Jennifer wrote me an email about her recently opened Etsy shop Turtle Papers. From her studio in Seattle, USA, Jennifer works on her beautiful collection. Her stationary line is eye catching in its design by subtly integrating the image and message.
Turtle Paper also carries very cute baby tees, all made from super soft 100% cotton. Click here to visit Turtle Paper to see the rest of the items for sale.
Posted in etsy, other, personal accessories
Have you always wanted a flying carpet? Then you should check out this carpet from Spanish rug company Nanimarquina. Flying Carpet is designed by Spanish designers Ara Mir and Emili Padros. The rug is hand loomed, made from 100% New Zealand wool. Visit the Nanimarquina website for more information.
I love it when good design is combined with eco-awareness. This is certainly the case with this cot from Nordic company Kids Gallery. The cot is made from ecological, recyclable cardboard. It is at the same height as an adult bed, which is really practical, and comes complete with comfortable mattress.
The cot will be delivered flat-packed and it is very easy to assemble – no tools are required! Available in two colors, white and a circle pattern, from Little Fashion Gallery. Good to know: Kids Gallery donates 5% of the price to Unicef.
One of my favorite designers is Paola Navone. This Italian designer is driven by her extreme interest in the most widely differing cultures – particularly oriental ones – she travels a great deal, bowing to a natural inclination to cross boundaries, and not only geographical ones. This is reflected in her gorgeous designs. For Gervasoni Paola designed this beautiful bed with headboard. This Italian furniture brand is known for combining natural elements with more sophisticated, man-made products.
By the way, you will be seeing a lot of grey this fall and winter as it is one of the season’s trend colors. More about this color next week, when I will be showing lots of grey furniture!
Today I would like to show you the designs of Austrian label POLKA. POLKA was founded in 2004 by Monica Singer and Marie Rahm. This Vienna based design duo regards everyday life phenomena as their project’s fuel. Their aim is to discover the beauty in the banal, the extraordinary out of the ordinary. POLKA:”We show shifting points of view, we like to surprise and carry on the ease of life forward on the way to create ‘product pleasures’. I love their theory that things don’t have to match, that to clash with confidence is cool!
Light Dossey is a new, playful generation of lampshade, familiar and yet pleasantly surprising. POLKA took the iconic shape of a classic lampshade, re-assebled it and turned it partly upside-down. The wild mix of patterns creates a life of its own: evolving, changing, adapting to or contrasting with its surroundings. Doosey is produced, by innermost UK, on a limited edition basis whereby once a fabric is exhausted it is replaced by another pattern. On average about 2-300 lamps are made before a fabric is replaced.
For the Hungarian Porcelain Manufactory Herend, POLKA created a basic Porcelain Short Set in four pieces with different patterns. The pieces can be combined and used in many ways, for celebrating the daily life. Visit POLKA’S website for more information and to see their entire, gorgeous collection.
Posted in design, home accessories, lighting
Amsterdam has a new library and it is gorgeous. The building on the restructured Oosterdokseiland (near Amsterdam Central Station) is definetely worth a visit when you are in the neighbourhood. Jo Coenen is the architect of this public library, which is the largest in The Netherlands. Coenen has created a refined transitional area between the upper and lower floors by using a raised plinth. The reading and study rooms are like terraces and are placed around large and tall empty spaces.
The library is open to the public seven days a week from 10 o’clock in the morning to 10 o’clock at night. The address is Oosterdokskade 143 in Amsterdam.
(images by designws)
Posted in amsterdam, architecture, travel
Soft Wall is a wall-partition designed by Germans Carsten Gerhards and Andreas Glücker for B&B Italia. This soft, functional, sculpture-like “wall’ can be used for defining, dividing and storing. Designed to accommodate the objects we need only from time to time (which would otherwise take up space on small tables, on shelves and in containers), Soft Wall can be used in both the home and office since it adapts to the requirements of the location where it is used. The design is crafted in felt and available in two sizes. Click here to see where B&B Italia is sold in your country.
I received an email from Jenn Ski, a US-based artist creating beautiful wall art. Jenn recently opened an online store in which she sells her gorgeous work. Jenn’s retro-mod pieces of wall art fit in many different interiors. Her one-of-a-kind hand-painted panels are the perfect way to add an extra touch of cool to any room in your house. You could also ask Jenn to do a custom order for you.
A more affordable alternative are the giclée prints. These beautiful digital prints are made available on archival quality paper. Each print is individually signed and numbered by the artist.
By the way, Jenn will soon have stationary line available. On her blog she is giving away two 4-packs of notecards to two random readers. Click here for more information.
Posted in art, home accessories, walls
This beautiful salad bowl, together with the handmade lacquered wood salad tossers, looks gorgeous on the dinner table. The bowl is hand carved and hand turned from renewable acacia wood. Its unfinished surface is waiting for nothing more than some nice food grade oil for finishing and a delicious salad for serving.
The salad tossers are also available in red. Durable and functional, they are also chic and sophisticated and the natural companion for the salad bowl. The bowl ($60) and the salad serving set ($85) are both available from Koo de Kir.
Posted in home accessories
A great place to have coffee and/or lunch in Amsterdam is De Bakkerswinkel at the Westergasfabriek premises. They serve excellent coffees and their delicious sandwiches are made with traditionally baked bread. I was there last weekend and had a scone with the most delicious mango & orange jam (home-made!). Not only the food but also the interior is worth the visit, all furniture is designed and custom made by Piet Hein Eek.
If you love the furniture and would like to have the same style in your home then visit Piet Hein Eek’s website to see his upholstery collection. This beautiful collection of furniture is similar to the furniture in De Bakkerswinkel.
Click here for a list of Piet Hein Eek dealers.
Posted in amsterdam, dutch design, furniture, travel
