it’s monday and time for a new mini trend- one of the wonderful by-products of the trend towards green design has been a resurgence of wood in the market. it came first in the form clean, smooth designs (and veneers of all types) that mimicked the modern look of materials like steel or resin. but as the green movement has become more of a permanent category and less of a trend we’ve seen the industry open up to include rough, chunky cuts of wood that let the natural beauty of the material shine. whether it’s with burl bowls, rough carved wooden vases or reclaimed railroad ties, the design industry seems to be embracing beautiful wooden objects that have been left relatively natural. click here for the full mini trend post and some more ideas to bring the look into your home.

[i'm in meetings until 12:30 today so i'll be back around 2 with the last post of the day: an apartment tour you won't want to miss.]

thanks so much to time magazine for including the d*s shop in their winter 2006 style & design issue. it was an honor to be next to people like twenty2 design of brooklyn.

joy posted a great link to a philly based letterpress design studio called bird and banner. i was hooked as soon as i saw the pink (pink is my new black) but if you scan through their site you’ll see their talents go way beyond gorgeous pink invites.

sadly last week’s holiday and being sidelined with a nasty case of the flu didn’t give me the chance to adequetly praise the fantastic work that kristina did on the guest blog. i was in a nyquil haze and am just now catching up with all her amazing interviews (thorsten van elten, doshi levien, clotilde of chocolate and zucchini, hervé matejewski, lisa of good on paper, etc.) and posts. she nailed down some of the biggest names in design over the last two weeks and i’m still reeling from the fact that both thorsten van elten and the bouroullecs answered questions for something even remotely related to d*s. they’re probably my two biggest professional idols and i was so thrilled to see them on the guest site. so, click here to read the last two weeks’ worth of kristina’s product finds, recipes, interviews and fun pet interviews with lisa and crash!. thanks again to kristina for all her hard work. [the guest blog is taking a week off while we build the december shop this month- it will be back next week]

lena posted about small stump earlier this weekend (via hfha) and i was hooked. i scooped up the lace tray and lacey sea fan toot sweet and have found a new site to bookmark. based in northern california, small stump is an art and craft collaborative with an online shop carrying handmade artwork, fun vintage finds and “objects that are beautiful to display”. i highly suggest the click over- great finds.

Never judge a person until you’ve blogged two weeks in her shoes… I didn’t know what to expect when I agreed to blog here for two weeks, but it has been an adventure and has taken over my life! I didn’t know how Grace found the time to do so much in her life, and I *really* don’t know how she does it now! I do hope, though, that you saw at least one thing you liked, or were able to identify with something that any one of the interviewees said.

Gigantic and most sincere thanks to all of the people who participated!

Last, Lena Corwin answered her own interview questions at the beginning of her two weeks, and I thought I’d close my two weeks by answering my own questions (based on the time I spent as a partner in a design studio+artists workshop).

Happy holidays!

Sketch something you remember from your childhood.

When my father was cleaning the house, he found this finger painting I did when I was about three… I still remember the smell of the paint and how it felt under my fingers, and I even remember bringing it home!

If you could do it all over again, the one thing you wouldn’t change.
My undergraduate education. It was one of the most agonizing decisions I’ve made in life, and it’s the one from which I continue to reap rewards.

The best business advice you’ve been given.
If someone is afraid to commit in writing (a proper contract), it’s not worth doing business with them.

As a mentor, the most important concept you’d want a mentee to take away from your relationship.
Never under estimate the common sense solution. I also agree very much with what Maarten Baas said earlier, “Among the many other ‘truths’, there’s your ‘truth’. That’s the one to explore.”

In a design studio, money invested in ____ is always well spent.
Good photography. And, if you have print materials of any kind (press kit, business cards, whatever), invest in the highest quality paper and best workmanship you can afford, or don’t have anything at all (put it on a CD). Even if it turns out to be expensive, consider it the cost of doing business. These are the things that will stay in someone’s hands or office when you’re gone or were never there and unable to present yourself and your product.

On my way back from meeting with Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi, I couldn’t resist the temptation of stopping in the Montezuma’s chocolate store in Spitalfields (right next to the market) to pick up a few gifts for my husband, an incurable chocoholic. There are no traces of the bar chocolate I brought back but there is still a tiny bit of this spicy drinking chocolate left. The truth is that I am not sure he got to taste very much of it because I drank it all. Unlike many other drinking chocolates which are just powder, this one also has flakes of chocolate mixed with red pepper. If you don’t like the spicy kick, there are three other kinds, including with white chocolate! The cannisters make great gifts, or just give a box full of assorted gifts, no one will waste any time looking at the packaging! Organic, gluten free and handmade in Sussex.

I hope I don’t draw fire for this, but sometimes I think that some of the best artwork you can find around is supplied by the city government! I took this “Operation Clean Forest” poster from a telephone pole in Camigliatello in the Sila mountains in Calabria ten years ago (it was the only one around and just put up with thumbtacks!!!). I kept it on my wall with thumbtacks, exactly as I found it, until I decided earlier this spring that it would be better to frame it. I have always wondered why the little porcupine didn’t use his quills to speed up his work…

If you see a poster around that you like, try asking the local office responsible for the poster how you can get one… Or if it’s just hanging there with thumbtacks, uh…

Another fun interview for the weekend…

Name: Todfield Crash (BKA “Crash!”)
Breed: Border Terrier
Birthplace/Date of Adoption: 07 January 1998 in Manassas, Virginia. I arrived in my current home on 20 March 1998.
Average hours of sleep per day: I’m not too good at counting, but I think half the day. How many is that?
Sun or Shade: Sun.

Favorite piece of furniture. I like to sleep in the corner of the arm of the sofa the most. No one is allowed to sit there when I’m around. And if they do, they have to share with me.

Your first crush. Pippi, a beautiful Fox Terrier. Or was it Baba…a cute little MinPin who taught me how to use the bathroom while walking on my two front legs…(she used to raise herself off the ground while still squatting!)

One food you never want to find on your plate. Arugula.

It might make you sound like a wimp, but you’re really scared of… The noise a broom makes!!

Film or TV program you could watch over and over. Good Boy! The main character “Hubble” is a Border Terrier, like me, and he was the leader of the pack and all the other dogs thought he was the smartest and wisest dog ever. I’d like to be like him someday.