With the Fourth of July and Bastille Day past, we turned elsewhere for inspiration. We found it in the bright colors of some of our favorite bags!

{clockwise from top left: Orange woven hobo + limited edition French astrological scarf, “Love, summer of” tote + French silk scarf, Fabulously fun & sturdy Sunshine Cosmos tote by Hable Construction, Turquoise rosette bow clutch}

We looked around and found all kinds of great accessories for summer! These are our favorites, and there are even more in the store and online.

{clockwise from top left: Matt Bernson sandals – 40% off in the store!, wide striped resin bangles from Paris, a variety of colorful wooden bangles, red nautical bag, large & small Italian glass bottles by Seletti, blue bloom compact umbrella}

We love both the luxury of Marie Antoinette and the principles of the Revolution, but we decided to redo our windows in the style of the decadent queen.

Many of us who work here at Toots & Magoo are Francophiles and have lived in a francophone country at one time or another, so we decided to throw a party to celebrate the French national holiday. Our Fête de la Bastille will be next Wednesday, the 14th, from 7-9 pm at the store.

We’ll be making Monacos and Demi Pêches (two popular French ‘beer cocktails’) with lager from local brewery Top of the Hill, and we’ll be eating cake – à la Marie Antoinette – provided by our neighbors at Sugarland Bakery.

Stop by and say hello! In the meantime…check out our favorite Bastille Day items:

The sentiments of the French Revolution are expressed in exquisite letterpressed detail in these cards by Thomas Printers.

These earrings feature the 5, 10, and 20 cent pieces of the former currency of La République Française.

A 1 franc piece makes a lovely charm.

The principles of the Revolution again, here at the top of an antique watercolor featuring a French soldier.

Vive la France!

We just got more of these oh-so-chic French-inspired nautical bags! Last time we had them they absolutely flew out of the store.

We love them because they remind us of the classic French marin look…

…and because they’re great as a cross-body shoulder bag or as an oversized clutch! Perfect for a busy afternoon in the city or a summer evening out on the town.

They’re available in the store and online.

If you missed our last reception with Ben Long (or even if you didn’t!) be sure to catch him this Saturday:

Cocktails and conversation with
Benjamin F. Long, IV

drawings and oil portraits

June 5, 2010
5:30 – 7:30

Mr. Long will be available for commissions over the next several months while he works on the portrait of UNC president Erksine Bowles.

Toots & Magoo Annex
144 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC
919.942.3339

A portion of the sales on June 5th will go to benefit the Women’s Center of Chapel Hill.

Toots is off in France finding all kinds of lovely new things for the store! She snagged some old favorites as well as a whole collection of beautiful new pieces, and just found these great handbags at the market. It’ll all be available in the store and through the website in about a week, once she hops back over the pond.

Think you can’t afford a piece of fine art? Think again! Kiki Smith, best known for her sculpture and drawings, is now offering a line of cast silver jewelry through our gallery and website.

These one of a kind pieces of wearable art are inspired by the same themes as her sculpture and drawings, taking on subjects of the natural world including reindeer, birds, stars, and even tarantulas. Kiki begins by carving into wax with her thumbnail, and casts each piece by hand. Given this unconventional technique, no two are the same, but collectively they are an essential part of her oeuvre.

We are proud to be carrying these beautiful pieces in addition to Falcon, her etching and aquatint on mold-made Hannenuhle paper, 2001.

Back when Toots owned an art gallery in San Francisco, she represented artist Robert Charles Dunahay and gave him some of his first exhibitions. His work is now featured in collections around the globe. He is most well-known for his richly colorful paintings of palms. His palm references have often been compared to Andy Warhol’s in that he uses the palm tree as an consistent icon while experimenting with various color combinations.

“His large colorful canvases of a single palm image isolated against a solid color background have an immediate and definite pop art quality. The palms are beautifully rendered in fantastic detail with crisp, confident brushstrokes and saturated with rich colors. As a result of Dunahay’s intimate approach and ability to personalize the subject matter, these paintings feel more like portraits than landscapes.” artnet.com

Several affordable prints of his beautiful paintings have just arrived at the gallery. Palm Blanc (immediately below) can also be seen in the March issue of Coastal Living magazine, page 88.

Palm Blanc, 16 × 20

James, 16 × 20

Koala, 16 × 20

Cranberry, 16 × 20 and 30 × 40

Myra, and 30 × 40

Not pictured: Erin, Palm Breeze, and Craven.

Last Tuesday evening, we had a reception to celebrate the opening of a special month-long exhibition in an annex gallery right next door to our store. It features the internationally celebrated artist Benjamin Long (UNC ‘67), a variety of other artists, and a new selection from Magoo’s incredible collection of antiques. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Women’s Center of Chapel Hill.

Ben Long will be joining us for an informal reception tomorrow evening. He will be in town for several days to paint the portrait of UNC president Erskine Bowles. If you’re in the area, please stop by! The reception begins at 6:30 in our Annex Gallery, 144 East Franklin Street (right next door).

Dale Dixon admires Ben Long drawings

antique sofa with updated linen upholstery, Louis St. Lewis paintings above; Jonathan Robinson pieces center and at left.

Vintage French posters

Toots, Magoo, Louis St. Lewis, Kimberly Kyser

photography by Jonathan Young

Who’s ready for Spring? At Toots & Magoo, we have all been craving sunshine and a warm breeze. We are so anxious that we put together a spring inspiration board with some of our favorite items. A few themes came about: bright colors, soft textiles and floral patterns. Makes you want to kick off your sandals, sit on the grass and sip on a glass of sweet tea…

Tom’s Shoes Founder Blake Mycoskie

Good looks aside, this Blake guy is really something special. Bill Clinton recently introduced him as “one of the most interesting entrepreneurs [he’s] ever met.”

Blake has created a “One for One” business model that is revolutionizing the way people shop, encouraging conscientious consumerism. Not only that, he’s inspiring a new (and crucial) wave of entrepreneurialism, asking people who want to start small companies to incorporate giving into the model. Seeing Blake’s business thriving during an “economic downturn” makes me wonder. Surely, things aren’t so bad. Maybe it’s time to change the way we do things.

It was an amazing surprise to host him at the shop yesterday during his campus visit and even more amazing to hear Blake say Toots & Magoo “is the kind of store [he] could spend all day in.”

Thanks, Blake!

In case you’re wondering, he bought a rainproof journal. Go figure.

(Also, check out Blake’s new AT&T commercial.)