sparklythings

Just the other day I actually said in conversation, “You can pry my iPhone out of my cold, dead hands.” This after having to be talked into buying it – for months! By several people! Now i can’t live without it.

Anything that important deserves to be pretty, right? Thanks to suitep I’ve discovered Poolga, which will keep my iPhone wallpaper stylish for years to come.

Even if you aren’t among the iPhoned it’s still worth a visit to check out some cool work by a variety of artists. I am particularly fond of Mark Weaver’s collages and the illustrations of Laszlito Kovacs.

One of my goals (not resolutions – less pressure!) for this year was to update here more frequently. I was aiming for daily updates until last week, when I came down with The Plague and became a sniffling, grumpy mess.

I was on the upswing by Saturday and thrifting proved to be good medicine. Of course, i’m still a bit behind on everything so you’ll have to pop over to Flickr for more details on the goodies. Solve the mystery of the Vera toaster cosy and check out the new-to-me thrift store. I’ll have to go back there for more pictures as the ones I have really don’t convey the atmosphere. There are treasures there, but you have to work for them!

get outta my dreams, get into my house.

craigslist - Daytona Beach

I think  i’m just nuts over anything tufted, really. I’d love to put this in front of our living room window – all the cats could perch on it at the same time. Here are some other fab benches from Flickr:

shilobyrd

shilobyrd

revolutionarygirl

dottie angel

xjavierx

hitbyabus

In a public display akin to Punxsutawney Phil’s annual unveiling, yesterday some really smart dudes from “The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists” moved The Doomsday Clock backwards by a minute. Instead of six more weeks of winter however, we get a step back from the precipice of all out, humanity-ending nuclear war.

The Bulletin was created in 1945 by the same guys that brought us the bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The publication was meant to be non-technical and to warn people about the dangers of such weapons.  The clock itself came around in 1947, and has been moved forwards and backwards in response to changes in the global military and political climates.

If you’d like to find out more about all those ups and downs, you can access over 50 years of The Bulletin at Google Books. (Aren’t those Google folks amazing?)

Once again I had to go up to Savannah because Jacksonville was devoid of anything cool. What up, people?

That table is hot, hot hot – super curvy! Though I’d be a bit shy about buying something from a person whose email address is “deadrelative.” Maybe it’s just me.

Gah! Wasn’t I just looking for bookshelves? For something just. like. this?!?!? Figures.

From the same seller…a presto-chango bar cart. I don’t even know how that works, it’s completely magic. Labeled and everything – what a steal.

I feel like I’ve talked about this before, or at least seen it, but whatever – it’s cool enough to do twice. Spring is coming!!!

I know it’s dirty, but it’s still my dream laundry room dream sink. (that’s a lotta dreaming, huh?) I’m going to have to get off my butt and get one of these before they’re all gone forever.

i am slightly obsessed with World’s Fairs. Naturally the 1964 New York fair is  extra groovy with the design and the technology and “flying cars will be here in 1980!” business. Maybe I’m just a sucker for the optimism of it all. Here are some neat-o mosquito posters from a few other World’s Fairs that I found on art.com:

As for New York 1964, here’s something even better than a poster: a super-cool project is underway at the University of Central Florida to re-create the Fair in a digital environment. They’re actually in need of some help, so check ‘em out!

Did you know that the official World’s Expo is in Shanghai this year? Did you know they were still even doing them at all? The last one in the United States was New Orleans in 1984. Isn’t that sad?

Oooooh  Y’ALL! You’ve got to see what came in the mail yesterday!

No, I mean you’ve got to come to my house, because this here just doesn’t do it justice. It’s GORGEOUS. It’s from Katie Kirk of EightHourDay (blog | flickr) I arrived at it via Jenn Ski and purchased it instantly – a rarity for me, because I’ll usually hem and haw over something until it’s sold out. But i’m so glad I jumped on this one!

A long time ago I tried to embed a YouTube video here on my blog, and for whatever reason it didn’t work…and I never tried again.

Until today!

almost as good as being there.

Polaroid SX-70 Promotional Film from Ekim on Vimeo.

This is amazing and worth watching all the way through (I thought the beginning was a bit slow, but I’m sure that’s just because my attention span has been ruined by computers.)  I never thought much about the marriage between physics and chemistry playing out within a polaroid camera, and those Eames make it look magical.

Winter Songs from Crush Design on Vimeo via illustrativo

Okay, this is not my normal kind of jam and the video is impossibly twee, but I couldn’t get either one out of my head. By the time everything turned into rainbows I was cheering out loud. Now it’s on you.

Alright! Videos a’plenty. We’re clearing new technological hurdles every. single. day.

He would have been 75 today. Isn’t this picture intense?

Bjorn Wiinblad (1918 – 2006) Danish designer of all sorts – ceramics, posters, textiles, metals…the list goes on and on. His whimsical figures certainly seem to have made an impact on a young fella named Jonathan Adler:

Wiinblad via eBay : Slokems;   Jonathan Adler

Wiinblad continued to produce works well into the 1990s, so there’s quite a bit to choose from on eBay – some very affordable, some a little higher-end. But all fantastic.

gigmari

privatesampler

privatesampler

privatesampler

privatesampler

fishwhistle

new2elephant

nature230

iron-comet

mishaguy

privatesampler

retroactive

For more information:

• Wikipedia
• Boot the Mold
• Casa Sugar
• The Moldy Doily