Woonwinkel Swoon

We're excited when we first read about this new shop in Portland called Woonwinkel (means Home Shop in Dutch) that opened in June.
What's even more exciting is that our Chalk Piggies, Gem Necklaces, Superior Servers, and Mega-Doily rugs of various size are at the store!

It's a beautifully curated shop with things I've only seen from the far and magical place of the Netherlands combined with great independent American designers such as, Studio Gorm, Iacoli & McAllister, Von Tundra, and Chen Chen.

....pretty much a dream store. Perhaps if I make myself small enough I can be a squatter and live in that shop....

Sssss(Blended) Plates

I love these splendid pieces by Amsterdam-based artist, Maxime Ansiau, reinterpreting traditional plates by simply conjoining & repeating the artwork of the plates.

Could be an interesting experience to eat out of the 6 blended plates as a group!

I'd like to Tap That: Office made with Pallets

Check out this post via Design Boom about this cleverly designed office space by A Dutch design firm, most architecture.
They designed the spacing using a bunch of handsome-looking pallets piled up in compelling ways while turning them into functional working spaces, seating, and even a staircase!We've been collecting pallets & wooden crates to fill up our Brite Social Studio space for the fact that they're so readily available and free ...but of course the pallets aren't nearly as nice as the ones you see here.
Pretty ridiculous how even Dutch PALLETS are better and cooler than ours!....sheesh!!
I can only imagine even living like a homeless person there would be pretty amazing...I'd go for that.

Spectacular Spectacles

Holly mother....I'm in dire need for a pair of frames...and I think I just found my dream glasses.
These gorgeous wooden frames are handcrafted by a Dutch company, Herrlicht, and each of these babies only cost about $1000....
There's no way that I can just get one pair...Its ALL or NOTHING!! That's just how I roll....it's really not because I can't afford it or something silly like that. That's just crazy talk...

via seesaw

FLXS is Good For You

FLKS (flex), a flexible and collapsible workplace by Dutch designers Kapteinbolt.Via Dezeen

Who do they think they are? Bunch of Socialists?

Found out about this design group awhile back via Core77 called Platform 21.
And guess what? They're Dutch...go figures.
Actually, they're more like a design platform. They're stationed in a crazy Space Odyssey-style chapel in Amsterdam and use the space as their public laboratory where they have design "repair" stations and workshops of all sort, and most importantly, its where people exchange creative knowledge and ideas.
I don't know about you...but they sound like a bunch of Socialists to me! Don't they know that government sponsored design groups, universal health care, and public universities don't work? The whole system is gonna fail and we're gonna be laughing at them from the U.S.of A when that happens......any day now....I can feel it!

Anyways, Platform 21 developed this concept called Repair Manifesto. Their moto "Stop recycling. Start reparing." It's all about repairing what you have....using your creativity.
Sounds a little fishy...I think this is a governement conspiracy to brainwash the people to make them think they're doing something good when in fact they're just trying to use the people for free labor.
Here are the 11 things on the Repair Manifesto: Read it (click photo) and you be the judge. I can't say that I'm totally convinced about this whole repair "manifesto" propaganda.
These chairs have been repaired with duct tape.....clever.....but have they been fully tested? are the child safe? pet safe? dishwasher safe? did they test it by locking bunch of cats in a room with those chairs and see how it holds up after a bunch of cats scratching on it? They failed to address any of that!And here we have cracked walls repaired with Lego blocks (concept by Jan Vormann, I wrote about him last December) You know what this means? This means that they're robbing every child in the Netherlands of their Legos in order do construction repairs for the city!! And look at the poor Asian lady slaving away....she was probably just a tourist that ended up getting forced to work for them! Unbelievable!
This one is just ridiculous....web repair advertisement using yarn on actual spider webs!! I almost died when I saw this. The concept and the story is just way too hilarious. I can just see the spiders getting pissed off waking up with a bunch of words on its web....Ahem, I mean this is serious. The Dutch are so poor that they have to infringe on the resources of a spider for advertisement!Now that you have a clear idea of what life is like in the Netherlands and how grim it is, doesn't it make you appreciate the life you have as an American? They're in such bad shape that they actually have to start using broken objects and repair them! Its just unthinkable!
As Americans we should REALLY be grateful of how privileged we are and how we can afford to buy new things and dispose of them even if they're not broken. The idea that someone has to use their tools, hands, and creativity to fix something is simply unrealistic!
I don't know about you but I got better things to do than fixing something with duct tape and hot glue.
I contribute to the world by educating my readers through my blog about important current issues like this (and few other issues like what awesome thing I got and want)

Sigh...It's only seeing how other parts of the world are suffering is when we realize how lucky we truly are as Americans to be living in the land of Freedom.....oh, and also Bald Eagles, too. They go hand in hand of course.


To the Dutch (if you're American born citizen, DO NOT read this!):
Ahem...Everything I said above about the Dutch and your country was all just an act for my American readers. It's okay, they don't know that both Dylan and I have been to Amsterdam and think it's the BEST place ever! I have to be extra harsh on you guys so we don't seem suspicious and "unpatriotic"...whatever that means.
So we're cool, right? I can go live in your country and hang out with your awesome people anytime, right?
What? No?! WHY NOT?!
GOD!! I'll do anything....I'll repair ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you want me to!!! I just wanna live in Amsterdam!!!! Please just let me live there!!! PLEEEEZE?!!!

Big Love for Big Knits

I love knitted, crocheted, laced things....but especially when they're enlarged and used in an unexpected context. As you know I hand-crochet a giant doily rug last December for JOIN:Design Seattle, and named it....Mega-Doily. (Don't judge because of the name. I'm not the most creative when it comes to naming things.)Since then, I've been getting links to all these other cooler knitted art/design/jewelery that totally puts my rug to shame! UGH! It's so unfair! People who try to make me look less cool totally suck! I wish my friends never sent me those links! It's as if they're indirectly saying "Hey check this stuff out! This reminds me of your rug, except your rug isn't nearly as cool as this! TTYL! XOXO! :D"
But despite my obvious jealousy-manifested hatred, I'm glad I saw them...cuz they are cool...I suppose....And I guess I SHOULD still share all this with everyone.

Okay, check these knits with gigantic upholstered tubes by Bauke Knottnerus.... Titled 'Phat Knit'. They are indeed phat and literally fat....like your MOTHER! OH! BURN!
This yellow knitted bench by Imaginary office has been making its way around the blogosphere. It's pretty awesome.....Like your MOTHER!...oh wait...that doesn't work. Crap!

But my jaw dropped when I saw these amazing series of knitted lamps with single strand of cord by a Korean artist, Kwangho Lee...I couldn't stop looking at them. It's simply brilliant and totally stunning. I love the more tangled ones, too. Lee has tons more other stuff that is beyond amazing....like your....ahhh- I give up.
Via come up to my room.

Elegant looking knitted necklaces from Jaclyn MayerAnd of course, who can resist Yokoo's edgy knitted accessories. I got a mustard scarf from her a while back, and am still totally in love with it. But now I'm dreaming about how I can rock the big knitted chain look....maybe if I wear my jeans backwards and sag them a little then I might be able to pull it off...hmm?
But I'm still warning all you out there who's trying to be better than me...watch your back! Because I'm totally gonna say angry things about you and make fun of your mother (when I get the hang of it) on the blog with my angry face!
Like this -->\ --/
Like this -->\ - >\ Or does that look more like an Asian face? Ugh! Double crap!