The other day I was drawn to an article posted on SFGate about Agelio Batle and his live/work art studio in Potrero Hill, SF. There are some great pictures of the space and details on the studio, how Agelio and his wife found it and how they now use it to raise their two kids as well as run a thriving art business.

I checked out Agelio’s web site and saw that his studio was open this weekend for a holiday sale so I decided to stop by — it’s an amazing space and Agelio is a warm and welcoming guy. I got a tour of the space and learned a bit about his background, his work and the business of art. His pieces are really cool — there’s a selection of paintings, marble sculptures and graphite pieces that you can actually write with! here’s what I picked up for myself:

Agelio’s (Batle Studio) holiday sale is running through Dec. 24th with selected items 25-50% off. It’s well worth a visit.

SF Gallery 143 is back with their annual Holiday Consignment Store. For several weeks in December, Jessa Freeman converts this photo studio in the Lower Haight into a curated boutique featuring some pretty great artists and designers. Show your support and stop by on a Saturday night for a party where you can meet and mingle with (and shop from!) the participating artists/designers.

SF Gallery 143
143 Fillmore St. (@ Waller)
Dec. 6-21
Tue.-Fri. 3-7pm
*Sat. 11am-6pm
Sun. 12-6pm

*Saturday night events are from 6-9pm

Catherine Vo, a high school student and founder of Beaverton (near Portland), Oregon’s Aloha High School Youth Empowered by Action group, contacted me a while back about donating some jewelry for a fashion show benefit at her school, to which I happily complied. Turns out Catherine has gathered up approximately $31,000 in in-kind donations from designers such as Fair Indigo, Velvet by Graham & Spencer, Denim by Victoria Beckham, Rygy Swimwear, Colette Malouf, and many, many more. They plan on auctioning off approximately 400 items. (this is just an incredible feat — considering Catherine mostly did this by emailing designers and simply asking for their participation)

The Labels for Love Fashion Show and silent auction is happening at Aloha High School on Friday, December 5th from 5:00-8:00pm. This event benefits the Oregon Food Bank. I wish Catherine and all those involved incredible success. I am so impressed with all of her efforts and they definitely aren’t going unnoticed!

Just in time for the holidays, we’ve added a few items to the site and the online store. There are several new pendant necklaces with rutilated and tourmalated quartz as well as the lovely labradorite pendant necklace shown here.

More to come over the next few days with a focus on mixed metals and black & white — which might just be a recessionista thing! I’m not quite sure where that influence is coming from, but black and white are timeless, which always works well.

Nest, the nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of women in developing countries has redesigned their site — take a look. The mission of Nest is to support women artists and artisans in the developing world by helping them create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses. Nest provides micro-credit loans to be used for the purchase of the supplies and materials necessary to begin and/or maintain art or craft-based businesses.

Aiko Designs has been involved with Nest for some time now, and with the new redesign and launch, you can now purchase Aiko Designs pieces on the Nest website. Exciting! I’m really happy to be involved with such a great organization.