Celebrating a month of blogging

The Gift & Home Today blog is into its second month. (We started at the very end of March, but I'm not counting that.)

We post a new gift, home accent or furniture product every week day, with bonus weekend coverage every now and then. Bookmark the site or sign up for the RSS feed so you'll never miss an item.

Thank you for your support.

Jim

Colorful metal pendant lamps

Babette Holland will be showing these pendant lamps at the HD (Hospitality Design) Show in Las Vegas later this month. She's known for her colorful lamps, mirrors, vases and metal pottery, all done in spun metal.

She talks about her process: "The material we use is aluminum and it’s handspun - think of throwing a pot, sideways, and the motion of spinning metal resembles a slow, rocking dance. Our shapes are so complex they can only be made one piece at a time, by hand, and by a master spinner. Each piece is made using multiple chucks (forms) and the spinning is done in many stages."

Metal wall sculptures

Artisan House introduced 40 metal art sculptures at last week's to-the-trade furniture show in High Point, N.C.

The line included more than 30 wall pieces, one freestanding design, three tabletop items and five sculptures suitable for indoor and outdoor display.

The wall sculpture at left, titled "Strapped In” measures 30 inches wide, 3 inches deep and 36 long. The back is a flat plate of steel, painted in a flat white color, and overlaying that are five strips of wavy brushed raw steel, graduated in height from bottom to top.

Absinthe ware for the bar

Bonnecaze & Cie. is a wholesale distributor of French absinthe ware. I saw the company at the Housewares show in Chicago this spring. This bistrot tray comes in three diameters, from 10.5 inches to 15 inches. The line includes glasses, coasters, spoons, fountains and other paraphernalia. You can even order wrapped sugar cubes.

Two's Co. warehouse sale starts April 30

'Cupcake' scarves

They look good enough to eat, but these are actually polyester scarves in cupcake cups. The Too Sweet Cupcake Scarf from Two's Company's Cupcakes and Cartwheels holiday 2009 catalog comes in six colors: pink, turquoise, fuchsia, orange, green and light pink. The scarves measure 56 inches long.

Greeting cards on recycled paper

Quotable, the New York-based greeting card source will print all cards and envelopes on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, beginning with its 2009 holiday release. Not only that, the paper is carbon-neutral, acid- and chlorine-free and FSC- (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.
Quotable also puts thought-provoking and humorous quotations on calendars, fridge magnets, mugs, matchboxes, candles, journals, address books and canvases.
For retailers, Quotable slimmed down the cards so they take up less shelf space.