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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Christmas in Sweden

: : hello from Sweden! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! "God fortsättning", Swedish expression for " I wish you a continuing good Christmas"....that's what you say when you run into someone while you're out shopping at all the sales.

I meant to put up a quick post about me spending Christmas in Sweden, and that the blog would be on hold for a few days. But things got too rushed in the end....instead I'm posting this photo taken of the harbor by my Grandmother's [Farmors'] house on Christmas Eve. We were sad to not have any snow, but happy to at least have sunshine...this picture could just as well have been taken on a warm summer day.

I'll be back at the beginning of next week with a report from Sweden and pics of my design finds here. God fortsättning!

method

so, my plan for my Friday night was to stay at home, do laundry, pack, wrap gifts and get ready for our Sweden trip. what happens?....I give my roommate a ride to a party, 20 minutes later I fidn myself at target and it's 10 PM. 10 minutes later than that...I'm standing with a basket full of oxo products, walking towards the register and of course pass the cleaning isle on the way.....and I just can't resist the beautiful .method. products, sitting on the shelf, happy and colorful. 5 minutes later, I'm looking around for a cart because my basket is now getting too heavy. 10 minutes later, I'm standing in the parking lot, with a giant target bag and $ 100 less in my bank account. but the method products look..oh, so good in our bathroom. I'm such a sucker for design! damnit!

precidio

: : I am always on the hunt for new dishes. I found precidioobjects via mocoloco
and completely fell in love with their sumani series. their organic forms are just beautiful!!!
also above is their sum series, a little bit more of an every day feel.

: : unica home's giftguide is also a hot tip. lots of items in every price range. an alessi egg cup and spoon holder.

: : as I was walking up the stairs to our apartment I noticed a pile of brown boxes at the top of the stairs. all of my online christmas shopping gifts....delivered to my home. could it be more convenient? why rush around in a crowded mall when you can shop from the comfort of your own home *smile*

here are some other good tips for online christmas shopping places. check out moss these iittala kivi votive candles are available on their site. luckily I am going home to Sweden on Sunday and can stock up on Swedish design for the next two weeks. Squeals! [.maiya. expression] I'm so excited!

netto collection

: : ...and more kids furniture. nettocollection
is a more modern approach, almost a bit retro.....

: : ...while I'm on the topic of kids furniture, here's some more fun stuff for kids...Deutch company momoll is taking a simplistic approach. there's a great article about momoll in this month's issue of ID.

fun for kids

: : playful and smart kids furniture at p'kolino

red.house button

: : welcome to the new and improved red.house. *smile*...only a small improvement... I'm switching to a red.house button logo. more fun and easier to use.

bamboo furniture

: : came across iannone: sanderson when I was looking for sustainable furniture. not only do they design beautiful pieces of furniture, many of them use bamboo as the main material.

iannone: sanderson was founded in 2004 by .michael iannone. and .james sanderson. with a purpose to create good modern design. many of you might already be familiar with the .glowbox dresser. which is my favorite.

they're located in Philadelphia...I would love to peek into their studio next time I'm in Philly visiting .Iz.

time for Christmas presents

: : greenergrass design has expanded their product offerings extensively since I last visited. I was browsing their collection today for some Christmas presents and found soo many great things! they have a great giftguide, offering gifts in all price categories.

a bowling pin lamp that turns off when it is knocked over. a hip/shoulder ammo bag from silent revolution. [ I want this! perfect for going out and for everyday] bubbly coasters in different colors and a collection of melamine plates from .bob's your uncle. [which is a local, Boston, based company.big fan.]

: : lots of dual functions and interesting controversial approaches...vitamin living .a life less ordinary. is just that...a life less ordinary. most of their products are out of the ordinary. here an urban gnome and a combined ashtray and flower vase.

: : this weekend was my birthday, which was celebrated in the wilderness of the Adirondacks, just me and Iz...and the bears.

and of course, on birthday morning there was cake, balloons and presents....not just any present...a fabulous orange Lotta Jansdotter tote! somebody had been paying attention, as I had clearly expressed my love for Lotta Jansdotter's work when doing an interview with her for d*sponge's guestblog. Tack älskling!

hannah louise lamb

: : these pieces are too beautiful to pass up.... .hannah louise lamb's. jewelry on .papa stour.

: :...unfortunately one day late for this weekend, but still with plenty of weekends to come...lovely .kelly. of etcetera media decided to keep the south end open market going through the winter and started .wears + wares. together with a friend. at different locations, all located in central Boston, she's gathering local artists to come sell their products. be sure to visit them at the ritz next weekend, 11.28, for some holiday shopping.

thank you kelly!

: : ... I was out and about, trying to get some of my things on my "to.do.list" checked off, walking over to the hardware store by Porter Sq. and found satinbox. I immediately remember reading about this adorable design store " in a box" on d*sponge a few months ago when they opened. but I had no idea that they were located around the corner from my house! I stepped inside and found .tim., who owns satinbox together with his wife. They just recently moved from San Francisco to Boston and decided to set up their store here, located on 353 Beacon Street, in between Inman and Porter Sq. Cambridge, MA. All of the items in their store are also available online. But if you're in the area, I strongly recommend a visit. You won't miss it, there's only one box on Beacon St....the satinbox.

art hotel

: : my friend .leo. found this fantastic art hotel in Berlin! it just seem more authentic and true than other places that I have seen like this. so, if you're traveling in the direction of Berlin..check out...kuenstlerheim

[found via reddit]

wall creations

: : well, I'm still in textile and wallpaper mode after my guestblogging on d*sponge. wonderful pattern creations at pvanb and a lovely website as well. definitely worth checking out. a Dutch company I believe.

: : halloj. I'm happy to be back in my red.house again. unfortunately my two week adventure on d*sponge kept me too busy to update my own blog. but now I'm back, and excited about a stack of posts that I have saved up.

A friend of mine, .ulf jansson. , a graduate of the Industrial Design program at Lunds University, Sweden, designed this wonderful chair which deserves a lot of attention. It's incredibly Scandinavian to me through it's absolute simplicity, purity and use of materials.

It's called .the simplest chair.
This pine wood chair, made from one single plank, originates from an antique Andalusian birth chair. The construction is very light, less than 4,4 lbs (2 kg) and with its architectural and modest expression it is ideally suited for café environments. The chair is still in prototype stage looking for a producer and best of all, despite its uncomfortable looks, it is extremely comfortable!

to contact .ulf. send him an e.mail at Ulf.Jansson@condesign.se

iBride

www.ibride.fr

: : I found this fantastic website iBride via Moco Loco the other day. They have a great line of products, especially their animal furniture series where the legs are shaped as the lower half of dogs, deers and ostriches. They also have one of the most beautiful websites I have seen! Their graphics are beautiful! Check it out right here.

Green conference

: : hello. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to update red.house much this past week. d*sponge's guestblogging is taking up all my free time. I will be back with many more exciting posts next week. for now, follow me on d*sponge.

I just wanted to post about a local event in Boston this weekend. IDSA, the Industrial Design Society of America, Boston is hosting a Green Conference at Mass Art this Saturday Nov. 11th for anyone who might be interested. They have some great speakers lined up. Check it out on their website.

me on d*s guestblog

: : I am honored....I have been invited by .grace. on designsponge to share my inspirations on her guestblog during the next two weeks. I can't even tell you how excited I am!! so, step on over to d*s guestblog to check me out [smile].

photos: :www.alfredo-haeberli.com

: : alfredo häberli, one of my favorite designers. [espcially for the work that he has been doing with Iittala. ] his products are not only beautiful but also functional. a brilliant hanger, an ashtray that flips over, beautiful glass pitchers, and a soup bowl with room for your utensils, a piece of bread or even a flower.

preparing for the winter

photos : : www.papastour.com

: : ...some things to prepare you for the winter...all from .papastour.
cute water bottle to keep you warm in bed. cushions and scarf by .rosie brown. oh, how I would like that scarf! cute for any season.