Remember that Chelsea Sofa that Fashion for Home sent me a few years ago to review? Well, even back then I was a bit worried about how well the fabric would hold up to the abuse of two kids and my admittedly negligent self. It only took two years, and this sub $1,000 was looking pretty grimy. The lower cushion had acquired some stains that I was unable to get out, so last night on a whim I grabbed an old orange wool blanket I had picked up for $20 and recovered it. I was surprised how well it came out considering #1 I stitched it all by hand, #2 I was fairly occupied catching up on Walking Dead. Who knows how well the orange will hold up. In the meantime, it looks like I may need to rethink my pillow colors.

What do you think?

Whoa! Is this really Joss and Main? I signed with these guys because they were a sponsor at Alt NYC, and I've been continually unimpressed ever since. Then all of a sudden they hit it out of the park with not one, but two amazing curated sales?

First the Details magazine curated sale is spot on. They describe it as a "stylish man collection" but I like to think it applies to anyone with good taste. There are plenty of deals too, like the $219 tripod floor lamp, $518 Sofa! and many more.

The "right angles" sale catches the tail of the now fading infatuation with triangles and all things faceted. Don't get me wrong, I'm still all about the angles, I just don't see this being the big "in" thing for too much longer. That being said, they have some timeless pieces that I absolutely love. Word to the wise though, look out for knockoffs. 

Available at Joss and Main

According to Ample, the Solstice Floor Lamp is "the modern tripod lamp done right." I have to admit, it's pretty banging. As usual with any high quality modern piece, God is in the details. In this case, those details reveal solid walnut legs, hand made natural linen shade, cloth covered cord, and a solid brass socket. Icing on the cake? It's made in Seattle Washington. Ample has lots of other gorgeous pieces as well. Go buy some. If the $499 price tag is too much for you, save you pennies and skip a few dinners out. (short term lose, long term gain) Also check out the not as nice, but cheaper tripod I posted in the On Sale! section today.

Ample Solstice Lamp $499

As you know I like to feature up and coming companies that are making quality beautiful products. RX Made manages to pull that off with ease, and adds to the list of accomplishments by locally sourcing the majority of their material, and even heavily utilizing reclaimed good in their products. 

Born out of a Chicago based non profit called Rebuild Exchange, RX Made pairs local job program trainees with the design expertise of Chicago based Strand Design. The end product is an attractive group of products ranging from bottle openers to benches. 

It's clear that RX Made is doing good things and making a difference, and you can make a difference too by supporting them. They are launching their products on Kickstarter as we speak. You can help them out for as little as $1or for $25 you can get the handsome bottle opener above. Check out some of their other goods below, then head over to Kickstarter to watch their video and pitch in.

RX Made on Kickstarter 

One of the obstacles to making furniture affordable is shipping. It's an easy obstacle to overlook as a consumer, but for designers it can be a major influence to the final design. Ikea is a master of flat packing furniture to realize shipping savings. A truly great piece of furniture will take what is a potential design obstacle and make it into a beautiful part of the final design. That is what has me so interested in this Pilot Stool by QUINZE & MILAN. It uses a very old solution to the problem, a threaded wooden leg. I think it looks as good disassembled as assembled. The bonus is it makes for a beautiful, simple connection, between the seat and leg, and it's easy to install. 

Pilot Stool $370

I've been eyeing these fantastic lamp shades from Mod Pieces for a few weeks now, and I'm officially ready to give them two thumbs up. Fiz & Foster have a fantastic collection of bright geometric shades that are just the thing to brighten up your room. Which is your favorite, Houndstooth, Navaho Print or Lattice?

Fiz & Foster shades $225

I stumbled across these three affordable modern side tables on Overstock.com today and figured they were worth sharing. As is always the case, you get what you pay for, but at least your not paying much. The Dyer End Table (above) has a great simple wire base and a "engineered wood" top with a  basswood veneer. The consensus in the reviews seem to back up the fact that it's solid. If the top doesn't age well, hit up your local stone yard for a marble remnant. 

Dyer End Table $60

The Triplet Round Glass Top with Tripod Base end table (talk getting literal with the names) is also a looker. The chrome and glass give it a much more contemporary look than the Dyer above. Again the reviews are almost all positive with most of them making comments on how sturdy it was. Again at $60 the price is right.

TRGTWTB end table $60

It's no secret that I'm a fan of steel and wood coming together to make beautiful furniture. It is surprising however that I have only mentioned Misewell before in passing lately, because they do wood and steel so well. The new Grain desk shown above is a perfect example of that. Solid walnut and black steel have never looked so good.

Misewell Grain desk

Tired of drunk octopuses wanting to fight with you? Meet Frank. Available in a variety of great colors, he would be more than happy to let you hang your coat on him. Charming, affordable, practical. That's my kind of rabbit. 

Frank $10

To say that I love these stools would be an understatement. They are simple, effective and cheerful. I really like the contrast of the walnut and the painted steel, and the detailing on the seat is perfection. Do want.

Thread Family by Coordination

It's been a while since I have checked in on Double Butter, and I'm happy to report that they are still doing great. In fact they are doing better than great. They are continuing to add more and more great designs everyday and it sounds like they have a successful business model that is paying off. Hats off to you gents!

Double Butter 

Asymmetrical Turtle Desk 

Over the weekend Fab had a sale on Ginko Home Furnishing items. I had never heard of them before, but I was sort of blown away at the prices. Of course they were steeply discount because of the Fab sale, but even some of the retail prices on the stuff wasn't bad at all. The designs for the most part are very classic MCM and the construction looks good. Has anybody seen these in real life? Did anybody manage to pick anything up during the Fab sale? It looks like a lot of the good stuff is sold out, but the sale goes for another 5 day's and there are still some good bargains. 

Ginko Home Furnishings on Fab

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Paul and Paula is the latest work to come out of the German based Moorman offices. I love the physical and visual tension of the red cables. It actually reminds me a bit of the camping gear from Snow Peak. 

Paul and Paula table

I like clever objects. I also like simple objects. So when a side table manages to be both clever and simple at the same time, it's almost a guarantee I'm going to like it.  Throw in a little white Corian and some hand oiled domestic hardwood and I'm powerless to resist. Bravo Ampersand. Bravo.

Bundle side table

For sale on Fab today!

Ralph Rapson isn't a name I had ever heard before, and I'm betting this may be the first time you have heard of him either.  I recently received a book called Ralph Rapson: Sixty Years of Modern Design and I've been inthralled ever since.  Though he's been designing furniture since 1939 it seems he may only just be getting the appreciation he deserves.  Several pieces he designed back in the day are just being re released and can be found at Y Lighting. My particular favorites are the Greenbelt series (rocker shown above).

Has any else heard of Ralph Rapson? What's your favorite piece of Ralph Rapson Furniture?

I spotted this on Svpply this morning, and found myself strangely attracted to it. It has a certain Maurice Sendak charm to it if you ask me. I'm equally interested in the fact that it is Laser Etched Solid European Oak Heartwood. While the dice sadly appears to be sold out, the poster is still available.

Monster Dice by Geoff McFetridge

What do you get when you mix old school Bosnian craftsmanship with Washington  DC modernism?  Manulution. Such is the name of this amazing little company that was founded in 1927. If you want to get technical, Manulution is really a subsidiary of Rukotvorine, but what really matters is the furniture.  It's everything that a piece of modern furniture should be.  Well designed, not afraid to show it' origin and craftsmanship, and reasonably priced. I'm particularly fond of the Daisy Collection.  

What's your favorite?

Manulution

I'm always on the lookout for creative shelving solutions. This one comes from a collaborative design based out of Mexico called Masiosare Studio. The Paraleelos shelves are formed by two vertical ladders that hold the horizontal cross pieces. Smaller square shelves can be placed wherever needed. Originally designed for the Estudio in San Ángel project, they are now working on mass producing the piece.  More information as well as a video is available on their website.

Masiosare Studio

I first found out about Four Eyes Furniture by reading some comments by one of our readers. Ever since then I have had the Four Eyes website open in my browser, and I keep on going back and looking at it.  It's good design, solid construction, and it is made by one guy who is really passionate about what he does.  What more could you ask for.

Four Eyes Furniture

Check Four Eyes out on Facebook.

It's getting more and more rare these days to see people producing furniture from solid wood. I'm glad to see companies like New Breed embracing it.

About: New Breed was founded by John Lindsay and Alex Paradiso, two designs and craftsmen of radically different styles and personalities. What they share is a love of original design centered around environmental sustainability and unique aesthetics blended with mass production techniques. New Breed furniture is made right here in the United States and has received much acclaim for it Petaply Series of real wood furniture.

New Breed Furniture $250 - $3,500