Cool Stuff: Swallow Mobile

I'm still kind of annoyed at Roost, but dang if they don't just keep cranking out beautiful products.

This delicate branch-and-bird mobile (which reminds me a bit of Helen Ige's, but rendered in a much more three-dimensional way) is perfect for hanging in a window or a drab corner to hearken the arriving spring.

Crafted from hand-carved basswood swallows suspended from a real branch, the mobile is $140 right here.

Cool Stuff: New Roost Lighting

If you've read this blog with any regularity, you know how I feel about Roost. (And if not, in a nutshell: Swoon.)

I'm even willing to put aside the fact that Roost's PR chick has repeatedly ignored my requests for product info and images, and that the company reps practically slapped my hands away from their goodies when I was admiring them at last summer's San Francisco Gift Show. Annoying as those things may be, I'm not going to let them get in the way of my appreciation for Roost's really lovely products.

Anyway, the Sausalito design firm has lots of yummy new lighting out (such as the Bamboo Cloud Chandeliers above, $690 each), which I'm drooling over. Some of my favorite pieces:

Halo Chandelier, $270

Bird Cage Lamps, $230 to $270 each

Lotus Chandelier, $320 to $630

Shell Chandeliers, $650 each

Clear Glass Lamps, $130 each

Transit Lamps, $170 to $330

Articulated Nickel Lamp, $270

Roost lighting is available at Velocity Art + Design and Rian Rae, as well as from many other retailers.

eBay Find of the Day: Thomas Paul Pillow

eBay isn't all garage-sale scavengers selling off their dusty weekend finds: Sometimes, auction vendors are actual retailers -- both respected antiques dealers seeking to broaden their clientele and modern home-goods merchants clearing out space in their showrooms and warehouses or firesaling discontinued and slightly damaged goods.

Such is the case with Seattle's Velocity Art and Design, which currently has more than four dozen first- and seconds-quality items up for auction on eBay, including goods from Thomas Paul, Vitra, Chilewich, Jonathan Adler, and others. The items may not be perfect (though in many cases they are), but they are a great deal.

The discontinued Thomas Paul Istanbul silk pillow in aqua pictured above, for instance, originally retailed for $74. It has a barely noticeable, quarter-inch mark on the cover -- hence the bargain-basement price.

Current bid: $1. (Hurry -- the auction ends Tuesday.)

P.S. For more of my current eBay picks, scroll down to the eBay widget at the bottom of the page.

Deal of the Day: Velocity Art + Design

Today through Wednesday (November 26-28) only, Holiday Quick Ship items at Velocity Art + Design will be 25 percent off.

My Velocity gift picks:

Roost Porcelain Origami Swallow, $6.75 after discount

Bob's Your Uncle Eight-Days-a-Week Planner, $12 after discount

Perch! Hobknob Cups, $19.50 each after discount

Blik Sphere Wall Decal, $27 after discount

Dreamlets Uncle Plushie, $30 after discount

Matte Stephens Bird Diggity print, $37.50 after discount

Lorena Siminovich Owl Love print, $37.50 after discount

Ashely Goldberg Chit Chat print, $37.50 after discount

iBride Deer Tray, $44.25 after discount

Cerealart Tea Cup Set, $112.50 after discount

To take advantage of the three-day savings at Velocity, enter coupon code CHEERS2007 at checkout.

Cool Stuff: Molo Design Softseating

I was so intrigued by the Softseating at Oakland's FiveTen Studio that I wanted to give you all a closer look at this really clever product:

Created by Vancouver, British Columbia design studio Molo and constructed entirely from honeycombed, 50-percent-recycled kraft paper (or white textile material, as shown at top), the Softseating fans open into any number of shapes and configurations -- stools, poufs, benches, loungers, chaises, and even chairs, couches, and sectionals. It's like a Slinky you can sit on.

Each unit can also be linked to others with the aid of magnetic closures. Despite the inherent delicacy of the material, its honeycombed structure imparts amazing flexibility and strength -- it easily snakes into myriad shapes, loops over and around itself, and props against a wall or another unit to form contoured seating, all while supporting the weight of several adults. And when you don't need it, simply fold the seating flat and store it away.

It's simple, sculptural -- and, if you ask me, sheer genius. I'm not the only one who thinks so, either: The Softseating collection was just acquired by New York's Museum of Modern Art for its permanent collection.

Molo Design's kraft paper Softseating comes in eight sizes in either natural or black, and is available online from Velocity for $120 to $2,370 per piece.

Cool Stuff: Roost

This weekend I picked up one of these pretty perching birds at Mignonne (also available for $7 here), and it reminded me how much I love Roost's products.

The Sausalito, California design shop produces handmade items that share a delicate beauty and an organic sensibility that's inspired by the forms, textures, and inhabitants of the natural word.

I wish Roost had an online store with all of its offerings in one place -- but for now, you have to search around a bit to find the company's designs. (That said, Velocity has a pretty good selection, and both VivaTerra and the Well Dressed Home have a few Roost items.)

I've blogged about Roost's porcelain blooms before (sadly, they no longer seem to be available). Here are some of my favorites among Roost's other designs:

Porcelain Bell Lamps, $99 to $187, from Velocity Art and Design

Cebu Sphere Lamps, $363 to $605, from Velocity

Log Votive and Vases, $22 to $106, and Owl, $27, from Velocity

Arbor Votive, $20, from Velocity

Glass Bird Vases, $39 for two, from VivaTerra

Love Nest With Glass Eggs, $42, from VivaTerra

Porcelain Pear Vases, $59 for three, from VivaTerra

Hourglasses, $24 each, from Figments

Nick and Nora Artist's Hand Models, $60 for the set, from the Well Dressed Home

Ice Poppy Bowl, $48, from the Well Dressed Home

These photos were featured on Roost's site, but I wasn't able to track down these products for sale anywhere out there on the Interwebs. (If you know where to find 'em, please let me know!)

Finally, both of these items came up on a search for "Roost" on the Well Dressed Home, and while I'm not 100% positive that they're actually Roost products, they certainly share the same sensibility:
Five-piece Porcelain Mushroom Set, $48

Maple Porcelain Votive and Dish, $14 and $22

Trendspotting: Mah-velous Melamine

Melamine tableware has been around forever (it was standard issue in military mess halls during World War II). But lately these lowly, lightweight plastic plates have taken on a decidedly glamorous look.

There are plenty of fun, kitschy designs out there, too, of course -- Pop Ink has some great ones, for instance. But these newer patterns are luxe enough to use for more formal occasions as well as for casual dining on the patio. (I recently trotted out my Working Class Studio Ironworks Plates -- below, $6 each -- for a dinner party and got nothing but compliments on them.)

So in honor of the official start of summer, here's a collection of melamine plates that will glam up your next picnic or barbecue -- and look just as great on a candlelit dinner table:

Jackie Shapiro French Bull Ring ($45 for four), Crush ($39 for four), and Mosaic Dinner Plates ($45 for four), available from Plum Party.

Bongenre's Winchester Mandala ($40 for four), Louis ($45 for four), Tangier Sun ($40 for four), Coral ($45 for four), and Wilde's Lacunuae ($45 for four) 12-Inch Plates.

Pop Ink Wallpaper Plates ($40 for four), available from Velocity Art and Design.

Fish Pond Buffet Plates ($24 for four), from Anthropologie.

Jonathan Adler Origami Salad Plate ($10), Peacock Salad Plate ($10), and Origami Dinner Plate ($14).

Thomas Paul Coral ($29 for four) and Folk ($36 for four) Dinner Plate Sets, available from Velocity Art and Design.

Thomas Paul Gothic Dinner Plates ($36 for four) and Gothic Tray ($18), available from Elsewares.

Metallic Spiral Salad Plates ($15 for six), Metallic Dinnerware Collection ($15 to 18), Fusion Dinner Plates ($24 for four), and Red/Gold Dinner Plates ($12 for three), from Target.