Sal, the proprietor of the Tin Can Trading Post in Callicoon, has a quirky and eclectic eye. One that I enjoy immensely! His tastes run the gamut from a spectacular woven civil war coffin, to a 1970s Soviet plastic Anna doll and everything in between. The shop isn’t curated in any obvious way, so the experience of discovery is all your own. Not many places still see the merit in NOT polishing and cleaning every item. I ran into him earlier today and agreed to stop by. I actually avoid going into the store because I have little to no willpower. Anyway, as soon as I crossed the threshold, I saw these spools of twine hiding in a bin near the floor. I ignored them for a moment, not wanting to get distracted. But I caved. It’s the red tape that got me. For earlier bits and pieces from the Tin Can Trading Post, see here, here (the plaster letters) and here. Oh, and I totally forgot…here.

Great piece in the NYT yesterday morning about a group of individuals in the Netherlands who, as a small but meaningful way to help reduce waste in the community, have organized the first ever Repair Cafe. Got an iron that’s burning your shirts, a sweater with holes, a vacuum cleaner not sucking up its share of dust and dirt…well, just bring all of the above and more to the repair cafe, and a group of talented and devoted volunteer fix-it practitioners will tend to your needs. As a result of their original success, thirty additional groups have started repair cafes across the country. There are so many things that are right about this program!! The primary one being that it takes a real stab at the planned obsolescence that has become so readily accepted in our material world. It brings to mind one of my earliest posts on this blog: The Repair Manifesto from the very thoughtful people over at platform21, a site that is sadly no longer.

Yesterday I posted an image of a masonry brush. A few weeks ago it was these animal feeding nipples. Today it’s a fermentation airlock and some bondo spreaders. I might wager that the nice people behind the register at the local Farm and Garden store are, if they have even noticed, a little baffled by my purchases. I find the form of the airlock to be particularly arresting and wonderfully abstract. Can I also admit that I am quite pleased with the photograph? And those flesh-colored bondo spreaders have just the right radius corners.

I can’t help it, I am an absolute and total sap when it comes to a nice brush. This beauty is a masonry brush. It measures in at almost a foot from tip to tail. And 6 1/2 inches from side to side. If you can’t help yourself…go here.

Ideas come from strange places. These odd little totems are called training dummies or retriever dummies. They are used in the training of hunting dogs. Typically they are made out of either canvas or rubber. One throws the dummy – maybe some animal or bird scent is impregnated or rubbed onto the thing – and then the good puppy goes and fetches the duffle-shaped decoy and gets a reward upon its safe return. Hopefully a biscuit and not just a pat on the head. Or at least that’s how I think it works. Now, I have said this before, I am not a hunter. And I definitely do not condone sport hunting. But I do believe I can still find an odd form of inspiration from these quirky objects. And they have indeed sparked a glimmer of a concept. Photos (except for the first two) are from here, here, here, here and here.