Friday, February 26, 2010

Etsy Finds - Madrid and Morocco Edition!

I am planning a trip to Spain soon. Nothing is set in stone yet, so no details, but as I research areas in Southern Spain, as well as easily accessible Morocco, I am getting excited. So excited I get plagued by the over-use of commas!

Inspired by my newfound interest in this part of the world, I've been browsing Etsy as well for some handmade arts and crafts made in or inspired by Spain and Morocco.

Flamenco Necklace

Seville is one of the cities I am interested in visiting. Known as the birthplace of Flamenco, Seville is the capital of Andalusia and the home of great culture, art, and nightlife.

This beautiful necklace by tinatarnoff captures the romantic and flamboyant flamenco by providing a glimpse into a special moment. I love the detail on the chain as well as the pendant.



Spanish Inspired Art

I love these next two pieces. Both have different styles, but I think they capture the essence of Southern Spain.

"Barcelona Balcony by marywibis is a framed oil painting inspired by the artist's own stay at a Barcelona hostel. It really draws you in doesn't it?



Love this next one by artquirk. This shop has the most precious paintings and prints, many of them featuring famous European locales.

"Sunny Spain" shows a lovely scene of typical Southern Spanish architecture, and it really makes me want to poke around amongst the pretty little buildings.



Let's move south! From several ports in the Southern part of Spain, it's relatively easy to hop on a ferry and go across the Straights of Gibraltar into Morocco. I am all about this - I love opportunities to see different kinds of places and get to new countries and continents! While I have already been to Africa, Roberto hasn't, and neither of us have been to Morocco.

I am really excited to try the food there, and basically, to rock the casbah! Sorry.

Traditional Zouaq

I had to google "zouaq" when I saw this listing; it's a traditional Moroccan style of painting. moroccanmade has some gorgeous pieces of this stuff, and it really captures the style I envision Morocco. This listing was one of my favorites.



Cute T-shirt

mothwritten's shop (the product of a Moroccan-American marriage :)) has t-shirts for a cause. They are encouraging dialogue with the Arabic speaking world to try to bridge the gap between east and west.

This one says "Kiss me I'm Irish" in Arabic, and I think it's adorable! Perfect for St. Patty's day!



Side Note:Their cause is also in support of Sudanese refugees, many who speak Arabic, who have moved to the United States. I recently discussed a documentary on the subject, "God Grew Tired of US," over on my travel blog. It was an issue I knew nothing about, despite the events taking place very very recently. There were transplanted Sudanese living right in my hometown of Pittsburgh featured in the film.

I hope you all enjoyed this week's feature. Definitely go check out these fabulous listings and shops!

3 comments:

  1. love the first two the best - the necklace and painting with the open door. nice finds :)

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  2. Ohmygosh - I'm soo jealous of your trip! I spent a semester in Spain in college. You've got to visit the Alhambra!!!

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  3. The Alhambra's on my list! I can't wait :)

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