What was Great About O Eight?

I was musing on how dreadful the past year has been. In so many areas of our lives.

Then it occurred to me. There are a bunch of things and people that made O Eight quite exciting.
The most amazing thing is that we the people managed to elect an intelligent person who speaks in complete sentences. An although he is not a woman, he is as smart as one, and probably as wise as one.

Note: The image above is an Hermes Offrandes d'un Jour silk twill scarf. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this scarf will be donated to the charity CRY (Child Rights and You). If you want to buy me one you may. The silvery gray one if you will.

I was fortunate enough or perhaps smart enough, to ask my friend John Simoudis to design my blog. He was quite the taskmaster. I repeatedly sent him images until finally, I rolled my eyes, put a piece of Canson paper down, drew a Louis the-something chair, spread out some different sized colored pencils, sent it from my Iphone and he liked it. And he transformed it.

I met lots of great Tweople though Twitter and some people the old fashioned way. My favs are: @trishdarling, @rebeccashapiro, @juliedarling, @rorrer, @zappos. They have been generous and a delight to follow.

My non Twitter people are great also. My new friends Kathie M. and Laura M. have been inspiring and engaging. We can swap books and go to movies. Nothing better. And wannabe Twitterer @xanderNK rocks. I loved our honeymoons in Antigua and St. Barts. Anyyyyy time bud. Looking forward to Savannah!

But it's a new year and I know that somehow I need to self promote. You betcha!

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Mr. Male's Christmas Mobiles

When I was a little kid, I had a most wonderful art teacher who is now a more than wonderful friend.

Don Male now makes art and helps kids for whom English is a second language. His kids/clients are amazingly talented. He feigns a serious demeanor with them but they know he's winking the whole time. He does the same with his dog named Calder -- surprise surprise. Today I want to talk about his mobiles. Like his house and like him, they are magical. He shops immediately after Christmas and hoards tons of lovely ornaments that are on sale. As a kid Don taught us the value of dumpster diving. Not something I do, but I do know that you should wear good protective gloves. At Christmas his house is particularly magical. And his community work makes us all look like lazy bums. He is a treasure to the many communities he participates in and to me. He makes me a better person.


One of the kids taught him to make the lovely paper spheres you see below.

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Flowers for Friday -- Joe Marini

Joe Marini of River in Essex, CT is one of my top fav floral designers. Genius level great with living things.

I love River and the wonderful owners Joe Marini and his partner John Simoudis. The shop is wonderful and always changing; selling beautiful linens, antiques, architectural elements, garden artifacts, and other goodies. Today I'd like to focus on Joe's floral designs. I'm really excited for Monday when I pick up my Christmas arrangement designed by Joe! I know it will be super. In addition to floral design, Joe does lots of events for individuals (birthday bashes and weddings) and now the local non-profits are asking him for help. And yet, he's very practical. I asked him months ago, even before the economy tanked, how he goes about working with, say, a bride. How does he approach it? He said he considered it a requirement to set a budget and stick to it. He insists that you can, indeed have lovely flowers as long as you are realistic. He said that there might be fewer flowers, but they will be great. From all of the talk among my friends, Joe's work not only wows in the moment, but is most memorable and isn't that what is really important? Call him. There is still time for Christmas orders. 860 304 8480
Taken with my Iphone in the shop earlier this month.

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MiX Design Store -- Guilford CT

I did a ton of Christmas shopping last week at MiX Design Store on the Guilford Green.

I wrote a little about MiX in a very early post on Middle Kingdom porcelain, which I love and will never have enough of. I know, bad grammar, but who's watching? I also like these placemats. The ultimate recycle (!) using old NY and LA Times newspapers that are covered with plastic or wax or something so that they can be easily cleaned. The company also makes bags that can be used as hampers or for shopping. There is a collection of reclaimed road signs that are artfully done. Not sure if I really want to be reminded of I-95 (EVER) but it's a fun photo.
These Pantone mugs come in fabulous colors with fun names. The blue one second from the left lists: Aquarium, Sea Glass, King Tut, and Duck. Duck? I bought some of these for my artsy friends. It was impossible to choose colors. I loved them all.
The women who own MiX -- it isn't even a year old -- are wise to a fault. They are so smart (and maybe a little bit lucky considering the economy), becacause they have amazingly affordable pricepoints. I think I bought at least 7 really nice presents, maybe more and spent only $105.

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Whimsical Bench Ad Designs -- Good way to start the week

I found a wonderful post on bench ads from Toxel. I have only posted a few.

Nestle's Kit Kat. The "hot cup" Erasco bench from Young & Rubicam, Germany.

From the Calgary Zoo a special stroller. Look closely.
This Czech liquor company, Becherovka, has a slogan "Get closer".

And finally a bench sponsored by Slim Fast. I didn't even know they still made that stuff.

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Ann Lightfoot Jewelry at New York Mag's Best Bets for the Whole Family

Ann Lightfoot, who I recently posted about here, will be one of many wonderful vendors featured at New York Magazine's Best Bets for the Whole Family sale in NYC on Saturday Dec 6th. I'm offering $10.00 of admission. Read on. . . .

The sale is located at the Altman Building, 135 W 18th St. from 11am - 7pm. There will be more than 40 exhibitors and STUFF up to 60% off, with activities and free admission for kids! I looked at the vendors and there are some great companies. LOTS of kid stuff. They are partnering with a really great sounding charity called Room to Grow, a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first three years of development. I'm excited to see the people from Greenwich Press; I love the concept of letterpress. Admission is $20.00. If you'd like a $10.oo off coupon for admission, send me a note in the comments section.

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