Rima Suqi

Ria Charisse’s first lamp

admin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:07:53 +0000

You might know Ria Charisse’s creations sold in her Brooklyn store, Swallow. She emailed me the other day with pictures of her first-ever lamp. Very Ria — a tad foreboding/sinister, but very cool. It’s made from pewter, bronze and gold leaf, cast and fabricated in the US, and will be about $680.

The endorsement: dry shampoo

admin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:14:20 +0000

For those days when you feel a little oily but don’t want to commit to a full-on blow out – dry shampoo. Note: best effects when used properly - a swirling spray at the roots, from a proper distance (no close-up blasting). This is my favorite so far, the Instant Dry Shampoo, from Kenneth. $20 and worth every penny.

A cute tote for $12

admin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:08:22 +0000

At John Derian, no less. See? You can afford stuff there.

PS the image was drawn by a kid named Hugo.

Cute champagne bottle coverage

admin — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:40:30 +0000

I’m not usually into collaborations where a designer teams up with a liquor company to create either a new bottle or a new box, etc. because no matter how cool they look, you’re paying a bunch of money for something that you’ll ultimately never use. But recently I came across this Cocktail Bag by Claire Coles for Perrier Jouet champagne. Here’s the thing – it’s insulated, but not super thick, has a leather base and can stand on its own. To me, this is something you use to transport your jewelry when you travel. After you drink the contents, that is.

Pricing ranges from $50 for the Grand Brut to $80 for the Blason Rose to $170 for a Bell Epoque gift set. Buy them here.

Eva Zeisel’s last project

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:05:17 +0000

The current offerings at Crate & Barrel include a flatware pattern by Eva Zeisel which, according to the late designer’s daughter, is indeed her last project. It is $39.95 a setting, and the matching serving set is $49.95.

Best. Jerky. Ever.

admin — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:49:23 +0000

I do not consider myself an aficionado of many things. But I do know my jerky. The best I’ve ever had, commercially, was the various forms of biltong in South Africa, Tanzania, etc. The best homemade I’ve had was courtesy of an awesome Ranch Manager, in Texas, who’d made his own. Nothing I’ve had comes close to either, until I discovered Side Project Jerky. I’ve tried the natural flavor and the southwestern, neither is overly spiced/flavored but both are melt in your mouth fabulous. And you won’t crack a tooth trying to eat it. My only problem is with their tag line: Jerky for Gentlemen. What about the ladies? Huh? I’ll get over it – the jerky rocks. Buy it.

It’s St. Lucia day

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:46:20 +0000

…and most of you probably don’t care. But in my house this was a big day, because my mom and grandmother are both named – you guessed it – Lucia. My grandmother would occasionally belt out a round or two of the Santa Lucia song, whether it was “her” day or not.

Anyway, today I give a shout out to one of my Lucias, and fondly remember the other (who, true to that photo, wore a hat and gloves every single day).

Forgive the crappy scans….

Dear Santa….

admin — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 23:40:29 +0000

The more you write about stuff, the less stuff you want. I want for almost nothing, but damn, I’d love a set of these Seven Deadly Sins tumblers, designed by Stefan Sagmeister. He also did seven heavenly virtues but I personally prefer sins, and judging from the last line of the Lobmeyr release, I think they do as well: “Can the pleasant surprise of a pair of beautiful breasts at the bottom of your glass start a discussion about Good and Evil at the dinner table? Cheers to that.”

They’re $2,415 for the set at TableArt in LA (or $305 each at Barneys). Check them out here.

If you want your apartment to smell like a fireplace…

admin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:16:30 +0000

I feel in love with Diptyque’s Feu de Bois candle years ago – had a friend who burned them incessantly during the winter months. Her fireplace-free apartment smelled like it had a fireplace. A very chic, very expensive fireplace.

On Sunday night I popped into Story, a store on the corner of 19th/10th with themes that rotate every couple months. Long story short: I found out I am the last to know that Lafco makes a Feu de Bois candle and p-s the HUGE one is $55. The smaller one, packaged in a tin with a box of matches, is $20.

Story unfortunately doesn’t have e-commerce. Pop in there if you can (while you’re at it, check out the awesome Steven Alan store next door). If you can’t, you can buy them both on Lafco’s site. The big one is here and the smaller one is here.

Wish I had found these

admin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:49:40 +0000

When you’re in the business of writing about “stuff,” looking through gift guides is a different experience. There are few surprises, but when there are some, they’re pretty good. Paging through New York Mag’s guide I zeroed in on color coated loafer pennies credited to Allen Edmonds (but sadly not sold on their site).

Why would I even care?

A couple years ago I was obsessed with finding the perfect pair of loafers. I ordered and returned probably 5 or 6 pairs before stumbling on the Mark McNairy for Bass perfect loafer – in navy no less — in the men’s department at Jeffrey. Yes, I bought men’s shoes. It was not the first time, but it was/is the first time I’ve had to worry that two of my best guy friends might show up to dinner wearing the same shoes.

These coated pennies will now be my point of difference. Turns out Cool Hunting did something on them a couple months ago. They’re by a Minneapolis based company named Benjo’s, that became known for making colored laces for boots. They come in a bunch of colors and are $16/pair. The irony is not lost on me.

Buy them here.