A friend told me about the wonderful textile designer Stephanie Housley of Coral and Tusk.
Brooklyn-based Housley mostly confines herself to tee shirts and onesies for babies and little children, but she has a couple of pillows that are really fun. She is a RISD grad who spends part of the year in India; in fact she is there right now, so I had to lift images from her Etsy store. She uses organic cotton almost exclusively. Check out this humorous Hungry Whale pillow. $120.00.
The Baby Goat shirt, below, best exemplifies her talent with thread. Amazing. Cute kid. $46.00.
The whimsical detail in this shirt called Crab Claw Crusher is a story in itself. Note the jellyfish and the charming little crabs. $70.00.
A Circus Tent onesie would be a fabulous baby gift. A cool summer outfit for any wiggley baby. $46.00
Pinchy Whale. Great name. I think I love her sensibility as much as her designs. $46.00.
Finally -- and I would love to have this one in an adult size shirt -- my favorite design (if pressed) is called Leaf Cutter Ants. $46.00.
Prices are a little high for every day, but perfect for a special gift. Coral and Tusk products can also be found at Acorn Toy Shop and Sweet William in Brooklyn as well as John Derian in Manhattan.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Whimsical Textile Design -- Coral and Tusk
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward -- culture, technology and the environment
May 15, a new exhibit Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward opens at the Guggenheim in New York.
To celebrate it's 50th anniversary, the Guggenheim is hosting an exhibition co-organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The exhibit opens tomorrow and you have until August 23 to see it. Wright, (1867–1959) who died six months before the opening of this landmark building, was certainly one of the most influential architects of the 20th century and I dare say his legacy lives on. I know I appreciate his "eye" more as I get older. Included in the exhibition will be his civic buildings, religious and performance spaces, as well as unrealized urban mega-structures. And there will be additional tech creations based on un-realized projects. I look forward to walking the spiral of the museum and seeing more than 200 original FLW drawings, many of which are available to the public for the first time. Here's an explanation of the title of the exhibition:“Rather than a retrospective, this exhibition focuses on the diversity of Wright’s vision and the ways he sought to realize it, conveying fresh perspectives on how the buildings themselves celebrate that vision through spaces that enrich our lives with their transformational power,” said Phil Allsopp, President and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation . . . “The concept of the exhibition also reflects a growing recognition of the enormous relevance today of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design philosophies, which embrace culture, technology and environment."
Although that quote doesn't quite give me a better sense of the title, perhaps I am more drawn to his work now because of the commingling of ". . . culture, technology and the environment." My kind of stuff.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
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.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Domaine de Canton -- A Spirit to Lift Your Spirits
Thanksgiving 2008. We have a lot for which to be thankful. Yesterday, with lifted spirits we celebrated with loved ones and looked to the future with hope.
Speaking of spirits, I finally got my hands on something I've been reading about for some time but, because it's unavailable locally, I have yet to try. Enter house guest extraordinaire from the big city with a bottle in tow. After a light sup and both tired we opened the bottle of Domaine de Canton, took tiny portions and loved it. It is French cognac-based liqueur infused with (and I quote) "baby Vietnamese ginger." I love ginger-anything. Assuming the cognac factor, I figured it was for after dinner. Nope. Domaine de Canton is so subtle it can be added to all sorts of drinks. It works really well in cocktails. On their extraordinarily annoying website you can learn many drink recipes, but be prepared to spend way too much time trying to track back. And it may also have recipe applications that I have yet imagined. I would recommend buying a case and giving it as a holiday gift.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Yew Tree House Antiques
Stopped by Yew Tree House Antiques when I was in the city last week. Located at 414 East 71st Street, just off the FDR. What drew me in was a table full of bulb forcing vases.
Totally smitten by these colorful bulb forcing vases from the 18th & 19th centuries. Imagine being in rainy England (or Ireland for that matter) and having the pleasure of fragrant flowers growing out of them.
The two toned turned wood on this English chair is kind of quirky. The photo was taken with the Iphone, so it doesn't do justice to the green on this velvet chair.
The unusual look of the Scottish "Orkney"chair, below, is beyond quaint. The linen seat must be a restoration.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A Rainy Summer Must Have
The past few weeks have been rainy. As in: the lawn needs mowing every five days. Typically lawns are parched this time of year.
So when I was in NYC on Friday and -- once again -- rain threated I headed for a reputable umbrella store not far from Grand Central. I adore single object stores, for example glove stores. So this was great fun. But they didn't like me taking photographs. SO. I won't write the name of the store. But that's not to say I won't talk about the cool umbrellas. The octagonal one above is by Piganiol , a French company that has been around since 1884. The Piganiol "welcome page" is very snazzy. The lozenge-shaped one below is from the German firm Knirps.
I vetoed the Knirps because the process is too lengthy. Open case, take brolley out of pretty sleeve and open it. That's too much for someone with my attention span. Instead I went with the model by Finnish textile maker marimekko (see below). It's got an impressive J-shaped wooden handle.
Here it is closed.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Blow Out Sale at Hollywould
One of my very favorite online shopping sites is having a major sale beginning tomorrow. Visit Hollywould. Holly, a former model, has the online shop, a store in Manhattan, and one in Palm Beach.
One might characterize me as a collector of her shoes. I have quite a few. Last year they sent me a pair of two different size shoes. By the time I discovered this fact, it was too late. I also bought a pair like the ones at the top of this post and found that I need to buy a half size smaller. In a recent purchase, they sent me a wedge rather than the red print flat (pictured above) that I ordered. I do NOT wear wedges. Like I don't eat wraps and I don't go to Subway. One must have some rules. An aside: customer service is a delight. A bit ditsy, but charming.
Perusing the site tonight I discovered that if you click on Final Sale, there are really great deals, but if you click on the button Sale, there are other bottom priced items that should be in the afore-mentioned category. Since I have most of them already, I honestly don't see me ordering any more for now. As for the clothing, it's a wee bit girly for me and with my shape, online isn't an option, so I might just have to zip in later this week.
