Socks, hives and dolls

Oh happy day. The folks at CB2 have just launched a new international website that now lets you shop your socks off whether you're in Canada, the UK or India, and a few more places besides. Now, if you fancy a larger piece of furniture you'll still have to give them a call and arrange delivery, which is easy-peasy (I've ordered gear by phone with CB2 on more than one occasion).

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to pick out 3 faves from their current collection. Up first, the award winning Hive stackable storage system. Love 'em and majorly ogled them when I last wandered through a CB2 store. Then, the Matryoshka doll craze continues with these hand painted patterntastic Russian Nesting Dolls. Finally, the Contact stool has such a lovely industrial heft, I'd love to see it as an occasional table as well as for a smart bit of seating. Oh, there's way more, like the Acrylic Tripod Easel which I'm currently trying to convince my other half would be a great addition to the house, but that's another story entirely.

 

Midsummer madness

Oh, I lead a rather odd life. Over the past couple of days I've been checking out a flurry of previews for what retailers will be carrying over the Holidays. And last week, in the midst of an extra hot and sticky July day, I actually dressed my first Christmas tree of the year. So, to help you all cool off from this heat, I thought I'd share a quick take on what to expect to hit the stores as we plunge headlong into fall and winter. PC Home has some lovely cabin and craft influences, as well as tons of affordable sparkle. The Drake General Store has a lock on just about the coolest gear you'd want to gift or receive, including a standout gold-hatted gnome cookie jar (really). Indigo is all about charming chunky knit accessories (love those extra long reading socks!), as well as a fantastic selection of toys and specialty candies. Holt Renfrew has glittery gold covered, in everything from nailpolish by Deborah Lippmann to heels by Christian Louboutin. Sears has a covetable selection of countertop appliances, not to mention a swish washer and drier duo in a deep royal purple, plus they've completely re-vamped their Whole Home furniture and upholstery collection. It's now all made in Canada (yay!) and is uber-customizable, and did you know they also do a great line of Quebec made kitchen cabinetry? Me neither!

This all adds up to the fact that I've been kinda busy, so, with that in mind, I've stolen the extra-pretty shot below from my sister's fashion and style blog, Blink London, from her interview with talented floral designer Victoria Brotherson of Scarlet & Violet. Click here to check out the interview, and to see more gorgeous floral arrangements.

A modest veil in Vancouver

Yes, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver are pretty inescapable right now, and yes, I'm not exactly a sporty type (to say the least). One thing that has caught my eye, and just about everyone else's in Vancouver, is the gorgeous facade of the Vancouver Art Gallery. The piece, titled A Modest Veil, is by artist Michael Lin and was commisioned as part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad. I've seen shots of it turn up on Twitter (thanks to Flare Mag's Lisa Tant), and on Facebook (courtesy of designer William MacDonald) as well as all over Flickr, so wanted to see what else I could dig up.

Lin is known for his monumantal murals which reference trad Taiwanese fabrics, with their intense colours and stylized floral patterns. In the past his work has shown up on the floor and walls of places like P.S.1 in New York and the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, though by size alone A Modest Veil was a massive task; each panel was hand-painted and then mounted on a huge framework to cover the museum's Goergia Street frontage. If you fancy, you can snag a piece of Michael Lin for your own place, since he designed a carpet called Formosa for Nanimarquina (though I'd love to know what's gonna happen to the Vancouver piece once it comes down). For fun, I've also added in a Youtube interview with the man himself. [Image 1: Cara_Rouge on Flickr. Image 2: CityCaucus.com on Flickr] 

   

Julia Black: Milk, no cookies

When hunting for eco-friendly alternatives to painting furniture while we were shooting Pure Design, I was ecstatic to discover Homestead House Paint Company, Canada’s only milk paint manufacturer. I was even more thrilled to learn that beyond the 45 shades of all natural, enviro-friendly milk paint, they also have wood stains, 100% acrylic latex paint, and traditional oil paints (linseed or hempseed oil, just like the pioneers used), all of which are eco-awesome! If you can't find a colour you love (like the pretty robin's egg blue called Loyalist) all of Homestead's natural, biodegradable, VOC-free and all around earth-friendly paints, stains and finishes can be matched to any colour you wish, and can be used on just about anything - both indoors and out - that you fancy. So, as we look forward into the New Year, we can also look back and appreciate that some historic design tricks are in fact the way of the future. Cheers to a healthy, clean and environmentally kind 2010!

Check out the snap below to see Nadine and Jacques' gorgeous Homestead House milk-painted cabinet (and lovely living room) from a recent episode. [Image: John Queenan]

To read more posts from Julia click here, and to check out her cool blog click here.

Clock this

Q: What do Montreal, Eindhoven and Melbourne have in common? A: The answer is Puur, a new young design firm that's based in those three cities, with manufacturing happening - for the most part - here in Canada. Their line is defintely on the modern side, but the couple of items I picked below that are brand new for '09 have a slightly more accidental vibe that I find really appealing.

The large-scale Earthquaked clock, designed by Frank van de Ven, messes around with our ideas of time and fear of natural disasters. While Blaas, a multi-functional bookshelf by Dripta Roy and Frank van de Ven, is a cartoon-y shape of a face and a thought bubble finished in a glossy black that's ready to hold all sorts of bits and pieces. To see more from Puur make sure to download their portfolio here.

via tkleslie and mmcgovern on Twitter