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Happy Thanksgiving to you and your odd-yet-lovely family and friends! Have a safe and happy holiday weekend; posts will return as usual on Monday.

Shown: Altered Antique Plates by BeatUpCreations. May be used for serving or just as an interesting art piece. Each plate costs anywhere from $25 to $100.

Remember the Utility Card? Yep, the one from grain. Well, they also carry these lovely mirrors with a textile wrapped edge. If the price is a tad too high, maybe their Bound Hand Mirror will scratch the itch. They’re all made in the USA and custom colors are available.
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For those of us familiar with the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, their names bring images of bent ply furniture and films, the packed 901 studio, and the impressive Case Study house in Pacific Palisades. However, most of us certainly don’t know a great deal about their personal lives or working habits. In Eames: The Architect and the Painter, the new documentary by Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey, we have a closer glimpse.

The Eameses both had extraordinary skills and weaknesses. Charles, an architect that rarely practiced, and Ray, a painter than that rarely painted, had their own personal shortcomings, and it’s refreshing to hear both the admiration and honesty in the voices of the fellow designers and friends that knew the couple for many years. There’s several winning quotes that show exactly how devoted and, at times, frustrated one could be with the Eameses. (One particular case that stands out is architect Kevin Roche saying he was “f*@cked off” when Ray presented a floral centerpiece as a ‘visual dessert’ after dinner.)

The film also tackles the area of who-did-what, making note of Ray’s involvement in the design process (especially gratifying after Marilyn Neuhart’s charge in her book The Story of Eames Furniture that Ray had little to do with any actual designing) and how Charles tended to take credit for the work that many people contributed to, and occasionally, did altogether. Yet it also shows the distinct strengths of Charles and Ray, and how they complimented each other in skill sets. There’s also a bit about Charles and his relationships with other women; all was not as rosy as the grinning frozen photos seem to suggest.

You’ll also see the many projects they worked on, from the plywood and fiberglass chairs to the films, photography, and exhibitions made for IBM and other large corporations. The “information overload” technique they used for some of the projects seems more at home in today’s daily life, especially as seen in their 1959 “Glimpses of the USA” project. The multiple screens with thousands of images of American life is not so different from one’s computer screen each day, with most of us juggling multiple windows and various info streams.

Their vast amount of work is no small feat, for sure. This film tells the story of Charles and Ray and their artistic collaboration in layers, and the end result is a better understanding of who they were and how they came to have such an impact on American culture.

For showtimes, visit First Run Features.

You can also preorder Eames: The Architect and the Painter for $19.47 from First Run Features.

Eames: The Architect and the Painter, a film by Jason Cohn & Bill Jersey.

What do you get for someone that has everything? An old time slingshot, made from buckthorn branches, latex tubing, and a leather projectile pouch. I like that ‘female adult supervision’ is suggested in the description, though in no way do I assume adult females are any less likely to injure someone or something, on purpose or otherwise.

Dimensions: about 11″ x 4″-5″

I’ve been thinking about changing out my coffee table for a more appropriate size, and this caught my eye as a possible option. A walnut top and a brushed steel base makes it fully appropriate for a modern living space, and it’s simple enough it wouldn’t take center stage (important when you have a lot of other stuff fighting for attention). Plus, there’s three different sizes to choose from, which gives a custom feel without a custom price.
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Enjoy your weekend-before-thanksgiving, because the holidays are about to hit you in the face.

These aprons are one of those things that are both wonderful and extremely silly looking, at least at first. They’re designed in the style of a formal/business suit, perfect for those of us “who consider cooking a serious business as much as an affair of art.” From Aiste Nesterovaite,

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What a marvelous way to solve a sticky situation. Pick the appropriate wooden coin* and flip to see who has to do whatever needs doing. From Set Editions, who carries some of the best cards/postcards.

Set of three wooden coins that come in a metal tin.
Designer: Set Editions

*Much better than an actual coin, because they have the phrases tailored to the situation. And they’re wooden, of course.

Say goodbye to throwing away pens. This pen has a jumbo ink cartridge inside, ensuring that you can write about 1.7 meters a day for seven years. Pretty decent timeline, no? And it’s good to know that you’re not contributing to the whopping 100 million pens discarded every day. Now you just need to not lose it.

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Say hello to our new sponsor, Shades of Light. Out of their vast array of unique lighting, rugs, furniture, etc., this pendant stands out for its materials: it’s made from repurposed automotive rotors. Industrial simplicity is always nice to see, especially when reclaimed parts are involved.

75 watts (medium base socket).
(22″Hx10″W) (each piece is one of a kind so measurements are approximate)
5″ canopy

Oh, how is it the middle of November already? As the holiday season fast approaches, gift guides are popping up left and right, and our thoughts wander as to what would be the best gift for friends, family members, loved ones… Of course, there’s the Gift Section here on BLTD, which is full of items tagged according to price range, but perhaps you have one or two hard cases on your list? And are in need of a few suggestions? If so, please do let us know and we’ll do our best to give you some ideas.
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If you’ve not seen the new Penguin THREADS Classics, you’re in for a treat. Jillian Tamaki hand embroidered the images for these three classics and the results are pretty impressive. I remember seeing these on her blog while they were in progress and now they’re finally available to buy just in time for the holidays. Of course, the books are sculptural-embossed with full wraparound images so you can fully appreciate the design, but do take a look at the actual embroidered pieces over at Jillian Tamaki.

Books also available at Penguin for $16.00 each.

I’m a bit late in the game in posting these, as you’ve most likely seen them before, but it is MUJI and they are touchscreen gloves, so it’s better late than never. Plus, no doubt you’re in danger of a cold snap soon enough… so, protect your little fingers while you use your touchscreen device with these gloves (they have conductive material in the thumb and forefinger).
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Time for an update: this breadboard has long been a favorite, not because I spend much time in the kitchen, but because it’s just so simple and lovely. There’s a lift-out perforated top so you can catch all the crumbs and dispose of them easily. Gift note: while this might not be a jump-out-of-your-seat kind of present, it certainly is a thoughtful and well crafted item.
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Check out this beauty. Designed by Ana Mestre, a Portuguese furniture designer, the Lagarta stool is made from agglomerated expanded cork, the most sustainable kind of cork composites. There’s a hollow in each stool, allowing them to nest together for infinite modular seating. At a price of $345, it’s just under the cost of the Cork Stool by Jasper Morrison for Moooi.

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