Going With The Grain: Wooden Accessories by Solidio + May Co.

Turquoise imbedded Wooden Belt Buckle by Solidio, Photo: Nova Bronstein

Furniture makers are branching out and getting new traction through jewelry.   Good economics and green thinking have taken each other's hand, encouraging repurposed materials.  This is what furniture makers Solidio, a wife and husband team in Emlenton, PA are now doing. They utilize small pieces of wood and metal that would otherwise go to waste and turn them into jewelry and other small accessories.  The clean lines and precise execution inherent to furniture making persist beautifully here!

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Oh-Ohmega!

Photo: Nova Colette BronsteinAs an artist almost always looking to make something from something else I'm always smitten when I can make it over to Ohmega in Berkeley, CA.  This architectural salvage yard has ample supply of inspiration! 

Whether you are looking for items with which to decorate your home or, as I more often do, looking for motif-rich items from which to find reference you will find myriad items that catch your eye. 

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New Homes Inspired By Nature

Photo: Art GrayThe homes you decorate always start from what we like to call "the bones." These are the architectural features of the house, from the walls and ceilings to the floors, doors, windows, and room shape. One of the first jobs in interior design is to "get the bones right," or to make sure that any weaknesses in the architectural decisions are addressed. It helps when a home is newly made, but even new construction can be a nightmare for decorators, e.g. open-plan spaces need to be better defined by their function and still maintain good flow with the rest of the house. We admired these Andersson-Wise "natural houses," new-construction spaces that celebrate nature through the use of beautiful building materials and clean lines. The natural homes in this video are what we mean by good bones!

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Brooklyn Flea: A Feast for the Senses

 "Beastie" Photo Collage: John MurphyA weekend visit to Brooklyn Flea in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY unearthed a mecca of sensory bliss, from tasty nibbles and u-pcycled furniture to limited edition prints and hand-stitched quilts from India. And, yes, you can still find an unlimited assortment of antiques and items which could easily be made into your next piece of jewelry! 

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From Sea To Table

We’re all familiar now with the idea of re-use, re-duce, and re-cyle in everything from the way we shop for food to the way we decorate our homes. Now, Shipwreck Furniture is taking the idea of creating great design to another level---sea level, you might say.

(Photo: Shipwreck Furniture )

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