The power of the label: When you’re young, your teacher shows you how to identify and label things. Kindergarten classrooms are filled with cheerful bins that are labeled: rectangular blocks and round blocks; felt; bottle tops; keys. I loved these labels then and I still love them now. Each summer we went to camp, we labeled our clothes, sewing tags in with our names, pre-printed. Look how the labels below transform the contents of the jars.

I admit, I buy wine based on the labels:

For years, I bought this wine because of the label (I happen to like the taste, too…):

In the “not necessary, but beautiful” category:

Ceramic!

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Please join us at Neocon, on June 14-16. We’ll be showing off our new table and chairs in Suite 1800, in the Merchandise Mart. See you there!

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Most summers, I hope to spend some time sailing. If I’m not going to make it to the water, I can console myself with some nautical gear, such as bags made out  of sail cloths.

Or, if you prefer, you can sail on land:

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We’re pleased to introduce the Stal Dining Table and the New Hampshire Chair!

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When these nesting tables appeared on Apartment Therapy’s site, a while back, we went into an Albers trance.

It made me want to dust off my copy of Study for Homage to a Square.

Do you think new color theorists will make it into the canon? Do they still exist?

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This day trip is figurative. I’ve been traveling (virtually) to Australia, peering into beautiful homes featured on Design Files, and thinking about what is quintessentially Australian about these homes. Though they differ from one another, they are decidedly not-America. Which do you like best?

Leila Sanderson’s home:

or:

Mandy Munro of Tractor Home:

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I laid eyes on this ceramic speaker, here, and discovered a whole exhibit of ceramic speakers. I missed the event, but take a minute to scroll through this list of designers. Joey Roth’s speaker is drool-worthy.

Recently, I noticed some other beautiful speaker designs, at MOMA, like these speech bubble speakers:

I’m also a fan of these collapsible MUJI cardboard speakers:

It helps with productivity to be surrounded by beautiful sound, which reminds me that we are due for another mix soon. What do you like to listen to when you work?

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Please join us for a discussion on Defining the New Luxury: A Luxury Market in the New Post-recession World. May 12, 2pm at the David Sutherland Showroom

Alan M. Siegel, partner in the law firm of Levy Sonet & Siegel, LLP and serves as national legal counsel to the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc., will moderate a panel of design manufacturers about the trends in a new luxury market. With a new sense of optimism, clients are wetting their toes in pools of silk and splashing about in custom sectionals and extension tables. But the cautious behavior of the past decade remains. There seems to be a greater appreciation of permanence – of choosing products for the home that do not merely speak of the client’s wealth, but of products that speak of timelessness and quality. The panel includes: furniture manufacturer, Maxine Snider, custom rug manufacturer, Vera Za’arour, and, textile manufacturer, Katerina Tana.

May 12, 2pm at the David Sutherland Showroom, Suite 813, the D&D Bldg.

979 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022 222 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022 212-759-5408 www.ddbuilding.com

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File this one away under “news” or “easier,” since any renter in the city might appreciate decals that afford the look of hand-stenciled lettering on the walls, with no need to cover them up when you move out. Design sponge featured Shanna Murray’s decals this morning, and they caught our attention. We’ve seen other decals we like, but Shanna’s are a notch above, in that they appear to be hand-painted. I like the use of the stencil as a frame!

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To remind you, the “Easier” feature of this blog is intended to give you a few ideas to make your life easier. This tip will only improve your life if you’re willing to spend money on the classic Uten Silo Wall Tidy. Designed in the late 1960’s, the wall tidy has not lost its cool–or its function. If you’re feeling extremely nostalgic, look into the chrome “special edition.”

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