Rock Blondsky’s Bad Ideas.

Today is one of those days – well, actually it’s one of those weeks – that sorta sucks pretty bad. Anything that pops up on my Humor Radar turns into one of the high points of my day. Rock Blandksy’s Bad Ideas are just what I needed this afternoon and didn’t even know it. I love his I-Know-I’m-Not-Very-Funny-But-You-Think-I’m-Hilarious humor. The little blurbs that accompany each Bad Idea are great. Not to mention that the guy behind it all manages to create some pretty kickass illustrations and packaging in his spare time.

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Lotus Bleu.

Lotus Bleu is a great little shop I only just found that has a unique selection of contemporary art and home décor imported from France and Southeast Asia – be sure and check out the lacquerware. This desk chair would be perfect in front of my red desk along with the mint lacquered lamp on top. So cute!

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UPPERCASE Gallery.

UPPERCASE Gallery is a little shop chalk full of high-quality design and illustration. I’ve been nursing a fixation with design books for, oh, seven or so years now and UPPERCASE has given me my latest dose of literature. They offer a fantastic selection of hand-picked publications based on design and content quality. (PS: I just picked up DIY: Design It Yourself by Ellen Lupton and it’s awesome!)

The Gallery also carries some great art and papergoods, the latter of which are created by Vangool Design & Typography who share space with UPPERCASE. I’m completely jonesing for the Paper Patisserie mini journal set and the clever little Piupiu bird magnet that stashes paperclips.


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Digital Beverages.

Who doesn’t want their own personal bartender? Didn’t think I’d see any hands in the air. I know I could use a drink or ten after the sort of week I’ve been having (whew).

Digital Beverages combines the awesomeness of the internet with a beverage dispensing system. There’s even an online recipe generator for creating your own concoctions. Yea! And it just looks so damn cool.

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Vaishaly.

Recently I’ve taken up a major interest in skincare product design. Not really sure where or when it started, but it shows no signs of leaving any time in the near future.

Today I bring to you Vaishaly. Vaishaly is a “superfacialist” from the UK who believes in the simplest, purest skincare regimes: two steps to be exact. Cleansing and moisturizing. Her philosophy is that you don’t need a cabinet full of products to have great skin. (Sounds good to me and my bank account, being the self-proclaimed Product Whore that I am.) As a bonus, all of Vaishaly’s products are based on natural and organic ingredients. A first for any facialist.

On the packaging side of things, I love the simple V logo resembling two pieces of grass and the beautifully contrasting light blue and chocolate brown colors. My bet is that any girl would be hard-pressed to hide these away in a cabinet.

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Lottie Frank.

Lottie Frank is really Lucy Claydon. No matter what her name is, she’s a phenomenal artist. Claydon’s story is one of Designer by Day/Illustrator by Night and I think it’s really interesting the way she manipulates her drawings using digital techniques. Espectially in her Dear John series. Really lovely.



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The Conran Shop.


I’ve heard a lot about The Conran Shop in the past, but only recently became a fan. Now I’m left wondering what took me so long. The accessories are what really set me off, as well as the fact that so many great pieces are quite affordable. I’m loving these silver tea sets, metal canisters, votive holders and red tray. These pieces are so timelessly chic.

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Café pelé.

The Café pelé espresso cup by designer Julie Pfligersdorffer is both beautiful and innovative. I love her idea of making the handle part of the espresso cup by peeling it off of the vessel. Of course, this also means that you can only fill the cup about halfway…

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imogene.

imogene is a lovely little online shop out of Baltimore run by Annie, Steve and Joey their pitbull. the coolest thing is that they deal directly with imogene’s featured designers, maintain their own site and ship everything to you themselves. it’s literally a two-and-a-half man studio. Definitely stpo by and check out the goods. I especially dig their paper selection and jewelry.



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