Bread Shoes

For Her






For Him





and of course...





I was going to place these in my expanded definition of ephemera feature but couldn't wait, I love them so.

Caddy's and Jags and Volvos, oh my!

What's wrong with this picture?






Can we really distinguish between these cars? Where did our imagination go? What does the homogeniety of these designs say about us as consumers? What does it say about how we are perceived by manufacturers and designers?






Where is the fun? Where is the outrage?

Thank you BoingBoing for reminding us that car design used to speak to a collective American imagination, a collective spirit.

Nom Nom Nom

I intend to play fast and loose with the definition of ephemera so that I can write about any object that is intended to be short lived.

Like chocolate.



Aren’t these beautiful?

I normally don’t care for sweets but I will happily destroy a couple of these any ol’ day.




If you are the rare chocolate consumer, I recommend making sure you only eat the tastiest AND most beautiful. These are from Richart.


Yum.

Feature: Ephemera

MoMa, you make me feel so butch

Now, I like a good tool just as much as any girl. Who doesn’t? But I guess the MoMa Design Store thinks I shouldn’t.




I just bought the super cool Protocol. It’s a multi-tool, sort of like a swiss army knife but on steroids. It comes with a hammer, adjustable wrench, pliers, wire cutter, file, blades, and a screwdriver with a twelve-piece bit set. I bought 2, one for me and one for NK. I will probably buy more for gifts. By the way, it is pretty hefty so not quite pocketbook size, which is what I was hoping.

But here’s the kicker. MoMa advertised it "For Him"


A little explanation… I am writing this pre-Valentine’s day and posting it later. I am sure this was just a gift suggestion. But seriously, really? That is simply NO EXCUSE.

I would have loved that as a Valentine's day present.

MoMa, you should be embarrassed.

Feature: Product Promotion

Winter Be Gone

A quick post on the virtue of plastic. Ok, recycled plastic.


These are lovely



These are also lovely and cheaper



And they last a real long time.


I am ok with that.



Feature: Out of Doors

Raggin' on Mags

Today I was flipping through my new issue of Elle Decor. By flipping, I mean I was brushing through pages on my iPad, I think perhaps the least satisfying magazine experience. I will happily subscribe to electronic magazines if they figure out that a simulated carbon copy of the mag is not the wave of the future.

I found I was drawn more to the ads because they dealt with one idea at a time, hence less busy. I stumbled upon an ad for a designer I was just talking about with my friend, ML, last Saturday night: the painter and designer Madeline Weinrib. (thanks to DDS for turning me on to her)

ML was admiring my clutch.





Ms Weinrib is the grand-daughter of ABC Carpet and Home's founder Max Weinrib. She carries on the tradition beautifully with rugs, pillows and other textiles. This one is in our living room.








This runner is out at the humble cottage.


and if I am in an ironing mood, you might just be using these napkins at dinner.




When I was searching out a little more info on Ms. Weinrib I found a site for "Copy Cat Chic". I understand that many people cannot afford to shop at ABC carpet sample sales but please do not support direct ripoffs. This hurts the artist especially if she is a living, working artist.

How to turn this back into a rag about mags, I don't know. But if my electronic magazines continue to force me to talk about their ads, I am certain to let the subscription run out.

Feature: Cruisin' the Mags

Ain't that America?

One completely unexpected bonus from taking a design history class with Russell Flinchum, the author of American Design (for the MoMa design series) is that I sometimes get to do the “oh look at me, I own that object” dance. In this case it is an Ecko products Flint potato masher (1943-1946)





There was a certain ilk of industrial designer whose goal was to make the best possible product for the most people at the best possible price. Flint attached the handle to the tool with a rivet. The manufacturers could have made this all as one piece but that action would have doubled the cost. "Now that', as Russell would say, 'is American…willing to compromise design in favor of cost." Imagine: design for the masses at affordable prices provided by the American capitalist system.


That certain ilk still produces today. Another product with infinite extensions is the OXO good grip family.



The actual product in MoMa's collection is the spatula.



(a silly side note: if anyone owns the American Design book, take a look at the piece on the previous page. it is Arens and Brookhart’s streamliner meat slicer. it was a gift to the museum in honor of Abbie Hoffman. Huh?)





Feature: Make My Day: Gadgets