Hunt and Gather: Seaworthy Jewelry

By Amanda Rickenbach

Seaworthy is a local Portland jewelry line created by Marisa Howard. Her line began with all vintage parts and pieces and evolved to include a variety of handmade mixed metal pieces. All are hand shaped and hammered with 12k gold fill wire, perfect for sensitive ears. Seaworthy's jewelry is so in tune with the Americana trends we have happening right now, while somehow managing to remain soft and timeless.

"I am inspired by simple, geometric shapes and textile patterns from the 1930's. A customer told me that my jewelry has it's own language. I like that idea." -Marisa

Dutchtubs

By Amanda Rickenbach

How do you feel about bathing outdoors? The Dutchtub is an award-winning hot tub that’s inner workings are incredibly simple: wood fired and with natural circulation. Simple luxury.

With this smart fiber glass polyester construction and the sturdy, long-lasting materials you can use the Dutchtub where ever you want, any time you want. Choose from a variety of colors: Dutchtub Orange, Ocean Green, Light Blue, Pigeon Blue, Reed Green, and Dark Grey.  I'd put my tub on a bluff in the Columbia Gorge or in a secret wooded area on the Oregon coast.  Our long winters would feel extra warm with one of these cozy accessories hanging around.

View their inspiring video above - now you can't say no. 


photos: Weltevree

Hunt and Gather: Huddleson Linens

By Amanda Rickenbach

Established in Los Angeles in 2011 Huddleson Linens creates tablecloths, table runners, placemats and napkins that are printed with artistic and timeless designs. Their prints are designed specifically for the table and are brought to life by using hand painted art work. Looking at the images one can sense that handmade quality and see the original brush strokes.

Much of their linen comes from Italy, where textile weaving has been an art and a science handed down through generations. The fabric is resilient, beautiful and can easily become a piece that you hand down to future generations

The founder, Tim Gledhill, very sweetly wrote this about the dining table:

"The dining table holds a special place in our lives – a place to come together; to meet, nourish, converse, celebrate and console.  A place for first dates and last suppers.  Throughout the ages table linens have been a central part of everyday life as well as the greatest celebrations.  From biblical dinners and Roman banquets; through the Renaissance paintings of the Dutch masters, with groaning tables and fine tablecloths; to Dick Whittington, who began an epic rags-to-riches journey with nothing but a few belongings bundled into a napkin.
Sometimes, in the present day, we forget that every meal can – and should – be a special occasion.  We should remember."

Doesn't that inspire you to create wonderful meals and start using beautiful table linen at every meal? Even a simple cloth napkin?

Hunt and Gather: Heath Ceramics

By Amanda Rickenbach

Heath Ceramics has been handcrafting ceramic tableware that is beautiful, simple and enduring since 1948. Worldwide, Heath's limited production ceramics are treasured for their timeless beauty and functional everyday use.

Heath Ceramics homeware collections allows you to decorate living spaces that are both contemporary and timeless. On their website they describe their tile as "perfectly imperfect" which resonates strongly with me because, in my opinion, "imperfections" bring personality and character to a space. This isn't to say that you will receive chipped tiles, it simply means that each piece has it's own organic and beautiful shape that perfectly compliments other pieces in the collection.

Heath's iconic, mid-century aesthetic extends from intimate home environments, to restaurants, to large-scale public installations. Their traditional hand-glazing techniques "produce a ceramic tile with which endless creative possibilities can be explored."

I've admired Heath's ceramic house numbers for some time now. Pictured above is a celebrated Eames tile; but they also combine clay, kilns and craft with numerical interpretation of Richard Neutra's design legacy. They marry simple, geometric forms and rich glazes in classic, beautiful colors.

All photo's from Heath Ceramics website.

Hunt and Gather: ScarfShop

By Amanda Rickenbach

The ScarfShop creates beautiful handmade scarfs using silk and cotton. Trained as an architect, Martha, the designer, turned to her passion of making things by hand. It's easy to see that she loves what she does by the care and attention that goes into each scarf and the way she captures their beauty on camera.

Hunt and Gather: Blackline Stoneware

By Amanda Rickenbach

I first stumbled upon this simple and elegant collection while picking up pendant lights at School House Electric, for a Fig. project. These pieces are designed to withstand the rigors of daily life and are made out of lead-free, fully vitrified stoneware. A natural color glaze is finished with a hand-painted black stripe for understated simplicity.

We all lead busy lives, and let's face it, we don't always have time to prepare a beautiful meal for ourselves and our families. Blackline Stoneware pieces can be used in the freezer, oven,  or microwave, and they dishwasher safe. Perfect for our fast paced lives. We also love to support American designers and manufacturers, and Blackline Stoneware is made in the USA.

Hunt & Gather: I Got No Strings

Objeti via Design Milk

I'm digging Objeti's playfully faceted introduction at ICFF- the spiraled red cording really makes this fixture come alive.

Hunt & Gather: Modern Windsor

 

We're loving the graphic quality of this glossy black interpretation of the classic Windsor.  Go for a sit test at your local West Elm.

Hunt & Gather: Etch

 

We're loving Tom Dixon's new Etch Light in Brass.  A decidedly more sophisticated solution to the bare bulb kit.  

Hunt & Gather: Scenes from The Good Mod

After a stop at Portland Powder Coating to pick out the perfect shade of white for a custom marble and steel dining table, I detoured to the nearby warehouse location of The Good Mod.  Well curated and laid out, the 7,000 sq.ft. showroom has a striking collection of unusual seating, case goods, and decorative accessories.  A friendly staff member greeted me and gave me a primer on a pair of first-edition Eames fiberglass chairs, which sadly had to leave in the showroom.  I'm headed back to the showroom this Sunday the 30th for the MCM League's meeting featuring local legend, Saul Zaik.  Checkout TGM's Facebook page for more info.  See you there?

Nori Morimoto :: Music Stand

I'd love to see this modern music stand in multiples, perhaps lining the wall of a den, or on an elevated surface.  A true piece of art.

From the Artist, Nori Morimoto

Working in my studio among the roaring sounds of heavy machinery from dawn to dusk, I struggle and search for form amidst the sawdust and cuttings. I scream to the mountains and only hear myself in return as my voice rocks of the night-black wall of trees and petrified sediment that are the brook’s banks. I look at my fingers, cracked, splitting, chipped and bleeding, much like the wood that yields to them. Each piece of wood is unique—like a person—a masterpiece of character. Every day I discover something extraordinary about each piece. Sometimes it leads to disappointment, but this only encourages me to continue searching.

Fig is always looking for objects with soul.  When you learn to look beyond the surface, you'll see how that wood bends, how that joint stays together, and how that piece ended up in your living room. 

Hunt & Gather: Ofuro Inspired Tubs

 Space planning a compact room is almost always challenging, particularly when you're designing a new space for an older home with little opportunity to expand.  Fig Studio is currently working on rehabbing an existing bathroom in a 1920's bungalow situated on Grant Park in NE Portland.  Floor space is at a premium, but it is important for the client to have the option to bathe and soak.  The solution?  A Japanese Ofuro inspired soaking tub.  It offers the bather full immersion, without requiring the floor space of a traditional tub.  This style of bathing, in fact, will allow the user to comfortably sit and read while relaxing the muscles in the back and shoulders and releasing the traditional pressure points experienced when bathing in a standard tub.

Employing creative solutions is the key to success on a challenging project.  We strive to abandon standard school of thought when faced with an unusual space, complex programming, or small footprints.  One-size-fits all doesn't apply to interior design, it's all about adapting new solutions for individual clients.

L to R: Caruso Round, Julien by Troy Adams, and William Garvey teak

Hunt & Gather: Moonwoods Frames

These glasses are like tiny pieces of functional furniture!  I love them.  Handcrafted right here in pdx, Moonwoods offers custom frame styles for the most discerning clients.  When you're not wearing these beauties, they'll make the perfect table accessory.

Hunt & Gather: Heath Ceramics Creamer & Sugar

One of the first items we added to our wedding registry was the Heath Ceramics coup sugar bowl and creamer in linen glaze.  Smooth lines feel perfect in the hand and the classic shape is sure to stand the test of time.  Purchase locally at Canoe in PDX.

Hunt & Gather: Altamura Organizer

I love the simplicity of this leather sling-style organizer.  Get your magazines out of that bucket and on the wall!  Designed and artisan made in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico by Casamidy (my current obsession)

Hunt & Gather: Hospicio

 

Casa Midy's tailored rustic pendant:  Hospicio