thank you thank you thank you bryan boyer for turning me on to a great new designer (jewelry, that is) that is not ridiculously overpriced! bryan emailed me about his friend rena tom, so i decided to check her out and i’m so glad i did. rena’s jewelry is just plain gorgeous. the materials match the design in their simple, raw elegance. kryptonite and wood mix beautifully with stones like chalcedony and ruby quartz, creating absolutely precious bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings. now, i’m more of an earring/ring/necklace girl, but her peacock bracelet is really to die for (i’m keeping it in mind for upcoming christmas gifts for my family). for my money, the flag necklace and wooden necklace are the cutest, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them. so, drop by rena’s site and indulge in some beautiful fall jewelry. support local artists! (well, she just moved here, so it’s local enough…)

GREEN WITH ENVY [necklace and bracelet*rena tom] rare plasma verisite stones and any girl’s weakness, gorgeous green kryptonite

PURDY GIRL [necklace, necklace and ring*rena tom] curve necklace made of mother of pearl, nature girl necklace made of ebony and green fluorite, mega ring

LOVE IT [flag necklace*rena thom] gorgeous. gorgeous.

TREE HUGGER [necklace*rena tom] ebony and sterling silver. so pretty…

BETTER AND BETTER [custom invites*rena tom] AND she makes custom cards and paper goods!

LADY BIRD [peacock bracelet*rena tom] if i wore bracelets, i’d wear this one in a heartbeat…

IT’S ABOUT TIME [george nelson table clocks*vitra]

vitra decided it was about time (i know, i know, painful…) to reissue some more george nelson clocks, so here they are…table clocks from the early fifties that are so cute it’s hard to pick a favorite. well, maybe not. i like the chronopak clock (bottom left) the best. they run between $250 and $350 and will be in vitra stores sooooon. call 888-278-2855 for additional retailers or just shoot me an email, the firm i work for reps them currently.

*clockwise from top left (pill clock, night clock, watermelon clock and chronopak clock)

JURY’S OUT…[shu uemura oils*ai yamaguchi] these limited edition bottles (home to shu uemura’s oil face washes) designed by japanese artist ai yamaguchi kinda freak me out. my initial reaction was “oooh..cool!” but then i looked closer. their eyes kinda weird me out.

what do you guys think….freaky or fabulous?

SIGN THIS [american sign museum*cincinatti] i’ve always loved signs and now, guess what? there’s an american sign museum in ohio that just opened in october! hooray! so, if you’re in the cincinatti area, head on over and check out some of america’s iconic signage past…

I LIKE THIS THING [surface*new deal design] it’s one of those days…you know, the kind where you wish you’d stayed in bed? because of that i just feel like posting things i think are cool today. so there. this weird wall art slash clock thingy is from new deal design (makers of a slick looking, ipod-like cd player available at target). i’m not quite sure how practical it is and i’m having a hard time finding specs, but today kinda sucks so, oh well. i’ll find them later.

I HEART I.D. [i.d. magazine*i love it] did i forget to mention how much i love i.d. magazine? i can’t get enough of them. here, go see them. they’re the greatest. this month’s issue is exploring a whole host of new ideas involving increasingly dangerous environmental conditions. geez i love these guys. and to top it off, these guys are the sister mag to HOW and PRINT. how cool is that?

ok, end gushing and commence today’s new posts….

maybe it’s all the ac newman. maybe it’s the cold, dreary weather enveloping new york. either way, my mind is drifting north this morning- way north. as in, canada. as if there wasn’t enough great stuff coming out of that country, we design-minded folks have another reason to pay attention to our neighbors up north- a phenomenal design project known simply as cabin.

created as a collaborative project between artists and designers, (who work under the name mother) cabin seeks to “write the story of canadian culture” through their work. the story they tell is full of frosty canadian symbolism- tales told on wallpaper and textiles conjure up images of deer, mounties, cuckoo clocks, bears and of course, cabins. bowls made of logs, wallpaper designed to look like cabin walls and utensils made of axe handles cement cabin’s idea of traditional canadian culture in the contemporary design world.

besides capitalizing on the popularity of graphic art in the design world, the cabin project takes dead aim on a seemingly untouched niche in the design world- canadian heritage. while it might not sound riveting at first, the infusion of traditional canadian imagery into furniture, textile and product design has lead to some really spectacular products and a sense of pride in one’s culture that i admire to no end. there is a feeling of admiration for and honor of canada’s history present in the collection and that is what makes it so special to me. in addition, i can’t remember the last time i looked at a group’s work and liked every single piece. i like practically every design on their site. i highly recommend you stop by and check it out- it’s worth the time and, well, they have a flash site so i can’t get all the pictures off for you! here are just a few designs that caught my eye…

REMEMBER THIS [memory wallpaper*cynthia hathaway] cabin paper for urbanites. cynthia’s designs for mother’s cabin project. (credit where credit is due- paul over at metropolis snagged this earlier…)

SPLINTER TEETH [log bowls*loyal loot collective] the ladies of loyal loot contribute to the cabin craze in the earthiest of ways…

GONE HUNTIN’ [buddington bear rug*loyal loot collective] the ladies get morbid….and canadian

CUT IT UP [axe handle utensils*mother] a nod to rustic canadian dining chic….

refreshed after a weekend in my home state and inspired by my morning subway read, i decided to check out the goods at environment337. located in lovely carroll gardens, e337 has some really great stuff that’s too cool to pass up. so, in the words of ali g, check it:

CALL OF THE WILD [fauna animals*environment337] i think these are the greatest pillows. ever. really. i do. i am still reeling from the current animal print trend, but this is an animal trend i could get behind…

HINT HINT [drop necklace*verre ny] for those of us with upcoming anniversaries (wink wink), pretty sparkly things are always nice….

CARD FREAK [woodblock cards*environment337] why do i love cards so much? why do i love woodblock and prints so much? oh yeah, because that was my major in school….mmm…prints

RUN THIS [flora runners*env337] gorgeous excuses to be like your mom and use a table runner. i always thought runners were sort of antiquated, or at least always reminded me of veranda magazine and my mom’s holiday arrangements, but these are perfectly up to date. love them.

MARVIS MADE [marvis toothpaste*italy via env337] on packaging alone, this toothpaste wins every contest i can think of. try it. let me know what you think.