OYYO makes some amazing dhurries, handwoven by a community of craftspeople in India and each made of 100% organic cotton and vivid vegetable dyes derived from local plants. They also put together a beautiful lookbook that makes me want their rugs on my floors that much more, even if I don’t live near sand.
A few years ago my family switched to having a Christmas Day brunch in place of dinner. While I miss the big dinner with all of the trimmings, this seems to suit us all just fine. It’s always at my Grandma’s house, but if it were at mine it might go a little something like this. Lots of brights and metallics and an air of fun about it all. Lots of carbs to pick at while each person opens their gifts. And of course dessert and some alcohol to lighten the mood. Wanna come over? (Imaginary Christmas 2013, Imaginary Holiday Appetizer Party)
Suite One Studio‘s modern handmade tableware is most definitely on my Christmas list. Owner Lindsay Emery uses high quality porcelain, handmade watercolor glazes, and hand-painted genuine gold to create her beautiful collections – I swear the glazes look good enough to eat! You can read more about her process over on Jojotastic.
Today the 24 Merry Days spotlight is shining right here, and we’re giving away $300 to spend at Anthropologie! As a frequent Anthro shopper this is a perfect match, and I’m already jealous of the future winner. What would you blow it on? The official start of winter being two weeks away, I think I’d opt for some cozy accoutrements to aid me through the year’s chilliest months. Things like hats and scarves, throw blankets, and candles for my home. This giveaway is open worldwide, so scroll down to see a few of my favorites and for 20 chances to enter and win! (PS: Don’t miss out on Saturday and Sunday’s worldwide giveaways to Baba Souk and Artsy Modern!)
Come winter I prefer to layer a super soft scarf under my coat, rather than over it. I’ve found it keeps me warmer, and I can pull as much or as little out of the collar as I want!
I love adding a bright throw to my bedroom to snuggle under with a book or for weekend mornings spent lingering in bed. And I have to admit, the cats don’t seems to mind it one bit either…
My 114 year old fireplace is non-functioning, so I filled it with lots of votive and pillar candles and mercury glass to reflect all of the light. At least as good as a real fire!
I used to abhor wallpaper – could it have something to do with the pastel Native American-inspired pattern that lined my walls through puberty? Maybe/probably/definitely. These days I find myself looking at wallpaper as floor to ceiling art more than anything else. These handprinted patterns from Voutsa can’t be seen as anything but.
I began following Redraven Studios several years before moving back to Pittsburgh, in fact I didn’t even know they were from my hometown at that point. Founder Amy Hamley and her husband Ryan create the prettiest porcelain pieces – I had their Good Luck Porcelain Horseshoe hanging above my front door for several years and it was always complimented. This holiday season I’m eyeballing the Porcelain & Gold Leaf Feather Ornament for my tree (and maybe a few lucky recipients) along with the Canyon Series Dinnerware that is forever on my Wish List.
Drake General Store is a traditional hotel gift shop, a classic general store, a flea market stand, and a museum shop all rolled into one. They have the biggest and best Canadian pride and love supporting homegrown artists and designers, making them a perfect match for Design Crush and our sensibilities.
Please tell me you took 1.5 seconds to read that graphic, because we’re giving away a $1,000 prize pack!Drake General Store is my favorite shop north of the U.S. border and I’m pumped to be partnering with them for the second December in a row to give you all a HUGE something awesome. I’ve cherry picked my favorite pieces from their classic, modern goods that are a mix of sensible (socks, throws, kitchen pieces) and not so sensible (tarot cards, incense, wind chime) and everything in between.
I KNOW! So many well designed pieces and so many little luxuries to help get you through winter. You could either go the Happy Holidays to Me! route and keep it all for yourself or the My Shopping is Done! route and dive up your winnings as gifts for everyone on your list. Either way it’s a win. (But if you do spy something you’d like to gift know that Drake General Store has worldwide flat rate shipping!)
I’ve always been fascinated by single-serve coffee systems, but vastly underwhelmed by what’s on the market. The ability to cater to your family’s or guests’ preferences, especially during all of those holiday get togethers, can be such a lovely touch when entertaining. But when the coffee itself tastes unimpressive and the machine has a working life of maybe a year… well, what’s the point?
When Nespresso reached out about trying out their new VertuoLine I was hesitant, but what changed my mind was that Nespresso works in coffee. They aren’t just some brand who’s decided to create a new machine and outsource the main ingredient. VertuoLine is an intuitive system that uses Centrifusion technology and barcode reading (cup size, rotation, temperature, flow rate, and brew time) to brew 8 oz cups of coffee and 1.35 oz espressos.
The VertuoLine’s hallmark is the incredible crema – the foam formed on each espresso top – it creates with every cup. And honestly it really is impressive. Once I got my hands on the machine itself I couldn’t believe that this was a cup of coffee that I’d made in around a minute in my own kitchen.
I also got to play around with an automatic milk frother, the Aeroccino+. With the push of a button I had perfect hot milk and froth (it can also warm milk without the froth or froth cold milk). It’s basically my favorite new kitchen gadget of 2014.
The VertuoLine comes with a sample box of their eight coffee and four espresso blends. And after trying nearly all of them I decided to create a few coffee drinks and put it all to the test.
Ingredients:
• Melozio capsule
• 2 oz skim milk
• 1 Tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling
Place Melozio capsule into the VertuoLine and brew into mug. While brewing, pour 2 oz skim milk into Aeroccino+ along with one tablespoon of honey. Press button to froth. When finished, gently pour milk into coffee, then spoon froth on top. Drizzle with honey. Drink up.
Place Odacio capsule into the VertuoLine and brew into mug or heat-safe glass. While brewing, pour 2 oz eggnog into Aeroccino+. Press button to froth. Pour eggnog slowly into coffee to achieve that great separation. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I received product and compensation for this collaboration with Nespresso. As always all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that help keep Design Crush going!
Dinosaur Designs‘ and their eponymous candy colored wares for house and body just released their latest collection – Atelier. This go around they’ve added candles, linen napkins, and puzzles to the mix just in time for holiday gifting. But those geometric bangles? Those are at the tippy top of my list.