I must admit, sometimes I have baby on the brain. So the other day when I was checking out Canadian online store Modern Karibou (tipped off by Eye Weekly), the HiLo Kids Chair by AGE Design popped up on my screen and I thought it was so ingenious, I had to share it–and document it so I’d remember it for future use. Designed and manufactured in Quebec, it’s main draw besides clean modern lines is that it converts from high chair to an under-table chair, making it usable for ages 6 months to 6 years. This dual-use design means only buying one chair–saving money and resources (unless you have more than one child I guess, but that just goes with the territory). Read the rest of this entry »

Whoops! March just sneaked up on us!

Here are some of our favourite posts from February (much like the weather, it seems there wasn’t much colour going on):

Our first design question!	Store Watch: (Delectable) Chabichou
Interior Design Show: Prototype	Space: Aprile & Jory
Radiant Dark 09	Around the house: Teak Wall Unit
Ebay Find! Rosti Egg Cups	Store Watch: Machine Age Modern
Affordable Art: Timeraiser	Product Review: Magisso
We’re Watching: Rob Southcott	Urubbu
We’re Watching: Loyal Loot Collective	Space: Beth
Thrifting with mom	Ebay find! “Form 24”

We’d like to thank everyone for all of their support and encouragement. We appreciate all of the very nice emails from fellow bloggers and designers, as well as the (slow but sure) increase in comments. Remember to visit the Submissions page to see how you can become a part of the dialog!

Our living room lighting situation consists of overhead halogen pot lights that are about a million light years away (crazy 14 ft ceiling) so by the time the light gets to us while sitting on the sofa, we live in a world of dimness.

For almost a year now, we’ve been looking for a task lamp that we could affix to the wall next to the sofa. We loved the Swing Arm Lamp from Stylegarage, but it didn’t quite meet our needs.

Swing Arm Lamp from Stylegarage (credit Stylegarage)

Another light we’ve been coveting is the ever-cute LUXO L-1, however the clamp base would prove to be difficult to use when there is nothing to clamp it to!

LUXO L-1 (pictured with base, but there is also a
clamp version that is otherwise the same – credit LUXO)

Just the other day John came across the Lytegem, a Michael Lax design from 1965. We are big Michael Lax fans–lately we have been collecting his Copco kitchen wares full force. I am pleased to report that just yesterday we got rid of our toxic Teflon pans and we are now using our Copco enamel/cast iron pans exclusively. Not only do these pans look good, but they feel good to use. But I digress.

I grabbed this vintage advertisement off Flickr
(they have some cool vintage ads on their page).

Design Within Reach has a limited commemorative edition of Lytegem lamps for sale – but they only have white left. I presume that once they run out, that’s it (for now). They have a sale on right now which makes me crazy because we just bought the light right before the sale.

Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago I found myself unemployed (self-inflicted) and going back to school to find myself (update: found). I had some time on my hands and wanted to do something meaningful. Literally a few days before I finished at my job, I came across an advertisement in NOW Magazine for an event that peaked my interest. It was the Framework Foundation Timeraiser, an art auction where you bid your time in volunteer hours for a piece of art.

A quick overview of the event: The first two hours you are able to mingle, eat hors d’oevres, have a drink, look at the art (and make the difficult decision of which one you want the most), and most importantly, talk with agencies to find out which ones you’d fit with the most. There is a huge variety of agencies to volunteer for, from the arts, environmental concerns, social services, health, sports, international development and more. Then, the one-hour bidding period for the silent auction begins. At the end of that you know whether you won your piece and how many hours you will have to fulfill in order to finally receive the piece. What I think is so neat about this event is that everyone who registers to attend the event pledges to complete 20 hours of volunteering, regardless of if they bid on artwork.

The concept was right up my alley and I had been wanting to get into volunteering, so I solicited my friend Marie-Claire to come with me. Read the rest of this entry »

We were just alerted to a great PAID summer internship for students/recent graduates. Gosh, I wish I could apply! Here are the details:

Calling all students!
Samsung Canada and House & Home Media seek Summer Style Intern

WHAT:  Samsung Canada and House & Home Media, two of Canada’s most innovative companies, kick off their search for a Summer Style Intern.  One talented individual will be selected for a three-month paid internship, from June through August, where they will learn all facets of magazine publishing, lifestyle branding, marketing and advertising.

The successful applicant will be put up in a fully-furnished, all expenses paid suite in a trendy Toronto neighbourhood, including an incredible line-up of Samsung technology. The intern will be featured in a Canadian House & Home Magazine advertorial, which will highlight their experience and time at both Samsung and House & Home Media, and will document his or her experience with weekly blog posts at Houseandhome.com.

WHO:    College, university or trade-school students, or recent graduates who have completed their studies within the last three years with a flare for media, design and technology.
WHEN: Applications accepted now through March 27, 2009.

HOW:    Applicants need to submit at least one of the following to explain what makes them innovative:
– A written essay (250 words or less)
– A video (3 minutes maximum)
– An illustrated or photo essay

A judging panel will narrow applications down to three semi-finalists whose submissions will be posted on Houseandhome.com. Members of the public will then be asked to vote for their favourite semi-finalist and the individual with the most votes will be awarded the internship position.

WHERE:  Apply online at www.houseandhome.com/innovate.

Good luck, and let us know if you apply, or even better, if you get the internship!

Last week we stumbled across the “Form 24” Tea & Coffee Pot by Danish Designer Henning Koppel for Bing & Grondahl. I must admit that this might be the biggest score we’ll have this year considering we only paid $50 for the set!

In doing some research of the value of these vessels, the prices seem to stretch quite a bit, ranging from $250 to $450 for a single coffee pot.

Regardless of price, the minimalist design and long tapered teak handles are so very beautiful; this set will definitely stay with us for a very long time.