Knobbly knees

I spotted the enchantingly bumpy legs of this little stool in the corner of a room on a magazine page the other day, but to my disappointment, it was quite uncredited. I am pleased to have tracked it down, and now know not only its name, but its address too.

It's the Palette Dressing Table Stool, and it is made to nestle neatly into the kidney-shaped front of the Palette Dressing Table, while the Peg Chair Stand stands nearby, making polite chit-chat.

This charmingly knobbly all-British trio is designed by Alex Hellum, manufactured by Ercol, and available from Heals.

Bags of worth

Although global market disasters may mean we won't be shopping as much as we used to, we'll definitely be recycling and reusing more, and the ethically right-on bags I've collected together today manage combine shopping and recycling rather beautifully.

First up, the Sling Bag by Cape Town designer Wendren Milford. It's made from a recycled organic jute bag, originally used for the coffee from a Fair Trade farm! That's all the ethical boxes checked, if you ask me! Each bag is unique, and you can see more of them in The Wren's Shop.

The Money Bag Wallet from Etsy seller Chakra Pennywhistle is made from a vintage money bag, and all the wear and tear of its previous incarnation is left intact, but strenthened with patching from the inside. I'd hope that the past life of the money bag might just impact positively on the user's present fortunes!


The Food Mileage Tote from Three Potato Four is perfect for lugging your haul from the farmer's market. The message printed on the cotton canvas bag is there to remind you of the distance between the consumer and the producer, and how those miles all add up.

Give it Bag reuses the polypropeline sacks used to transport salt, rice and beans, making them into sturdy and rather gorgeous bags. They've just launched some new designs, including this backpack. You can buy a Give it Bag bag right here.

Signs and Symbols

In the foreword of Signs and Symbols, the latest in RotoVision's Communicating with Pattern series, Lance Wyman asks what the first sign or symbol is that you remember as a child, and the first you remember really striking you as your taste and sensibility began to develop. If your memories are hazy on this, perhaps this book's lushly illustrated 256 pages will jog it just a bit.

I loved these two spreads, showing symbols designed by Wyman himself, for the Museum of Natural History in New York, and the 1968 Mexico Olympics respectively.


Signs and Symbols covers the use of signs and symbols from our early civilizations, symbols of membership and identity, and how signs and symbols permeate every level of our days - in nature, our domestic spaces, our consumer behaviour and expressions of happiness.


The authors, Mark Hampshire and Keith Stephenson, are experts in the use of signs and symbols themselves. As directors of London design agency Absolute Zero Degrees, they're constantly juggling multiple sign and symbol applications, creating corporate identities, packaging, books, wallpaper, and interiors accessories. They are also co-authors of Circles and Dots, Stripes and Squares for RotoVision.


Signs and Symbols is a picture-rich book, and is perfect to page through in an idle moment. But the interesting choice of topics, full but clear layout, and broad range of source material may very well keep you looking longer than you might have expected, and may even jog a memory or two.

Report from NYC: Open House NY

I have a sneaky habit of peering into people's apartment windows as I walk past. Maybe it's because, growing up in South Africa, homes were surrounded by high security walls, but mainly, I'm fascinated with how people decorate their homes. This weekend I got to indulge my voyeuristic side at Open House New York, an annual programme that opens off-limits sites of cultural and historical interest to the public.

On the programme, New Yorkers could see the inner workings of Subway Substation No. 22 in Brooklyn, we could tour the underground cheese caves of Murray's Cheese in the Village and see how a penthouse in NoHo creates a seamless flow between interior space and roof garden.

Except that I couldn't see any of those. The substation and cheese cave tours filled up on the first day that reservations were available, and the penthouse was closed "due to mechanical failure." A tour of the Metal Shutter Houses with architect Dean Maltz sounded interesting, but when we got there the only things to see were an architectural model and a big hole in the ground!

I must have had bad luck this year because there's ample evidence of some very interesting places on view at the OHNY Flickr pool, all entries in the programme's photo competition. These are some of my favourites.

The New School's Tishman Auditorium posted by Manuela Martin.

Mosaics in the hallwayof the Masonic Grand Lodge posted by Uptick.

Fort Totten posted by Elisa Peimer.

New York Marble Cemetery in the East Village posted by Edenpictures.

Storefront for Art and Architecture posted by Manuela Martin.

Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection posted by edenpictures.

Stairwell in NYU Philosophy Department posted by Manuela Martin.

High Bridge Water Tower, posted by Jesse Chan-Norris.

I did take a very lovely tour of the High Line, an elevated railroad running on the West Side of Manhattan that is no longer in use. We weren't allowed to publish our photos because the section we toured overlooked the Metropolitan Transit Authority's rail yards, itself slated for radical redevelopment. But this is what it looks like on the Friends of the High Line website.

The bottom section of the High Line is being transformed into an inspired-looking series of parks designed by Piet Oudolf. We toured the northern section, still in its overgrown nature-overtakes-city state, which was enchanting. We walked along the crumbling wooden planks through waist-high shrubs and drifts of long, soft grasses. I found myself wishing they could just lay a glass floor over the track to preserve it as is.

The other site that did not disappoint was the Row House Revival in Park Slope, Brooklyn, designed by Coburn Architecture. This elegant home was built in the late 1800s and expanded into the adjacent lot when it was renovated over the past few years.

Decorated in what architect Ward Welch described as a "Federal hip" style, the home is elegant, plush and welcoming. I admired the designers Erin Fearins and Catherine Brophy's restrained colour palette and subtle shifts in texture.

The bedroom in particular was a sanctum of calm, which is just the kind of hideaway I'd like after my day touring New York City's hidden treasures.

Dressing for tea

Browsing through the Selvedge Objects website (what a trove of treasures!), I came across the sweetest little teapot and mug by UK ceramist Linda Bloomfield, all snugly dressed in specially knitted cosies by Ruth Cross. Adorable.

Ancient of glaze

These vessels from LA potter Adam Silverman manage to come across as entirely contemporary, while still feeling like treasures from an archeological dig. See more of these beautiful shapes and glazes at the Atwater Pottery website.


And if you like this and you live in California, there's exciting news for you: Atwater Pottery and Heath Ceramics are teaming up to launch a new retail studio facility in Los Angeles! Read more about it here.

Egg at Bank

Last night Durban's Bank Gallery opened a retrospective exhibition of the work by Egg Designs. The show includes work from the last 6 years as well as new works made in 2008, most of which have never been seen in Durban before.


If I lived nearby, I'd definitely put this top of my list of Things To Do in October. Find Bank Gallery at 217 Florida Road in Morningside, Durban.

TV living

I haven't had a TV of my own for years, but from what I hear, staring at the TV Cushion by Danish outfit, NEON LIVING is probably a lot more amusing, most of the time.

In the dogbox

Although we had a great post about animal-themed furniture recently, I don't think we've ever said anything about the homes of the canine rich and famous. These rather extraordinary porcelain doghouses with platinum details by Marco Morosini for Bosa are available at Wannekes.

Report from NYC: Abitare

Abitare is a breath of fresh air. I discovered the store in Brooklyn Heights one weekend when I went out to buy groceries but came back with a $350 carpet instead! Call me impulsive, but whenever I walk past the shopfront, with its white-washed interior and pops of colourful things for the home, I have to go inside.

The carpet that led me astray was a hand-woven runner with an Indian motif in hot pink (the one under the table, above, is the Martini runner) by Madeline Weinrib. It typifies Abitare's light-hearted look: functional, classic pieces with clean lines and touches of global influence.

Lizzie Hand and Joanne Esposito, who opened Abitare in August 2006, source their items from all over the world. They were the first store in New York City to carry a range of hand-loomed table, kitchen and bath linens from Tuscany (Bergdorf Goodman are said to be following suit) and a collection of inlaid wooden boxes, also from Italy.


The charcoal 'Alphabet' pillow in the picture above, surrounded by cushions from Hable Construction, is made in India by Abraham & Thakore, whose embroidered and felted designs have been on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum. These whimsical felt egg cosies come from Germany.

And while your egg is warming, you may want to sip your OJ from one of these gorgeous tumblers from Mexico - talk about an inter-continental breakfast!

Tea towels and aprons from our very own Skinny laMinx will soon be available too.

Almost everything that Joanne and Lizzie have in the store can be ordered in various colours, finishes and sizes. They have tons of fabric samples for upholstery, drapes and bedding, and offer the full range of Sandy Chilewich placemats and floor coverings as well as the chenille and metallic ranges of Madeline Weinrib rugs.

They now offer a wedding registry too, and if I had impending nuptials, I'd love to choose from their well-edited collection of desirable things. My carpet needs some company.