Pardon the surge in baby related posts, but as you can tell, I am coming out of my denial: In about 10 days we will indeed have a newborn in our house. Time to get ready!
So I just discovered this cool and unique looking baby tub for the sink. Wonder how practical it really is but it sure looks smartly designed. I love the fact that it stores flat! (Totally wouldn’t work with our square modern sinks though, I assume)
I love this modern and whimsycal approach to a bottle drying rack. Not sure how practical it would be in day to day use but it sure is cool-looking and doesn’t visually take up much counter-space. Grass Roots Drying Rack.
White PVC Table Cloth that you decorate yourself. The D.I.Y. Table Cloth changes as time goes by and more and more notes, drawings and decorations are added.
The TeaSub submerges tea leaves to the bottom of your cup, creating the perfect infusion of your favorite brew. I have feeling this would turn our little Ella Joy into a tea drinker.
Christian Borstlap recently finished these deliciously simple animated illustrations for Dutch children’s charity, Kinderpostzegels. Adorable! Made me smile.
This sled is based on the archetypal wooden workhorse that used to be made by laymen and carpenters alike in Dalvik. The sleds came in different shapes and sizes, depending on intended usage: anything from plunging down a hillside to dragging groceries through the snow-covered landscape. The project endeavors to celebrate a useful object from the past and present it t. D-Sled available on icelandicmarket.com
Sand Shapers from ID Selection are the latest toy for the beach and in the sand box at home. By moving the Sand Shaper in a circular movement, the most beautiful spheres can be created. By combining the different sizes, it is possible to create all kinds of funny shapes. Due to the simple action, the Sand Shapers can be used by children from the age of 3.
I flipped through the new CB2 Catalog last night and was amazed at the amount number of cool new items they put out. These Metal Trunks would make a nice little accesory in a kids room.
How comfy does this Baby Barolo Sleeping Bag look? (Only 6-7 more weeks until swissmister will be keeping me busy day and night. Yes, I am finally coming out of my denial and am getting the necessary items for the little man. No, this sleeping bag is not part of it, but one can always look. It sure looks cozy.)
How fun is this set of three nesting tables/stools each opens at top, with safety hinged lids for inconspicuous storage. Designed by Paul Loebach. Perfect for a kids room, no?
I am trying all kinds of tricks to get our 3.5year old Ella excited about brushing her teeth. The latest thing is to turn off the light in the bathroom and brush her teeth in the dark with a flashlight. Oh, the things we do as parents. I think this Oral Hygiene Model would help her understand better HOW we need to brush teeth. I might just have to order one…
I completely forgot how much I used to love this game called Guess Who when I was a little kid. I had a little flashback today over brunch with my friend Jennifer and her daughter Parker. They brought the game along and our little Ella was totally into it. Oh, yeah, and mommy too.
Lovely Jane Mount asked me if I’d like to put together my and Ella’s favorite kid’s books for one of her Ideal Bookshelf Drawings. How could I say no to that? The print just went up for sale on 20×200. Check it out.
Jane’s statement from the 20×200 site:
For a while, I’ve been documenting people’s bookshelves as a form of portraiture; you can actually learn a lot about folks by their books’ covers. Now, I’m working on a series of “ideal” bookshelves: sets of favorites—mine or someone else’s—amalgamated in a picture, even if they don’t usually live on shelves anywhere near each other.
This set is Tina Roth Eisenberg’s favorite kid’s books. Tina is more often known as swissmiss, due to the popularity of her excellent blog and design studio. Tina documents all things well-designed and clever, and many things that “made her smile”, including lots of children’s products, since she is the mother of one and expecting another. As a longtime fan of her blog, I know she loves kid’s books as much as I do, so I asked her to pull her favorites from the shelves of her daughter Ella Joy.
Here’s a toy that just completely won me over just by looking at it: Oblo by Marko Pavlovic was conceived as three dimensional, didactic puzzle. In order to obtain a successful progress from one level to the next, one needs to find the right extracting position for each removable piece to enable its smooth passage through the fixed shape open space provided. I want to play with it!
Now that we’ve watched When I am 64 about a hundred times on YouTube, I think it’s time I purchase the Yellow Submarine DVD. Ella and I are equally amazed by the psychedelic graphics in this DVD. For those of you not familiar with this awesome animation, Yellow Submarine is a 1968 animated feature film based on the music of The Beatles.
And I thought this was an interesting fact from Wikipedia:
The animation of Yellow Submarine has sometimes falsely been attributed to the famous psychedelic pop art artist of the era, Peter Max; but the film’s art director was Heinz Edelmann. Edelmann, along with his contemporary Milton Glaser, pioneered the psychedelic style for which Max would later become famous, but according to Edelmann and producer Al Brodax, as quoted in the book Inside the Yellow Submarine by Hieronimus and Cortner, Max had nothing to do with the production of Yellow Submarine.
I have just discovered and fallen in love with this awesome barded man by Matilde Beldroega.
(Loja de Estar is a portuguese online shop that gathers objects from a variety of Portuguese designers. “Loja de Estar” is the result of combining “living room” with “store” so it stands for something close to “living store”. Cute!)
Last week I had the pleasure to meet Ashley, the charming lead singer of The Jimmies, a NYC based rock-band for little ones. She handed me one of their latest DVD’s and now our little Ella is completely addicted. Check out the amazing videos below. (Bedhead is hilarious.) Support The Jimmies by buying their CD or DVD.
(Every time Ella watches Spanimals Ella cracks up and says: “Mommy, she has grapes on her head”)
Two nights ago, G and I were discussing potential boy’s names for our little unborn son. I spontaneously said: “Why don’t we ask the twittersphere for some ideas?” Within seconds of posting my quest for a cool 4 letter boy’s name suggestions came pouring in. We just sat there refreshing Tweetie and couldn’t believe the amazing and most of all international name suggestions we got.
Crowdsourcing at its best!
I would like to extend this experiment to my blog readers. Have any cool suggestions for a rather unique 4 letter boy’s name for our unborn son? If so, indulge in this extreme crowdsourcing experiment with me and share in a comment below.
Again, the only condition: it has to be a 4 Letter Boys Name.
Now that my belly is getting HUGE I am starting to get out of my denial and am actually starting to think about how we will set up the apartment once swissmisster arrives mid february. I can’t stand changing tables and will refuse to put one in our apartment, so this Ioline Changing Trunk made me rejoice. What a brilliant idea! I love furniture that has a double purpose and grows with your kid. It’s basically a changing table on the floor that turns into seating for your tot as well. It’s made from 100% natural, non-toxic and sustainable materials. (And yes, I will only dream of owning one of these as the pricetag is a little steep.)
Swissmiss is a design blog and studio run by Tina Roth Eisenberg, a 'swiss designer gone NYC'. Contact me if you have a design project, a link suggestion or just want to say hello.