MATTER: BLOCKS REDUX

We can’t help but feature blocks here, once again. We’ve found a company that combines two of our interests: wood blocks and intentional communities, or utopias. The Bruderhof, a communal society founded in Germany, moved to Paraguay, and settled, finally, in North America (on several different sites or “hofs”), make their living with simple wood toys. If you’re interested in [...]

MATTER: OUR NEEDS

I have long held a fascination with objects designed for  ”special needs” populations.  Collectively, the range of our special needs is unspeakably large, but several companies are determined to satisfy them, with designs and objects that I find heartening; someone has considered our daily challenges and came up with a 4-foot shoehorn for those who [...]

Utopia: Shakers

The Shakers are famous for their bureaus, sewing tables, dressers, flat brooms, and boxes. One Shaker sister gave voice to the popularity (read: commodification) in a BBC documentary, titled “I Don’t Want to Be Remembered as a Chair. Some of us can think of worse legacies, of course.  

Few people know that aside from the fine furniture, the Shakers [...]