Clever and Creative Products

FOOT IN THE DOOR
we ALL need a foot in the door
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EQUAL MEASURE
kitchen measurements in a whole new light
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LUCKEY
the key to thirst
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FINGERFOOD
ultimate party multi-tasking
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PICK YOUR NOSE™ PARTY ANIMALS
turn your nose into something WILD
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FOOD FACE
make faces at the table
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New Apartment Pics

It's been challenging to say the least to work on decorating my apartment while keeping up with all my other work projects.  That's definitely why only one side is finished or maybe I should say mostly finished.  I am sure I will make more changes and move things around as I continue around the room.

I am so happy that I purchased the John Widdicomb dresser or commode depending on how fancy you want to sound. I love that the word commode comes from the French word for "convenient" and the drawers on this piece are very convenient.  I like having place for your eye to rest when hanging art which is why there is a bare spot above the lamp but that might change as I add more artwork to my collection.

I also tried to make the television blend into the art installation so it is less prominent. The piece in the black frame might be swapped out after I get another piece of art in my collection framed.

I bought this painting from Belgium on eBay and it is one of my favorites. The little brown leather box with the gold embossed lion contains two sets of playing cards from Piatnik and were made in Austria.  I'm going to have to pull them out and photograph them because the face cards feature royalty including Marie Antoinette, Louis XIV, Maria Theresia, and even Count Axel von Fersen.

Kelly Wearstler's book Hue is also a favorite.

I couldn't think of a better place to hang my Marie Antoinette etching than above my favorite blue chair.  Technically it's from Belgium (via Jayson Home & Garden) but looks French enough.  There seemed to be too much space between the chair and picture so I hung one of my new red Willow plates that I bought while visiting home recently.

As I mentioned, the drawers in the John Widdicomb dresser are very convenient and the second drawer now holds all my stationery, paper products, and ribbon.

I tried using this chair at my desk but it's a bit fragile which is fine.  I think it's more fun to look at it than sit on it anyway.

In my move, I finally found my calligraphy pen and ink.  I also can't wait to use my new orange Smythson notebook that was a lovely gift from the company. 

The bench fits perfectly in front of the bookshelves as I knew it would when I picked it up at the flea market this weekend.

I bought this little painting on eBay as well and wish I could find the artist again.  I just love looking at it.  I just read an article that mentioned scientific research that concluded that "looking at art induces the same feelings of pleasure as being in love."

My bookshelves again.  I'm waiting for a pair for the other side of the room so I can finally unpack the rest of my books.

My prized pile of old Domino magazines.  Yes, I have doubles of some issues and no, you can't have them.

There is a funny story about this painting of a house on the other side of the room.  My parents own this same painting and when I asked if I could have it, they said no.  But my mother commissioned the artist to paint me my own version.  As an only child, this means I will have two of the exact same painting someday which always makes me laugh.

I bought the painting on the left also on eBay for probably not more than $30.  It reminds me of Van Gogh and also makes me happy when I look at it, or maybe it's love if that recent research is to be believed.  The back has a stamp from the Thompson Art Gallery c/o Thompson & Basile, 20 Cornelia St. NYC. It also has tape on it from the Tribune Subway Gallery with the phone number Wisconsin 7-4899.  Very old school and dates the painting to around the mid 1940's.  The other is just a post card in a vintage frame.

I love the sound of my Bose iPod dock.

More books.

My current inspiration board near my desk.  I need to work on that area next and have the skirt made.

I think the chicest thing you could buy for yourself or as a gift are monogrammed matchboxes from ForYourParty.  I love giving them out at events and using them in my apartment. The absolute best thing about my new apartment though is the south facing front windows.  They certainly make up for the one that faces the brick wall in the microscopic kitchen. 

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

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Blass Act

Since I mentioned fashion designer Bill Blass in my last post, I thought his One Sutton Place apartment deserved a little love.  I've found a lot more photos of the elegant apartment since I first wrote about it in 2008.  I still love his quote about interior design, "I have always thought that fashion designers are the best interior designers. I love it. It's all a question of the eye; you are soliciting the same innate talent."

"There is nothing feminine about that apartment on Sutton Place or the Connecticut house.  There's nothing feminine about the way he entertains.  The flowers are not feminine.  There's just a bunch of one of a kind." - Mica Ertugun

"There's no question that I find houses and decorating absolutely fascinating.  That really turns me on. That's when I get excited." - Bill Blass

Blass worked on the One Sutton Place apartment with Chessy Rayner and Mica Ertugun of the interior design firm MAC II.

As any apartment does, it went through changes over the years and his famous Picasso drawing replaced a map over the fireplace.

I might have to go back to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to see if left them this head.

"There is a sense of dignity, a simplicity and a classicism in my clothes which can be read into the apartment. As I am surrounded with colours and fabric all day I look forward to a monochromatic home. I work in fashion - I don't want to live somewhere that looks fashionable." - Bill Blass

"I moved in solely because of the height of the ceilings and the size of the rooms, and because they were square. I mean, square is the perfect shape for a room." - Bill Blass

"I absolutely believe in Pauline de Rothchild's theory that lamps are the most jarring note in almost any home.  She only brought them out at night when they were needed.  Otherwise, they were to be banished, like the Hoover sweeper." - Bill Blass

"What I have here is the result of a lifetime of collecting. There is no relationship between the things themselves - except that I like them. You know how American women choose to wear a dress and invest it with their own spirit: I admire that sort of philosophy, and when I collect things, I choose how they are going to look in my life. The way I decorated here was to surround myself with the things I love...and they all have great dignity. And although I choose all the furniture and pictures, I did, as a bachelor, seek out a woman to put it all together...I had the advice of Chessy Rayner." - Bill Blass

 

Drawing of Bill Blass bedroom by Jeremiah Goodman

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