The Marlowe Co. on Hiatus

The Marlowe Co. is on hiatus until further notice. All current orders will be shipped, with immense apologies for delays.

I don't think this will ever stop being exciting.

Our little, green bike found itself on the Etsy front page yesterday.



Ah, so proud. *sniff*

Do Something

So pleased to finally have these resistor pendants in the shop. They look great (I often wear a black one as a drop pendant) and can convey a message of "I am a geek", "I am an activist" or "I am a geek activist."

They fit in with the bulk of my media intake lately. I have quite fallen in love with British comedian Mark Steel who, along with being funny, smart and very sexy, is an activist and a strong proponent of the belief that even the person who thinks himself most lowly can start a revolution. I'm learning a lot from his writing, his radio programs and his fantastic television series The Mark Steel Lectures (which can be seen on YouTube, as well as being downloadable from his webstie) and finding so much inspiration in his message.

I will soon be in possession of his book Viva la Revolution: A Stand-Up History of the French Revolution and am very excited about it. Learning through humor is my favorite sort of education.

Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive

I have finally decided to face the fact that the look I've created for The Marlowe Co. (banner, icon, color scheme) doesn't accurately reflect our wares, so I'm administering a tonic to our sickly, meek doctor of a shop identity and waiting to see what sort of man or monster will emerge.

I.e., I'm making Mungo vote on the new banner as I realize I can't be objective about what would look good and accurately reflect what the shop is about.

I can tell you the new look will likely be bold and colorful as our pendants are such playful and bright things. While I'll miss the current look (far from a meek doctor, the look and shop name were inspired by my favorite fictional character, Det. Philip Marlowe from Raymond Chandler's fantastic novels), I embrace the change and look forward to brightening the place up. I hope that it will please all my wonderful current customers and draw new eyes to our colorful candy-like wares.

Has everyone seen the latest Etsy Finds spotlight? If you like the lounge/retro aesthetic, check out Classic Cocktails. I've always been a fan of that aesthetic myself (I have many pieces from the '40s, '50s and '60s around my home), and this is one of my favorite Etsy Finds spotlights so far. I love the fact that a person could pretty well furnish her entire life via Etsy.

I may have actually fallen off the planet.

Wow, that was a long lull in posting. I should be ashamed. So I come to you bearing gifts to ask for mercy.

Down Home Girl


My first byhand.me spotlight, and I think I'll be utilizing this tool more often for some themed sharing posts.

Music is like air for me. When I don't listen to music for a while, my internal deejay starts playing songs I hate, apparently in an effort to make me listen to something, anything, to cleanse my brain. I frequently get on band-centric kicks, and right now my listening consists almost entirely of music from Old Crow Medicine Show and the Felice Brothers. Both bands draw heavily from American roots music and inject it with their own amazing energy.

I think of myself as a city girl who grew up on a farm, and my mother was born and raised in the South, so OCMS and the Felice Brothers build a comfortable bridge between my past and my present. This spotlight was inspired by OCMS and takes elements from their songs "Wagon Wheel" and "Down Home Girl". (I posit the theory that Ketch Secor is the sexiest man to ever wield a fiddle.)

If you've never heard of the Felice Brothers, I enthusiastically encourage you to check out this YouTube playlist I made of some of the best examples of their work.

Feeling the Love

Mr. Moustache has a cozy spot in a lovely treasury.

Letter A Gets Some Attention

Our A pendant is in a great letter treasury: Amazing Grace.