LITTLE COLLECTOR

Chrissy Crawford Talks Entrepreneurship with Claudia Chan

May 21, 2013

Spring Picks for Young Readers

May 17, 2013

There's nothing like a lazy spring afternoon to remind ourselves of the pleasures of a good book. Simply add sunshine and a quiet corner to a spring book and presto, your child will be buried in the pages in no time. Below we share some of our favorite springtime reads from the inimitable Eloise to the classic children's tale Millicent and the Wind. Sit back, relax and enjoy!

Millicent and the Wind, by Robert Munsch: This classic children's book from Canadian author Robert Munsch tells the story of Millicent, a girl who lives high in the mountains and who, in her loneliness, makes friends with the wind, that is, until real friends come along. A great lesson in friendship and imaginative play.

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, by Mo Willems: What does the pigeon do when he finds a hot dog on the ground? Well, with his appetite roaring he can barely restrain himself! This story written and illustrated by Mo Willems is both lovingly illustrated in a modern blocky style and hilarious as Pigeon wrestles with the voice of reason and his love of hot dogs.

Eloise in Brooklyn: Not a book per se but a wonderful set of illustrations from New York Magazine, illustrator Joana Alvilles reimagines the Plaza's most incorrigible young resident moving to Brooklyn and taking up residence at the Wythe Hotel. What havoc will Eloise wreck once she has access to social media? You'll have to read it to find out :)

Magritte's Marvellous Hat: A Picture Book, by D.B. Johnson: A lovely picture book that introduces young readers to the paintings of Magritte via the adventures of an industrious pup. Fitting because kids seem to naturally grasp Surrealism according to Wired's Geek Dad column. Read the full review on Wired for more.

All set for San Francisco!

May 17, 2013

We're having a blast so far in San Francisco at ArtPad SF. Not only is our booth (ok, hotel room) beautiful, but it overlooks the pool! And who can say no to an in-booth en suite? Last night Founder Chrissy Crawford mingled with guests and press at the VIP opening and today she'll be at the booth from noon - 8 tonight. Stop by and say hi! Plus join us for a free kids tour tomorrow at 12:30 led by artist Matthew Carden whose work is also featured in the booth.  Need tickets? Click HERE for your 3-day VIP pass & enter code: LC

Wondering about fun things to do in SF? Check out Design Sponge's city guide to for all of the dreamy Bay Area highlights.

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Join us at ArtPad SF

May 15, 2013

Join us in San Francisco!

Hot on the heels of NADA New York we are delighted to announce that LittleCollector will be exhibiting for the first time at ArtPad San Francisco from May 16-19 at the historic Phoenix Hotel. Stop by our booth to say hi and pick up work by some of your favorite artists or join in with one of our ever-popular kids tours (NADA's were packed!). I look forward to welcoming you! - Chrissy Crawford, Founder
Featuring work by: William Wegman, Matthew Carden, Libby Black, Larry Moss, Julie Heffernan, Trey Speegle and MORE!

Free Kids Tours

Saturday May 18, 12:30 with artist Matthew Carden
Sunday May 19, 12:30 with artist Libby Black
Free and open to kids 5+
Learn more here

Panel Discussion

Sunday May 19th at 1:30
Join LittleCollector Founder Chrissy Crawford and a group of artists, curators and educators as they discuss the benefits of introducing your children to art at an early age. Learn how to inspire creative play, which art resources are the best for young learners and how to start them on a path of creative critical thinking. Check in at the front desk for tour and panel information.

NADA wrap up and tour pics

May 14, 2013

Chris Uphues and Grace Johnstone with the tour in front of Thomas Kovachevich's, “The Garden”

A big thank you to everyone who joined us at NADA over the weekend. We had two wonderful kids tours led by Chris Uphues on Saturday and Yolande Whitcomb on Sunday and both were fun- and art-filled explorations of the fair! We had a super-creative group of kids who were eager to share their impressions and we were blown away by the engagement and insights of our crew. The Kids' Choice favorites included Ben Jones' video paintings at Loyal Gallery, a Roy Lichtenstein piece made with wallpaper and tinfoil at Alden Projects (with huge thanks to Todd Alden who gave a wonderful talk) and Thomas Kovachevich's cardboard and paper sculpture “The Garden” which was a great setting for using our imaginations. Quote of the weekend goes to Max who noted that a small Yves Klein blue square looked like "a blurry, fuzzy blue monster."  In addition to the tours, all of the kids who jointed us walked away with LittleCollector tote bags, a NADA kids guide and crayons, ensuring that the creative process was just beginning!  For those who missed the tour this time, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get first notice of our next kids tour plus other fun art events hosted by LittleCollector in and around New York City.

A young visitor explores floor sculpture.

The group deep in discussion.

Yolande Whitcomb explains found objects in art.

A parade through NADA.

Ben Jones' Video Painting 7 at Loyal Gallery (Stockholm) was voted kids choice. Photo by Emily Colucci for Hyperallergic

Speaking with Todd Alden at Alden Projects about Roy Lichtenstein and Yves Klein.

Exploring abstract painting.

Kids totes, guides and crayons for all!

Video of NADA install

May 9, 2013

NADA setup movie

We made a movie! Ok, granted it was our first outing with the iphone video recorder, AND Grace was filming it by herself in an echoey room, but you get the idea :). Click on the link above to check out this (very) rough intro to our booth at NADA and the behind-the-scenes action at Pier 36 as other booths set up yesterday afternoon. And while our cinematic skills might be kinda crummy, our kids tours aren't! Don't forget to rsvp for kids tours this Saturday and Sunday at 11am.

Saturday 11am with Chris Uphues (Artist)

Sunday 11am with Yolande Whitcomb (Co-Founder & Co-Director of the Art Dossier)

rsvp to hello@littlecollector.com

Collective .1 Opening

May 8, 2013

Last night we attended the opening of the Collective .1 Design Fair at Pier 57. This inaugural design fair features a "cohesive, curated selection of contemporary design and historical pieces from galleries around the world" and LittleCollector is honored to be offering free kids tours for kids 4+ on Friday May 10th and Saturday May 11th at noon and 1pm daily. Space is limited so rsvp to hello@littlecollector.com. And for design fans, the fair offers a wonderful selection of vintage and contemporary furniture, jewelry and design. Last night's standouts included a super-fun (and provocative) installation by Sebastian Errazuriz that combined industrial fans and neon text, the tattoo-derived textiles and wallpaper in the  Grey Area booth and the public furnishing provided by American-made furniture purveyor BDDW (the leather-backed chairs were particularly lovely).

Kindling Quarterly

May 7, 2013

As an office that reads and follows a lot of publications about design, kids and parenting we're familiar with the decidedly female tone of much parenting journalism. So we were very heartened to see the release of Kindling Quarterly, a beautifully-designed magazine about fatherhood that is available via subscription through their website.  Launched in January 2013 in Brooklyn,  Kindling is now in it's second quarter with issue #2. We particularly love this line from their About page: "There is no shortage of familiar portrayls of dads in media, yet we aim to present a thoughtful dialogue about fatherhood that is missing from our cultural landscape. Men who are active caregivers are not a novelty and we do not depict them as such." Check out more from Kindling Quarterly and subscribe here.

Cute Crafts for Mother's Day

May 6, 2013

We all love our mommas and nothing is more straight from the heart than a handmade card made by little fingers. Here's one of our favorites that we discovered via the blog KareWares. Made with simple craft items - construction paper, yarn, markers and glue - it's easily mastered by toddler hands with the help of an adult, or order children on their own. For an even more personalized variation, try replacing the grass with cutout handprints. To see step-by-step instructions click here and download the easy template, then hang your masterpiece in the window where mom can't miss it!

Chrissy Crawford on GoGirl Finance

May 3, 2013

GoGirl Finance video

LittleCollector Founder Chrissy Crawford made a video for GoGirl Finance about mistake that all rookie entrepreneurs should avoid. Check it out on their fantastic website and for everyone who aspires to own their own business, take note!