Wednesday, September 29, 2010


Channeling My Inner Monkey

Ever since completing Year 1 of Weekminds, where I made a monkey a week for a year, I've been unintentionally obsessed with monkeys.

I see them everywhere. And I don't know if monkeys are simply in right now, or if I simply never noticed their presence before, but clearly I'm not the only person that's obsessed.

While at Schulars Books downtown last week (shop local!) I stumbled across Monkey Mints: banana flavored mints that come in a monkey head tin.

I took a picture so I could share the cute little tin with you. But the photo was all blurry so I turned to Google to help me find a cleaner one.

Once again, Google gave me more than I bargained for, and boy, am I grateful.

Robot Room discover Monkey Mints on Archie McPhee's website, and writes: "Although we were disappointed to discover that the mints are not made with real monkey, the amusing metal candy container is still worth the purchase price. In fact, the container is so much fun that it deserves to come to life as a robot."

Um, awesome?


This is what makes the internet so awesome—People with too much time on their hands! Check it out, Robot Room even includes a video:



If you're feeling a little bored this evening, visit Robot Room's site for instructions on
how to make your own monkey head tin robot or on other robots for beginners.

Go Bananas.

Thursday, September 23, 2010


It's ArtPrize Time!

If you don't yet know what ArtPrize is, it's time for you to Google it and get on board!

Shown above is Lure/Forest by Beili Liu—my favorite piece seen to date!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Dressing my Fruit for Fall

So back to my Comm Arts Design Annual... It's not surprising I was drawn to this series of ads for Calgary's Farmers market. They have all my favorite things—lots of white space, fresh produce and brightly colored yarn. (click image to see larger)

Now I know it seems ridiculous, but fruit cozies are actually a thing. Fruit bruises easily, and sweaters give them protection, especially for the commuter who may be throwing their snack into a backpack unprotected.

"First there was the tea cozy. Then came the cozy for your boiled egg. Next was the cozy for your coffee mug." Read how and why we protect fruit on Classic Elite Yarns and download patterns to make your own.


My good friend Mere actually crocheted several jackets for apples and pears last year. Like everything else she makes, they're adorable, and coordinate with my other accessories. :)

Saturday, September 18, 2010


Led Astray by Google

So I was flipping through the new Communication Arts Design Annual this week, when in the packaging awards section there was a candy pictured. The candy was called "Fruity Monkey Poop".

Yes, it was a cool package, but it was an even cooler name, so I set about Googling it so i could share it with you. I mean come on, if I'm lucky enough to discover FRUITY monkey poop, god knows I'm going to share.


Low and behold, it's wasn't candy Google led me to, but a book. When a Sock Monkey Throws Poop, All You Get Hit With is Stuffing: A Life Under This One.


Another interesting name. How do you write a whole book about monkey poop?... I wonder what it's really about... Holy [monkey poop]! The author is from Grand Rapids.

"Straight from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Paris of the Upper Midwest, comes this first collection of 'A Life Under This One' cartoons. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder why you ever opened the book (and how you ever lived without such great bathroom entertainment.) Imagine 'The Far Side' on crack...
"

I see. I feel like a more complete person having discovered this book exists. Which apparently only furthers my curiosity.... let's continue...


Lacking the foresight to NOT Google "when monkeys throw poop". I ended up at the following answers.com page. Where my favorite response is:

"Wouldn't you if you were caged up and had monkeys staring at you all day! They are ticked off! Don't get too close to the cage because they will try and pee on you as well."

Adding "sock" to my google search page lead me here to this self-proclaimed "adorable" sticker.


And lastly, Googling the actually book title, found these less than charming dolls.


Through all this, I never found a site with fruity monkey poop, the candy to share with you. But truthfully, I didn't really care anymore.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Tiny Things for the World Cup


Since I recently mentioned Dalton Ghetti and his amazingly tiny lead sculptures, I feel it's only appropriate that I follow it up with another jaw dropping miniature creation.

Artist Diem Cheu was commissioned by Wieden + Kennedy to carve 66 crayons for Nike's World Cup promotion. Eleven recipients received these precious boxes. She had 18 days to make around to carve almost 70 crayons!


Be sure to check out her other tiny crayon treasures—for $450 you can own your own. And don't miss the gallery on her website. I think one of these plates would look stellar on my wall—'bout time to replace that dinner plate!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010


Label It, Alphabetize it, And Stick it in a Drawer

For this last installment of my catalog-inspired, home furnishings, retailers rants, I was actually inspired by a window display. Luckily the cover of
the store's current catalog depicts exactly the same thing, so I qualified it.

It's the
Fall 2010 Printer's Collection from Pottery Barn.

Now, given the 104 drawer card catalog in my kitchen, we already know that I'm a sucker for old hardware, things with lots of drawers and things that can be labeled and alphabetized.


With this collection, I love the cup pulls, I love the big, blocky wood with it's heavy varnish, especially when it's paired with CB's modern dishes, and I love the incorporation of the typeset letters, as I myself am currently collection a set of these....

You know, what, there's so much I love, click on the image to see the collage enlarged with callouts... (and click again to zoom!)


I'm a little disturbed by the black crows on page 23 but the whole book has a old-school Salem Halloween thing going on, so I guess it works. Overall, total "win" for Pottery Barn!

Monday, September 6, 2010


DIY: Familiar Finishes!

I've long been a fan of Crate and Barrel and their organizational solutions, as well as their clean use of color (though I am more apt to personally identify with the style choices of CB2).



Again with this week's catalog collection... I noticed these chairs in the Crate and Barrel Best Buys Catalog and, while I quite like them, I was reminded of something....


My dining room chairs, which I spent last Spring collecting from local antique stores/Salvation Army, then hit up the spray paint aisle at Menard's and went to town. I paired them with my great grandmother's dining table after applying a coat of whitewash. The combination of these and Fiestaware* is charming!

So, by all means people, do-it-yourself!

*Fiesta dishes are my second favorite vintage dishware after Pyrex!
(and Kohl's doesn't count as vintage!)

Thursday, September 2, 2010


The Sounds of These Hours*

I'm going to let catalogs be this weeks theme, as another gem hit my mailbox today.


If you're unfamiliar with Anthropologie, it is run by Urban Outfitters and their products include everything from furniture, linens, wallpaper, art, clothes, shoes—an entire lifestyle.

I went to Wikipedia, as I'm apt to do several times a day, and learned that Anthropologie was "founded in 1992 'by a small group of people with a love for making things that inspire the imagination'". As this catalog didn't have a letter stating their vision for the current collection (bummer!), we'll let that act as their overarching philosophy—because I like it.

My one critique is that the font here is squintingly small (oh my god? am I getting old?). But this means it's not about screaming "BUY ME", rather it's about making the viewer fall in love with these images and products so much that they hunt out the details, they go out of their way to purchase them.


The style and spreads of this product line are very different than that of Restoration Hardware. That doesn't mean I can't like them both. They both encourage the unique, one of a kind look. What appeals to me about Anthroplogie is its warmth and personality. It's bright, bold and comfortable with its intentional chaos!

You can browse the catalog here! Again, consider it inspirational window shopping—no credit cards required!


*This is the only copy in this catalog aside from minimal product names and pricing, and even this is somewhat small on the inside front cover. They don't even tell us how to place an order. This doesn't make me like them any less—more probably, which was undoubtedly their goal.