Re-evaluating What You Already Own

While looking through an old copy of Real Simple magazine I saw this little birdie from Aero Studios. Well, I have that same birdie, he's actually a bottle opener that I've had forever. I can't even remember when or where I got it. Since it was being offered for $35 I thought I'd try to find out the history of this object, knowing full well I would not have paid that price for it.

 

Mine actually looks more like this one, well if I took the bother to polish it, that is: 

 

This one is described as a vintage silver-plated bottle opener in the shape of a little fat bird(sparrow, finch or wren?). His tail is the bottler opener and underneath is a cavity that is used as an opener for screw type lids. It measures about 3.5 inches long x 2.5 inches wide.

I have now seen this for every price from $6 to one currently advertised on Etsy for $42 dollars! Albeit that one was in better condition than the one above, but still... Some sellers on eBay claim that their bird is from Germany or Spain, but I have seen that there are enough of them that they are NOT rare.

But then I found one seller showing the original box...from AVON and the Made in China sticker. So don't get ripped off and always do your research. There is no excuse now that we have this here thing called the Internet, right?

I am now going to treasure mine...right after I go polish it, of course!

Images: Real Simple magazine, Worthpoint.com

Who, Me?

Well, as a blogger I receive many emails wanting me to promote someone else's website. 

However, this one was clever, the email was entitled "Your site was a featured site on our website." Then in the body they said it was on a list of Top 50 Apartment Decoration Web Sites on RentersInsurance.org. 

Now, I love my little blog and and at one time was extremely proud of the work I was doing on it (I've since lapsed in writing frequency). But I would never have said that it was a blog tool for decorating anyone's apartment other than mine since it was purely my sensibility on view. Well, I didn't have to worry about it because their list is all over the place in terms of sites that are personal and ones that are more product-based. 

Oh, and check out the unique way they described my site, so unique I almost didn't recognize it: Decorating That Which Shelters You: Ideas for decorating what shelters you with a definite classic bent. Awkwardly written description aside (classic?), I am honored. The list includes many more experienced and better marketed sites than mine plus it gave me more "shelter" blogs to investigate. Thank you.

New Content!

All of my 2Modern Design Talk home/architecture-related entries have now been copied here to SHELTER, so if you wish to read some new content on this here blog, just use the label 2Modern below to pull them all up. All of the entries were posted on the 2Modern Design Talk blog during 2008 and I have copied them to this blog under the same dates that they were originally posted there.

Enjoy!

Valley Ho!

Note: Originally published at the 2Modern Design Talk blog.

Check out this amazing hotel that was saved from destruction, the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona. Built in and designed by architect Edward L. Varney, this hotel was the setting of Hollywood actors' Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner's 1957 wedding reception. Now revived by Allen + Philp, it is ring-ding-i-ling beautiful again!

THEN:



NOW:



More pictures of the hotel found here.

It is also featured in the November/December 2008 issue of Preservation magazine.

I won an award!

It made my day when I checked my email and found that I had been nominated for an award by Ana of Rearranged Design. Thank you Ana, I love your blog too!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.

2. Link the person you were nominated by.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4.Put the links of the nominated blogs on your blog.

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

day-lab
Door Sixteen
Fancy Schmansy
haus maus
Homebug
Renovation Therapy
Scrappy Girl Decorates

I am in print!

Remember that interview I sat down for in March?

Well, in the interview (which you should also remember spooked me a bit) I mentioned another new Richmond blog, This Young House. I knew at the time that by mentioning it I might very well be sinking my own story but that's how I roll. I just wouldn't feel right being the kind of person who could deny someone else recognition for a great job.

Well, I was right, they got the feature. They truly deserve it though. In the few months since that interview, their blog has been redesigned, they were featured in the local paper, they have a cool decorating help column on their blog, and they now even have an Etsy shop!

I did get some love out of it though. At the end of the article, the writer included a list of local home blogs, and guess who heads that list? SHELTER!!

Now the funny thing is that they used my real name, which you guys didn't even know! So just imagine how scary it is when you still live in the town you went to college in and your picture is already up in the corner. (I think if I had used my real name in the beginning, I would not have used a pic)

So, thanks R Home for getting me some press AND for outing my "dirty" blogging habit. I wonder if this is how Brad and Angelina feel? : )

Getting somewhere, just don't know where...

Oh did I ever mention that I started receiving press releases from designers and artists? Yeah, wow. Blogs are most definitely being noticed for the influences that they are on the consumer public.

Though I am on Jonathan Adler's press release list I haven't received anything from Domino magazine, which seems to be the sign that your home blog has really made it. Remember all that bloggy love about Drew Barrymore's office/home a month ago?

I am already listed on their site though as I am part of Scrappy Girl's blog list. She is a kindred spirit. However, you would think that Domino would send to everyone on the blog list of one of their online blogs wouldn't you? It doesn't really matter, it was just more of a "hmmm?" situation than anything else. No matter what, I would only post about something that I personally thought was cool (not that I don't think Jonathan Adler is cool!) and I do receive the magazine every month.

Though of course it would be nice to receive it before it shows up on the newsstand!

By the way, cute bull or sun ornaments on sale for $12. ; )

Unique DIY light fixtures

Nimbus
Here is a fabulous explanation on how to create a fractal chandelier like the one above. It has been featured everywhere else in the blogosphere, but we all know that doesn't mean everyone has seen it yet. This particular one, the Nimbus, and its tutorial were created by Sean Michael Ragan.

I highlighted the word particular because there has been a lot of debate on the origin of this design. There are so many commercial versions of this around now, but this article points to perhaps, Irving Harper, a designer for George Nelson, being the earliest known user of this concept.


This is the Harper design seen in his home in the 2001 Metropolis article.


Check out this modern adaption of a bathroom fixture at mod habit.


This is a much easier DIY chandelier project from Martina, shown on AT: San Francisco.

You should also check out DIYLife for posts on creative lighting designs.

The Little Blog That Could...

ApartmentTherapy.com launched their new redesign today. WOW!

As part of the redesign they added some new design blog links to each site.

As of today, SHELTER, is one of those links.

Yes, my sweet, little blog is now mingling with some of the big kids on the New York site. So, I guess that means I have to get off my bum and pick up the pace around here, right?

I have no idea what this will mean for my little blog, but I'm eager to find out.

Thank you, Apartment Therapy!

The reality of my desk

Hey, my office space made it to Apartment Therapy-Chicago today!



In a fit of honesty, I'm going to show you what my desk looked like the moment I saw the post on my computer:

 

Now that's reality folks!