I'm going to be in Boston all next week seeing some friends and helping my brother and his fiance decorate their new brownstone (lot's of Boston blogging coming soon!). While browsing the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston's website to see what was going on I stumbled on to these Andy Warhol 15 minute temporary tattoos ($7), an item that will definitely be coming home with me in my suitcase.

Modernica, who has been the official manufacturer and distributor of George Nelson bubble lamps for 12 years, has reconfigured the design of the 1948 Nelson bubble lamp to accommodate existing floor and table lamp bases. The new Bubble Lamp Shade ($225) will fit most traditional bases.

Fashion designers have collaborated on a new line for the Obama campaign called Runway to Change, debuted at New York's fashion week. I fear that this is the exact stuff that plays into the hands of the GOP attacks that align Obama with Paris Hilton. That said, I don't remember John Kerry getting any Marc Jacobs custom totes or Pharrel t-shirts. Above: Obama flower tote bag ($75) by Derek Lam; Marc Jacobs Stand For Change tote ($80); Obama Button tote bag by Marc Jacobs ($75). There's many more big name designers like Juicy Couture, Diane von Furstenberg, Nanette Lepore, Isaac Mizrahi and Rag and Bone—so check it out, my guess is this stuff will be on eBay soon (just like Sarah Palin's jet?). Just to be fair I included a John McCain item. Below is the Camo Sportsmen for McCain hat ($25). Sweet.

Famed Dutch designer Tord Boontje has done it again with The Witches' Kitchen Set by Artecnica. It's not hard to tell that Boontje's hand-molded black ceramic cookware was inspired by the witches and wizards of western lore. The extensive collection is also an exercise in sustainable design—designed by Studio Tord Boontje and handcrafted by artisan groups from three different South American countries—the cookware was hand-molded by Colombian artisans, wooden kitchen utensils hand-carved by Guatemalan craftsmen, and kitchen couture hand-sewn by Brazil’s Coopa-Roca women’s cooperative. The saucepan and casserole are available here ($240-$360) and the utensils ($770 for entire set) are also available here.

Vitra has reissued Le Corbusier's Modulor measuring tape circa 1945. What is The Modulor? Some think of it as the most important modern attempt to develop a mathematic measurement system based on the proportions of the human body. Le Corbusier developed the Modulor in the same tradition of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man in an attempt to discover mathematical proportions in the human body that would improve the appearance and function of architecture. The system is based on human measurements as well as the double unit, the Fibonacci numbers, and the golden ratio. Le Corbusier described it as a "range of harmonious measurements to suit the human scale, universally applicable to architecture and to mechanical things." Critics, however, have pointed out a number of concerns with his system. The height of the figure appears to be arbitrary and was perhaps chosen for mathematical convenience. The female body, in the words of reviewer Michael Ostwald, "was only belatedly considered and rejected as a source of proportional harmony". The system bears no relationship to actual anthropometric observations. But, that said, the Swiss take their native son's invention very seriously—there is a picture of it on the 10 CHF (Swiss Franc bill).

During his lifetime only a few samples of this measuring tape were created—for his personal use in the design of building projects. An original artifact in the holdings of the Foundation Le Corbusier served as the model for this new edition by the Vitra Design Museum. Makes a great gift for an architect or design enthusiast. Pick it up right here ($76).

Chicago Home + Garden's blog, Design Dose, definitely had the scoop of the day as they reported FLOR's latest release of modular tiles based on the textile designs of Alexander Girard—perhaps the most influential textile designer of the modern era. These designs are specifically modeled after the restaurant La Fonda Del Sol, which opened in the Time-Life Building in Manhattan in 1961. The entire restaurant including the furnishings, dishware, everything down to the table linens were designed by Girard. And what I wouldn't do to get my hands on some of the old matchbooks! By 1971 the restaurant was closed. Alexander Girard items have been notoriously hard to come by as few items have been re-issued, even with today's modern revival. Until FLOR's release, your best bet was ebay and Maximo Design. The FLOR collection, which can be mixed and matched with other designs comes in four different combinations of six tiles ($160), check them all out right here.

I've been half-looking for a new table lamp for the office for a while now. There are so many choices, but for a long time I've been thinking of an antique with a metallic base—but lately I've been intrigued with the idea of an Akari lamp ($125) by Mid-Century design giant Isamu Noguchi. Their soft lighting and sculptural presence would add a great contrast to the lacquer desks.

Part of my daily entertainment these days has been watching Harrison hunting house flies—in fact, that's how she pays her rent. She's a canine Mr. Miyagi, but every now and again there's a task too large—like this morning when there was a big grey moth in my office. I threw a pile of magazines at it while Harrison barked. Not a good scene. I'm thinking the Dr. Skud fly swatter ($15) designed by Philippe Starck for Alessi ten years ago would have been a better option.

Modernica, the official site for George Nelson Bubble Lamp sales and distribution, has just reissued versions of the Criss Cross Bubble Lamp that have been out of production since 1979. The first Bubble Lamp was designed by Nelson in 1947, and produced in the early 1950's by Howard Miller (son of Herman). Modernica has reissued the Cigar ($359), Pear ($405), and Ball ($359 shown above) "CC lamps" to the original specifications using the original Howard Miller tooling. The Bubble Lamp is featured in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and I'd really like it to be part of the Lizzie Garrett's kitchen's permanent collection too. We'll see how that works out...

I'm currently digging the new Cindy Lamp by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell. I think it would look great in a super-sleek office—it's certainly got a lot of flash. I especially love the bold color palette including platinum, bronze, mint green, tangerine, ultramarine, flamingo, gun metal and violet—in true Kartell style. I don't know who's retailing yet, so not sure of the price, but will let you know when I know.

The latest from iconic Dutch designer Tord Boontje is his 2009 Future Flora pendant lamps ($90) made from silver-plated, laser-cut stainless steel. There are three varieties: Laure, Nadine, and Rugiada, each one a supposed intersection of nature and technology. They ship flat.

I grouped together some of the most prominent chairs of the decade thus far to try and see if any obvious patterns or trends emerged. I realize this exercise is more than premature not only because the decade isn't over, but because it often takes multiple decades to really fully understand history. With that in mind I found that the collection I put together (which is by no means complete) made me think that design today is hesitant to move forward. For the first decade of the millennium, it's interesting that design has been more focused on the past than the future. Maybe because the future, with its threats of terror and global climate change, seems more scary than it did during the optimistic Space Age and Jet Age of the 50's and 60's. Several of the chairs in this grouping are riffing from that era. The result, in my opinion, is an aesthetic that ultimately looks futuristic but simultaneously seems, well, dated.

Top image from left to right:
x3 stacking chair ($356) 2005
icon chair ($370) 2006
ultra bellini chair ($250) 2006
vignelli chair ($400) 2006
20-06 stacking chair ($440) 2006
street stacking chair (441) *wrong photo shown* 2002
gigi stacking chair ($188) 2002
air arm chair ($592 for four) 2006
ice side chair ($470) 2005
Bottom image:
chair one ($376) 2003
mademoiselle printed ($860) 2003
real good chair ($99) 2006
spoon chair ($685) 2005
butterfly chair ($300) 2003
maui side chair ($220) 2005
deja vu chair ($750) 2005
ero|s| castors ($620) 2001
louis ghost chair ($410) 2002

It's a good thing when you're on the hunt for picture frames. Between our engagement photos and my brother's wedding photos that are coming soon, I've been looking for some good photo frames. I never thought I'd go this route, but I think I might get just one of the My Brother's Frame series ($190) cast by Harry Allen from a frame he found by chance in his brother's closet—seems like an appropriate name for the occasion too. I wonder what I could find in my brother's closet. Would Einstein's Theory of Relativity look good cast in resin? What about old Phish tickets? Zing.

Dimensions: 23" x 18.5" x 4". Photos that are 4" x 6" fit into the frame.

Matt and I went to Second City last night and it was a lot funnier than I ever remember it being. What was even cooler is that many of the current cast of SNL were in the audience. Jason Sudeikis was a couple people away from me, and it was really interesting to see the guy that plays Blago watch another guy play Blago. But the biggest thrill was definitely when Matt came back from the men's room and said, "I just saw MacGruber!", (a.k.a Will Forte, his favorite SNL character). From a design perspective, I have to say I think it's really cool that in the fifty years they've been doing improvisational comedy, they're still using the same bent-wood bistro chairs, similar to the original side chair Model no. 14 designed by Michael Thonet in 1885.

I was reading style journalist Rose Apodaca's blog, who is also one of the owners of A+R today and am so psyched about the new Architect/Design Series of PlasticGod that they will be carrying (starting next week). PlasticGod is the work of artist Doug Murphy who depicts pop icons on small 4" x 7" canvases in his own illustrative style—self-dubbed "Your 21st Century Warhol". He's done The Royal Tenenbaums, the cast of Napolean Dynamite, Duran Duran, Andre 3000, The Breakfast Club, The Stones, The Brady Bunch—way too many to name. They're not up on A+R's website yet, but from looking around I'm guessing they'll be in the $100 range. Below is an image of PlasticGod's Frank Gehry. I think it's great, but according to PlasticGod.com, Gehry has disapproved of the caricature of himself, is it because of the Lego hands? Starting May 5th get them at A+R. (Above: Le Corbusier, Buchminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd Wright, I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry, Charles Eames. Not shown: Antoinio Gaudi).

I've conceded the point to many people, including my parents on a regular basis, that my dog Harrison is spoiled. She eats organic avocado-formulated meals, has three beds, blah blah blah. I know. I get it. I can't help it. But lately Matt has taken it to a new level. He's been speaking to her in French so she can grow up bilingual (OBVIOUSLY!). That guy on the street outside of a sports bar in Chicago saying, "Air-EE, AIR-EE-SON, Allez, allez, bonne fille,"—that's my boyfriend. Yeah. But I've noticed that there are other people out there that take their pets way too seriously. Case in point, the above and below Holden Designs pet bed ($250), the perfect piece to go with your Hans Wegner ch07 lounge chair ($2,120). And why wouldn't you want your dog to be napping on something inspired by Hans Wegner, one of the most well known designers from Denmark? His three-legged shell chair was originally introduced in 1963, but only a few limited series were produced. The chair was relaunched about ten years ago after three decades of oblivion. Interestingly, one of the original shell chairs from the 60s sold for $20,000 at Christies in London in 1999.

Speaking of French dogs, my friend Zoya is blogging from Paris with her new hilarious blog Le French Dog Blog—think of it as a cheeky Sartorialist for Parisien canines. Check it out!

I don't know if it is lack of sleep or coincidence, but I was looking around for today's post and all I saw were circles. Then I put them together and decided they looked cool. Clockwise from top left: Missoni "Jimmy" beach towel ($200); old-school Air Mail envelopes imported from Hong Kong ($6 for pack of five); John Derian 6x12 Color Dots decoupage tray ($92); Eames Hang-It-All ($149); Fornasetti drinking glasses ($305 for set of six).

There isn't much that UK designer Tom Dixon makes that I don't like—but I am especially loving his new Beat Lights ($420) which come in three shapes: fat, tall, wide—their silhouettes look great all together too. They're made of hand-beaten brass (hence the name) and inspired by typical water carrying receptacles found in India—not only that but Dixon has employed skilled artisans of India to actually manufacture them.

Umm. Woah. Hella Jongerius for Nike? These bad boys were released a few days ago as part of the Nike Sportwear 1 World AF1s series ($250). The sneaks are constructed of "Layers", a textile created by the Maharam Design Studio in collaboration with Dutch designer Hella Jongerius. $250 for Limited Edition AF1s by Jongerius, does anyone else think that's a steal? Not that I want them, per se, but just the idea of Jongerius + limited edition Air Force Ones—you'd think they'd be at least double that, especially since her vases (made from "Layers") run upwards of $5500!

I've been feverishly reading the biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth and it's got me in a 1920s state of mind—I'm seriously considering making some homemade gin this afternoon and hopping a train for Cincinnati. So I went searching for some fun 1920s and 1920s-inspired finds like the above Floral Parade Trophy ($425). From top to bottom: Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer ($1,600); 1920's French Woman Portrait ($325); Pattern #86 5-piece
place setting ($1,210) by Josef Hoffmann; 1st Ed. The Beautiful and the Damned ($9,500); Le Corbusier lc4 ($2,660); Tangente wrist watch ($3,050).