Obsessed with Kitchen Gadgets

We have been noticing a lot of smart kitchen gadgets out there.  Recent designs not only work effectively and save space, but they also look good.  From the minute we received our first shipment of these nesting bowls from Joseph Joseph (above) we have been in love.  The colors are not just for fun, they also help identify each utensil.  Measuring cups, a colander, strainer, and mixing bowl fit tightly together to save space in your cabinets.  But if you are like us, you'll leave them out on the counter instead.



Stephanie Todaro (from Design Sponge) created a list of the Top 15 Kitchen Gadgets for Foodies with an interesting mixture of classic and contemporary designs, all in bright colors and nice finishes.  We were excited to see our Joseph Joseph garlic rocker made the list! (Number 7 in the second picture.)


For more on Stephanie's post click here.

Graphic Print DIY Project

I wanted to share a project I worked on last week.  I am an avid reader of Jenny Komenda's blog Little Green Notebook.  She has good design ideas and knows how to do them on a budget.  So when I was looking to spruce up my bland bathroom I followed her tutorial on how to create a no-sew pedestal sink skirt here.

I was inspired by the new shipment of Roberta Roller Rabbit we got at the store this week.  In addition to clothing, Roberta Freyman also does a home line and sells fabric by the yard.  We sell the fabric in our store by special order and I could not resist this blue and white pattern.

                 

I found the tutorial very easy to follow.  The only thing I changed was the type of velcro I used.  I found one at Michael's that was sticky on one side and not on the other.  This apartment is rented and I wanted to be able to remove the skirt when we leave.  I glued the non-sticky side to the fabric and adhered the sticky side to the outside of the sink.  I think I will be able to remove any residue with some Goo Gone when we leave.  What do I love the best?  The skirt not only brightens the space, but it also gives us more storage under the sink.

what you can afford after the Mega Millions drawing

With the Mega Millions Jackpot at $640 million, we started thinking. Assuming, after taxes and opting for a lump sum, you netted about $290 million, what could you do at next summer, with that money?


Let's say you want to go small. Perhaps you'd like to buy a "few" envirosax" to make the world a greener place. Well, with $290 million, you could afford 29 million $10 sax - that's enough to hold 1,276,000,000 pounds of produce, or enough watermelons so every single person in the US could enjoy a whole melon today and another half melon tomorrow. 

How about some fun socks? You'd have enough money to put 3.5 pairs of $10 socks on the feet of every single person in New York City. 

Is that not enough impact? Maybe you'd like to celebrate your winnings with others. At only $5 apiece, you could buy enough of these crystal candle holders to celebrate the third birthday of every single child born in India for the next 9 months!

What about the Saratoga Thoroughbred Racing Needlepoint belt? The average male requires a 36" belt and stands 5'6". If you bought $290 million worth of these $165 belts, there would be enough belts to stretch around the earth over 2.5 times. 

Sometimes it can be an ugly world out there and we want to beautify it.  A little odor control would go a long way. These $38 candles from Aquiesse burn for a 100 hours each. With $290 million you could enjoy a full year's worth of fresh scent on every individual square foot of land across 2 whole acres. 

All it takes is a dollar and a dream!

Mad Men of Saratoga

With the season premiere of Mad Men last night fresh in our minds, we decided to take a look around next summer to find those items that Don, Betty, Peggy, Pete, Roger, and Joan would most like. Some of these items they may already have, but we're sure, if they do, we could find something else for them.


We think Betty would love this fruit basket, it's got her sophisticated flair, and it's the perfect place for her to store the lemons that go so well in her regular "afternoon" drink. 

We've seen how Pete has treated that couch in his office. Now that he's finally getting to move to a better office with more windows, maybe he'd like something a little lighter and airier. This one's perfect. It's Danish Modern and would be a great contrast to the Corbusier pieces in Roger's office. 

In the picture below we have a few different items for a few different people. Peggy would love to install this clock in Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Price. It might finally get everyone down to work so she can land that Heinz account. 
Don is by no means a teetotaler, but some tea in the white Bauer tea pot might be just what the doctor ordered. If not, he can return to his regular drinks served in the blue Russel Wright pitcher. We just hope Megan doesn't bring home the yellow Bauer cookie jar. It might remind Don of when Betty caught him with his hand in the proverbial jar. 

Finally, we know Joan would love to pick up this leopard print bag from Scout. She could walk into the office three weeks from now and remind everyone in the secretarial pool who the queen of the jungle really is!

Spring has sprung at next summer

Well, spring, as they say, has sprung. In reverence to the season we so eagerly look forward to each winter, we've posted some of next summer's signs of spring. 


We know everyone was anticipating spring for a while now because all the walkers on Broadway seem to stop and giggle when they see our peeps-filled vase with the blooms of spring. 

But these aren't the only blossoms blooming. Come inside and see the Daisy Dish while you think about the indoor and outdoor parties you'll be throwing soon. 

Although we're still seeing a lot of brown on the ground and in the trees, we've begun to see more and more green - and green is the color of spring!

While green may be the first color that comes to mind, remember spring is the time of rebirth and all the colors begin to come out during spring. Just look at all the colors in these placemats and our space-saving stacking mugs (the perfect size for a medium-sized Keurig cup).  

Easter will be here before we know it. Next summer already has the perfect gifts. These pillows' bright colors are a subtle reminder of the spirt of spring, while the Easter eggs are a bold reminder of the season. 

But why should your head and back enjoy all the Easter fun? Let the rest of your body join in the revery with Easter soap. One bar has three bunnies hopping through floral-fragranced, Easter-egg filled grass. The other is a giant easter egg filled with fruity jelly beans.

Design within limits

A few weeks ago we returned from the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). After getting a chance to think about our trip down to New York, I've realized something about our store - something that makes me appreciate it even more. When we opened back in 2008 we were most concerned about finding unique, well-designed products. With each season we've honed what it is we search for at the show. If you're a regular reader of our blog or visitor to our stores, you know that today we seek good design at a good price.


When we go down to the City we like to visit some of the big hallmark retailers - Bergdorf Goodman, Roche Bobois, etc. I came away this year with something I've understood for some time, but had never really been able to articulate - It's easy to do luxury, over-the-top retail. It's hard to do value retail, but it's also much more interesting and satisfying.


The image below is one of Bergdorf's Holiday windows. It's extravagant and luxurious. But it's easy when money is no object. Given the budget, many of us could create something as opulent. There's little challenge in that. Seeing this sort of thing year after year however, offers little excitement. It doesn't really impress me (and frankly, in these difficult times, I find some of it a bit offensive). This got me thinking of other areas where restrictions, rather than limiting, produce better results.

Chef and author, Anthony Bourdain, claims that the best chefs come from the  times when good quality food is hard to get, or from countries that can't afford the best meats or vegetables. Such chefs, he explains, are forced to be more creative. The must work with low quality food and turn it into high quality meals. That, he says, is the sign of a true chef. (By the way, I'm pretty sure he's wearing heels in this photograph). 

The great Florida Development, Seaside, is known as one of the best examples of new urbanism in the world. It is also probably the first use of Modern Form Based Code. Form based code is a means or regulating development to create a specific urban form. At Seaside the developers wanted to create a "traditional seaside community" so they imposed strict zoning regulations to achieve that look and feel. Early Seaside architects found the zoning very restrictive and difficult to work in, but those same restrictions led great architects, like former Yale School of Architecture Dean, Robert A.M. Stern, to create the home below. 

"We had to think about getting the maximum amount of space out of a minimum amount of floor area," Stern said while trying to adhere to the communities strict design requirements which limit height, roof slope, and materials.

On a simpler level, I was reminded of this idea upon seeing a photograph of Oregon's Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. It's got about 1,000 feet of above-tree-line skiing, something we in the east rarely get to experience. I used to imagine how much fun it would be to ski above tree-line. There are no limits, you can go wherever you want. But after having skied some amazing places around the world, I've discovered, what I find most fun is glade skiing. It's the most challenging, it makes you a better skier, and it's exhilarating.

Limits do not restrict us. They create opportunities for us to be even better. The next time someone is limiting you, don't get upset, think instead of what you can conquer and accomplish.

DIY Art

Matthew and I love collecting original artwork.  Yes, it is convenient that I am an artist and that we have a lot of family members who are artists, but you don't have to be a trained artist or break the bank in order to decorate your walls.  Here, we'd like to give you fun ideas for affordable artwork.

After

1. Frame Children's Artwork

A few years ago my nephew, Jack, made this piece of art for me.  It's a 3" x 3" inch square made out of three different colors of duct tape.  I love it because of the bright colors and the fact that it looks like a modern abstract painting.  I'm lucky to have a nephew with such a good eye for design, but I think that all children's art has a wonderful experimental quality to it.  I've saved this piece in a special place for a while, and decided it was time to put it on display this weekend. 

  

Before

I bought a frame at Michael's for $14.99.  I went for a white one, because it has a contemporary feel to it.  The frame comes with a mat inside, which adds a professional polish to the artwork.

2. Collage Paint Chips

Recently there has been an explosion of paint chip DIY art projects on the internet.  Matthew and I love the piece above made by one of his friends by cutting paint chips the same size, arranging them and gluing them onto a canvas. It hangs in our living room today. The small, acrylic paintings to the right of the paint chip piece are by artist Leah Rosenberg.

We love this version of the paint chip DIY art project by Sherry and John at one of our favorite blogs, Young House Love.  The palette is very soothing and perfect for a bedroom. 

Rachelle Tolwin is an artist who makes art with paint chips.  These are witty plays on words.  Paint colors in the above piece are homespun, sheen river, chelsea and soft earth.  Check out more on her artwork at her website here.

3. Frame Hand Made Cards

In addition to her paint chip artwork, Rachelle Tolwin makes gouache paintings and hand made cards, which we carry in our store, next summer for $6 each.  These hand made cards are the perfect gift because in addition to getting a colorful, fun card, you also get an original piece of art by a professional artist at an affordable price.  Just as with the duct tape piece, look for a frame with a mat or cut your own mat and put it in a larger frame to give presence to a small piece of art.