Good with Style

It's Complicated

 

 With about 7 weeks until my due date, I am in full blown nesting mode. I've been sifting, sorting, and getting rid of a ton of stuff--which is actually something I do on a regular basis because I can not stand to live with too much clutter. I can't stand living in a dirty space, and when you have to much stuff you really never can get your home as clean as possible. Which is why I am always trying to get rid of things we don't need. To make things especially complicated, I also have a tendency to hoard things that I think I can make into something interesting--such as CD Jewel Cases. Most of the projects in my last book come from my experiments with designing home accessories using repurposed materials. I'm drawn to things that can't be easily recycled--like most plastics. And things coated with plastic, like wire hangers. Yes, I know that the dry cleaner will reuse hangers you bring back to them. But that's called reusing, not recycling. Which is good of course, but also has it's limitations. Like, what happens if too many hangers are returned, or when the hanger is bent out of shape.  

So, I have a lot things like CD Jewel Cases, of them which I plan to make into things like this bookshelf light, but I have not yet done so. Which is where the sifting and sorting comes into play. Sometimes I feel like I'm just moving the same stuff around all of the time. Kind of oppressive. I guess if I weren't so lazy/tired/pregnant I'd go ahead and make the lights, put them in my Etsy shop and call it a day. But, for now, I'll just tuck them away and wait for inspiration/motivation to strike. Have a great day!

XO Emily 

 P.S. To learn how to make this awesome CD Jewel Case/Box Light, buy my book Eco Chic Home!

All This Happened, More or Less

Source: anneevamargriet.blogspot.com via Sara Kate on Pinterest

 

 

Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from the things she found in gift shops. (Slaughterhouse-Five)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Vonnegut.

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Used Shipping Paletts + Creative Business Ideas

 

Lately, I've noticed a lot of things being made out of shipping paletts...which makes sense. Paletts are made to carry very heavy things, but are usually discarded after whatever they've carried has been delivered. This bed is such a simple, fabulous idea I think I may need to try it. Now, I just need to have something really big and heavy delivered to me ;) Actually, a quick Google search yielded the "Container Exchanger" site. Brilliant. Now for the used paletts...apparently this is a BIG business! Who says American Industry isn't creating ingenuous business ideas every day? Not me.

Northwest Palett

Paletts by IFCO

Millwood Inc

Paletts Unlimited

 *Above image from Pia Jane Bizkirk via Apartment Therapy

Upcycled Screen Door for the Pantry

Source: google.com via Uncle on Pinterest

 

 

Sometimes I feel like I save things too frequently, thinking that I can up-cycle to turn it into some fabulous. As I've mentioned before, I often border on becoming a full-fledged hoarder. I have to work very hard to get rid of things, and to keep myself from acquiring too many things. But then I see something like this--A screen door for a pantry--how charming can you possibly get?

XO

Emily

getting ready for lift-off: say goodbye to the past

PHOTO: THE TORTOISE & THE HARE

I am feeling a little overwhelmed, but that seems to be my general state of being so I've decided to just start going with it and do my best. What else can anyone expect? After spending a mad week at my Grandmother's in Rock Island, Illinois cleaning out the house, all of the items I decided to keep arrived this past weekend here in New York. I had hoped to have a house by the time we got the stuff, but that's still pending. So, into storage everything went. What I wanted to share with you is the incredible relief mingled with sadness and grief I felt after the trip ended. Going through the house was like peeling back layers of an onion, and I most certainly could have spent many more days, weeks, even years sorting and sifting. In a way, it was a blessing that I only had five days to complete the task. Here are a few of the items I decided to keep:

1. The canopy bed that was my mother's and then mine, and now will be my daughter's.

2. A complete set of Royal Copenhagen vintage china.

3. Paul Revere cookware which I know is really old school, but I like to use it because it's what I learned to cook with.

4. All of the vintage clothes I could get my mitts on.

5. Every photo, letter, and family document I could find.

6. My mother's interior design folders--with her ideas, clippings, etc.

7. Several other family heirlooms that have more sentimental value than their material worth.

I would recommend this experience to anyone who has a chance to help unravel a loved one's physical presence after they are gone. I gained insight, had a few laughs, and most of all closed the book on a big chapter in my life. Having grown up around death for my entire life (my grandparent's were Funeral Directors)...I think I've always had a highly-developed sense of how important it is to live life to the fullest. But even when we are aware, the weight of our past can keep us from really soaring. But now I'm ready to fly--I even have my cape on--so let's go!

how to have an estate sale

I am on my way to the midwest for one last visit to my grandparent's house, a place where I spent a lot of time all through my life. It has always been what I consider to be my home, and this is a really hard thing to do. I've been putting it off, but there's no more time left because now we are going to be selling it. So whatever I do not take will be sold in an estate sale. I've been looking online for information about this process, and there is surprisingly little about what to do when a relative dies and you are left to take care of their home. To make matters more complicated, I live in New York, and my grandparent's home is in Rock Island, Illinois. So, I am going to fill up a 'POD' with whatever fits, and have that shipped to a storage facility here in NYC. I will do my best to be prudent, but it's very easy to let one's emotions to take over. My grandmother saved everything, in fact, she was a very organized hoarder. It must be genetic because I definitely have hoarding tendencies. I'll be thinking a lot about my attachment to things this week and trying to take less than I might want to. I mean, it's not like I can't get more stuff in the future if I want to . Afterall, there's always ebay, right?

XO

Emily

marie antoinette let them eat cake + shop the fleas

"Relax and Slip Your Pronouncing Eyes Like Cake..."

(Kirstin Dunst as Marie Antoinette)

Marie Antoinette is known for her love of cake, but did you know she is also famous for inventing the flea market? Well, sort of.

Legend has it that she was standing high above the place that would be known as Les Puces de Paris--The Paris Flea Market, looking down upon the crowd when she remarked "Oh but they look like little fleas." Or something like that.

 

Whether or not this really happened, one thing that is for certain true is the long and rich history of The Paris Flea Market, and all of its progeny.  

 

*This line of poetry is from:

A Domestic Film

by Amy King

 

This is the director’s cut,
a traveling space in the folded crook
of your plotted hand like silver night
on a thousand platters spreading westward,
then plywood. I watch the brittle flower spread,
almost mobile with her walking petal plans—

Feminine form to feminine prone,
relax and slip your pronouncing eyes
like cake, only softer and heated, across
the unmarried wife waving goodbye
to the silent screen world of strangers
safely baking on Dishwater Island.

 

my hashi reuseable chopsticks via @AplusRdesign

Japan has some other things to contend with at the moment, but one of their biggest eco-issues is the amount of chopsticks made and discarded each year--25 Billion per year, and 200 sets for every person! I love this cheery video about a reuseable alternative--My Hashi from Yuen'to (find other great items like this at A+R Design). Sushi and other Chopstick-worthy food is pretty common all over the world, so maybe we should all get in on this--plus, you'll be supporting a Japanese business which is pretty great too :) Check out how nicely designed this product is with sustainable packaging that is beautiful and functional. The packaging compliments and elevates the aesthetic of the product itself. I think this is what all product design should strive for, especially if it's supposed to be eco-friendly. XO Emily

Recycled iPod

 

What to do with my broken iPod? I could give it back to Apple to be recycled. Or maybe--remake it into a business card holder....

The Story Of Stuff

This is the best thing you can do with 21 minutes and 36 seconds of your time today.