So excited to team up with other Boston creatives for this post featuring Kathryn Lee’s Everyday Napkins, as well as tableware from Lekker Home and Greentail Table.

Styling and photography by Kathryn, of Bash Studios, and myself. See full article at Remodelista.

new mug. from local shop. good morning.

This week I had so much fun putting together a spectral dining room for Remodelista’s Dark Shadows week. Though it took some time and effort, it hardly felt like work.

As I said in my open to the Remodelista piece, “Good Halloween decor begins with a ghost story. Mine is about a ladies luncheon that’s gone on waaaay too long.” To create this subtly haunted setting, I hung leaves blackened with wax over a table dressed in a shroud of pale linens and bone-white china. See Remodelista for a complete DIY.

I have to say, I never fail to open emails from Heidi Swanson announcing the latest from her intimate shop, Quitokeeto. Even if there is nothing new, I sometimes just like to lose myself in the serene images of her pristine, marbled kitchen.

But currently, it’s her collection of knives that has me pining for a little more discretionary income. By Coltellerie Berti from Italy and Pallarès Solsona of Spain, these elegant slicers are beautifully balanced and lithe. I especially love the warm bone and wooden handles. A soft touch against the hard steel.

Pallarès Solsona pocket knife (hand made, carbon steel blade with naturally shed deer antler handle)

Coltellerie Berti Chef’s knife (hand made, stainless steel with lucite handle)

Pallarès Solsona kitchen knife (hand fashioned, carbon steel blade with boxwood handle)

Pallarès Solsona cleaver (hand made, carbon steel blade with boxwood handle)

Don’t you just love the small things in life?

Myself, I seem to be having a pot holder moment.

The latest hot pads to catch my eye: these patchwork beauties by Alessandra Taccia of La Casita. Unfortunately, they are sold out now, but Alessandra is always stitching up more original goods. Which is why it’s so fun to revisit her shop.

I have to say getting back-to-school is a soul-sucking experience. Gone are the organic, free-form days of summer. Now I’m ruled by schedules, and meetings, and all that paperwork!

Which may be why I find myself seeking refuge this week in the calm kitchenware of Speciality Dry Goods (Monday) and Mr. and Mrs. P. (today). Ahhhhh.

The “pet project” of designer and writer team, Evan and Paola Parsons, Mr. and Mrs. P. was conceived over coffee one lazy Sunday morning. (No wonder it’s so cozy and quiet.) The results are a very personal and “honest” space, reflecting the couple’s passion for sustainable style. Most of the select goods are local or handmade. All are immediately appealing: simple, tactile, warm and utterly soothing.

a chambray cotton napkin, hand-dipped in sunset pink

napkins are also available in grey and pale sea

Made from sustainable, compressed bamboo, this entire line of textured bowls and colanders is 100% biodegradable.

drinking straws made from real straw!

Relatively new to Etsy, Golden Biscotti is a trim little shop featuring select items of pure and elemental charm. Simplicity reigns at this Swiss atelier, whose minimalists practices serve to enhance the intrinsic beauty of natural materials – paper, wood, and clay. Here ornamentation is sacrificed in favor of balance of form. Texture, rather than color, provides allure. As restrained as Ikebana, the results are like a quiet revelation. Serene and graceful, as precious and as intimate as solitude on a misty morning.

porcelain plates

hand folded paper garlands

maple boards

mat made from hemp cord

Also on Remodelista today is an article I wrote about Father Rabbit Limited‘s new storefront. I have long been an admirer of Claudia Zinzan and Nick Hutchinson’s online shop, which supplies simply sublime goods for the home. And I have to say, their new store, which benefits from the Claudia’s design talents, is every bit as inspiring. Housed in a weatherboard split villa in Auckland, the new shop features a showroom-style layout, so it’s as much a design tour as a shopping experience. Read more about it on Remodelista today.

I’ve also included a couple shots of a recent event for Juliette Hogan styled by Father Rabbit, because they are simply breathtaking.

Breakfast for Juliette Hogan. You can shop this collection at Father Rabbit Limited.

On a recent visit to San Francisco, Al surprised me with a trip to what turned out to be a culinary experience of a lifetime at State Bird Provisions. As reservations were not to be had on such short notice, we arrived at the early hour of 5pm seeking two of the coveted 16 bar seats granted on a first-come-first-served basis. The restaurant didn’t open until 5:30, so we had plenty of time to meet the other eager diners in line.

The young, sharply dressed man in front of us had come from LA. Polite conversation revealed that he had dined at many of the country’s best restaurants, so often that he referred to all the chefs by first name. “Oh, so you’re, like, a foodie,” I offered. He winced. “I hate that term,” he explained as patiently as possible given that I had just deeply offended him. “It implies that one is in it as much for the scene as for the food, that your interest is merely trendy, or trite.” I understood. “Oh, so you’re more like a pilgrim,” I stated. “Yes!” he agreed. And as he savored his new moniker, I went on. “I just made a pilgrimage to buy a wooden spoon.” He laughed. I could tell he could relate.

The grail that inspired my quest was one of Josh Vogel’s hand carved spoons, which I knew were available only at the Bay City’s MARCH. Thus Al and I trekked there on my first day, where I secured one of the last of Josh’s limited edition “sculptural cooking tools.” It was a lot to pay for a spoon, but it’s really more of a piece of art… that you use, and I like that. I love the combination of grace and wonkiness of Josh’s irregular carvings. The spoon is beautifully balanced in the hand and as smooth to the touch as baby’s skin. My Blackcreek Mercantile spoon has now earned a place over my new sink. There it brings me joy on a daily basis.

And now it has friends.

Arriving home, happy with new spoon in hand, I found waiting for me a mysterious package sent via Royale Mail. Inside were three exquisite bone spoons from Africa, a gift from Kirsten Hecktermann, another spoon guru that I worship. These, too, are graceful and lithe both in form and finish. The white faces are cool and pristine, but also warm to the touch. These cherished items now sit next to Josh’s spoon, propped in glass my husband gave me.

If you ever wonder why there is such a boom in design these days, you need look no further than objects like these lovely spoons, and be cognizant of the joy they inspire. Such simple things, possessed of the power to transcend. They are literally “full of grace.”

The story of Haand Ceramics begins long ago with two boyhood friends. Mark Warren and Chris Pence grew up together in Jacksonville, FL, sharing experiences of “strip malls and pink flamingoes.” But as often happens, college and young adulthood took them separate ways. While Chris was training to become a CPA, Mark was studying sculpture in New England. Mark then went on to work for the grandfather of American studio slip-casting, Tom Spleth. And so, it wasn’t until 2011, that the two decided to merge their business and artistic talents with the formation of Haand.

Together from their studio in the rural piedmont of North Carolina, Mark and Chris craft modern porcelain tableware that is minimal and refined, but also earthy and extemporaneous. Employing deep, but largely monochromatic white or blue glazes, they mostly let form guide the individual character of their pieces. The results are fluid and dynamic. Their organic shapes pitch and undulate, lending both grace as well as whimsy to the collection. Bearing the marks of creations with pride, each piece is utterly one-of-a-kind, making for a very personal collection. And thus, though the execution is fine, Haand’s tableware has an informal quality, meant for everyday use.

In their studio Mark and Chris’ practice is focussed on improving eficiency throughout the entire process, so there is little waste or unnecessary frills. Similarly, Haand’s pieces are designed to work together interchangeably, giving the user greater versatility.

Made from slip cast porcelain, a set of nesting bowls stack in a pleasingly wonky way.

Inspired by historical ceramic lab ware, Haand’s chemist cups come in a variety of sizes.

Haand’s nested squares and triangles have myriad uses and configurations.

Named for sleek and stealthy cats, Margay and Caracal plates are part of Haand’s Nesting Hunter series.