Monthly Archives: April 2008

made in china by carola van zee


Dutch designer Carola Zee has some gorgeous new vases that she presented in Milan last week. Her latest collection ‘Made in China’ was realized in Jingdezhe, China. The collection is presented with a book publication, which tells the story of the people behind the production and shows the way they work. The vases, made from porcelain with three different hand crafted designs, are the end result of this collaboration and show the different techniques typical for this region of China.

In the image above you see Jiang Cai Yun working on one of the vases. Even with the big economical and industrial changes in China at the moment a lot of products here are still produced manually. These products are able to compete with the low prices of machine-produced products because of the low wages the Chinese craftsmen get paid.

By creating this collection Carola wants to make consumers aware of the fact that most Chinese products and the people creating them are underrated. Through interviews and photographs she shows the amount of work and time that the craftsmen put in to the creation of this collection. Visit Carola’s website for more information and to see more of her beautiful work.

salone internazionale del mobile milan 2008


Last week the Salone Internazionale del Mobile was held in Milan, Italy. Every year the latest furniture design is introduced to the world at this prestigious event. Unfortunately I could not be there but with the help of press releases that were sent to me and the great coverage of blogs as Yatzer and Dezeen I created an overview of the best pieces that were displayed in Milan. The carpet shown in the image above is from the Textures collection by Deanna Comellini.

Anafim is part of ouTable, a new collection of tableware for the outdoor environment designed by d-vision.

Gorgeous furniture by Paul Loebach.

This bench is from the Soft wood Collection designed by Swedish label Front.

Chair Ruban is designed by Gauthier Poulain. This chair combines aesthetic and well-being with wooden back and seat designed in an organic way.

For Artecnica Dutch designer Joris Laarman designed the WirePod Artecnica, a multi-point electrical “power pod”.

This destilled nature vase is from the FOREVER series by BCXSY

The Branch series by Post Fossil absorb branches as branch holders and give the impression that trees are growing out of walls.

colourful interiors


I am not very fond of using too much color in interiors but I have to admit that these interiors look fabulous. I especially love the image above: the colorful sofa looks stunning with the white floor and walls.

The colors in the images above and below are a bit too strong for my taste. I would never use them in my own home but I can see that the colors work in these spaces.

(images from Marie Claire Maison)

bench by jo nagasaka


This bench by Jo Nagasaka of Tokyo-based Schemata Architecture Office is made of six chairs and a plank of wood. Gorgeous!

(via dezeen)

from cube to dining table set


This is great for small spaces! No wonder this compact dining area is designed by a Japanese furniture designer.

Unfortunately this genius design is only available in Japan..

clutch purse


While searching for a small handbag I found these beautiful clutch purses on Etsy. The purses are from Red Ruby Rose, an illustrator/photographer based in the UK.

I bought the purse with the peacock feather print (left image). When receiving the package a few days ago I was happy to see that the purse is beautifully made! Click here to see more gorgeous bags of this Etsy store.

cradle combined with a rocking chair


Re-babe is a cradle from Berlin based designers collective e-27. It can be combined with their rocking chair re-tire to form the re-set. The cradle is attached to the chair with leather straps and enables rocking together with your baby this way. This is such a great idea!

And it gets even better: the cradle is still use-able after the little one gets too big for it. With the supplied saddle it changes into a stylish rocking horse and the cradle itself becomes a handy basket. Available here in various colors.

pantone stairs


In Dutch interior magazine ELLE Wonen I found this ‘Pantone stairs’. The gorgeous stairs is part of the studio of Tamotsu Yagi Design in San Fransisco.

fashion trends 2008 – part II


More fashion trends for 2008 so you know what to wear this summer:). Silhouette trend: Fluid (images above).

Accessory trend: Skinny belt (above)

Print trend: Mismatch.

(images from catwalking)

ceramics for etsy store up in the air somewhere


Some beautiful ceramics from Etsy store ‘up in the air somewhere’! The owner of this shop is “a Chicago based maker-of-things”. Over the last year she begun creating a line of housewares inspired by the beautiful forms found in industrial architecture. Although she works in different mediums (paper mache, ceramic, fiber, etc.), her work has always been primarily focused on volume and form rather then ornamentation and surface. The simplicity and utility of the industrial landscape is a constant influence. Click here to see all gorgeous items available in this Etsy store.