glassybaby - the perfect gift

I had never heard of glassybaby until recently when a friend, originally from the Seattle area, gave me one as a hostess gift. Instant love. Mine is called Hudson and it's beautiful to hold and to look at. Don't you often find that beautiful, well made things often have a wonderful story behind them?
"When the first glassybaby was created in 1998, Lee Rhodes, glassybaby creator and founder, was raising her three small children and fighting what would become a 7-year battle with a rare form of lung cancer. She had endured surgery, countless rounds of chemotherapy, and was searching for a few moments of serenity to escape the fear that encompassed her life. Inspired by the beauty of these elegant vessels, Lee filled them with tea lights and scattered them throughout her home.

A favorite description of glassybaby was written by Lee's 12-year-old son, Mericos, and given to her in the early morning one Christmas. "A glassybaby is physically a small, colored glass cup, candleholder, or vase. But the light of a candle coming through a glassybaby generates more: it gives warmth to a cold day, a calm token of peace in the busy world."It takes four glassblowers from glassbaby's team of 70 to create just one unique, handmade glassybaby.

Isn't this photo brilliant! To see more glassybabIES, go here.

*If you noticed the lion statue from the first picture, it's one of a pair from Flat Earth Designs.

(please note this is my personal opinion and I receive no form of compensation of any kind.)

Concrete Books!

An unexpected package from Richard Taylor of Flat Earth Designs came the other week. At first glance, a box of vintage books. Only after picking them up did I realize they're made of concrete!
As usual, the detail is amazing - from binding cord to layers of "pages."

If you're wondering, they aren't heavy because, except for the smallest one, they're hollowed out to reduce the weight. Richard has also created them in various colors to even further simulate the appearance of leather. I'm guessing they're going to be popular at Round Top this coming spring. To see other books, go here.

On another note, keep your eye out for more of Richard's pieces in the next year. Where? At none other than Pottery Barn.

Fluted Zinc

Love these fluted zinc containers I saw at Wynn Alex in San Francisco last month. A large grouping like this makes a big impact. Looking at these makes me wish I had bought some.

On an unrelated note, my hometown of Auburn NY was ranked by Forbes as one of the best small cities to raise a family - coming in at #18. In 2008 I did a post about Auburn here. Congrats Auburn!

Colored Intaglios

Have you ever seen framed, colored intaglios? I recently saw them for the first time in the dining room of The Jefferson. Makes me wonder - are these colored plaster, Coral or Carnelian?

These two images are from a French blog here - the first image is a collection of both cameo and itaglios. These were noted as coming from the collection of the late Yves Saint Laurent.
Have you seen intaglios that aren't the typical white?

Gourmet Tonic Water - Yes or No?

A well made Gin & Tonic can really hit the spot on a muggy summer evening. Recently Dan brought home some gourmet tonic water to try. First up was Q Tonic...
next up Fever Tree...they were fine but I missed the way my Gin & Tonic tasted when made with the old stand-by Canada Dry. So for me it was a no.

Considering how pricey each bottle was, I decided to put them to use as a home accessory -
Plus, I've changed my mind. My drink of choice for Summer 2010 is a Bourbon & Ginger Ale. Canada Dry of course.

Beautiful Pillows

Gorgeous pillows from Bliss Studio in such dreamy, comforting colors.


Seeing the above picture made me think of these equally gorgeous pillows Little Byrd made custom for a client.