Thomas Paul's new scrimshaw collection- they've arrived!

We have done so well with Thomas Paul's melamine plates. The sea life collection of dinner and dessert plates, turtle tray and coasters continue to be our best sellers. So we were thrilled when we saw Thomas Paul's new scrimshaw melamine collection; we think they are a sophisticated update and we've been waiting for them to arrive! There are 11" dinner plates, 9" dessert plates, 4 1/2" coasters and a wonderful whale tray. They are navy and white and depict lovely illustrations of an anchor, ship, pelican, lighthouse and a whale. The coasters are sailing knots. Except for the tray, the plates and coasters are all available as sets of 4 (with all different images). We love them and we know you will enjoy giving them as hostess, wedding or birthday gifts or keeping them for yourself! They are in stock and ready to ship!

Wedneday's Vintage obsession- Lucy + Ellen

In tribute to their Grandmothers (Lucy and Ellen), Kristen and Jennifer started this amazing Etsy vintage shop in spring of this year. It is a beautiful collection of feminine, well-priced great vintage finds and I want them all! They believe that what "truly brings a space to life are the one-of-a-kind items that you cannot find everyday" and I agree! Will you look at the cute little pink bank! Adorable.

the bohemian baby . . . Rikshaw Design

Catherine Fitzsimmons, founder of Rikshaw Design, is one "cool chicky" (as my daughter would say). She's led a life of adventure and travel- she's experienced the glamour of Paris, the beauty of Cape Cod (from the view of a bike), the simply joys of life on a Western dude ranch and the freedom of backpacking across Europe. Her recent positions at Pottery Barn and Ralph Lauren took her to her newfound love- India- where she was taken by the beauty and vibrant colors of India's textiles and block-printing techniques. And in 2008, she used that textile art to create an amazing collection of baby crib bedding, accessories and now clothes that is like no other baby line I know of. The colors are gorgeous. The prints- delicate and fun and the whole look just perfect. So if you are a little sick of smocked dresses, pink polka dots and embroidered sailboats and really drool over John Robshaw and Roberta Freyman (as I do) then this line is perfect for you! We now carry blankets, bib / burp sets, kurtas (tops), bloomers and sunhats. The line has already been quite hot and mentioned in many great blogs and magazines including a recent "shout-out" by Daily Candy. We just absolutely love this line and know you will too!

The fabulous "Kate"

Check this out- the MZ Wallace fabulous "carry-all" Kate bag is the winner of the best travel accessory in Travel + Leisure's 2010 Design Awards! It is truly an amazing bag with pockets and room for everything. It makes a great diaper bag as it comes with a changing pad and has convenient pockets on the side for bottles or sippy cups but it is also a terrific overnight or gym bag and it's a perfect "carry-on" bag for traveling. We offer it in black and pearl for spring. So fun. So practical.

5 reasons why we love Chickiddie's really cool baby blankets

Chickiddie is a small company (we love small companies- oh I should be counting- that's # 1) started by two friends with a passion for great design and color and perhaps looking for a creative outlet in their lives. Sarina Galu used a quilt that she received as a baby gift for her son- Tucker as inspiration. She loved its vintage feeling and she loved that Tucker cherished that quilt as much as she did. She and her friend, Nicole Intile (who has an extensive background in design, namely at Ralph Lauren) fell in love with some amazing fabrics at the ultra chic fabric and yarn shop, Purl Soho in NYC. They created a quilt that has a vintage feeling with sweet fabrics but has a modern construction (we love modern interpretations of old crafts, #2). The panels are larger than most quilts, giving the quilt a clean (less busy) look. But the color combinations are just fabulous (#3)- browns with green, bright purples with orange, mustard yellow with turquoise- they are not traditional but so fresh. After observing her son drag his precious quilt all around the house- Sarina came up with adding a ribbon in the corner of the Chickiddie quilt to allow the opposite end to be pulled through. This shortens the quilt so he can still carry it but not drag it- we love this brilliant concept (#4). They are all lovingly hand made to order and some fabric choices may be slightly different than photographed but Sarina and Nicole have a great eye and you will be pleased with the final creation (#5- we love handmade)! These blankets make a wonderful gift for a new baby that will be cherished for years to come.

Select candles on sale! Relax for less!

The holidays may be over but our lives still seem to be crazy. . . well, at least mine is. This is the time when we attend multiple trade shows to search for unique product for spring, summer and even the fall. It's also a busy time socially and then there is school stuff for the kids and summer camp to think about. Look, I'm not complaining. I'm so grateful. I can't stand when moms complain about all the driving they need to do for all their kids activities- as if they are being tortured (certainly fighting kids in the back seat can feel like torture). But, they chose all those activities for their kids- no one forced them to sign them up. And they should also be grateful for being able to afford all those classes, sports and the incredible amount of gear that is required. I do believe kids are way over-scheduled! They don't know what to do when they are at home, by themselves. I think a little boredom is healthy- it spurs the imagination. I have to do camp because it gives my time to work but I would love it if they were just running around outside all day- exploring, discovering, pretending, etc. Anyway, I digress - this post is supposed to be about candles. Candles provide a great source of relaxation. Light one and take a hot bath- with a cup of tea or cuddle up with a good book. I'm reading a great book called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Or, listen to some relaxing music- one of my absolute favorites pieces of music is Yo Yo Ma's version of the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite, Number 1. It is slightly over played now that American Express used it for their most recent ad campaign. I first heard it in the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with Russell Crowe. They played this music while filming the Galapagos Island- just beautiful. Or light a candle and meditate. This is something I'd like to to learn how to do this year. Sounds strange to say that you have to learn how to meditate- but I don't think it comes naturally. Check out this great post from Gwyneth Paltrow's blog called Goop about meditation.

Lastly, if you are like me, you are cooking a lot of comfort food- casseroles, soups. The smell of onions can just linger terribly. Lighting a candles helps rid the house of that odor. Our candles are as much of as 50% off! Click here.

Finally back . . . check out See Design by Donna Gorman

Aaaaah. I'm finally back to blogging. We had a very busy holiday season and I just could not fit in blogging which was so sad to me because I actually do enjoy it. There is always so much to talk about but it is just so hard to make the time to do it! Today I want to put a little shout out to Donna Gorman who designed our new line of casual, beach accessories called See Design. Donna Gorman, former designer and Vice President of the Finnish textile design house, Merimekko is quite a talented and fascinating woman. She left in 1992 to start her own design company with Merimekko as her first client. Since then she has consulted for Crate and Barrel, Target and Dansk, among others. Her aesthetic is clean, modern, sleek and very, very colorful. She was initially trained as a photojournalist and still travels to some pretty exotic places (Morocco, rural Mexico and India) to take photographs of anything and everything that she sees in daily life. Those photos eventually serve as inspiration for a textile design. She has been interviewed for some great magazines, such as Cookie, I.D Magazine, Abitare and most recently Metropolitan Home where her vacation home in Puerto Rico was featured on the cover. See pictures below. Her first book has already been published by William Morrow, called the "Artful Table."


Her home in Puerto Rico - just where I'd like to be right now!


Lastly, her design work is part of a permanent collection of the Museum of Applied Arts in Munich, Germany.

We picked up some great pieces from her new line called See Design. They are fresh, fun and very well-priced, perfect for your next warm-weather vacation or for your trips to the beach or pool. The tote holds a ton! The cosmetic bag is a great size, big enough for some shampoo / conditioner bottles and great for year round.

Check out See Design, click here.