September 28, 2013

10 Temptingly Dark and Gothic Etsy Shops

Creepy Christine's Cabinet of Curiosities

Creepy Christine lives in Toronto, Canada. She sells shadowboxes, dark ofrendas (altars) dedicated to Edward Gorey and Vincent Price, plus some artistic creations.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreepyChristine

Dr. Kyla's Emporium

Dr. Kyla lives in Montreal, Canada and creates adorable crocheted Pocket Monsters. They're dedicated to characters from horror films, including Carrie, Pinhead, Chucky, Ghostface from Scream, Samara from The Ring, Tippi Hedren's character from The Birds, and more.

My favorite Pocket Monster here is Ode to Jack Torrance from The Shining.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DoctorKyla

Helene Hawthorne Fashions

Helene Hawthorne Fashions is based in Edmonds (I'm assuming that's near me in Seattle). She creates stunningly beautiful Victorian and rococo gowns and skirts, plus some fabulous hair pieces, collars and wigs.

My favorite thing here is this black and white striped Marie Antoinette dress.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hhfashions

La Vie Macabre

La Vie Macabre sells Victorian mourning jewelry, memento mori, and other dark adornments. There are also a lot of beaded spiders here.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/laviemacabre

McLaineO

McLaineO is a shop run out of Miami. While most of the things here are closer to tattoo and rockabilly culture than dark alternative, I thought you might like to see the skeleton adult onesie and skull romper. There are also some cute skull dresses.

My favorite item here is this sugar skull party dress.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mclaineo

Paper Moon Gallery

This California shop sells odd folk art creations, including big-eyed dolls, felt zombies, witch ornaments, and zombie cats.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/papermoongallery

Romantic Threads

This Long Beach based shop sells drop dead gorgeous gowns: Medieval, fantasy, Victorian, gothic, and steampunk. There are also a few stunning, original fairy fantasy wedding gowns.

My favorite thing here is this Marie Antoinette peacock gothic fantasy gown.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RomanticThreads

Sandra Arteaga

This artist lives in Barcelona, Spain. She creates morbid, odd little paper dollies and art pieces.

My favorite piece here is this Celinne Halloween paper doll.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SandraArteagA

3Quartermoon Creative

This shop (in Tucson, AZ) sells unique steampunk jewelry. They also offer some T-shirts and art pieces.

There are also some home decor pieces here, such as this steampunk drink coasters set.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/3QuartermoonCreative

TwinklyBits

TwinklyBits sells hands-down, the most creative, unusual headpieces and hats I think I'll ever see. There are goth cupcake skull fascinators, teacup death skulls, zombie duck hats and dripping eye ball hats. So cool!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/twinklybits

Dark Side of the Net

September 27, 2013

New Dark and Gothic Links for Late September 2013

DARK BLOGS:

Frugal Frights and Delights

Debbie's blog about "Inspiring Enchantment Without Spending a Fortune." Currently she's blogging about the Sally NMBC dress she's creating; repulsive recipes for Halloween; and the dolls she's transformed into zombies.

http://frugalfrightsanddelights.wordpress.com/

Illuminating Shadows

"Dark Folkore, Strange History and Morbid Curiosities." A really interesting blog with posts on archaeology, cannibalistic healing practices, and haunted trees of New England. There aren't very many posts here, but what's here is very well researched and written.

http://illuminating-shadows.blogspot.com/

Live Steamy

Melanie Grace's blog about her steampunk lifestyle. There are music posts here, but also a lot of posts promoting the cool items she sells in her Etsy shop.

http://livesteamy.blogspot.com/

Live Steamy on Facebook

Spider Violets

Dana Dark's blog about her life as a dark mom, crafter, Victoriana fan, and dark musician. Recent posts include intriguing photos of some old family treasures she acquired; some autumn makeup she's experimenting with; and a review of Enchanticals perfume. Also check out her recent post on some ghoulish candles she devised.

http://spiderviolets.blogspot.com/

DARK BUSINESSES:

Vamptasy Publishing

Vamptasy Publishing, on Facebook

DARK GAMES:

Little Inferno

My two youngest boys are currently obsessed with this cathartic game. Basically all you do is burn up toys in the fireplace all day long. There are dark shadows, spooky spiders, and satisfying crackling and burning noises. It's that simple! I can't believe how much time these guys spend playing this game if we let them.

Little Inferno, at Tomorrow Corporation

DARK AND GOTHIC MUSIC:

Narrenturm

A dark ambient "death industrial" band. Not to be confused with the metal band from Poland with the same name. I believe they're from Germany. Check out their songs on the YouTube link.

Narrenturm, on Facebook

Narrenturm on YouTube

DARK SHOPS:

Blackpin

This Scottish Etsy shop sells stunningly gorgeous riding hats, Victorian fascinators, neo Victorian Mad Hatter hats, burlesque and tricorn hats. There are a few striking designs for men as well.

My favorite item here is this Victorian Mini burlesque fascinator.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Blackpin

Black Hat Factory

This shop is a great place to pick up basic lovely staples for your gothic wardrobe. Their hats include Victorian, steampunk, gothic and just plain historical costume cosplay style hats. They also carry a few pretty pieces of jewelry.

My favorite item here is this velvet steampunk Victorian hat.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackHatFactory

The Funeral Garden

This Canadian shop is based in London, Ontario. It's been open since 2004. I think I linked to it in the old Darklinks link directory, but it's time for an update! They sell jewelry (including a lot of Alchemy Gothic pieces), gothic fantasy artwork, home decor and trinket boxes, and gargoyle-themed items. There's also a large section for occult books and magazines.

http://www.funeralgarden.com/

The Funeral Garden on Facebook

MeraV Design Company

This Israeli shop specializes in steampunk and goth mini top hats. They're super creative, I haven't seen hats much like this elsewhere yet. They use a lot of feathers and gorgeous flowers.

My favorite mini top hat here is the Red Gothic Steampunk one!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeraVDesignCompany

ZOMBIES:

Zombie Hoard

25,000 fans signed up to receive the five or six posts a day this page offers: zombie photos, news, zombie artwork, zombie comics and zombie toy pics.

Zombie Hoard, on Facebook