Category: things we use

Picnic Tumblers

Tuesday 05.31.11

The hot weather ushers in what I believe is perhaps the best part of summer — eating and drinking out of doors. That said, I don’t much like to use this platform to pitch my own products, so full disclosure: I designed these melamine tumblers quite a number of years ago. And, to my surprise and delight, they are still in production. I’d like to think it’s because they are simple and bright, don’t have any cartoon characters slapped on them, and mostly because they last. They are virtually indestructible. They come in two sizes: 8 oz. and 14 oz.  Available here.

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Kobenstyle

Wednesday 05.25.11

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.

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American Philately

Friday 05.20.11

And then there is this — a perforation gauge used in stamp collecting. This is a thin metal plate measuring just under 2″ by 4.375″. Such a weird specialized item. But handy if you’re looking to decipher your collection. Available here.

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Bow Bins

Wednesday 05.18.11

Cordula Kehrer Bow Bin_01 for Areaware

Cordula Kehrer Bow Bin_02 for Areaware

Cordula Kehrer Bow Bin_03 for Areaware

Cordula Kehrer Bow Bin_04 for Areaware

Cordula Kehrer Bow Bin_05 for Areaware

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.

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George!

Tuesday 05.17.11

My postman was holding out on me. He only pulled these beauties out after I begged him to show me any of the other odd stamp denominations he was hiding in his secret drawer. Everything old, really is new again.

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