Unbeknown to my mother, I had a pet baby squirrel for awhile when I was 11. I rescued it from our cat, who was an excellent hunter, but very poor at delivering the final coup de grâce. The squirrel would sleep in the pockets of whatever coat or sweater was hanging in my closet, and I fed it oranges and lettuce that I pilfered from the kitchen. It was only when he became a little aggressive that I realized it was time to repatriate him to the outdoors. Right now we have a family of squirrels living in a tree in our backyard, so as far as evening entertainment goes, we’ve pretty much given up watching movies or listening to music. There are three babies, one very attentive parent, and a lot of activity in and out of a tiny 2″ doorway. I don’t have a good zoom lens, so until then these guys will have to suffice. The clear plastic bobble-head squirrel, a gift from a friend, is available online at squirrelsandmore. And the lovely porcelain nuts are from the talented K. Grandey who is temporarily on leave from making ceramic nuts so that she can care for a new baby. And while we are on the subject, one of my absolute favorite story books as a kid, The Meanest Squirrel I Ever Met, written by Gene Zion, of Harry the Dirty Dog fame, is reassuringly still available in used editions on Amazon. This post is for Sue, my friend and fellow squirrel fan.

As a testimony to how these Dansk Kobenstyle pots, designed by Jens Quistgaard, have stood the test of time, just spend a few moments on ebay and you will find page after page of them for sale. My mother, always a sucker for bright colors and a huge lover of Scandinavian design — she painted our kitchen cabinets a bright orange when I was eleven — thankfully brought these into our home. If I recall, we had a big red dutch oven, and a low yellow casserole dish. Maybe some others. And a few years ago, in what was billed as one of the best gifts ever, a friend of mine gave me the robins-egg blue dutch oven. The most exciting moment is when you remove the lid and see the creamy white interior, with a thin black line at the edge that tells you what the thing is made of. Oh, and that beautiful lid is not for looks only: it’s the trivet! Finally tracked down this photo in order to give credit where credit is due: blueflowervintage.

These charming prototypes from Studio Fludd (an Italian design collective, whom you may know from their super- cool wood faceted jewelry) are called Slow Wood. They are meant to encourage fun, healthy and perhaps creative (see dog bone) eating habits in kids. Maybe if the studio gets enough requests they will go into production.

I spent a little time this week over at the ICFF, and hands down, these were some of the best designs I saw. Designed by Cordula Kehrer for NYC-based Areaware, the rattan and reclaimed plastic bins are manufactured by the talented Aeta people of the Phillippines. If I have this right, the whole project is sponsored by the NGO Preda, who engage in fair trade practices. The designs embody the ultimate challenge of re-purposing existing but discarded products. The plastic bins are paired with some hand process, in this case the weaving of sustainably harvested rattan, then re-imagined into something far more wonderful than either thing on its own.

Ace Hotel Room 1021 from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

Dana Tanamachi is a graphic designer and “custom chalk letterer” who is brimming with both talent and skill. Watching the creative process in fast forward is addictive. And seeing her here, creating a custom wall for a room in the Ace Hotel in NYC is so feeding my habit. First came across her on designspiration. Another addiction.