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.

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.

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I love the simple and elegant look of Katarina Andersson’s Rondo series. These stoneware vessels can be mixed and matched, ready and willing to dispense sugar, salt + pepper, and even oil and vinegar. With their affordable prices, it’s easy to get the whole set in each color!

Available in white or black sand-glazed stoneware.

Rondo series available from Design House Stockholm: $12 - $26

While we have been having our fair share of rainy weather lately, I am hopeful that eventually the sun will come out. When it does, it’s picnic time! This great Urbana Picnic set designed by Wolf Udo Wagner for Simplicitas has everything you need for a meal on the go. Each set contains five plates, five cups, and five “multi-tableware” which is the crazy looking triangle spoon/fork/knife thing. They all stack together to make nice compact set that will cover all your essentials.

Available from Scandinaviandesigncenter for $15

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If any of you are lucky enough to actually possess an original Enid Seeney/Ridgway Homemaker Plate, I envy you. You can find them sometimes on Ebay or sites likePreloved. There are plenty of plastic reproductions floating around as well. If you’re looking for the real deal, be sure to check the back for the official Ridgway/Homemaker mark. This series was originally produced in England, so most plates you’ll find will be for sale out of the UK.

About:
The Homemaker range of tableware was mass produced by Ridgway Potteries Ltd, of Stoke-on-Trent, especially for the Woolworths chain of retail stores. Enid Seeley’s design of 1956-7 depicted other design classics of the period: an armchair designed by Robin Day, a sofa by Sigvard Bernadotte and a sideboard resembling one by Bernard Russell. The range had a long production run, between 1958 and 1970, and is now seen as a 1950s design classic.

Image via KayLovesVintage

Etsy has a great vintage selection, with quite a few mid-century finds. I’m especially fond of this little avian bottle opener from seller Ella Cinders. Check out her shop for more items - not everything is MCM, but this clock and desk lamp are pretty cool.

About:
This cute would-be feathered friend is truly a “form meets functional” classic. It is the perfect shape for opening a bottle with ease and yet has an almost sculptural quality to it. Likely made of rosewood, this lovely is made in Denmark and signed.

Vintage charm and treasure from Ella Cinders - Sweet Mod Tweets Bottle Opener: $34

I’m known for my incredible pancake making skills. One of my secrets is that I pre-butter each pancake while it’s still on the griddle. That usually means fighting with a cold stick of butter to slice a chunk off. With that in mind I have been casually looking for a butter dish that isn’t shaped like a cow. This Terence Conran butter dish from Overstock.com is actually pretty decent looking. I like the $12 price as well. There is also a whale butter dish by Jonathan Adler that I am strangely attracted to. Unfortunately the $68 price tag and uncomfortable feeling I get thinking about scooping butter out of a whale probably rule that one out.

Does anyone else know of a decent looking butter dish?

Terence Conran butter dish available from Overstock.com for $12Whale Butter dish available from Jonathan Adler for $68

So charming! A great gift for the IKEA-phile in your life. “I Wish we had IKEA” pattern by Heather Moore of Skinny Laminx. Available as a tea towel or pillow cover.

About the design:
We don’t have IKEA stores in South Africa (poor us!), so all that great design at good prices is frustratingly inaccessible. Last year, someone kindly sent a 2009 IKEA catalogue for me to drool over, and I’ve made some sketches of the things I liked best.

I thought it would be fun to share my IKEA wishlist on a tea towel, and I’ve called it “I Wish we had IKEA”. So as you dry the dishes, you can think about your own IKEA shopping list, the next time you’re lucky enough to visit!


“I Wish we had IKEA” from Skinny Laminx: $12 - $25.

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Heath makes some of the most beautiful tile I have ever seen. I have been drooling over their tiles for years now but the prices have always kept me from seriously considering them for any project. The seconds and overstocks section on their website has always been a temptation to me, although they state that they are for pick up only and they won’t ship. I wonder if anyone has ever been able to convince them to ship seconds? If not, it looks like I may have to take a road trip to Sausalito one of these days.

Heath overstock and seconds, prices starting at $5 sq/ft

Waste Bin - Grace Youngeun Lee
By stepping on the pedal, the bin opens towards you- yet the cover remains stationary. This natural motion is emphasized through a graphic division of color and material.

This minimalist waste bin was designed by Grace Youngeun Lee for one of her MFA projects at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Not sure if it will ever go into production, but it’s a beautiful design nonetheless!

See more of Grace’s work here.

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