when i went to brimfield, that sprawling east coast antique show, for the first time last year, i was so overwhelmed with the massive variety of antiques that i choked and came virtually empty-handed. so this year, when grace, amy m. and i took a design*sponge team to check out the show, i was determined to fare better. i found a vintage industrial machinist table with a butcher block top that i plan to use as a bar cart. now i just need to accessorize! you can also find pretty fantastic vintage items on etsy and ebay. even if you don’t have a bar cart, nothing makes a party more festive than a tray filled all the fixings for cocktails! – amy a
[image above, clockwise from top left:linen napkin $15, queen anne champagne bucket $67.99, stage horn-handled silver plate ice scoop $89, stripes tray $28 platinum ombre champagne coupe $18.00, elixir carafe $20, winston glass $2.95, 3-piece cocktail set $30, glass recipe shaker $19.95, melamine trays $17ea, scaled leather bottle opener $16]
vase (ice bucket!) 14.99, ice scoop $1.95, imbibe: from absinthe cocktail to whiskey smash $16.29, marimekko aarre tray $24, hemingway muddlers $22 ea, pop rocks glass $14, glass pitcher $24.99, botero glass $12, fog linen tray $27.20, 7-piece bar set $33.49, pine cone coasters $4
CLICK HERE for all 50 barware accessories (including vintage items!) on one page
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October 20th, 2009 - 12:00pm
one of the things that can really give you a leg up in a tough economy like this is knowing what your client wants and how they want to hear it. so today i’m thrilled to have meg touborg back to talk about improving your chances with potential clients- from the client’s point of view. whether you’re looking to sell new services to your existing clients or sell your existing services to a new set of clients, meg has written up a great article full of advice for doing both from start to finish. in tough times it always pays to know what the person on the other side of the desk is looking for, so i hope you’ll check out meg’s post after the jump. thanks again to meg for sharing her advice today! looking for more biz ladies advice and topics? click here for our biz ladies archives.
CLICK HERE to read meg’s full article after the jump!
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October 20th, 2009 - 11:00am
erika and patrik mörn run hetta – a beautiful and clever homewares line out of stockholm (erika is the designer and patrik takes care of the business side of things). i’m so happy that today we’re able to travel to sweden for sneak peek into their home which feels so swedish (without feeling like an ikea catalog!). they bought their house last year in august, but waited another few months to move in, in order to complete some renovations first. don’t miss the full post below, and click here for additional images. {thanks erika and patrik!} -anne
[above: The wallpaper in our bedroom is designed by Hanna Werning and our bed comes from my grandmother’s home.]
Our dinner table is from my parent’s home, they bought it in the 70´s. The chairs are from Kartell. At the kitchen-table there’s some products from HETTA, box for warm bread, wine stocking etc (click here for detail shot).
The small chair we found at the show Maison et Objet Paris, were we met a French couple who made these chairs by hand in Normandie
CLICK HERE for the rest of Hetta’s sneak peek after the jump!
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October 20th, 2009 - 10:00am
i’ve been anxiously awaiting the second edition of book city jackets’ artist series and was pleasantly surprised to see new work by cheeming boey, nishat akhtar and michael hsiung. i really love a good guest artist series and this new set of covers really makes me smile. i love the idea of rotating different artist-drawn paper covers to both protect books with beautiful covers and cover books with not-so-beautiful covers. if you’d like to pick up the new edition of covers ($12 for all 3) click here to shop. thanks, jeremy!
October 20th, 2009 - 09:00am
good morning! erin and nicole are keeping their anniversary theme going at the d*s guest blog today, moving from paper to cotton. their cotton roundup includes some really beautiful necklaces and custom embroidery ideas so click here to check out their full selection….
October 20th, 2009 - 08:00am
since living in paris, i have a whole new appreciation for what it means to live in small spaces. when i first saw the images from diva’s berkeley bungalow, i had no idea that it was small at all until i looked at the floor plan (last image in the post). i think she does an amazing job using the space and takes advantage of the great natural light and tops it off with great furniture selection. it’s definitely an inspired space, and no wonder diva creates such wonderful designs in her stationery and linen line, linea carta. click here for many more images of diva’s bungalow, and here for all our sneak peeks! {thanks, diva!} -anne
{majority of images by marc virata with contributions from bronwyn hughes.}
I use this flat file (also a flea market find) to store bigger stuff like paintings and art paper. On top is a Japanese ‘zacca’ or craft magazine – I’m so crazy about them. When I want to treat myself one of my favorite afternoons is to go to Japan Town in San Francisco, have lunch at the best ramen place ever, then to the bookstore and stationery store where I’ll buy a few pens (my fave is the pilot hi-tec-c) and a new magazine from Kinokuniya Bookstore. On the wall behind is one of my paintings: Polar Bears Kissing, Ice Crystals Forming (It reads “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH”). I like using the semi-transparent mylar (used for architectural plans) for paintings because it lets in the light from the wall and sort of becomes part of the wall like a fresco. You can also see a glimpse of the hallway in this picture – I have strings of tiny clothespins hanging that I use to dry screen-printing projects like my key chains and pencil bags.
At the entry I have 2 hooks that read H and N for Henry and Nico, my two cutest-dogs-ever. The chair pictured here is an Alameda antique market find by a friend – I just love the shape (it reads “Heritage Henredon” for anyone who knows about this stuff).
My bedding is from Erica Tanov, John Robshaw and yours truly (some Linea Carta throw pillows).. I used to work for Erica and developed a great appreciation for lovely bedding and beautiful textiles. I recently re-painted a fresh coat of bright white on all the walls and I love the clean and empty wall here above the bed.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Diva’s sneak peek after the jump!
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October 19th, 2009 - 01:00pm
