Shoppin’ and Junkin’ – Page 28

Now That’s Smokin’

Incense gets a bad rap.Â A beautiful, scented candle is nice, but at $40 a pop…froogs need alternatives.Â No, I’m not a hippie who drenches myself in patchouli.Â I do, however, think a nice bit of cedar or sandalwood incense can make the room feel cozy and fresh at the same time.Â Whatever your preference, if you use incense and are always tucking it behind vases etc.. so it’s not visible…I have found the solution.Â No more dregs of ash spilling over your dish if you use sticks…(cones are so much neater anyway). This little gem designed by Jan Harman is $39 on Gnr8.Â Made of beech and stainless steel, it’s a mini modern wonder.

Glossy and Smooooooth Panton!

Verner Panton’s 1968 “S” chair is one of the more copied items in the knock-off underworld.Â Problem with them was the texture.Â All I ever saw was a piece of injection molded plastic with a grainy, nubby texture instead of the smooth, glossy look of the original (which had fiberglass coating).Â Looks as though some retailers have finally gotten the look right.Â Still stackable etc…but not $1400 each like the authentic re-issues…how about $175 each?Â I talked with the guys at White on White to verify this latest version they just got in stock was indeed the smooth finish….it is!

Modern Dose is showing a special online for the S chair as buy one get one free for $265.Â I couldn ‘t get anyone on the phone to verify it for me though! Modern Dose claims their chairs are a single piece of molded plastic and come in black, white and red, with both matte or glossy finish.Â White’s are fiberglass in orange, green and white.Â Personally, I think the White version will be the better chair, but I also feel obligated to share any other deals I know of out there.

Nelson-esque Desk

Good news!Â CB2 has just issued their version of George Nelson’s 1958 swag leg desk for Herman Miller – for $299.00.

CSI Style

By now, many of you have probably seen the DNA art and more recent fingerprint art from DNA11 .Â Great idea, still a bit pricey, but cool.Â For your own fingerprint, I’d recommend buying Photoshop or another good photo editing program and taking your print to be professionally output at a photo store or a sign company for an oversized piece.Â For less than half the price you’d pay for one print from DNA11, you’d have the program to make other things for years.

If it’s not your own fingerprint that’s so important, just the look, then some other alternatives are available.Â Ferm Living has a wall sticker of a single print that is quite striking for $96. For a more abstract and artistic approach – I love the print by Ky Anderson from 20 x 200.

Keep ’em Guessing

Need a fun, unpretentious Valentine’s Day gift?Â Talk about a bargain, Fred Flare’s ring yes, no, maybe is pretty cute, not to mention and big and chunky to give it the mod vibe.

I love the idea of the groovy OrienTales box filled with something personal from Unica. Designed for Alessi, this whole line is fun and affordable.Â Check out the egg cups on their site.

Lucite and Zebrawood Table

I really wanted a Karl Springer lucite table, but kept getting outbid by interior designers on e-bay every time a good one came around.Â So I gave up that approach and started thinking about how I can finagle a new glam coffee table for no more than $200-$250.Â I found the lucite base on e-bay – came with a giant glass top that made it look oh, so 80’s…but I was able to purchase just the base.

Next came making our own top….In discussions with my crafty counterpart – he decides 2 pieces of MDF glued together is the perfect base on which to apply our veneer.Â I went to the local woodworkers shop and picked out a nice piece of zebrawood veneer – from there, we built the tabletop to be the exact width of the veneer so we won’t have any seams on the top. We cut small strips to use on the sides and left the underside alone. Sealed with a few coats of polyurethane and it’s done.