Curiosities: Metroship Houseboat

The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book came in the mail the other day, and the first order of business was to skip all the clothing and look for those notoriously expensive pipe dream gifts. Enter the Metroship Houseboat. Now, boats have held a certain charm for me since I saw the movie Houseboat starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. The Metroship Houseboat...well, it sort of (get ready for the pun) blew the other one out of the water. For $250,000 you get a sleek, modern vessel, replete with hardwood floors, double paned glass windows, a W hotel bed, and a gourmet kitchen. It's not huge (48' x 12', with 7' ceilings), but it's a cozy getaway for two. Just don't forget to bring the credit card or bricks of gold.

Curiosities: Portland General Store Smelling Salts

What a fun (and useful) little find. I love the vintage look of the bottle, recalling the days when elegant (and swooning) women's eyelids fluttered open after inhaling these types of salts. These days, I can see this bottle being invaluable during stifling airplane trips and long car rides. It's also a fun little accessory to have on your vanity table. At $5 each, the price is right, too!

Curiosities: Perfumed Bubbles

I've been doing a lot of traveling lately for Girl Of All Work, and while skimming through an inflight magazine, I came across this fun curiosity: perfumed bubbles by acclaimed Parisian perfumer, Francis Kurkdijan. Kurkdijan is known for his "fragrance installation" at Versailles— a display of light, sound, and fragrance. Now, you can experience a bit of his magic with Les Bulles d'Agathe, pocket-sized vials of perfume/bubble solution. Released by his fragrance house (Maison Francis Kurkdijan) and sold at Neiman Marcus, these amazing creations come in three scents: pear, cold mint, and cut herbs.  Available here for $18.

Curiosities: Roomba Art

Talk about the combination of 2 of my favorite things: cleanliness and art.

Curiosities: Claudia Hapeman Masks

With Halloween around the bend, these beautiful Venetian-inspired masks would be a breath of fresh air amidst all the tired witches, goblins, and sexy nurses/cats/barmaids. Each mask is created with quality materials (think Swarovski crystals and gold leaf) by renowned artist Claudia Hapeman. I love her extravagant use of lush feathers and sequins, which makes each piece an impressive piece of art. After Halloween, prop up your mask on a bookshelf or a bedroom vanity to add a dramatic flair to your room.

(photos via socaldesignco.com)

Curiosities: Making of a Dog

Last Saturday, I spent an afternoon at Gallery Hanahou in Soho, NYC, making a hand-sewn mechanical dog.  A small group made up of designers and inexperienced people like me gathered around a long table in the gallery space and, surrounded by the exhibited artwork of Ossu Shugeibu, a Japanese crafting club, we set about "skinning" the poor furry toy dogs whose moving skeletons would serve as the foundation for our own creations.   This sounds awful but is actually a terrific way to bypass the daunting gadgetry challenges of creating a mechanical toy and just move into the creative aesthetics of the process.  By the end of the workshop, the group of us (some of whom had truly limited sewing skills) had turned out an eclectic array of dogs and dog hybrids with parti-colored appendages (a few proudly bore limbs constructed of men's plaid boxer shorts).   We marched them down to the front of the gallery building and took them for a short walk on the street.  You can click here for more pictures (photos via Gallery Hanahou).

Curiosities: Name My Tune

So, you're sitting in traffic and a fragment of a melody pops into your head. You don't remember what the song is, but you know, it goes like this: Dah. Dum. Dum. Dah! You call your friends singing that little phrase. You get nothing, except maybe aggravation and a suggestion to focus on your driving. That's where Name My Tune comes in handy!  You can jump on this website, record your little diddy and send it out to the masses for tune recognition (using something as simple as your built in mic). You'll get emailed suggestions of tunes and artists. An invaluable resource to cure that it's-at-the-tip-of-my-tongue syndrome.

Curiosities: Smarin

I have never coveted pillows to the degree that I covet these amazing creations by Smarin. They're aptly named "living stones" because they simply invite interaction. I was also smitten with their raindrop garden furniture that looks like it lights up at night. Check on their website for U.S. retailers. So many fantastic and creative designs. I'm floored.

(photo via Smarin)

Curiosities: Yummy Colors

Every year, during catalogue time, I'm faced with the daunting task of having to name product colors. It can be either a fun exercise or an agonizing process, and the funny thing is, I'm not quite sure if anyone really notices!  But, in my experience, stationery lovers tend to notice the little details, and I wouldn't feel quite right about sending off my creation into the world without a proper color assignation. If I think my task is challenging, I can't imagine what the creative teams for paint manufacturers must face during new color launches. I popped onto Behr and Valspar websites the other night, browsing for new wall paint and saw some really creative solutions centered around food.

Curiosities: Follow Your Nose through NY

I go to New York at least once a year, and while I'm walking, say, those 6 blocks to my destination, I catch a whiff of the most delectable smells. Right before I can even fully exhale, the overpowering stench of eau de public restroom mixed in with something utterly unholy greets me at the next crosswalk. Jason Logan, an op-art editor from the New York Times, came up with a cool "Scents and the City" interactive feature that lets you click onto various sections of New York and read up on the various smells that can be found there—from "onion mixed with cough drops" to "lemon balm." You've gotta admire him for the research he put into this!

Curiosities: Paravent

Just a fun contraption to gain a little privacy. Made from shoji paper and bamboo, so I'd imagine it'd be light enough to drag from space to space.