I am totally in love with everything Light + Ladder. This tiered ceramic hanging planter is so perfect with it’s nude leather strap and gold fasteners! And everything else on their site, including these fabulous wall hooks, is amazing and so well designed. Farrah Sit has a refined eye and selects the best of local (to Brooklyn, New York) artisan’s and her own work to populate the shop. I highly recommend a visit.
Happy Weekend + Moderna Museet Stockholm
We visited the Moderna Museet during our trip to Stockholm a couple weeks ago. I love taking in a couple museums while I’m in new cities. This one was really great and you should definitely stop in if you’re in town. They also have a sister museum in my town of Malmö so some of the exhibits I had already seen, but I think it was still worth the trip.
Here is the secret: Sometimes the gift shop is as awesome (or more awesome) than the actual museum. All those amazingly great works of art and design that you just witnessed? They are available for affordable (and easily transportable) sale right there in the gift shop! This trip I picked up the vibrantly pink poster on the right, aptly titled Goat + Tire and based on this work of art. The also awesome work on the left can be found here. Now, it’s time for a trip to IKEA to pick up the frame.
Have a happy weekend!
My Favorites + Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair 2015
If you couldn’t tell from my instagram feed, I loved loved loved the Stockholm Furniture + Light Fair 2015 (#SFF2015). The fair was an amazing place to see all the Scandinavian furniture + lighting brands up close and play with all their new things. It’s been about a week and a half since I got back from the fair, and after a bit of decompression time, I think I’m ready to share my favorite pieces.
I’ve broken up my favs into 5 categories: chairs, lighting, tables, textiles and things (which are all the lovely objects that don’t fit in the other categories but were still magical). Of course, I loved so many things from the fair, so to see the full story you should really check out my instagram or twitter feed ’cause I went nuts on live tweeting the whole show for two days straight. Like I said, it was awesome!
Ilse Crawford was this year’s guest of honor. She created a great lounge space in the lobby of the fair with large cork boards asking questions like “Do we need more chairs?”. Quite a stirring thing to ask at a furniture fair! And there were quite a few responses. I, for one, think more design is better and I think there is still good design to be had. Just take a look at these stunners.
I loved the sit and compact frame of the Beetle Chair by Gubi. It’s got a wonderful retro but new look that makes it perfectly classic. Also the palm fabric + brass leg is spot on. Maybe my favorite chair of the show is the Pilot High with arms from Johanson. It’s got beautifully clean, sleek lines and felt really well finished. I believe I have made my feelings known about the OFFECCT Oyster Chair. I spotted the Mirja conference chair by Bruno Mathsson International right when I walked in to the fair. Another great example of can’t-quite-place-it retro and modern finishes (which are sadly not reflected in the online gallery).
I am completely in love with these wooden pendents from Secto, The light source is hidden up in the neck so there is no glare! Just light that seems helped along by expertly bent wood slats. Flos’ Skygarden pendent is Scandi simple on the outside (just a smooth round dome) and wonderfully ornate on the inside. I nearly got in trouble for trying to figure out how mr. n works. Turns out picking up, turning over and randomly poking at things is not always appreciated. The cute little LED table lamp from Koncept has an integrated on/off dimmer switch hidden in the base and activated by touch (as was shown to me by the helpful, yet stern, sales rep).
Hal by Materia is a beautifully done height adjustable conference table. That’s right. Those lovely legs are height adjustable! But it was not the only well done height adjustable table at the fair. String showed off the String Works height adjustable desk with lots of great accessories and privacy solutions. I am so happy there is finally an alternative to those ugly T-legs! Way on the other side of the fair, Svedholm showed a comprehensive collection of wire side tables. This one is called Arc and has a nice soft purple powder coated finish and marble top.
For textiles, I loved the large color range and irresistible softness of ODC Astro by Ogeborg. The tufted rug is made of Viscose / Tencel (which is bamboo based) and is crazy super duper soft. I loved seeing Elmo‘s extensive range of leathers. They’ve got amazing colors and lots of patterns, too. Kvadrat did a large hanging installation of yards and yards of their fabrics. It was really calming. They brought along so many of their fabrics for the back wall, like a fabric candy store!
Everything Tom Dixon is lovely but this Fire candle was my fav from the show. There was just something about the shape of the glass vessel, the simple typography and the intriguingly complex scent. EFG gave a huge showing at the fair. I loved their color combinations like this (not standard, but it should be) hot orange + burgundy. The hanging magnetic storage shelves have great accessories like super strong magnetic bookends that morph into mini shelves. Vifa showed their really awesome Kvadrat fabric wrapped wireless speakers in three sizes (named with nordic capitals). You can find them for purchase at Illums Bolighus. And lastly, tucked in a corner stand, The London Collection by Lara Bohic for Skultuna was stunning. I loved these delicately crafted candle holders inspired by flight and feathers, highways in Japan and celestial movements.
Whew! That was a long post. I’m so glad I went to the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair 2015. I was excited and inspired by all the vendors. I can’t wait to see what they will have for us next year!
Photos from this post are a mix of my own and product shots from the sites linked.
DIY + Earring Ribbon
My desk is covered in crafting supplies right now. It makes the creative side of me so happy and the neat and organized side of me crazy to CLEAN ALL THE THINGS!
I’m working my way through all the craft projects for the Hazelnut’s baby shower, which is super fun and also masquerades as productivity. It’s got me in a camp-y crafting mood. So this DIY turned out a bit camp-y craft-y (look at me just make up words!). You know, like arts and crafts done in the fresh mountain air while sitting on a hard splinter ridden bench. What do you call that?
I think I’m loving it, though. It’s feeding my organizational side. Now my earrings aren’t in a clump in a bowl where it is impossible to find a matching pair. See, organized side? I’m getting things cleaned up!
MATERIALS
16” of 1-1/2” (approx. 41 cm of 4 cm) cotton twill tape
black embroidery floss + needle
large paper clip
needle nose pliers
scissors
(I’m not sure how the paint brush got in the photo. Like I said, my desk is a crafting mess!)
TO MAKE
Fold the paperclip into an equilateral 1-1/2” (4 cm) triangle (with overlap). I mushed my corners around so they looked more sharp and less paperclip-like.
Fold the cotton twill tape end over on itself twice and press it down with the heat of your hand (I love cotton twill tape. No iron required!). Slip the overlapped edge of the paper clip into the fold of your cotton twill tape end. Hand stitch the end closed. Fold the other end of the cotton twill tape over on itself twice and stitch in the same way. Hang from a nail.
Pick of the week + heath bud vase
The simple little Bud Vase is one of my favorite pieces from Heath Ceramics. Heath was founded in 1948 and still is produced in their factory in Sausalito, California. The products they produce are classic examples of solid mid century Californian design. Every piece is thoughtful and functional and lovely, like this little vase. I think these bud vases have a wonderful handmade quality with that great fired ceramic texture and a perfectly balanced weight. They come in a variety of seasonally updated, and classic standard, colors. And make great small gifts (wink). Heath Ceramics are available on the web or, if you find yourself in San Fransisco, stop by their Ferry Building shop (they also have SF, Sausalito and LA showrooms).