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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)

 
 

Canvas Zipper Bags

Can you ever have enough canvas bags to hold all your odds and ends? I’m certainly not sure, especially after seeing these three zippered bags from the Museum of Useful Things. The set of three costs just under 20$, and pretty much anything that motivates a good organization of the workspace is worth that much.

Paper Clip Bag: 8″ long x 4″ wide.
Clothes Pin Bag : 10″ long x 5″ wide.
Scissors Bag: 11″ long x 7″ wide.

Purchase Information:

Price: $18.00
Available from: Museum of Useful Things

Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar 2011

I keep threatening to get one of these for myself, and I figure I best follow through this year. As usual, each month features strange phrases that have the letters of the month highlighted, making for an unusual text-based artwork above your desk or in your office. Oh, also, this year a small black pencil is included for noting events.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $44.00
Availability: Buy Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar 2011 here

Mozia Wall Clocks

These clocks from Diamantini and Domeniconi are made from large, thin aluminium sheets in bold colors. They’re spectacular in a group (as shown above and below), and would create a great focal point for a large wall that needs some oomph. All that said, the different prices from various retailers have my head spinning. I’ve included a few links (below pics) that you might want to reference before purchasing.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $230.00
Available from: Fitzsu

Hookless Hanger

Okay, so be prepared for a little bit of an infommercial when visiting the site of hooklesshangers.com, (there’s a video with sound that starts automatically, fyi)… now that I’ve warned you about that, these hookless hangers are actually pretty smart, as they save quite a bit of space in the closet. By eliminating the closet rod in favor of a magnetic strip system, there’s about a 20% gain in space with the added aesthetic benefit of a streamlined look. While it would cost a pretty penny to overhaul your whole closet, it could be a smart solution for a small coat closet where every inch is needed.

5 Natural Shirt Hangers start at $19.99 with a 4″-12″ Closet Strip costs $4.99.

Purchase Information:

Price: $19.99
Available from: hooklesshangers.com

Pinch Stand

Raise your hand if you’re liking all the recent smattering of nice bicycle storage (‘nice’ being something a bit more refined than what you pick up at your local hardware store). This Pinch Stand is made of two halves of wood laminate which uses the weight of your bicycle to lock the rear wheel in place. You just lift your bicycle out of Pinch and the halves separate. The stand is adjustable, and can accommodate a variety of wheel sizes. See a quick video over at ClankWorks to see it in action.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $89.00
Available from: ClankWorks

Source: NOTCOT

Paperback Notebooks

Ooo, take a look at paperbacknote.com for a whole selection of blank notebooks with covers from second hand paper back books. There are some truly great finds that will keep your notes spectacularly undercover (so to speak).

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Purchase Information:

Price: $18.00
Available from: paperbacknote.com

Chair IV

Chicago based design studio T J O K E E F E presents Chair IV, the ‘skeleton of a chair reconstructed as a geometric puzzle’. Made from solid wood and finished in two coats of paint.

The chair costs about $530 and can be purchased through emailing T J O K E E F E or by calling their office at tel. 734 730 9845.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $530.00
Available from: T J O K E E F E

Themis Mobile from Artecnica

Mobiles aren’t just relegated for above a baby’s crib, you know. They’re a great way to add movement and energy to a dull corner/space, and this mobile by Clara von Zweigbergk has enough color to do that job in spades.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $27.00
Available from: emmo home

Outdoor Kitchen Plans by Nina Tolstrup

If you took a quick look through the few pics of London’s Design Festival 2010, you might have caught a glance at Nina Tolstrup’s Outdoor kitchen. Seeing as the plans are free and available for download, you might want to check it out and see if it’s suitable for your own outdoor area. (Also, in case you’re curious, Nina made the kitchen for the outside deck of her family’s small Beach Chalet, that we did a quick post on back in ’08.)

Purchase Information:

Price: $FREE
Available from: studiomama

XL Shoe Horn

Oh yeah? You think you don’t need this? Well, just watch, in a couple of years you’ll be bending over huffing and puffing just to put your shoes on and in some tiny corner of your brain, you’ll think, ‘man, if I just got that darn XL shoe horn, my life would be just a tiny bit better’. Luxury is many things, but comfort is near (if not) the top of the list.

Purchase Information:

Price: $8.00
Available from: UMA

Framework print

Shane from EveryGuyed emailed us about Framework, a series of posters highlighting the most iconic men’s eyewear of the last 100 years. Personally, I like the ‘Framework’ print (shown above) more than the individual posters, but that’s just me.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $30.00
Available from: Moxy Creative House

Glove & Hate Oven Mitt

There are few things that genuinely delight and surprise me (being desensitized as I am to the many things I sort through each and every day), but funny enough, this oven mitt caught my attention in the best of ways. Whether you get it for yourself or just keep it in mind for a friend’s future housewarming gift, it’s sure to bring a smile and/or chuckle at each use.

Keep in mind that the image above is of one single Oven Mitt; it says ‘Love’ on the right hand side, ‘Hate’ on the reverse left hand side.

Purchase Information:

Price: £14.50
Available from: Magma Books

Ypsilon Dining Tables

Do a quick search for ‘Ypsilon Table’ online and you’ll find more than a handful of options, but I hazard a guess that there’s few that cost less than $500. This table is available in either a small round size or the larger rectangle, both coming in comfortably under the $500 mark with a little room to spare.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $299.00-449.00
Available from: Crate&Barrel

Book Table Light

This Book Light by Studio MS appears to have a lovely soft glow, no doubt due to the delicate pleated paper used to conceal the bulb. The small fawn-colored book is available from Gretel, but contact Studio MS to see other colors and the hanging (£180/$200) and larger version (£200/$230).

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Purchase Information:

Price: $210.00
Available from: Gretel

Toro Chair from Blu Dot

Olé, motherf#c!xr, indeed. Talk about a whole lot of bang for your buck, this chair from Blu Dot is one heck of a looker. A saddle leather sling in either natural or black (with accompanying white or black-stained beech frame) has a high end look with a downright affordable* price, especially if you figure in the 20% savings until November 8 (use promo code BLUDOT20 at checkout). That brings it down to $799 from the regular price of $999.

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Purchase Information:

Price: $999.00 (799.00)
Available from: 2modern