ok, not really, since the idea of putting a hook in something makes me squirm, but i’m leaving tomorrow morning for a much needed summer vacation. ac and i are heading to my family’s house in virginia beach until next tuesday. so, d*s will be closing shop and coming back on wednesday morning. sorry i didn’t post much of anything today, my posts for apartment therapy took more time than i thought. plus i’m running things at work solo for the next week or two so i’ve been bogged down more than i normally am. anyway, i hope everyone has a wonderful fourth of july! i’ll see you all on wednesday. have a safe and happy holiday. xoxo, d*s

ever felt wasteful using paper cupcake tin liners? well, kaiser bakeware has the solution- resuable (up to 1,000 times) cupcake tin liners! available in a pack of 6 for $10, they make baking a little bit more earth friendly. although, i really do love all those fun patterned cupcake liners…available online right here.

ok, i admittedly had nothing to do with finding these guys, although i wish i had. i swear, i’m always one step behind the coolness that is velocity art and design. john of velocity mentioned these guys and i’ve been trying to track them down ever since. they’re going to be up on velocity’s online store soon (correct me if i’m wrong, john!), but until then, you can get some more info on them right here…

precidio objects is an ontario based distributor of modern housewares. i’m wild about their “sum” line by helen kerr. “sum” is a series of vessels and containers that have about a gazillion different uses. made of materials like melamine, acrylic and silicone, the line has lids that can serve as plates, and vessels that can double as vases, bowls, pencil-holders, do-dads containers and and endless amount of other options. The range costs anywhere from $3-$24, so it’s certainly not hard to bring “sum” modern style into your home (har har). you can get more information and retail details right here (i’ll let you know when they’re up on velocity’s site).

perry lancaster is a british artist now based in the sunny south of france who makes the most beautiful small scale sculptures. his work is so beautiful i really want the pictures to speak for themselves. you can see the full collection and find more info on his work right here. [thanks, claire!]

it’s been way too long since i posted something on rena tom. i can’t believe it, what was i thinking? i’ve been guest posting over at apartment therapy all week so it must have drained some brain power. anyway, time’s up and here comes the “ornament and crime” (fall 2005) collection from my favorite jewelry-makin brooklynite, ms. rena tom.

rena’s fall collection is full of trusty standbys (delicate flower beading themes and great big chunks of wood and onyx with dangly strings of gold), but makes a great big gorgeous leap into engraved and patterned metalwork. her “honeycomb” pieces are simply gorgeous and mark a wonderful new direction for ms. tom. i’m always a huge fan of her simple wood pieces (love love love the duchess necklace), but these new metal pieces add a great sense of progression to her collection- it’s so fun to watch rena try out new materials and methods.

you can browse and shop rena’s new “ornament and crime” collection online right here.

the boys of variegated passed these fantastic coasters on to me this weekend…thanks so much, guys. dinner-ware is a fantastic little design studio that makes coasters (marble and cork), trivets and tables. there is a series of 12 patterns that you can choose to put on one of the above products. i’m keen on the cork coasters in the abstract, animal and split flowers patterns. super cute and fairly affordable ($30 for 4 coasters, $25 for a trivet). available online at dinner-ware.com.

i love line drawings. i’m sort of nuts about them. it was the one thing i couldn’t do well as an art major, so of course, i love me a good line drawing. ac and i currently sleep under a framed one by sleepy cow’s kate sutton (love her work to pieces). these pieces are by chris bettig of the mountain label. i posted about his show last week, which i hear is going smashingly, so i wanted to share some pieces he did for it. these are called “animals and minerals”. anyway, just wanted to share…