What's New With Sanna

I've been a fan of Sanna Annukka's ever since I saw the illustrations she did for Keane's album about 3 years ago (a friend of the band's bought one of the prints which led to her first commission, to illustrate for their second album "Under the Iron Sea"). I revisited her new website and found lots and lots of stuff that I want to buy, especially the silk screen prints! Everything from the site is beautifully photographed as well, I'm happy to see the full range of her Marimekko line, I wish that the squirrel cookie cutter were available in the US ! And how cool is the invite for the launch of the line?! (Art directed by Chris Bolton) Go to her Press section and you will find a feature on her cute home from a Finnish interior design magazine- Deko.photos: www.sanna-annukka.com

Salvor Projects

Tonight is the 10th Annual National Design Awards Gala, I am so happy to see that Salvor Projects is one of the finalists in the Product Design category, well done! I'm sure you have seen the giant eye scarf before, for Spring they have the tiger scarf, I love the super large scale of these prints because once worn they become a subtle and beautiful pattern! Ross Menuez has also designed some pretty cool products for the home, like the very popular animal shaped cushions, and this Icosa Lamp (below) made of rice paper. Also, if you are in NYC, take advantage of the free admission at Cooper Hewitt Museum this week, which is celebrating the 10 years of National Design Awards.Photos: Salvor Projects, Idee-online.com, Areaware

A Mobile Office

I'm imagining what this giant leather steamer trunk office would look like in my home, I love the mobility of it and how cool is it to have a giant luggage as your office?! You can get yours at Restoration Hardware.

Where Have I Been?

Hello hello! I'm back and I owe all of you some explanation why I stopped blogging for months. It started when I got a freelance gig at this great company and it kept me really busy for a while, and during the time Chad and I were looking to move out of our apartment where we made lots of squirrel friends. We looked at more than 50 apartments and ended up with the worst one we could have picked, I was miserable, could not sleep due to the noises and terrible neighbors, stressed and angry for the entire 5 months we were there. So we broke the lease and moved into a new place in July and I am so happy here. I'm now finally moved in and have the chance to relax and catch up where I left off back in December. The one good thing about moving to that crappy apartment was the neighborhood, we made a big move to Fort Greene, Brooklyn from the city, how brave were we?! (just kidding) We love love love the neighborhood and we're so lucky that our current apartment is only 2 blocks away from the last one, but it made a world of difference! Here are some pictures of our place, we have done a few home improvement projects and we have more to do. The painting in the first picture is by Shannon Lucy, a good friend of ours, the second picture is Chad's pride and joy- his record shelves, and the third picture is our window in the living room, we have some little plants and the dachshund pillow is a gift from a friend and it's created by another friend Aaron who lives just a couple blocks away! Below are my birthday presents from Chad, this labbit by Amanda Visell is probably my favorite toy figure from Kidrobot. The touching hands bangle bracelet is from Eley Kishimoto, I think it's the sweetest thing ever!

Great Bedding Sale

I went to Dwell Studio's Warehouse sale earlier this month, where everything is 70-80% off. The sale has been going on for a few weeks now and it ends on Christmas Eve. I bought the Sketch Duvet set that I really love and I'm going back for more, hopefully for the Draper Stripe Duvet set, the coverlet and the Pin Dot sheet set, wonder if the prices have slashed even more since my last visit?! It is at 54 Greene Street and Broome in Soho.photos: Dwell Studio

Is It Me?

My home office is in my living/dining room which is not very pretty to look at. I'm trying to find a partition that lets in sunlight and is made from sustainable material, so I found this Nomad Modular System. It is made from recycled double-wall cardboard that lets you adjust the configuration however you like to fit your space, Each set comes with 24 modules, enough to make a 4.5 square ft. wall. I like how once it's disassembled it is flattened and is 100% recyclable, the same way you would recycle cardboard boxes. However, I am not sold on the look, maybe it's because the samples shown on the website are not my favorite, but I do see the potential and it might work in my apartment.
photos: mioculture.com

Green and Hot

Amy Hunting's patchwork furniture series not only is interesting to look at, it is also very environmentally friendly. The collection is made of wood waste and off-cutes were collected from factories in Denmark, the pieces were put together to form a wood patchwork before they were made into furniture. My favorite is the lampshade featured in November's Monocle magazine that first caught my attention.
sources: Monocle, Amy Hunting

My Fall Favorites

I'm into the "outdoors-woman" style this fall, instead of splurging hundreds of dollars for the designer's interpretation of the look, why not go to the original sources for a fraction of the price? I love Pendleton wool fabrics, especially their classic Glacier Park blanket with the four color stripes. But as a throw for our living room, I would go for this blue and brown plaid number. I'm also CRAZY about their line of bags, some of the patterns are a little too Southwestern but the red and olive one is subtle and looks so cozy for fall. The leather tote bag looks super cool, it's got all the details of a high-end designer tote bag but with a reasonable price tag. I dig the basket purse look, but not as extreme as Jane Birkin in the 60's, maybe these Nantucket basket purses would do, and the French market basket is a perfect alternative to a canvas tote bag! And can you believe these high-top espadrille sneakers? I MUST have them! I don't care that they are not winter shoes because they are just so perfect!
sources: vintimage.com, indiantraders.com, pendleton, simplynantucketbaskets.com, quelobjet.com

I Want It!!!

I've been a fan of Little Factory's for a long time now, it's nice to see how both of our styles have changed over the years. I'm so delighted to find (via Cool Hunting) that they are making incredibly cool accessories and blankets, which are for sale here. I really want the upper case scarf (a hint to my dear hubby), I love that it is in white because most of my clothes are dark color, and it's lightweight and holey so it's perfect to wear for the cool summer breeze!photos: little factory

My Perch! Purchase

Amy from Perch's booth was diagonally across from mine at Renegade and I could not resist to sneak out and bought this beautiful lantern with pinholes on both sides. I put a little tea light inside and the glow coming through the holes is just so beautiful, and it looks so good with my Hella Jongerius Ikea vase!

Thread and Butter

My friends Kimberly and Janna recently bought a fixer-upper in rural Pennsylvania, 2 hours away from New York City (Brooklyn to be exact), where they used to live for 10 years. Their blog- Thread and Butter, shows the progression of transforming this reeeally old house into a cozy comfortable home, all done by these two ladies. I love some of their little discoveries that the previous owner left behind, like this hole plugged up with corks (below), what a cool idea! Their blog may inspire you to buy a fixer-upper and do some major home renovations yourself!