Author: StyleCarrot

Marni Elyse Katz is a design writer and editor who lives in Boston and Cape Cod with her husband, two sons, and a cat. She blogs about design at www.stylecarrot.com

Covet: Pigeon Toe Ceramics Porcelain Disc Chimes

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I’ve been a fan of Portland, Oregon studio Pigeon Toe Ceramics since its advent in 2009, but my love has been renewed with these charming wind chimes.

Designer Lisa Jones strings hand-thrown, glazed porcelain discs on deerskin cords (available in six different colors) or a more monochromatic natural jute twine.The irregularly rounded forms and gentle clinking sounds are welcome departures from more intrusive, metal chimes that echo on otherwise peaceful summer eves.

(Disc Chimes, $44 for 4 discs; $70 for 8.)

Covet: Japanese Kokeshi Dolls Reimagined with Modern Flair

Oakland-based designer Mark Giglio translates traditional Japanese wooden Kokeshi dolls with precision and wit, in the manner of modern architect and textile designer Alexander Girard. Like Girard, who designed fabrics for Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson, Giglio too has produced work for Herman Miller. Apple and Dwell are on also his client list.

I’m smitten with the crisp stripes, dots, and diamonds painted in punchy shades on the smooth blocks and spindles. So much so that I’m tempted to snap up a set for myself, never mind bébe. (Figures range in price and availability on the Giglio’s site penpaperpencil.com)

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Just In: Simon Pearce Teapot Trio

Simon Pearce goes contemporary with a trio of new additions to the Barre collection—a teapot ($175), sugar bowl ($50), and creamer ($50). The elliptical-shaped, hand-crafted pottery has a matte finish available in slate (shown here), shale, and alabaster. The silhouettes are thoroughly modern, but the material lends an earthy edge that doesn’t abandon the designer’s New England roots.

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Just In: Areaware Alarm Dock

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You may not have saved your faux wood flip clock from childhood (I didn’t), but no matter. Areaware’s Alarm Dock by Jonas Damon ($40) is a simple block of solid beechwood let’s you adapt an iPhone or Touch to get a similar effect, while simultaneously charging the device.

Look carefully, it’s not actually a clock—it’s a dock with a horizontally placed iPhone running the flip clock app ($.99) The dock fits the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4.

If you still prefer the real thing, try this retro bamboo flip clock ($51.90).

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