Children’s Lyre June 29, 2007

Children who play the lyre grow up to be lyrical. They grow up to woo well, to be bards, to recite epic poems by firelight, to host feats, to throw the scraps and gristle to the dogs, to nimbly pick lice from hair . . .

Actually, never mind . . .

Children who play the lyre grow up to be firefighters, lawyers, and chefs.

Tuned to a pentatonic scale which makes all the tones sound good together, which means more fun for you and the kids. Made of solid hardwood, it comes with a tuning peg and instructions.

180 bucks from Rosie Hippo’s Toys

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things June 28, 2007

Perfumer Yosh Han, whose name means “fragrant”, mixed her first scents for a pirate shop. She has elevated the olfactory presence of Lemony Snicket, and participated in an international perfume event known as “Sniffapalooza”.

Does this sound like the beginning of a novel?

Well, Yosh has concocted scents for books, too: one for JT LeRoy’s “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things” and another for William T. Vollman’s treatise on violence–a perfume called Carnage.

Yosh will design a custom perfume just for you or your favorite someone. What would such a scent cost? Maybe two-thousand bucks? Maybe that’s not too much for what would surely be the most romantic, whimsical, and novelistic experience a lover could give?

Too rich for your blood? Fear not! The whimsy is available in all price ranges.

Buy a bottle with an intriguing name like Stargazer or U4EAHH! for 130 bucks, a set of samples for 30 bucks, or a single sample droplet for 6 bucks, all from Luckyscent

Or, for free, you can read the perfumer’s enchanting notes at Eau de Yosh, where phrases like “trans-aromation” and “aromascape” might make a cowgirl consider trading in her lifelong campfire-smoke-horse-hay-saddle-leather stank for something a bit more refined.

Rorschach Note Cards June 27, 2007

An email is fine, but a handwritten note on a Rorschach Note Card, is sublime. Or is that intriguing? Or does it look more like mysterious?

A mixed-set of ten, with ink-blot patterned envelopes.

70 bucks direct from the calligrapher who created them, Bernard Maisner

Empty and Full Bowl June 27, 2007

I once read that gardens can be seen as an expression of our fear of nature. In rigid rows of flowers we conquer the wild, sorting the weeds from the favored species, trimming green tangles into neat square boxes.

This is the kind of garden we celebrate on our fine china. At our fancy parties we serve our meat on plates painted with stiff little flowers, always in full and correct bloom, without a single drooping petal, utterly devoid of earthiness.

But there is another kind of garden. Here, the edges are a little overgrown. Here, the dandelion springs up next to the lily. Here is where civilization meets the wild and the gardener dances with nature, not striving to overcome, but to interact.

This bowl — even empty — is full of this kind of garden. A garden of earthly and earthy delights.

160 bucks from Greenergrassdesign

Cardboard Cradle June 26, 2007

Perfect for hosting friends with a new baby, traveling, or just rock-a-by-baby-ing. Not to mention the fun decorating possibilities.

To assemble, just fold! When you are done with it — store flat or recycle.

100 bucks from Rose and Radish

dead batteries June 22, 2007

Have you ever wished that everything utilitarian could be a work of art?   Energize the dream with new AA batteries decorated with flare.

1 buck from dead batteries

jack the ripper and the magic beanstalk June 21, 2007

First, let me explain what this is . . . through the wonders of modern technology, a word has been lasered onto these beans. When you water them, they spring up to reveal a message printed on the sprout.

I have mixed feelings about this. Like a rodeo clown, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

On the one hand, should we really be lasering tender green shoots?

On the other, have I not spent my life pushing pear blossoms into bottles to capture the fruit inside the glass? And carving my name into growing pumpkins to see it emblazoned across the jackolantern?

I really would be curious to see these messages sprout . . . but is it the curiosity that leads boys to pull the wings off flies?

10 bucks from wishingfish

Rag Chair June 20, 2007

Made of recycled fabric, the rag chair is environmentally progressive, comfortable, and comforting.

Just like quilts used to contain little pieces of children’s shirts and wedding dresses, the rag chair can incorporate sentimental swatches from your life.

And I think that’s what I like about it . . . Modern design need not be sterile and amnesiac. This chair’s clean lines encompass sentimentality, emotion, tactile memory.

3900 bucks from generate

lead wings June 18, 2007

Okay, it isn’t really lead — it is graphite, a.k.a “pencil lead”.

If your words are feeling weighty, free them by writing with this solid graphite wing. Sculpture? Pencil? The answer to writer’s block? The only means by which a cloud can be sketched?

40 bucks from Matter

knock down, drag out table June 15, 2007

If you love modern design but are a restless nomad, this is the table for you. Moments after your dinner companions arise from their seats, you can collapse the entire table, fold it flat, and steal away into the night, leaving behind only the dishes and your startled guests . . .

1150 bucks from re:modern