big in japan...



i love the shape of vintage antti nurmesniemi coffee pots.
i've been entranced, ever since mav posted a link to neutral store a little while back.

and speaking of japan...

+ web benlly's
+ biotope
+ 13th floor
+ organ

what a nice little, inexpensive perk up for your table.
(via the style files)

my beautiful use swap partner received her package...
other packages are arriving too...
take a peek.

happy tuesday!

klaus burgel
(via new jewellery)

i got a welcome surprise on saturday.
waiting for me at home was a package from my beautiful use swap partner, shayna. she sent me a magical package...a package full of california. and my favorite thing that she sent is coastal sage soap from juniper ridge.

it smells incredible.
and it totally transports me to big sur.

momo natural

as much as i love classic terracotta pots,
i really love these.
(via better living through design)

this is where i live...



...you can see more sneak peeks of my home (and the homes of other design folks) over on design*sponge.
(thanks grace!)

this is one fabulous chair.
(via hannah garr)

if you haven't already, you should go order camilla's amazing tea towel at third drawer down.

also just a reminder, the beautiful use mail day is coming up. its tomorrow, february 21, to be exact. please be sure to mail your swap package to your partner by that date. and to those who didn't make it into the swap this time, i promise i'll be hosting it again soon.

this is beautiful.

and also...
i'm sometimes a little slow on the uptake...
in january, i got tagged by phoebe of the lovely silk felt soil. i'm supposed to list six weird things about myself, but just about everything about me is weird, so i'm only going to list one (never was good at following directions, i'm afraid):

i am totally obsessed with north korea.
i've been doing my own little research about north korea for several years, actually. i don't align myself with the country politically, but i'm endlessly fascinated with reading accounts of visits there, daily life there, and current events there. tracking a communist country to which i have no ties and have never visited is, i suppose, something of a strange hobby. currently, i'm enjoying looking at photos of the country here.

maiden needs no introduction.
i'm so glad it introduced me to brickett davda.
(via elle decoration)

happy tuesday...

accidental interview #6
...a periodic presentation from hoping for happy accidents



nyc based designer abby clawson low is the senior art director at kate spade, working on all the unique, quirky advertising, packaging, websites and product design for the kate spade and jack spade brands since 2004. she's also done projects for everyone from martha stewart living magazine to chronicle books to takashimaya to west elm.

where were you educated?
+ brigham young university (utah)
+ design mw (new york)

who/what did you want to be when you were a child?
a teacher (i idolized my kindergarten teacher)

what inspires your work?
+ office supplies
+ other people's junk

happiness is...
+ a seat on the train
+ a home cooked meal
+ grandma clawson's mix tapes
+ newspaper clippings from my dad
+ sugar cookies from my mom
+ winegums from my mother-in-law.

browsing often...
+ abebooks.com
+ p.s. 321 flea market (brooklyn)
+ othermusic.com
+ colette.fr
+ ebay.com
+ great mall of china (canal street, nyc)
+ mercer street books
+ staples
+ $1 book carts at the strand
+ a.p.c.
+ seaJay stamp and coin online shop
+ hiandlomodern.com
+ postage stamp mega event, javits center, nyc

wishing for...
+ a real bed
+ boyfriends for my sisters
+ a seat on the train
+ more 3-day weekends
+ more sit-down dinners with friends and family
+ more time to read

listening to...
+ "make 1, 2" arthur russell
+ "get happy" art tatum
+ "o leãozinho" jane birkin & caetano veloso
+ "magic in the air" badly drawn boy
+ "i dig rock and roll music" peter, paul & mary
+ "bustelo" ratatat
+ "all neon like" bjork
+ "maybe you can owe me" architecture in helsinki
+ "honeysuckle rose" django reinhardt
+ "the henney buggy band" sufjan stevens
+ "eu sou como voce é" lô borges
+ "i got a man" positive k
+ "far away from you" sachiko kanenobu
+ "we" the roches
+ "ODOO" fela kuti
+ "fratres" arvo pärt

escaping with...
+ "howards end" e.m. forster
+ star magazine
+ "the ethicist" nytimes magazine column
+ "beauty and the book"
+ "mah-jong: 1966-1976"
+ world of interiors
+ "modern love" nytimes sunday styles column

morning...
+ sleep-in (on the weekends, of course)
+ see view of city from train on the manhattan bridge

noon...
+ listen to thisamericanlife.org
+ eat lunch
+ eat "nuts for nuts"

night...
peruse an entire category of ebay

what are you looking forward to?
the new year

the future is...
exciting

the past is...
+ mom's and my step-dad's matching caprice classic station wagons
+ dad's record collection
+ grandma's attic
+ penny candy

your happiest accident...
+ ending up in such a large family and surviving
+ meeting my husband

i am oddly attracted to this sofa at thomas moser.
i'm convinced it would be stunning with just the right upholstery.

this lamp is another recent (and much more affordable) obsession.

rhode island based jewelry artist heather guidero makes some really beautiful things.

two more:
+ seb jarnot (via designer's library)
+ jules vernacular (via acejet 170)

also...
the promised accidental interview will land here this weekend.
i promise.

and to all the beautiful use participants: you should have received an e-mail this past weekend with information about the swap and your swap partner, but if you have any questions, please let me know.

so much good browsing (and buying)



i rather like the lights of nathalie dewez.
(via style files)


mav has updated her shop...
she's got so many beautiful new things, so hurry before they are all gone.

happy friday...