Not only does Mr. Firth produce drumsticks and mallets, he also has a line of kitchen accessories. They look really well made and are endorsed by hotshots Oprah and Mario Batalli.

I have my eye on the Dark Orange “Ciudad” pepper mill.

I was surprised to see the Dyson Airblade being used in some of the Sky Harbor bathrooms. Of course I had to use it, and it really does work much better than other hand dryers; quite stylish, too. You won’t be receiving any bacon from these machines.

I made these for one of The Boy’s bands, Backyard Shark. They were meant to be the main theme for an interactive website, but we never got around to making it. Hopefully, we’ll get to it soon.

www.backyardshark.com

I am really liking these new ceramic tiles by Jason Miller. He was inspired by the colorful shipping containers seen in shipping yards across America.

If you’ve ever watched Alton Brown’s show Good Eats, then you know how awesome his Kitchen Aid mixer is. This website claims to give you the same hot rod Kitchen Aid look for around $20 instead of the $150 custom paint shops charge. Using vinyl stickers you can instantly transform your mixer into something Alton would approve of.

FlameKA.com: Custom Kitchen Aid mixers

Even though no new hardware was announced in the Jobsnote today, there still are a few shiny things over at Apple.com. For starters, the whole website has been overhauled in order to coincide with the new look of Leopard. Nice sleek buttons and sidebars plus a Spotlight-esque search bar! Would we expect anything else? Head over and check it out, and while you’re there download the new public beta of Safari 3 (for Mac, Windows XP and all 25 editions of Vista!)

Safari 3 Free Public Beta
Download Here

I’m always looking for new stationary in hopes that it will inspire me to write more letters and actually send out those thank you notes. Well, I think I’ve found some that would do the trick. Simply Serra has a nice selection of stationary, invitations and holiday cards. Like the name suggests, the common theme for all the letterpress is simplicity. My personal favorite is the skull motif, even if it is pink. Does the pink make the skull less edgy or does the skull make the girly pink more edgy? Well either way, it’s the best piece of stationary I’ve found so far.

Simply Serra notecards: $25.00 for 18 cards and 18 envelopes

You can now buy FLOR carpet tiles at the best big box store in town. FLOR tiles come in a variety of colors, textures and patterns. You can lay down a whole wall-to-wall carpet or just create a fun rug or runner. The best thing about FLOR is if something gets spilled on a tile, just rip it up, wash it out and put it back (or if it’s really destroyed just replace with a brand new tile!). Each tile measures 19.7Lx19.7W”. $59.99 for a pack of 6 tiles

The two posters that flank my T.V. usually elicit an uncomfortable response. Maybe it’s the lack of color, the bare breasts or even the hoofed human leg. Whatever it is, the art of Franciszek Starowieyski is certainly bizarre. At home, the posters were kept hidden away in a back room, a surprising relic from my father’s art collecting days. I remember sneaking back there to look at the mysterious images. The fanciful script made the polish words even more cryptic and the skulls and breasts compelled me to only look for a second before shutting the door and running back to my room.

Now the posters hang prominently in my living room. I have seen them so many times that I don’t really see them anymore. But whenever a new visitor stops by, I am reminded of how I felt about the posters so many years ago peaking into the back room.

To check out more of Franciszek Starowieyski’s art, or other Polish artists visit the Polish Poster Gallery (FYI: since bare breasts are a recurring theme of Starowieyski’s art, some of the images on the sites linked here may not be safe for viewing at work a.k.a. NWS)

Being a student, I don’t have a whole lot of extra money to spend on beautiful danish modern furniture (when I find it for cheap, it usually costs more to restore it!) or other nice things for my apartment. Therefore, it’s good to know that Target is looking out for all us students out there by offering attractive design at even more attractive prices.

I have this same colander in orange, but it’s showing a little wear and tear. I love my colander because I can leave it out with some fruit and it looks great. It’s always so hard for me to pick out just one color when all of the colors are presented in a spectrum. Aqua? Orange? I can’t decide! On sale for $16.19 at Target. Also available in 5-qt. for $21.99

I just bought this bookcase because I was running into a severe storage issue with my books. I like to hold on to my textbooks as reference, because I don’t always remember everything I learned my freshman year. This bookcase also comes in three different sizes and finishes, so there is something for everyone. You can also buy a couple to create the illusion of a singular wall unit. $59.99-$99.99 in Espresso (shown), Dark Oak and Honey Oak (lightest finish)

I love this bookcase, but I love it even more when it’s stacked with another. At $99.99/case, it’s not exactly student budget
friendly. However, I loved the design so much, I had to put it up here. Also available in a deep brown/black finish.