Category Archives: Home Accessories

“Good Design” at Foscarini

This fall I started contributing to Design Milk, a refreshingly sleek and focused contemporary design blog founded and run by Jaime Derringer. Lighting company Foscarini invited us to Venice, and since Jaime was about to have a baby, I got to go. It was an amazing trip. Foscarini hosted a handful of bloggers from design sites all over Europe at its corporate offices for a day of discovery and discussion. At the end, they put together this video in which we all put forth the single most important aspect of “good design.” Watch us speak.

The words we chose . . .

“PROCESS” Luca Nichetto, designer (Venice)
“SINCERITY”  Ionna Vautrin, designer (Paris)
“LOVE”  Vicente Garcia Jimenez, designer (Udine, Italy)
VITALITY” Marni Katz, Design Milk (Boston)
“FORM” Jenny Filipetti, Design Boom (Milan)
“EMOTION” Micle Mihai Cristian, Freshome (Romania)
“TEAMWORK”  Costas Voyatzis, Yatzer (Athens, Greece)
“SINGULARITY”  Eric Foulon, Muuuz (Paris)
“TECHNOLOGY”  Philipp Thom, Studio 5555 (Germany)
“RESEARCH” Giuilia Zappa, Designer Blog (Milan)

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Just In: Patch NYC x West Elm Zodiac Mugs

Patch NYC mugs for West Elm StylecarrotWest Elm once again collaborates with Boston design darlings Patch NYC.  These zodiac mugs ($6) are due to hit shelves and online next week.

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Shopping Trip: Missoni x Target x 2

Yesterday, as you know unless you live in an absolutely fashion-free world, Missoni dropped at Target stores around the country, and online. The stores opened at 8am. I couldn’t make it over until about 8:30. Almost everything I was interested in was gone. I knew when I saw the woman loading the zigzag bike into her trunk at 8:25 that I was doomed.

My main interest is always the housewares. The melamine plates that come out of these collabs actually tend to be good quality. I love my John Derian for Target pieces (thank you Gilt for the pre-sale), as well as the one Liberty of London for Target flowered bowl I was able to grab. Again, I came home with just one miniature square plate. (They actually had a few larger ones left, as well as a nifty dessert stand that I thoroughly didn’t need.)

zigzag missoni storage boxMy Missoni x Target purchases.

My other weakness is stationery and storage containers. I love my John Derian for Target bins, and my Liberty of London for Target hat box. I really, really, love my brand new blue zigzag Missoni for Target covered box. I saw a woman with one in her cart, asked her where she found it, and she said she was on her way to put it back. Voila, it’s now mine. Thank you fellow shopper for sharing!

I also scored a few lovely notebooks. I love them. I so don’t need them. I plan to give one or two as gifts, along with the mini journal sets I couldn’t resist. I gave the clothes a once over, but as usual, no thanks. The purchases from my first trip are above. Unsatisfied. I drove to another Target (after calling to find out the housewares situation over there). No luck in the little square plate department. (Do you see my sole plate above? It’s perched atop the two notebooks.) I left with two more notebooks (one fabric covered) and the journal sets.

I would have easily bought several more zigzag boxes, but overall, I’m happy. I’m guessing Target is pleased too. They haven’t had a sellout collaboration since Liberty of London (March 2010). And then there was the crashing of Target.com. Woof!


Blogger Snobella, who writes “Confessions of a Snobaholic,” had a seriously loaded cart.

Snobella Blogger Target Stylecarrot

By the time I left the stores, the shelves were bare.

Related posts:
Shopping Trip: Liberty of London x Target
Deal Alert: John Derian x Target
Design Diary: John Derian’s Provincetown House
Montage: 31 Chevron-Adorned Interiors

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Filed under . REGULAR FEATURES, Fashion, Home Accessories, Shopping, Shopping Trip

Covet: Pigeon Toe Ceramics Porcelain Disc Chimes

pigeon toe mobile stylecarrot

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.)

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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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