I have such a long running list in my head of inspired launches, creative collaborations, and beautiful brands that have recently caught my eye and sparked my interest. My Caught My Eye No.3 post features a new-to-me retail collective of female-led businesses where I discovered the most talented artist of lifelike botanical keepsakes (as seen in the photos in this post), my curated edit for the inspired online fashion destination Modatova, the cutest needlepoint accessory perhaps ever created, the new cookware and dinnerware line created to help you celebrate the joyful, fun, and messy side of cooking and eating as a family, and the brand new completely dreamy dress and headband collaboration from one of my favorite artists and beautiful clothing and accessories brands. Get ready to sink your teeth in because this caught My Eye No.3 post is full of amazing discoveries!
P.S. For more, here is my Caught My Eye No. 1 and Caught My Eye No. 2.
Caught My Eye No.3
Golden Age Botanicals Red Clover via Colleen / Golden Age Botanical Wild Rose via Colleen / Blouse
Colleen: A Retail Collective of Female-Led Businesses
At the beginning of the summer, I discovered the most inspired community of women in the form of a highly curated online retail collective named Colleen. Colleen is a collection of exclusively female-led businesses. With the mission to support intentional efforts to uplift women’s economies through their vibrant online shopping destination. Colleen includes some brands and artists I love like Jane Pope Jewelry, Bauble Stockings, Julie King Studio, Hart, Hayley Mathewes Art, and Grey Ghost Bakery so it’s a joy to see businesses I love supported by and celebrating by Colleen. However, I’ve really enjoyed the pleasure of discovering new-to-me brands, makers, artists, and jewelers through Colleen. Each person or business I’ve discovered creates such one-of-a-kind items. And all really celebrate the art of living a well-lived life.
One such new discovery of mine is Kathryn Bondy of Golden Age Botanicals. As seen in the above photos in this post.
Through Golden Age Botanicals, Kathryn creates stunningly lifelike botanical keepsakes entirely by hand. It was love at first sight for me! I picked out two that I cannot wait to hang in our formal living room. (As soon as our backordered couch and chair arrive so I can center and hang the pieces correctly!) The walls in our living room are painted the most gorgeous muted pink color. So I selected two pink-forward botanicals (one / two) that would really pop against the walls in our room. I’m completely taken with her botanicals that include fruit too… strawberries, crabapples, and more!
Colleen curates a wide range of gorgeous brands and makers in the beauty, clothing, accessories, jewelry, art, home, children’s, and food + drink categories. Colleen is kind of like your best friend who always knows about what’s new. Or always has a creative idea up her sleeve for hostess gifts, birthday gifts, etc. Such a beautiful new discovery!
Golden Age Botanicals Red Clover via Colleen / Golden Age Botanical Wild Rose via Colleen
Golden Age Botanicals Crabapple Branch with Blossom via Colleen / Golden Age Botanicals Strawberry with Blossom via Colleen / Golden Age Botanicals Lily of the Valley via Colleen
My Modatrova Edit
The lovely team over at Modatrova kindly asked me if I would curate an edit for them of my current favorite items in their collection. In case you are new to Modatrova, it is a wonderful online shopping destination. That profiles some of the best emerging fashion brands. Being that it is August, I selected a mix of effortless end of summer staples. Along with a few exciting pieces for the upcoming fall season.
I love a few of the items I selected that manage to work for both summer and fall. Like this gorgeous Swirling Floral Grace Dress by Casey Marks. It literally begs to be worn as the PERFECT transitional piece! Two other show-stopping summer-to-fall items are Christy Lynn’s Susana Skirt and Danielle Top. Pair them together or as separates for easy looks. Slip into a simple white tee and denim jacket with the skirt for a casual every look. Or a pair of wide leg jeans for fall with the top.
I rounded out my edit with a handful of beautiful baubles that are timeless while also packing quite a punch. Case in point: these Pendant Necklaces by Jennifer Demoro Jewelry are full of personality. These pink quartz and tourmaline Tapered Oval Hoops by Quayl look so much more expensive than they are. This Lovers Zodiac Charm by Heritage Jewelry NY is all kinds of dreamy. And these Flourentine Hoop Earrings by Renna are exactly what I’m looking for in a pair of everyday hoops.
A few more highlights from my Modatrova Edit:
01Addison Bay Everyday Leggings
02Addison Bay Everyday Short Sleeve
03Maxwell & Geraldine Meg Dress
04Onirik Esme Sweetheart Top
05Christy Lynn Danielle Top
06Christy Lynn Susana Skirt
Le Point Studio Needle Minders
Are you ready to see the cutest needlepoint accessory perhaps ever created?! Le Point Studio just launched a collection of needle minders and my needlepoint world has never been the same. What’s a needle minder you ask? It is a niffy little magnetic tool that keeps your needle in place. While you set down your canvas or are stitching on the go. (One of my favorite places to stitch is on the go on airplanes!) Needle minders help you accomplish the impossible: never losing a needle!
Le Point Studio’s collection of needle minders consists of a topiary design (I have this one!), chair design, strawberry design, bouquet design, a tulip design, and a pansy basket design. It’s honestly so hard to pick a favorite because they are all adorable! I’ll also have you know that needle minders are Le Point Studio’s newest release. The needlepoint studio is originally known for beautiful classic needlepoint canvases and kits for beginners and enthusiasts. They were so generous to send me one of their newer canvases, the Bonne Nuit canvas, that I can’t wait to stitch! Also, they have already launched some Christmas canvases so hop to!
A note: it is always recommended to only attached needle minders to un-painted parts of your canvas. So you don’t interfere with your stitching or the painted design.
Le Point Studio Chair Needle Minder / Le Point Studio Strawberry Needle Minder / Le Point Studio Topiary Needle Minder
Le Point Studio Bouquet Needle Minder / Le Point Studio Pansy Basket Needle Minder / Le Point Studio Tulip Needle Minder
Olive Lane Cookware & Dinnerware Launch
Olive Lane is here! I’m so excited for my girlfriend Liz and her family as they launched Olive Lane bringing their passion for cooking as a family to life in a whole new way. Olive Lane was created with the intention to celebrate the joyful, fun, and messy side of cooking and eating as a family. Setting out to put a fresh spin on eating with kids and even the seemingly mundane moments that can take place in the kitchen, Olive Lane is a collection of extremely well curated high-quality, beautiful, and functional products that will give you a newfound inspiration to gather around the table.
Liz found that her children’s cups, plates, bowls, and utensils were often a hodgepodge of primary colored, ugly plastic, mix matched, and poorly-made items. So, she was determined to find a better option. When she came up empty handed, Liz took matters into her own hands and Olive Lane was born. Olive Lane is centered around kids tableware products! They partnered with French brand, Ekobo, who is known for their eco-friendly and sustainable kid dishes. Ekobo products are products you can trust for your children because they are made of bamboo and completely non-toxic. Olive Lane customized their own modern dark charcoal color, called Storm, to allow mealtime food to shine. Olive Lane is also stocked with items to help you celebrate life’s special moments. Grow your own food, play around the idea of food, and, of course, cook + dine.
As Liz so accurately proclaims, “Cooking for your family isn’t always pretty. But we are here to help you celebrate the mess!” Thank you Liz and Olive Lane for making cooking and meal time an even more special part of the day. I’m excited to update Rowan’s dishes!
01Olive Lane by Ekobo Kids Dinner Set with Divided Plate
02Olive Lane by Ekobo Kids Dinner Set with Round Plate
03Olive Lane by Ekobo Silicone Training Cup Set
04Olive Lane by Ekobo Sippy Cup
05Ruffle Loaf Pan
06Mini Kitchen Tools Set
07Homegrown Garden Kit with Plants & Tools
08Home Baking Set
Riley Sheehey x Refine Dress Collection
Refine is a new-to-me brand but leave it to Over the Moon to help me make a chic new discovery. (They never seem to disappoint!) Refine was launched by former Net-a-Porter editor, Anina Heé, as a brand that specializes in all things sustainable, silky, and chic. Made from Italian silk crêpe, her signature slip dresses manage to be both timeless and sexy… no small feat in our current day and age when sexy often leaves a lot to be desired on the timeless front.
Illustrator Riley Sheehey, on the other hand, is one of my longtime favorites!
She is a true talent and also one of the kindest people in the game. I’ve also had the privilege of getting to know Riley a bit over the last year. And I can tell you that she is as beautiful on the inside as the art she creates for the world around her. Riley does gorgeous branding design. Has her own shop of prints + originals + wallpapers + fabrics. And also has collaborations with everyone from Fleur Home to Dogwood Hill to Moda Operandi. This newest collaboration of Riley’s is such a welcome foray into clothing!
The Riley Sheehey x Refine collection consists of stunning Refine dresses and headbands. Designed with original botanical-inspired illustrations by Riley Sheehey… swoon! If you are a slip dress girl or a headband gal, then this collection was MADE FOR YOU. It is stunning and has a very effortless bridal feel to me too with the elevated silhouettes and whimsical prints. P.S. The two dresses in the collection are aptly named for two 90s icons: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and Friends character Rachel Green. Amazing.
The Carolyn Slip Dress in Pale Pink / The Carolyn Slip Dress in Pale Blue / The Carolyn Slip Dress in Ivory
The Rachel Slip Dress in Pale Pink / The Rachel Slip Dress in Ivory / The Rachel Slip Dress in Pale Blue
The Headband in Pale Blue / The Headband in Ivory / The Headband in Pale Pink
I hope you’ve enjoyed my Caught My Eye No. 3 edition of this series and made a beautiful new discovery for you, your kids, or a friend! Keep an eye out for my fourth series installment coming soon.
