t-shirt. Basically, we wanted to start a clothing line that reflected the surfer lifestyle but from a gritty town full of attitude.

What are your influences?
I’d have to say, right now, our designs are influenced by movies and music. Apocalypse Now- that was a huge influence on our logo! That scene where Colonel Kilgore takes that Viet Cong beach just so Corporal Lance can surf… that’s an amazing scene. He tells his guys “You either surf or you fight!” and I think that resonated with me –life is a lot like that – you can either play or work. And music is a huge influence. We’re listening to a lot of Clash right now.

Why Baltimore?
I love Baltimore and consider it home but would love it even more if we had a beach. I think Baltimore is a bit of a surf town… minus the waves…. and the sand. Baltimoreans are generally territorial, easy-going and a bit unbalanced and we like to have a good time. Where surfers have their beaches, we have our neighborhoods. Surfers generally are laid back and so are we- and to be honest, this town is full of crazies.

CCSC debuts at Shine Collective’s next First Friday/Built in Baltimore II event on June 5.

We know the power that a great piece of jewelry has to the wearer. The stones, the chain- it can all possess life-changing ingredients that go beyond superficial bling. Hannah Brancato’s Jewelry Project actually does that quite literally. As a resident artist at the House of Ruth, her initiative teaches the women at the shelter to make jewelry and the money raised from the proceeds go directly back to the charity.

House of Ruth provides shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, a 24-hour crisis and information hotline, an abusers’ intervention program, professional training and community outreach and education to victims of domestic violence.

For more info: House of Ruth, Maryland

Jewelry Project necklaces and earrings now available @ Shine Collective.

Our favorite craft blogger Christy Zuccarini just brought some amazing pieces from her Polycraftic line to Shine. We’re so happy to be carrying another great designer from Baltimore- our sweet little city is chock full of them. The current collection has a wonderful vintage feel with a modern twist. We love her use of these old pieces- an oversized horn heart on vintage chain, a necklace of fabulous green bead clusters that look like 70’s Moroccan lanterns- a bright green elephant broach crafted from vintage plastic and the sweetest gold bow. Multi-talented, Christy also brought the most incredible handknit neck warmers. She uses thick gauge wool and vintage buttons- the size and weight mean business in cold weather.

We’ll admit it- we’re not too crafty. Meaning- craft isn’t really our thing- not that it’s a bad thing- but we’re craving something a little edgier, a little less sweet, a little more chic.  So we know- ‘local designers‘ can sometimes mean handknit roller skate cozies and macramé bras- but I can assure you- our event this Friday- Built in Baltimore- will impress even the most discerning fashionista. The cast of Baltimore designers ranges from Urban Woodland hats & headbands by Lee Sinoski, Spoon Popkin’s scarves, Valentina Black jewelry, A.Lea CP clothing by Audrey Petrich, Bisquit pillows from Debbie Walter, dresses by Nicolette LeFaye, screenprints by Kaitlin Murphy, Hillery Sproatt’s Rock Stories & Farm Figures and Hadieh Shafie’s new jewelry line Veri Hedi.

Friday, November 7 from 6-9pm. Refreshments, snacks and cute girls galore.

Shine Collective is very excited to welcome Baltimore resident Hadieh Shafie to our roster of jewelry designers. Hadieh’s new line called Veri Hedi is, in her words, “Punk meets Posh! Jewerly inspired by the 1970’s punk and new wave scene, with a touch of Anglomania.” I met Hadieh when she was strolling around the shop and I just had to know where she got the super cool leather cuff she was wearing. When she told me that she made it, I knew we had to get her to make more for Shine. What she brought us exceeded expectations- she not only delivered the deliciously luxe lambskin leather and studded cuffs, but pieces with bleached “watercolor” plaid, exposed zippers, necklaces made from satin rope- these are unlike anything we’ve seen in both NY & LA markets!

Her point of view is fresh and sophisticated, and the influence is clear- Vivienne Westwood, Kings Road, Sex Pistols- with her own Veri Hedi touch. Veri nice…

Get Brit. Veri Hedi’s amazing new collection ranges from $70-$190. Now exclusively at Shine Collective.