Colorful Noodles, anybody?

They sure look pretty. I wonder if they'd taste as yummy. The noodles seem to use all natural colors, as mentioned in this Google translated page. One pack comes in 5 different colors. Available at Story Shop, Korea.

Orla Kiely™ for Target

A friend of mine told me about the good news this morning. Yes, I know... I've been away from the blogland waaaay too long. ;-) Target® introduces Orla Kiely™ for Target, an exclusive home décor collection.The assortment will be available February 1st for a limited time at Target stores with select items available on Target.com. Please read its press releases here.



A recent check on Target.com however, mentioned the collection is coming on February 15th. So I guess, you just have to try your luck and set your eyes on this page or the Target store near you, if you don't want to miss them. Happy hunting!



Thanks, Venina!

New from BG SHOP, Japan

I blogged about BG SHOP before, but only on their recent newsletter that I found out about their new products, like Sori Yanagi Fabrics, Plywood Wine Rack, or that clever display pockets, or those adorable cookie cutters (not shown here). And not to be missed, their gorgeous retro pouches. Click here to see them all. Enjoy!

er, that rectangular thing...

I saw "that rectangular thing" almost everywhere in Sweden. I spotted it again on Holly's Stockholm pictures last month. I didn't really know what it was, or what it was used for. Still, I bought 4 pieces of "that rectangular thing" (pic: left) at Nordiska Museet, each was priced SEK 20, or around USD 3. So you see, how could you resist pretty things in low prices? ;-)

I gave all four to my sister when I went back to Jakarta last August, and as I guessed it, she asked me what it was. I answered her something like this, "oh, I have no idea! It looks pretty, and it's good enough for wall decor, good enough for placemat, or even coaster. You don't want them? I'll take them back, if you don't want them". Then she said, "oh no, no, no, I'll keep them. I think I'd use them for wall decor". Another similar conversation took place again when my mom asked me the same thing. And she raised a much clever idea, "oh yeah, you can use it as flower pot pad, too". Isn't it amazing that rectangular thing has given birth to plenty creative ideas in my family?

So it was a nice surprise(!) to receive another of that rectangular thing from Anneli of Flitiga Myran (pic: right) last September. Without hesitation, I emailed Anneli to solve the mystery of that rectangular thing, and of course, to say thank you for the gift, too. :)

When my sister came here 2 weeks ago, I asked her to bring that rectangular thing along, so that I could snap a picture of the two rectangular things together. My conversation with my sis went on like this, "Could you bring that rectangular thing I brought you from Sweden? You know, the one with blue baroque wallpaper print on it". Puzzled, she said, "Hmm, what rectangular thing?". At the end, she brought me everything that has blue prints on it, including a dish towel. :) Well, it's a rectangle and it has blue pattern on it. Who could've blamed her? I'd do the same if I was her. That rectangular thing is just so mind-boggling.


So here they are. Below is Anneli's answer to my question.

"We call them dishcloth, and we use them to wipe the sink, the kitchen table, the stove etc. Rinse it in water, add just a drop of dish washing liquid and start to wipe. :) You can use it in the bathroom as well. If it gets dirty or starts to smell you can wash it either in the dishwasher or in the washing machine (60 degrees C)".

"It's funny how every day routines seem to look so different around the world, when it comes to things we use. In Australia, they always use Scotch-Brite. Here we use a brush to clean the dishes".

There you go. The mystery has been solved. It's a cleaning pad, it works just like Scotch-Brite! I wouldn't have guessed it. It's just too good-looking to be used as a cleaning pad. :)

And yes, we use Scotch-Brite here, too, pretty much for everything (sink, dishes, stove, kitchen table, bathup, bathroom wall tiles). We also apply a drop of dish washing liquid on the Scotch-Brite. We use damp kitchen towels to wipe any tables in the house, but we seldom use the dish washing liquid on it (unless if the table was rather sticky or oily).

So I learnt something new, thanks again to Anneli. :)

tools you bake

"tools you bake" was created by designers, Hrafnkell Birgisson and Sebastian Summa, for metal goods manufacturer Hugo Bräuer.


Hundreds of wooden moulds, used in the making of hubcaps, lids or shades, have accumulated in the stock shelves of Hugo Bräuer. Together with craftman Thomas Bräuer and pastry chef Martina Griese, the designers transformed these moulds into "tools you bake", a series of six aluminium baking tins.


Click here to read the interview with designers, Hrafnkell Birgisson and Sebastian Summa. Don't miss the recipes for "tools you bake" available at Hugo Bräuer. Feeling like baking now? :)

(via Iceland Design)

Kitchen & Bath, anyone?

Melissa of K+BB (Kitchen and Bath Business) emailed me sometime ago, asking me to check out kkbonline.com. So I did.

K+BB is a business to business magazine for designers, architects, custom builders, and remodelers, published by Nielsen Business Media, Inc. K+BB magazine features cutting-edge design installations, new products, business developments, industry personalities, best practices and solid market research.

Here are few links I found via K+BB:

Ceramica Bardelli designer tiles

(left) Primavera by Tord Boontje; (right) tema e variazione by Piero Fornasetti

Hakatai mosaic murals

And don't miss their mosaic glass tiles in yummy colors!

e-kale Reptile Snake tiles

Hmm, I love this kind of snake. :) Brilliantly gorgeous, aren't they?

To read more of K+BB, click here. And oh btw, K+BB has just recently launched K+BB Green blog, go and check it out!


Thanks, Melissa!

New from MOZI

I posted about MOZI, Australia, last December, and they were kind enough to include me in their October newsletter mailing list. I guess I should've looked up regularly for new items from the designers/stores I posted here before. Thanks to MOZI for the good reminder.


It's actually quite easy to pick favorites from MOZI's new arrivals. I'm loving their medina apron, peacock brooch, designer panels, and all the cute christmas decoration deers. I'm getting greedy here. :)


I'm sure Danielle (MOZI agent for Singapore) would have the new collection here soon. I know Antropology and Egg3 have some MOZI products in their stores now. So watch out folks, these new goodies are making their way to our local stores. ;-)

Cutting Scale by Jim Termeer & Jess Giffin

I don't normally post kitchen items here, other than this toaster, but this cutting scale is really something I'd want for myself. Designed by US designers, Jim Termeer and Jess Giffin, the cutting scale is a concept for a cutting board that has an integrated scale within a defined area on its surface. It won third prize Your Way to Coway, International Kitchen + Environment Design Competition 2006 sponsored by Designboom with Bussel, Milan, Italy. This will certainly speed up the whole cooking process.

FinnishDesignShop

If you haven't been checking Design Finland lately, then you should. Through links found on this blog, you could find numerous finnish designers and manufacturers. For a start, you could try FinnishDesignShop. I particularly like the Oka hanging coat rack (it hangs from ceiling! so cool!), Seth Andersson Salad Servers, Nanso Bedlinen, and ORIGO aprons.


And if you're a bag lover, don't miss Cho Cho bags by Finnish textile designer Kirsi Paivaniemi. Happy Browsing!

BG SHOP, Japan

Here's one Japanese company, BG SHOP, who offers plenty of beauuuutiful things. Yup, I said plenty! :) I like their wall panels made of north European and Japanese textiles / vintage wallpapers, their collectibles, their much-sought-after vintage fabric bags, the cute bird vase, and that stripy aprons. Geez.., I'm so greedy! Good for my husband that I can't read Japanese! haha! :P