10 Fabulous New Finds For The Home

Below are 10 fabulous new finds for your home. From rugs to lamps to placemats, just click on the links for more info or to purchase.

Nine New Novelty Jewelry Finds

Nine fun new jewelry finds.

If novelty or unusual jewelry is your thing, check out the work from Digby & Iona, Verameat, Franziska Venrath and more by clicking on the images above where you can purchase the items as well.

Whether it's solid gold, sterling silver or vermeil, you'll find the latest and greatest right here and on my list of Hip Jewelry at Thisnext.

See more of my If It's Hip Jewelry You Want, Here It Is. list at ThisNext.

Diem Chau's Crayon Carvings (now in a tv spot, too!)

above: Diem Chau's adorable self portrait


Diem Chau plays with crayons. But not by coloring outside the lines, she carves them into the likenesses of people and animals. And they are certainly intriguing, if not impressive. So intriguing in fact, that finally, someone has utilized them as a metaphor in a tv commercial (more on that at the end of the post).

Take a look:


She has ceated commissions in the likeness of people from photos:

Some older photos of her crayon carvings:






Artist's Statement:

I consider myself an artist whose medium is stories, especially those that are primarily passed on orally. Coming from a nomadic childhood, what few possessions my family had were necessities. The things of greatest value to us were stories contributed by friends and family. Embedded in these stories are connections to the past, our culture and an occasional escape from reality.

My grandmother told some of the best and most unique tales. She had a wonderful way of spicing up the traditional fable. According to her, Cinderella was kept from the Prince’s ball by having to sort a jumble of Mung beans, Red beans and Soybeans. Snow White went on many dates with Prince Charming before they got married, their first date being a picnic in the park with sandwiches and sliced melons. These small deviations are what fascinate me with oral traditions. Ordinary events injected into fantasy worlds make them more believable but, at the same time, it makes them extraordinary. Stories enable us to live a more vivid life.

I’ve spent countless hours gathering memories and pieces of different cultures by listening to incredible stories. I waited with childlike anticipation and delight on each storyteller’s words. I believe it’s my time to be the storyteller and to evoke the same delight and anticipation from my audience. Each story is a journey that gives us greater understanding of our past and our culture. Each story is a thread that connects us to each other, the storyteller holding one end and the audience the other. - Diem Chau

all photos courtesy of Diem Chau.

Diem Chau has since created many other wonderful art pieces and projects (be sure to see her 'embroidered ceramics'). You can see the work of Diem Chau here.




UPDATE (MAY, 2009): I figured an ad agency would find a way to use Diem's crayon carvings and sure enough, Hal Riney & Publicis has come out with a new U.S. Cellular commercial that uses time lapse photography and Diem's crayon carvings. Once available to view on flickr, ad freak and youtube, the spot has since been removed.

UPDATE (March 16, 2010):

See her 12 Chinese Zodiacs carved into crayons here

UPDATE (June 10, 2010):

See her Nike World Cup Players carved into crayons here.

Judson Beaumont's "Cartoon" Furniture. Furniture Filled With Whimsy & Straightline Designs.

Above: The Accordian dresser

If you've ever wanted to live in a Looney Tunes Cartoon or have your children's room resemble a scene from Beauty & The Beast or Alice in Wonderland, then Judson Beaumont's quirky and well-crafted furniture is the thing for you.


Above: Judson with his wares at a Japan trade show



With a vivid imagination and the ability to execute and bring the idea to fruition, Judson's company, Straightline Designs (even the name is a jest) has created some of the most fun and unusual dressers, tables and more.


Above: The Boom Dresser, 6 pieces mounted on the wall.


Above: The Bridge bookcase


Above: The Brian Dresser


Above: the Whitney dresser


Above: The Melting Cabinet

His children's room furniture consists of many different dressers, some clocks, and beds that resemble everything form Cinderella's carriage to a locomotive.




In addition to the fun stuff for the nursery, he creates conceptual furniture filled with wit. My favorite being the "Bad" Table (seen below):



Above top: The Bad table ; above bottom: The Burnt Legs Table


He clearly has an adult sense of humor as well, check out his Custom "munny" (now sold out) for Voltageland, of the evil Charlie Brown:


After successfully designing furniture with a straightforward approach for years, this artist set out to create something unique for friends who were expecting their first child. He wanted his creation to capture the baby's imagination for years to come. Today, like his first kid-inspired piece, Judson designs some of the most offbeat, whimsical furnishings in the world.

Cartoons like Looney Tunes’ Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit, along with the work of innovative architect Frank Gehry, inspire his work.

He has also designed several props for movie and commercial sets and finds his greatest joy in designing play areas for children’s hospitals. “Children always get my work. They respond very positively, unlike adults who often say ‘You can’t do that.'”

Click here to read a nice online article with Judson from Woodworking Web.

The Master of Furniture Whimsy, Judson Beaumont:


Click here to purchase many of his pieces.

See an updated post on his newer pieces here!

SIMILAR PRODUCTS:
Judson's got some competition with Randall and Sharon Porter's new collection called Cartoon Furniture®


Another line of stunning whimsical cartoon-like furniture is that of Vincent Thomas Lehman's.

Marcel, Mondrian & Miami: Wanders Designs Luxury Apt. Complex In Biscayne Bay.

Below are some images of the Mondrian South Beach apartment project in Miami with interiors by Marcel Wanders.

Mondrian South Beach, which was announced last December, is a luxury serviced apartment project at Biscayne Bay on Miami’s South Beach. The images shown here show (top) the stairs area, (second image) the porte cochere, and (third image) the lounge area. The fourth and fifth images are computer generated floor plans.






In addition to the above project, Wanders is working with architect Chad Oppenheim on an 85-acre site at Echelon, Las Vegas, which will feature a Delano and Mondrian hotels for Morgans Hotel Group, which is also Wanders’ client for the Miami project.

With a total of 5,000 hotel rooms, the complex will open in 2010. Download the press release about the Las Vegas project here.

Eye Candy: The Sweet Photos of Craig Kanarick

Craig Kanarick of Rockmade combined his passion for photography with a sweet tooth and created a now sought-after photographic collection of candy.

The monochromatic candy Digital c-prints below by Craig Kanarick are limited editions of 20 and cost $850. apiece. They are printed on archival paper and mounted behind gallery plexi glass. They measure 24" x 24":










Craig has a lot of other beautiful candy photography in other sizes and price ranges, see them here.