adorable little wool animals with a fun animated cartoon to go with them. all five “characters” are available online right here. my favorite is “reddy”. [thanks, scott!]

i love these boda nova glass sets that come in a tube. easy to transport, perfect for gifts, these glasses come in a set of four in four different styles, ranging from $30-$40 a set. you can find more information right here. oh, and don’t forget to check out the gorgeous green transglass vases. not brand new, but still totally gorgeous.

hgtv has launched a nationwide search for the next great design star, and it could be you. here are the details:

“Anyone who is bursting with décor and design ideas and has a burning desire to be on TV will finally have the chance to make the passion for paint and romance with rooms pay off. Beginning Monday, October 24 through Saturday, December 3, HGTV will accept applications from professional, novice and wannabe designers who think they have the ideas, instincts and individuality to host their own show on HGTV. The application can be found on HGTV.com. As a second pillar of the Design Star search, homeowners who have dreamed of enhancing a room in their home will have a chance to get in on the action. Beginning Monday, December 5th through Friday, January 14th 2006, HGTV will accept applications from homeowners who have a room that is in dire need of a redo.”

so, if this sounds like you, go ahead and enter! who knows…maybe the next design star could be you! heck, maybe i’ll even enter…

every year i find myself longing to be able to attend all the fantastic design shows across the globe- but thankfully this year, lise, a d*s reader and design student (who makes beautiful work of her own!) was kind enough to attend the show in eindhoven and send me her favorites and some wonderful pics of her highlights. beyond being extremely appreciative of her hard work, i completely agreed with her choices about standout pieces. the following are lise’s highlights with a few of my own thoughts. [all pics by lise]

the show was overflowing with gorgeous designs, all of which married function and form beautifully. the creativity of the student designs was overwhelming and i found myself dying to see some of these pieces in person (especially the textiles). my favorite piece had to be the radiator pictured above and some gorgeous window treatments that i would give my right arm to have hanging in my house. the sculptural textiles above were designed by an artist whose name i will have asap (lise is finding it) and the funky “radiator” above was designed by monique horstmann whose design played with the idea of a clothesline that would actually heat your clothes until they dried.

in addition to the curtains, there was another piece called smockdeckens that used smocking to give new life to an old fabric. it must be stunning in person.

beyond textiles, there was a really interesting piece called “cover tiles” by jasper van grootel that covered copper piping used in showers with tiles made to fit over top of the metalwork. such a fun idea.

“unplugged” a decorative element meant to make electrical outlets more fashionable, was a fun idea i hope to see come into actual production one day, followed by the “solid, solid + liquid and liquid” bowls, which are a wonderful exercise in simplicity.

suzanne happle’s stunning works called “solid poetry” must have been even more amazing to see in person, because the pictures were enough to blow me away. suzanne’s work changes when exposed to elements like air and water, revealing a subtle surface pattern. i’m a really big fan of these pieces.

the flexilight by jos kranen uses electrical tape as a moveable socket, turning an industrial material into something elegant.

klein geluk was an adorable little wall-mounted music box with a cord that, when pulled, caused the bird on top to “sing”. so sweet.

kitchenette, another student project, combined four metal wire modules to create a fully functioning kitchen storage system. not exactly my cup of tea visually, but i thought the idea was fun.

last but most certainly not least, the “branch” system is comprised of elastic bands that can be fastened to the wall to hold clothes and accessories, all while expanding to create a beautiful tree-like pattern on the wall.

[thanks again to lise for all of her hard work and help with this design academy eindhoven summary. thanks, lise!]

these fun glasses at elsewares are made from recycled mexican ’sol’ beer bottles. a set of 4 is available at elsewares for $25. enjoy!

i like metallics, but the white are nice too. sort of an adler meets klein reid thing. and best of all- they’re affordable. $16-39 for the white, $16-59 for the metallics at west elm. tis the season to decorate…

brooklyn based jewelry designer, peter d’aquino produces some really stunning work. his collections combine beautiful modern metalwork with wonderfully simple designs. available at moss and karkula in the city, d’aquino’s work can also be seen in full on his website, where you can contact him for further information about pricing, purchasing, etc. enjoy!