Category: Awesome Things

A New Knitting Bag

Posted on by Anna

Hello from Owasso, Oklahoma! It smells like grass here.

Today my lofty goal was to finally make it to Dwelling Spaces, the newish hipster design store in downtown Tulsa that I’ve been hearing so much about on my past couple of trips here. I had been meaning to visit for some time now, and I’m glad I did! It was even better than I had imagined, nicely stocked with locally made goods, designer toys, kitchen-y things, etc.

I bought up an armful of goodies for New York friends, and a couple things for myself, including this lovely tote by felix & jayne, locally made by Cristi Jayne Martin:

felixjayne

I’m what I call a “loosely organized” knitter, which means that I threw a couple balls of yarn in my suitcase for my trip here. So I’m excited to have a shiny newly-made-from-vintage-fabrics bag to carry around. I love the detailed stitching of it too:

felixjayne_detail

felix & jayne goods appear to be only available in Oklahoma at this time, but Cristi has an Etsy shop set up, so perhaps people outside of the area will be able to nab her handmade bags and other nice things sometime soon. I just emailed her to find out if she has plans for it.

At this time, Dwelling Spaces has an online shop set up with a small selection of “Tulsa”-branded goods. Also hoping they add to it soon!

The Electric Company

Posted on by Anna

Did you hear that Seseame Workshop is producing new episodes of The Electric Company?

I don’t have any specific memories of the show, which was in reruns on PBS by the time I was around to see it, but it must have made an impression on me, because everything I imagine about childhood in the ’70s seems to be based on the show: cheery diversity, music that was both educational and smart, and swirling animations in yellows and reds.

Here’s a delightful clip with Morgan Freeman that I could watch over and over again. I love its totally analog quality.

The new episodes are supposed to begin airing this fall.

Suitcase Table

Posted on by Anna

The same day that I scored a delightful rubber cat at the Hell’s Kitchen flea market, John picked up a fun foldable table.

suitcasetable1

suitcasetable2

As you can see, the sides of the case become the tabletop, and the seats unfold from the inside to make a picnic-style table. Pretty cool! It would be even cooler if the table weren’t kind of rickety-feeling when you sat on it, and if it wasn’t reealy heavy when folded up.

Empty Windows

Posted on by Anna

I took this photo with my phone camera a few weeks ago. It’s a building on 11th Avenue in New York, not far from where I live.

11avenue

I like how it’s a normal building, then it just stops, as if part of the backside melted away. Not sure what’s going on here.

Save the Merpeople

Posted on by Anna

Last year, husband John worked with the nonprofit organization Oceana to write and direct a humourous commercial about the plight of the merpeople, whose habitat and chances for a hot date are being destroyed by reckless overfishing. The idea was that the fake campaign would encourage people to get behind a real (and very important) cause.

The finished commercial and accompanying website are now online for all to see. (My friend Sarah Ries stars in it as the lovely-but-desperate “Merbachelorette.”)

If you like what you see, please visit the website to find out how you can help protect ocean life and ecosystems. The merpeople will thank you.

To Japan!

Posted on by Anna

Did I mention I’m going to Japan? I’m leaving in about 12 hours!

Husband John and I will be taking his mom and big brother on a 10-day tour of Tokyo and Kyoto, with a stopover in Nagoya to see friends. Yay!

I wasn’t necessarily expecting to return so soon (it was just about a year ago that John and I went for our last vacation), but the timing just worked out for all four of us. I think it’s going to be a riot to go with two people who’ve never been and don’t speak the language. We’re planning on lots of sightseeing, shopping, eating, and other fun activities that are so much more exciting there than here for some reason. Like crane games!

cranegame

Like last year, I might be a tad bit slow to respond to emails, but I’ll be online when I can, and still posting to the blog.

I’m also hoping to find tons of toy inspiration and the prizes for this year’s Mochimochi Photo contest!

Speaking of the photo contest, it’s not too early to start working on your entries! The contest will probably be a bit earlier this year—I’m thinking summertime or thereabouts. Here’s an amazing photo already from Giolou.

ninjabunzilla

Ninjabunzilla! I hope I get to meet him in person in Tokyo.

Off-Brand Play-Doh

Posted on by Anna

My husband and I bought some “Super Soft Dough” a few weeks ago to entertain our 3-year-old nephew, who was coming to visit for the evening. It turned out to be a success, keeping him entertained for a full 10 minutes out of the 4 hours or so that he was here.

I’ve since been the one to get the most entertainment out of the stuff, which has suddenly become my new favorite medium. (We kept it here, since our nephew tactfully declared “I have lots of this at my house,” when John presented it as a gift.) I love several things about it: it smells nice, it dries quickly, so you have to do something with it right away instead of sitting back and thinking about what you’re going to make, and the neon colors are fab.

Last night I made some nature scenes with it—I liked the effect of landscapes and animals in blindingly hot colors. Tonight I made a swimming pool.

swimmingpool

It’s a fun way to brainstorm without the scariness of a blank page, and really relaxing too, since you can only have so much control over the crumbly substance. I recommend picking some up the next time you pass by a toy store, if you don’t already have some.