Here is a trailer for another great film by Design Onscreen that is due out sometime this year. Currently in post production, Desert Utopia: Mid Century Architecture in Palm Springs traces the history of modern architecture in Palm Springs from the earliest days to the preservation issues facing the region today. This looks like another fantastic film, and kudos to Design Onscreen for focusing on this wonderful documentary niche.

Suport Design Onscreen by buying DVD’s or making a donation.

ScanWood is one of Denmark’s largest manufacturers of wooden kitchen utensils. Besides their beautiful products, I’m really quite enamored with their recent package re-design – a clever way of showing that their products are sustainable. I’m not sure if these are available for purchase online, but there are two stores in the U.S. which carry ScanWood utensils (one in Vermont and the other in Arkansas). Their catalog is worthy of a perusal, regardless.

See more at www.scanwood.dk

If you have been thinking about getting a Fatboy, now is the time. Design Public currently has a sale going on where if you purchase any fatboy over $229 you receive a FREE fatboy Point. (Until 1/31/10)

After selecting your fatboy purchase (Original, Headdemock, Outdoor,Metahlowski, Island, Avenue or Block), simply add the Point to your shopping cart and the price will be deducted from the total. SWEET!

These little vinyl critters from SWIGG are super cute! The material allows for easy cleaning, while the silk screened graphic allows for endless smiles. Stuffed with poly-fill and poly-pellets for some heft. Available in various colorways in Giraffe, Rhino, or Beaver.

Critters from SWIGG: $28 for 2

With the amount of key holders that I have been posting about lately, you’d think that I have a problem keeping track of my keys. If I did, I would definitely look into getting a keypad from Mode. Made from durable silicone the Keypad is wall mounted and has a super magnet that holds your keys in place. Available in Charcoal, Cream , Blue and Pink.

Keypad available from Mode for £12.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Celebrate your love (of MCM design and your significant other) with these charming sterling silver necklaces from Tider Design. I’ll take the little LCW, please!

MCM chair jewelry from Tider Design: $46

I wish I had the skills to reupholster mid-century inspired furniture, but I don’t. Luckily there are people like Lynne and Julia from L + J Industries that have the gift. These twin sisters based out of Houston rework vintage furniture and create one of a kind new furniture as well. Check out their Etsy shop to see some of the great pieces they currently have for sale.

Available from L + J Industries Etsy shop.

This simple Egg Lamp Pendant from BSweden may look right at home in this restaurant, but I have a hunch it would be equally nice sitting above my table. At only 13 cm it’s not the biggest lamps, but the $50 price tag reflects this appropriately.

Egg Lamp Pendant available from Scandinavian Design Center for $50.

How great are these retro-y illustrations from design studio Invisible Creature? I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty jealous of that clock collection in the “Time Will Tell” print! Be sure to snap up one of these limited edition beauties while you can! Each signed print is printed on ‘German Etching’ Hahnenmühle Fine Art paper and is a generous 17 x 22 inches.

Invisible Creature Prints available from Velocity Art and Design: $50

Salt Lake is all abustle with the Sundance Film Festival this week. One film that caught my eye was “The Man Next Door“.
Here’s the story line:

Leonardo, a successful industrial designer, lives with his family in an architectural wonder, a midcentury Le Corbusier home. One morning, he wakes to an irksome noise and is appalled to discover that workmen next door are constructing a large window that faces directly into his home. Leonardo protests, using a number of excuses (privacy, building codes, his wife), in an attempt to coerce his neighbor, Victor, into scrapping his plan. But Victor just wants a patch of sun to catch some rays. Thus, one man’s light is another man’s blight.

Enamored of architecture, the film is meticulously designed. Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat give it a carefully crafted weirdness as well as a figurative quality. Its caustic humor comes in contemplating why the window completely undermines Leonardo. Does it reveal his arrogance, affectation, and lack of compassion; or dispel his bourgeois illusion of power? The Man Next Door offers a biting critique of moral shallowness—and what happens when thou dost not love thy neighbor’s window.

There are still 5 more screenings if you have a chance to see it.