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Articles Written by Katie

Katie

About Katie: Katie has been a product and textile designer, an art restoration specialist, and an interior designer/merchandiser. Her interests are focused on finding well designed items that improve daily life as well as reading fiction and making stuff. (View Profile)

 
 

Clemens Auer Tweezers

Ordinary tweezers aren’t for you, or maybe they are until you see these odd tweezers by Clemens Auer. The circular solution was inspired by the pinching gesture, and is a unique alternative to those other typical grooming instruments. And, apparently, they are “functionally superior.” I believe it.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $95.00
Available from: Ode to Things

Custom Satellite Map Puzzle

Okay, this is kind of fun: it’s a puzzle featuring a satellite image of your home. You’ll get to see an area of 1 mile north-to-south and 1.5 miles east-to-west, and there’s a few irregular pieces thrown in to keep it special (the letters H-O-M-E, and a house-shaped piece right where your home is located). Maybe it’s a good thing to get to memorialize your current digs? It would also be an excellent housewarming gift.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $129.00
Available from: Uncommon Goods

Brace Wall Hook

Here’s a wall hook that does double duty: the looped brace gives you an extra spot to clip your keys or hang scarves or umbrellas. It’s also extremely kind to your clothes, as there’s no angular hook to create havoc in the neck area of shirts or jackets. The cast bronze shape is like a jewelry piece for your entryway; just enough subtle glitz to give a sense of specialness.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $65.00
Available from: Fort Standard

Press Iced Tea Bottle

Iced tea, anyone? Instead of steeping, straining, and then chilling, this Pressed Iced Tea Bottle gives you a “brew-and-go” experience. Add hot water to your tea in the outer chamber, let it steep, then press the ice-filled inner chamber down. Add the lid and you’re ready to go, with brewed iced tea in hand. Pretty handy if you’re very fond of your iced tea, huh?
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Purchase Information:

Price: $24.99
Available from: Uncommon Goods

The Jean Hanger

So smart. The Jean Hanger lets you say goodbye to folding creases and dryer woes, for it delicately holds your jeans up by their back belt loops. This allows your denim to hang appropriately alongside your other clothes without crumples or creases. Air dry them on the hanger, and you’ll have none of the shrinkage or wear that dryers often cause (plus less energy use!). Shall we say this hanger is a brilliant solution for those of us that love our jeans? Yes, I think we shall. Now available directly from Saldebus Designs*.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $29.50
Available from: Saldebus Designs

Rugs by GUR

There are so many fun rugs from Rugs by GUR it’s hard to pick a favorite. You’re sure to find a few that catch your eye, and, of course, they could go on the floor, but what about using them as art on the wall? Luckily, for the price, you can afford to add more than just one to any room that needs a little something fun.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $103.98 - 171.25
Available from: RUGbyGUR

String Lights by onefortythree

Don’t ask yourself ‘why do I need these string lights?’ Instead, ask yourself ‘why don’t I need these string lights?’ After all, you work very hard, don’t you? And, it does get quite dark at night, so what better way to illuminate a special spot indoors than with a set of string lights with natural brass sockets and black cloth twisted cord? Or a set of string lights with pink, yellow, orange, or many other lovely color sockets? The colors are a new addition (thank you onefortythree!). Wonderful evenings are sure to happen with any of these beauties above your head.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $125.00
Available from: onefortythree

Friday Links

Rollbe – Super Compact Measuring Tool

What Is Your Opposite Job?

– “Each Shore Rug™ is super supportive and highly textured, providing a one-of-a-kind massage-like experience.” Iris Outdoor Rug

Reflective Leopard Print Stickers

Just Rocks in a Box Crayons

Mazy Toothbrush Holder

Fun Merit Badges

Have a great weekend.

Aquabot

How often are you out at the beach, campsite, or park and wish you had a garden hose to wash off dirt and grime? This is exactly where the Aquabot by Lunatec comes into play: it transforms your regular water bottle into a pressurized device, giving you the function of a portable hose/faucet/fountain/mister so you can use water efficiently. You might remember when it was a Kickstarter project, but it’s now available directly from Lunatec.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $30.00
Available from: Lunatec

Insect Memory Game

As you’re sitting around with friends and/or family, bored senseless, don’t just pick up your phone. How about a good game for everyone to play? Let me add these extra requirements: a game for ages 4 and up, and one that won’t offend anyone. Do you have one of those? Because a memory game is a friendly sort of activity that just might help those lazy synapses in your brain, and this one has some very pretty illustrations of bugs/insects with their Latin names.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $22.00
Available from: Kontrast

Design Letters Message Board

Who doesn’t love a message board? Sure, it’s for important updates, but it’s also prime territory for a funny joke or a heartfelt message. I’ve always been attracted to the utility of the black letter boards found in churches and civic centers, but this perforated board from Design Letters does the same job in a prettier outfit. Pin lists and reminders to its surface and use the letters and numbers to spell out favorite phrases.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $26.35- 108.00
Available from: Finnish Design Shop

Aquart Outdoor Shower

Remember me halfway promising to find more outdoor showers for you? Here’s one, and it’s exactly the sort of thing you could make if you were truly industrious but you probably won’t because it’s $200. Seletti’s Aquart Outdoor Shower has a hefty cement base and polished copper fittings. Hook it up to a hose, and voilà! You’re ready to have your very own outdoor shower. Now, how to make sure you get hot water instead of cold? Maybe have a very long black hose out in the sunshine? Hmm.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $299.00
Available from: Gessato

2018 Phases Of The Moon

A 2018 calendar is exactly what you don’t need in August, but, hey, why not get ahead of things and snap up one now? I still stand by my earlier thinking that this calendar is a must-have for anyone with lycanthropic leanings, as business can be scheduled around inopportune times.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $17.95
Available from: MoMA Store

Clouds

There’s nothing wrong with having your head in the clouds every now and then, or so says Most Modest and Aces of Space. Their collaboration to create a “port hole to the sky” resulted in ‘Clouds’- a captured fragment from Jacob van Ruisdael’s “A Panoramic View of Amsterdam looking towards the IJ”, which was originally painted around 1665-70. Having a portion of a 17th century Dutch landscape hung in your home is pretty fun when it’s done in this particular way, isn’t it? And, of course, it costs a lot less than buying the original.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $300.00+
Available from: Most Modest

Belle-V Ice Cream Scoop

You know what will make your life better? The best ice cream scoop ever. The Bell-V is made of hand-finished and polished Teflon coated aluminum. It’s ergonomically comfortable. It’s black. I don’t know what more information you need, because that’s enough to convince me and I don’t even eat ice cream.
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Purchase Information:

Price: $50.00
Available from: Belle-V