It's Looking so 2009 lately

I hope your holidays were incredibly merry and bright! We had a lovely time here with long dinners, little kid sleepovers, museums and walks and movies and sleeping in late. I 'm ready for 2009. Are you?

In a few hours we're driving north to a little cabin in the woods to bring in the new year quietly with some good friends. I have so much to tell you but I won't do it all now. I'll leave you with a few little slushy scenes of Brooklyn from my new camera (woohoo!) and my great big wish that all of your great big wishes come true in the new year.

Here's to us in '09.

Happy Everything

Wishing you and yours an incredible week of peace, fun or whatever you wish for...

And the Winner Is....

Well, first let me just drag this out by saying thank you to all of you amazing people who donated to this incredible thing. What started out as a small gesture to raise a little money for the Food Bank for New York City with a small raffle at our first trunk show, took on a much larger life, all on it's own. Reading about the shortages this year at food banks all over the country and the thought of people going hungry this winter here in New York sealed the deal: we'd do a raffle to help get as much food to as many people as possible. And now you have made it happen. Offers to help fill the basket with highly desirable goods from amazing designers, artists and small businesses gave it power. Local businesses, bloggers and write-ups about it all over the world built its momentum, and all of you who donated $5, $10 or $100 (and some who even offered to share the package if they won!) made it happen.
Thank you!

From the Food Bank for NYC's website:

"There are more than three million New Yorkers who have difficulty affording food-- an astounding number and one that continues to increase as the donated food supply drops to an all-time low and energy and fuel costs skyrocket. To address this issue, the Food Bank procures and distributes food to a network of more than 1,000 food assistance programs citywide. In addition, we provide food safety and capacity-building workshops; manage school nutrition education programs, after-school and emergency food programs; conduct food stamp prescreening and outreach; operate a senior food program, soup kitchen and food pantry; coordinate the largest Free Tax Assistance Program in the country; and develop policy and conduct research to inform community and government efforts to end food poverty throughout New York City."

We raised $1300 for the Food Bank for NYC and Breck of Sesame Letterpress generously added a donation of $100 from the sales of her beautiful coasters. Finally and incredibly, the Robin Hood Foundation will TRIPLE our donation which means together we've donated $4200 to the Food Bank of NYC. Wow. I'm getting a little choked up. This is the best post I've ever done.

So without further adieu...(ok and this is really an embarrassing video and I promise it will be the last time you see any more of me on screen unless absolutely necessary, but we wanted to give you the full effect.) The winner is.....



Congratulations and thank you again for all of your generosity~can't wait to see what we come up with next year.
To donate directly to the Food Bank of NYC go here.

LAST DAY FOR RAFFLES!!!

not this Raffles

nor this raffle(sia) flower, the largest flower known to man.

THIS RAFFLE! You know the rules but if you don't go here. We're doing so well and so close to our goal of raising $2000 for the Food Bank of NYC.

The Food Bank of NYC works to end food poverty and increase access to affordable, nutritious food for low-income New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs. And look at what you can win:1. 6 5x7 prints from the Purple Series, Blissful Images by Traci French

2. Set of 12 Bird Notecards by Le Papier Studio

3. Robin Coasters by Sesame Letterpress

4. Baby Alpaca Knit Hat handmade in Peru
from Hortensia Handmade

5. Two Packs of the Most Delicious Cookies
from TeaSpot NYC

6. Tiny Basket, Earthenware by Perch Designs

7. One-Of-a-Kind Pheasant Necklace in Silver
by Bonbon Oiseau

8. Organic Provence Bath Tea, Bath Salts
& Handmade Soy Candle by Brooklyn's own Self+Therapy

9. Open Road Publishing's Best of Paris
& Eating & Drinking in Paris Guides

10. Handmade Fascinator, Antique Feather & Flower by
Bonbon Oiseau Jewelry

11. Two Birds, handmade by Ann Wood Handmade

12. Antique Lace (not shown but very beautiful!) from High Desert Diva

Come and buy a raffle ticket from me today for $5 at Gifted
or for $10 on-line via paypal...*
just send to deb at bonbonoiseau dot com!
You have until today, December 21st at 6pm e.s.t. to enter!
* We're only taking U.S. entries at this time but if you live overseas and don't mind paying for shipping (about USD$75), by all means enter! We'd like to give as much as we can to the food bank and not the P.O.!

**Any donation of $100 or more and I will send a pair of these little bonbons (as well as enter your name 10 times into the raffle!)

OK, I'm on my way to my last sale of the season--hope you New Yorkers brave the weather and come and see me and all the great and talented designers and artists and vendors at
Brooklyn Flea's Gifted: A Holiday Market.
See you here tomorrow at noon to see find out the winner !!!

Bonbons for the Holidays

This week I delivered some big shop orders and breathed a great sigh. It's always a little stressful sending out packages for me--our hard work all wrapped up in a bundle and shipped on a wing and a prayer that it will get across the country or the sea and safely to it's destination. Here's where they went and where you can find bonbons this season:
We sent some beautiful silverwork chains and the new corsage/pendants from our Spring Collection to Coincidence in Tokyo again and are excited that Ships in Japan took our money clips for their men's department this season!Oh and the sweet Vittoria Bergui and her sleek shop Terra in the gorgeous Ligurian seaside town of Alassio has some new things for the holidays-she's been carrying bonbons for the past two years so I think I need to visit soon, don't I? And another new shop for us is Miho (sorry I don't have their website yet!), a boutique department store in Taiwan!
~And in NYC, Only Hearts...one of my favorite boutiques! I hand delivered their order to the shop on Mott Street ...they took the perfectly romantic holiday collection of vintage lockets and gold-dipped whistles which go perfectly with their own line of cozy sexy lingerie out of which I want it all (I was soo close to buying myself a new nightie). I'm hoping they get shopped out so we can deliver more!

And then of course there's the brightest star in Park Slope's fantastic shopping scene, Cog & Pearl, our oldest and most faithful carrier of all things Bonbon and purveyor of beautiful things. They have a big selection of bonbons and they've been putting out a little more each week...we just sent them the THIRD delivery this month! We design a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces for them which you won't find anywhere else but the best part? You don't have to live in NY to buy from them--they have a gorgeous website that I just noticed features our pheasant necklace front and center!! woohoo! And I'm about to drop off a few more new pieces this morning to Self+Therapy on Grand Street (just off Bedford Ave.) in Williamsburg--they have some great new pieces-keyfobs and money clips and our infamous heirloom collection grace the beautiful shop/spa, where you can also pick some gift certificates for a massage--I think I'll buy myself one...{sigh}. (Also, read Tamika's wonderful post today on the self+therapy blog---it's a perfect love song about giving!)

ahh friends

What a long week...work won't be over for me 'til Sunday, and Monday we announce the winner of the big raffle, but I got something in the mail on Wednesday that made me float on air and reminded me that the holidays are meant for me too: how lucky I am to know someone who is always inspiring and supportive and sweet...and who lets me sample what I have always imagined from just the pictures would be...heavenly...I am so lucky to have made such a lovely friend.

(I took these with my laptop! I didn't have a camera until just tonight--by then these were all gone!)

(P.S. and PSSST! You have until 5 pm tomorrow to enter the raffle while donating to a great cause...(We can only deliver in the U.S. but if you live abroad and you would like to enter AND you end up as the winner, please agree to pay for the shipping of this package (about USD$60) and you're in! For more info and to look again at what's inside look here!)

Small Things

for a new year

any of these...

on the wall, for you to remember

on a shelf, something indulgent or something simple

outside, a new tree

inside, a new tree

for a new year

work and share hard...

A Secret Divine Weekend

this little cutie really inspired me to try making children's
blocks using my charms!

Lately I feel like a quasar hurtling through the space/time continuum: so much packed into each day that last weekend seems like last month, and by the time the lights go out I am up again. This past weekend was pretty wonderful and went on for light years...Saturday's pictures are above of the Secret Project Robot Santa Sale (a little artistic license with the name) organized by two of Williamsburg's finest entrepreneurs, Tamika of Self+Therapy and Erin of Sodafine. It was so wonderful and I met so many sweet especially Barbara of My Little Pictures and Kim of The Wild Unknown...(I bought some of their artwork-stay tuned for a peek...)

On Sunday, pictures below, was the always lovely light-filled Divine Studio Sale, so called because it is held annually in the light-filled Divine Photo Studio on Lafayette Street in NYC. Always high-energy and filled with amazing designers and artists. This year I was so happy to meet Lotta of Lotta Jansdotter who's work I've admired for so long and the very lovely Angie of A.S.I.S. Knits and so many of the talented craftspeople and who make up Martha Stewart's Craft Department.

I love these wooden rings by my pal Paige!
(for more info write to her at thatgirlpaige at yahoo dot com)

It was the never-ending-gobstopper of weekends but so invigorating to be around so much talent and to see old friends and make new ones, and of course to meet all the wonderful people who come out to support all of us...that said, only one more holiday sale left next Sunday right here. Are you coming?

Remember to remind your honeys that Wednesday is the last day to get your holiday orders in via Priority Mail! The raffle only has 5 days left! Go here to enter and please pass it on, put the button on your blog and let's reach our goal of $2000...we're doing so well--thank you everyone for your help!