By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
One of my favorite toys growing up was my dollhouse. I spent many hours playing make-believe with it. It was a very basic square construction made of wood, with no stain or paint finish. My doll furniture was a mix of mismatched plastic pieces with a few wooden handmade ones my father had lovingly crafted for me. My dolls were a variety of stuffed animals, Barbies and an assortment of different figurines.
On a search to recreate my own childhood memories for my daughters, I came across a sophisticated and oh-so-stylish version of my own basic [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
I first discovered Audrey Heller’s photographs at the One Of A Kind show in Chicago and have “run” into her art work since.   Although Audrey calls San Francisco home, she travels much of the year showing her photographs. With a background as a lighting designer for theater and a great sense of humor, Audrey was able to use her unique abilities to create distinct and playful photos.
As you look at the photos they look like everyday items; a cup of coffee, a martini glass or a bowl of strawberries.  Taking a closer look each photo [...]

I’ve seen Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi’s ceramics at a couple of art fairs in the Chicago area and find her work completely charming. Given the time of year, I wanted to mention her ceramic hearts as perfect Valentine’s Day gifts. Whimsical, colorful and utterly delightful representations of the Valentine’s Day symbol. And, as a décor item to be displayed in permanence, just one of Laurie’s colorful ceramic hearts can exude the expression of lovely feelings all year round.
You can read about Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi’s training as an artist here and shop for her ceramic hearts (and her other inspired ceramic work) [...]

By Scott Roeben, Contributing Editor – Photography
Note: The Succulent Wife is honored to welcome an “old” friend & colleague as our first male contributor! Scott is a talented writer and photographer and I am quite excited to be bringing you his articles on photography. He will be providing tips & tools to make the amateur photographer look like a real pro. Thanks Scott!
Capturing great photos of children can be a challenge. But there are simple steps you can take to dramatically improve your photography, virtually overnight. Try these tips, and you’ll be taking great photos of your kids in [...]

Judy Ebert (she goes by artist name jbEbert) is one of the fabulous artists who displays her jewelry on 1000markets, among other places. I think that her work is simply arresting. There is such an abundance of jewelry makers out there that when I find a – pun-intended – pearl like Judy, I need to tell everyone I can.
It appears that her talents were obvious very early on as she was hand-picked, at the age of 8, to train and apprentice in the art department of Carnegie Tech (I’m not sure that I could even tie my own shoes when [...]

I’m thankful that Madeleine at ArtQuiver contacted me to tell me about the $5000 giveaway that the gallery is promoting. I’m happy to share that with you, at the bottom of this article, but really, aside from the tremendous giveaway, I’m mostly excited to share about the ArtQuiver online gallery concept because, The Succulent Wife loves, more than anything else, to discover – and promote – independent artists and businesses and endeavors. So, let me tell you…
The ArtQuiver online gallery just launched this last April. It showcases original artwork from hand-picked artists. “Meritocracy” is the method of selection from a [...]

When I think of The Wizard of Oz, I usually only think of it as a political and economic allegory about the status industrial society at the end of the 19th century. This is where Oz and the Yellow Brick Road represent gold, the Tin Man represents the industrial worker, the Scarecrow is the Farmer, the Lion the politician, the Munchkins are the ordinary citizens, etc..
But, thank goodness that there are people like Julienne LaFleur who still see all the magic of the movie. Julienne, in her first book, Lessons From Oz, has created a philosophical allegory. It’s a fun [...]

I live in Las Vegas but hardly ever make it to The Strip. Unless we have visitors, of course. My mom was visiting from Montreal last month (that’s my cute little mom in front of the red mosaic flowers) and we had to tour the latest hotels, with the Encore Wynn Las Vegas at the top of our To Do list. Just like the Wynn, the Encore is a sight to behold.  Every aesthetic detail has been orchestrated to perfection. The walls are covered in luscious textured fabrics, archways, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, hardware… Not a surface is left untouched. [...]

I came across Mandy Budan’s paintings quite randomly through one of my endless web surfing sessions. That particular session ended right there and then as her work stopped me in my tracks.
The first thing I noticed was the familiar landscape. Mandy hails from Ontario, just a few hours away from my hometown of Montreal. Her collection of shapes and colors perfectly captures the indigenous landscape. I recognized it immediately and delighted in her visual interpretation of the local fauna.
Then, her joyful and captivating use of color. Her colors blend, contrast, clash and harmonize. And while, objectively, they often don’t relate [...]

We’re moving the family to Chicago. I’m very excited, but have only been there twice and am entirely confounded by the endless neighborhoods (Las Vegas doesn’t really have “neighborhoods”. We have walled communities and shopping centers!). So I went looking for a map that would give me such a reference. Not just streets and municipalities, but actual neighborhoods by name. My – arduous! – search lead me to an article on PrairieMod (If you love Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie Style, you’ll love this blog) giving me ex.act.ly what I had been looking for: Ork Posters by Jennifer [...]

I’ve always been enchanted by Tord Boontje decorative accessories. I love how the designs juxtapose the innocence of the themes with the sophistication of the execution and materials. Irresistible.

Excerpted from Tord Boontje Studio philosophy statement : “ …the Studio’s work draws from a belief that modernism does not mean minimalism, that contemporary does not forsake tradition, and that technology does not abandon people and senses…”. This philosophy is in fully manifested in the studio’s latest launch: next week, Tord Boontje fans will get to legitimately wear his designs. The Charming charms jewelry line is making its debut. It will [...]

Valérie, a past contributor from the days of The Succulent Wife’s online shop sent me a photo of her bulging belly to let me know of her blooming pregnancy. I was happy for her, but what really impressed me about the shot was… the background mural! Shallow, I know. But I’ve seen bellies. This mural however…
As it happens, this is a mural that embellishes the wall of the new work studio that Valérie shares with the creative colleague responsible for the art in question, Paméla of PinkPam.
Paméla is an illustrator and artist with training in the visual arts, textile print [...]