Mother Nature threw a wrench in travel plans for those of us who live up and down the Eastern seaboard this past weekend, stranding people in airports, halting public transportation, and leaving anywhere from 12-24 inches of snow in its wake.

I, for one, lucked out and caught the very last Southwest flight out of BWI Sunday morning, otherwise, I too would have spent the remainder of my vacation eating trail mix from Hudson News and fitfully sleeping on top of my carry-on bag.

Unfortunately, these folks weren’t as lucky.

Chicago-based jewelry designer Laura Lombardi started her company almost two years ago, and since then, her fabulous designs have been garnering press left and right. She’s been profiled in Bust magazine and NYLON,  and most recently her stacked rectangle necklace (which I happen to own) made it into New York‘s holiday gift guide. Laura uses re-purposed and vintage materials to create each piece of jewelry by hand in her Chicago studio, making every item unique.

Laura has graciously donated her Small Sphere Necklace for our Have A Handmade Holiday giveaway! The pendant is made of small, semi-circular, vintage brass charms and hangs on 18″ vintage brass chain.

So you wanna win this necklace? Here’s how it works!

*Add a comment to the bottom of this post and tell us which piece is your favorite over at Laura’s site.

(Extra entries! (Add these as separate comments for more opportunities to win):

*Leave a comment that you are now following Laura on Twitter.

*Leave a comment that you are now following Laura on Facebook.

*Leave a comment that you have blogged or tweeted about the giveaway! (and leave us a link ).

*Leave a comment that you have added Laura Lombardi Jewelry on Etsy as a favorite!

*Leave a comment that you are now following The Function Key on Facebook or Twitter!

***Please make sure to leave a valid email address in the comment!***

We will close the giveaway on Monday, December 20th at Midnight! So get your entries in!

This year, we’re grabbing the holidays by the reindeer horns. We’re keeping our budgets in check and our last minute acquisitions to a minimum. We are not letting the holidays become an arms race. Well, OK, we’re not letting the holidays become a super expensive, purse string-bursting arms race. And just exactly how are we accomplishing this seemingly impossible feat? We’re buying handmade! We took to the Web and headed straight to Etsy, where we handpicked a slew of our favorite independent designers to see if they wanted to Have a Handmade Holiday, too! And guess what? The answer was an astounding “Yes!”

We couldn’t be happier! We get to promote a group of extremely talented people and we get to give back to our readers.

So here’s the scoop, we’re gifting you six weeks (yes, six weeks!) of giveaways! Each week we’ll feature two designers and each week you’ll have the opportunity to win their awesome creations! Sound good? That’s what we thought!

The fun starts now, check out our eighth giveaway!

On Friday evening, our friend Andrew took us to see Belle and Sebastian at The Wang Theatre in Boston. It was his wedding present to us, and it was magical from the moment we stepped foot inside the gilded vestibule. Belle and Sebastian sounded every bit as crisp and clear as they do on their recordings. Within minutes of the band taking the stage, the entire crowd was on its feet and didn’t sit until the final bow.

Highlights of the evening included Stuart Murdoch, Stuart Murdoch, and Stuart Murdoch. OK, OK, Mick was freaking adorable, too. Anyway, highlights — Stuart applied eye makeup to a female audience member’s eyes; the band threw footballs out to the wee members of the audience (a nod to their aging hipster fanbase); and finally, my favorite, Stuart ran straight up the aisle in our direction! I ran out to greet him and damn it, if he didn’t look the other way.

The video above is from their new album Write About Love (it’s really great!). Enjoy!

My favorite pop-ups of the evening were the leathergoods by Rennes and the spun cotton creations from Vintage by Crystal.

Rennes colorful, thoughtfully informed leather selections caught my eye immediately. And I was happy to discover that they felt wonderfully supple, too. I got to chat with Julia, the talent behind the operation, she was super sweet, and picked a fantastic forest green iPhone case, too!

I also got to meet Crystal, which was awesome because I gave two of her sculptures for Christmas gifts last year. We had a blast chatting for a good 30 minutes. I learned that she has a BFA in graphic design and after working for a corporate entity, decided it was time to pursue her passion to create! Since taking the big leap,  she’s been on The Martha Stewart Show three times (one of which she got engaged!) and now works full-time making her fabulous sculptures. I made my third purchase from her and picked up a gangly little leopard boy. SO CUTE!

I am really digging this metallic plaid cardigan from Madewell. It looks super cozy and ready to go home — to my home that is.

If you’re in Boston tonight, Madewell is hosting Denim Roadtrip with Lucky Magazine from 6-8 p.m., at its Newbury Street store.

RSVP here.

I love it when readers ask us for advice! Like a few days ago, when a young woman wrote us asking for suggestions on cool boutiques, neighborhoods, etc., to check out in Boston. She recently relocated to Boston from London (poor thing) to attend grad school and came across our site and thought we could point in her in the right direction. Most important on her list? A “nice, off-beat place to get a haircut.” This requirement delighted me because I’ve been dying to give you the first peek inside {Trephin} (unless of course you’ve already been!), and now I’m helping a sweet expat, too! 

We wrote about {Trephin} in July after attending a photo shoot for its first print ad. Now, nearly three months later, the salon is up and running and about to host its first event – Powder Room – on October 4th. Located on the second floor of 25 Temple Place, the salon is a loft-like, open space, that employs a balance of Neo-Victorian and modern details – vanities are used as the stylists’ workstations, a tiered stand of brass-cast hands serves as a business card holder on the front desk, Louis Ghost chairs alternate with midcentury wooden chairs in the waiting area, super-modern Italian sinks function as wash stations. {Trephin} also carries organic hair products by Kevin Murphy and No. 4, both of which are impeccably packaged.

And for those of us who enjoy would employ a personal shampooist if we could (wait, is that only me?), wait until you experience it at {Trephin}, where your shampoo comes a view, courtesy of  a vaulted roof lantern, straight up into the sky over Boston.

Click through for more photos.

{Trephin}
25 Temple Pl 2nd Fl
Boston, MA 02111
857.233.2363

Get excited Boston! Tomorrow — Twelve Chairs — a new design boutique with an eco-conscious focus officially opens its doors for business, and we’re giving you a preview!

Twelve Chairs proprietors Roison Giese and Miggy Mason (fantastic names!) met while studying interior design at Cornell University and discovered that they shared an entrepreneurial spirit. However, upon graduating, their dreams took a backburner to reality, and they both pursued full-time jobs instead. Then, after spending a few years in the rat race, the girls said to heck with it and decided to pursue their true ambitions — to own a boutique/interior design studio. That was a little more than a year ago, and they haven’t looked back since.

The store is located in an old warehouse — whose interior architecture lends itself well to Twelve Chairs aesthetic — in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood. Ms. Giese and Ms. Mason have done a terrific job decorating the space with well-proportioned found and salvaged furniture (all of which are for sale), giving the open floor plan an inviting, make-yourself-at-home atmosphere. Twelve chairs’ well-edited merchandise includes stationary from Rifle Paper Company (one of my personal favorites), candles by Tatine (the wild honeysuckle and woodsmoke are divine!), Brahms Mount blankets, rugs by Dwell Studio, furniture from Cisco Brothers Basal Living collection, and so much more.

Thanks again to Miggy and Roisin for inviting us to preview your fantastic store, it was such a pleasure. We think it’s pretty fantastic that you’re living your dream!

Good to know:

Twelve Chairs
319 A St | Boston | MA | 02210
Hours Monday thru Saturday | 10 to 6

(click through for more photos!)

We’ll start it off . . . 

 Here are the contents of Kim’s iPhone: 

Here are the contents of Ryan’s iPhone:
  

From left: Barware by Outset, tableware by Rosanna, espresso machines by Espressione.  

Enjoy!!