Then, of course, I love the Testy Tastemaker. He won my heart when I read about his visit to a house filled with mediocre to blase antiques, but the owner's dog was collared for an invisible fenced-in interior. The poor pup was scared to move, unsure of ways to avoid the shock of getting too near a prized-in-poor-taste possession. Mr. Tastemaker publicly tongue lashed the pride out of that dog's owner; and I think that is an incredible message to convey in a popular magazine.
Not only are his last page blurbs usually hilarious, there was another article that mentioned the prolific work of Chilhuly and how overly popular he has become. My sentiments exactly. Well he worked his way up to Philippe Starck and, while I agree, I think several names could easily be substituted for Mr Starck: Karim Rashid and Michael Graves spring to mind. Really, and this is a philosophy I have to come to terms with myself, pretty glass is pretty glass, regardless of name. Buying a garish Chihuly for the sake of investment is really no different than going out to the local lease-to-own a Picasso print gallery, there is an amount of implied status, but auctioning it off through Sotheby's is implausible. It makes the market oversaturated and uninspirational.
How to differentiate a Michael Graves for Alessi piece versus a similar one from Target, I don't really know. While I can see these being sought after on eBay in 15 years, I am not sure the collectibility. Just for the record, it might be collectible simply based on the id
ea that anything bought from Target, I suspect, will not last 15 years to make it to the eBay block.Back on topic, good design is good design. And good design should also incorporate a certain amount of quality control. Keep in mind I am a secretary, earning secretary wages. I am not in the market for a $200 tea kettle. While I enjoy beautiful objects, rarely can I afford them. But I am also not about to go out and create or purchase temporal objects that will inevitably be landfill filler in another year. I bought Marimekko Unikko sheets on super sale from Crate and Barrel about 5 years ago. The dye job did a number on me and the mattress (the red dye bled for the first 3 months I'd say) and has faded some, but the fabric is in tact, which is significantly more than I can say for the bamboo linens product line Target offered this past winter. The towels are tattered, the sheets are shoddy, and it has only been 5 months of use. I gave my old towels away to make room for the new. The old ones were 10 years old, and a bit faded, but were still more attractive than I can say for these fairly new items. Lesson learned. I say all of this after envying my mom's Marimekko messenger style bag (in a bright and fruity orange no less!) that she has had since the 70s, I believe. The Corbrusier Chairs at my parent's house look brand new and are far more ecological, economical, and stylish than the rip-off version I see in the stairwell of a nearby office building. The seat is ripped, the frame is crushed, and money was wasted.
And there is nothing stylish about waste.
Favorite blogster, Holly, over at Decor8 wrote a great article about reevaluating things you already own to snaz up your space. Which is very apparent, but as I am so focused on feathering this nest (what an awfully funny phrase for creating space for two, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I mean, do men nest, too?) Really I need to cherish the things I already have before adding to the clutter. And, well, throwing out a few metaphorical twigs so the nest can be a bit more attractive and peaceful.
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