We were instantly riveted by @tumanualidades.de’s tiny videos of mending because they were so restful to watch, offering seemingly simple solutions to fixes we have in the past spent too much time worrying or procrastinating about. They called to mind a cosmic view of mending and sewing from some favorite artists.
Read More
Recently I stumbled an article about lighting designer and photographer Christopher Baker and potter Odette Heideman’s home in Maine in House & Garden. Amidst a trove of clever ideas was one I plan to steal.
Read More
Artist ciriacaerre made a video of repairing a smashed vase using kintsugi, the Japanese art that celebrates the scars and breaks. She, and other artist, eloquently describe its greater meaning…
Read More
Years ago painters left behind some sanding sponges they used to achieve a perfect finish in the high gloss surfaces. Something made me pick one up to try sanding an ugly heating pipe coated in green enamel. The ease-of-transformation was a revelation. I’ve been using that perfect sponge ever since for all sorts of fixes and projects around my house.
Read More
Yoko Ono’s 1966 lovely “Mend Piece” is a participatory installation that, like many Ono works, comes with instructions designed to resonate personally, meaningfully, expansively…
Read More
It usually takes just a shift of orientation, or your usual route to work or the store, to work some living trees into your day and heart. Here’s some inspiration from Yoko Ono and Max Lamb…
Read More
We found this divine, completely original and inspired chandelier buried in MondoBlogo’s riff on 1980’s interiors. It’s right up there with this ceiling light Alexander Calder fashioned for his friend Miro.
Read More
Stumbling on a picture we took a decade ago, we were reminded of the simple, elemental brilliance of friend’s impromptu invention, amplified by Neruda’s Lemon Poem.
Read More
By saving bits of ribbon and string, I’m not just recycling them to use on other gifts; I’m collecting a beautiful materials to use for all sorts of applications…
Read More
An ever-inventive friend recently mentioned her solution to a difficult floor repair she was in the middle of when she realized she needed knee pads to protect her wonky knees.
Read More
Some of my favorite tools are broken ones that I’ve re-envisioned, turning their flaw into an often-cool looking virtue, with memories.
Read More
Although a real mortar and pestle is a lovely tool to have, you can achieve their rounded flavors and elemental textures with makeshift ones. Take this Walnut Pesto, for example…
Read More
I got so many raves about my tried-and-true method of stretching too-tight shoes, that I’m publishing it again, five years later.
Read More
For need-of-a- refresh sofa or chairs, we take a cue from this chill 12th Century château in France transformed with the artful use of draped cloth.
Read More
I pondered the maxim “Irritation is the message” a long time before understood that the things that irritated me were the things I sought solutions for. I started transforming ugly shopping bags.
Read More
Over the past 25 years or so, a number of artists have taken to embellishing the INSIDES of ordinary cardboard boxes to great effect. Barbarians that we are, we take their work as inspiration for novel holiday gift boxes…
Read More
After trying a number of materials, the truly miraculous (and fun!) Sugru proved the only one to fix the $300 noise-cancelling headphones I rely on to calm my super-sensitive nervous system. It has become a staple in my arsenal.
Read More
Lately we’ve seen some classic old second-hand store chairs transformed with paint in a way we hadn’t considered, to very cool effect.
Read More
In Houzz’s extensive article about our friend Laura Handler’s Harlem renovation, our favorite idea among MANY is Laura’s solution to the problem of “headboard”.
Read More
In the bathroom of the Van de Weghe gallery, where we saw Devir, Enrique Oliveira’s massive tree sculpture, we were struck by the strange, very sculptural toilet paper holder with its bold statement of HERE I AM. Then we looked more closely…
Read More