I hope everyone has a great 4th of July tomorrow. Let us know what you have planned in the comments below.

I love this collection of topographic tableware! The china set adds a playful twist by identifying your eating habits: each line represents a different food level i.e. modest, moderate, greedy. Who knows, it might actually help control portion sizes. All in all, Topoware is a brilliant concept!

About:
Topoware is a tableware collection that questions the landscape of dining. Taking inspiration from the recent popularity of geography as a media of communication (with Google maps) and more specifically with topographic maps, which define heights of a landscape two dimensionally, Topoware in turn, “outlines” the dining experience.

Made up of cups, plates, bowls, placemats and a tablecloth, the collection explores the visual and social landscape of dining by using outlines and descriptions to describe, question and push our eating experience, making it really feel like a journey.


Topoware china currently available from Folksy: £25 - £75.

When I was a little kid, every time my grandfather would come to visit me he would buy me a balsa wood airplane. I loved everything about them, from putting them together to getting to watch them fly, and eventually breaking them to pieces through a series of intense crash landings. As fond as my memories of those planes are, I can tell you none of them looked as good as these colorwings. These beauties are 20″ long and have a 6.5″ wingspan and under perfect conditions can fly as far as 300 yards. According to A+R “These planes are much, much more fun than anything we experienced growing up!”. We’ll see about that.

Available from A+R for $12.

Looking for a little somethin’ somethin’ to brighten your walls? Consider one of these posters from Blue Art Studio. Created by the same Joel Pirela of Blue Ant Studio fame, these posters would look great in any modern home. Already have all the artwork you need at home? Buy a few for your office and bring a little inspiration into the daily grind.

Modern Posters from Blue Art Studio: $35

I saw these Chikuno cubes a while back and thought that they were one of the coolest things I had seen in a long time. Amazing design for what is usually an everyday product. Each 2″ cube is made from Bamboo charcoal and has a micro honeycomb structure that gives it a surface area equivalent to four football fields. It acts as a natural deodorant sucking up nasty smells from small spaces like refrigerators or closets. I’d love to have one in my fridge just because it looks so good.

Has anyone actually bought one of these? I’d love to hear some feedback.

Available from Charles and Marie today only for $28, or from Delight for the same price.

Photo via

Chalk this one up in the trendy column. The new Tissue Box from Essey brings back the award-winning crumple of its predecessor, Bin Bin. Designed by the same John Brauer, Tissue takes its queue from the contents within. Bauer says about the object: “The idea came to me when I passed a tissue box in Japan and noticed the crumpled paper sticking out. In that particular case, the box cover did not reflect the content. I wanted to have balance between the cover and content to give the product a relevant identity.” I want to know, did this tissue box passing commence before or after the creation of Bin Bin? Just curious!

Tissue Box available from Unica Home: $30

Every once in a while I come across a furniture design that is so simple and brilliant that all I can think is “Why didn’t I think of that?”. The Urban Lounge is one of those pieces. It was designed by Scott Collins who is apparently a seamster, carpenter, musician and designer all in one. He has done some great work, but I think that this is one of his best pieces. This is his first in what will be a whole series of outdoor furniture. It doesn’t sound like anyone is producing this piece yet, but someone definitely should. via

When I first ran across Tracy Melton’s Tree Ring paintings, I was instantly drawn to their beautiful colors and, of course, unusual ‘canvases’. The wood comes from dead Elm trees which Tracy cuts down himself with a chainsaw. The pieces are then sanded and clear coated three times to accentuate the wood. Using acrylic, Tracy then paints the bold, colored rings, followed by another clear coat. Each painting is hollowed out from behind for easy hanging and signed and dated by the artist. Available in sets of 3.

Can you just imagine an entire wall covered with these?? What a conversation piece THAT would be! Definitely gives me some ideas…

Tree Ring Paintings | Set of 3: $35 - $55.

Eric Pfeiffer is one of my favorite designers. He always manages to design attractive and functional objects that aren’t exorbitantly priced. The pricing on these lamps has just gotten a little bit better. The cupstack, vee and zig zag lamps are all hand blown and have a wonderful simple geometric styling. I noticed that over at Design Public they are on sale for $79 each (regular $99). Each lamp sits approximately one foot tall and when turned on has a nice soft glow. These little lamps could be just the thing to add the finishing touch to your room.
Available at Design Public for $79.

Joseph Eichler may be one of the most well known Mid-Century Modern residential architects developers. In the 50’s and 60’s he was fortunate enough to design and build whole neighborhoods in California. I must admit when it comes to Eichler I’m pretty ignorant, but I’m looking to change that. Next month for my Fiesta Movement mission I’ll be heading to California for a weekend to look at Eichler homes, and hopefully take some good pictures and video. Before I go I need your help!

What are some good websites to learn more about Eichler?

If I could only go to one neighborhood, which one should it be?