Tchochkes

Lucky cats are kind of cute.  Here they all are waving their luck your away…

These cats are considered to bring luck into homes and businesses in Chinese and Japanese cultures.  If the paw is mechanical and can move, this is even more auspicious.  The waving motion is said to bring a homes inhabitants wealth and prosperity.

Symbols:

Left paw up: Invites friends into home

Right paw up: Invites money and fortune

Both paws up: (Stick um up!) Protects the home

The bib and bell: Material abundance

I like these cats for their positive expression.  You don’t have to be Chinese or Japanese to enjoy their positive energy… why not invite one or two in to enhance your home, they don’t eat much!

Amazon.com ships this cat internationally.

I was inspired to write about collections after visiting a tiny apartment on the second annual ”House Tours” event here in Tel Aviv a few weekends ago.  Nothing else about the apartment was outstanding, but the way the collection was managed made an impression on me.  I come from a family of collectors… it can be a blessing or a curse depending how the collection is displayed.  Around my house we say “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”.

Here’s the collection that I saw on the house tour.  This guy had a fetish for action figures and small stone figurines.  I think he did a nice job on the display shelves which were in the center of the apartment and could be seen upon entering.

Here’s another collection of action figures, this one has reached it’s maximum capacity. This looks like a store display, but it’s not! 

Collectibles can be found in the most unique places.  There are also fairs and markets all over the world that only sell collections.  A friend of mine just made a special trip to Amsterdam for “Queens Day”.  On Queens Day, the residents of Amsterdam put their “junk” out in front of their houses and sell it for cheap.  She had a ball!

My 10 year old is a collector of sorts.  She recently reorganized here collection shown here.  At least they are the small ones…

When we moved to Israel 2 years ago we shipped six boxes filled to the brim with these Beanie Babies. The shelves were a good solution to house this collection.  After collapsing twice, they had to be specially reinforced. 

Salt & pepper shakers are a popular collectible.  I chose a few that I thought were cute.  You would be amazed at how much information there is on the web dedicated just to collections, I know I was.

I had to show this apron collection, it is a real hoot.  I can’t believe someone would even go there, however I do think that the solutions for display here are very resourceful.

These aprons are hung so conveniently,  you could just grab one on your way out to the BBQ!

Tips for displaying a collection:

* Display the collection against a neutral background, the collection adds the color.

* Choose one area in the home and confine the collection to it.

* Limit the collection to a specific theme.

* For maximum impact, group the items in the collection by color or theme.

* Display cabinets and shelves are great solutions for housing collections and keeping them safe.

Once again Artlook has found a hot item.  Shown here, Doggy Bank is very similar in style to a sculpture by the popular kitsch artist Jeff Koons; featured last month in the American magazine Elle Decor.  This looks like a case of “the copy cats” to me but I’m not talking… 

If you happen to be in New York…

Be  inspired with these bright, fun flowers by Takashi Murakami.  Not only does this artist tap into the current brights trend, he combines fine art, design, animation and fashion to bring us a spectacular show that can be seen at The Brooklyn Museum through July 13th. 

Here are a few more examples of his work.  I find this fully saturated room soothing in an odd sort of way…

You can see the whimisical print in this close up… Somebodys watching you!

Eyeball print

Tapping into fashion, Murakami was comissioned by Louis Vuitton to re-design their well known two tone logo.  The result changed the face of high end handbag design. 

Original Louis Vuitton Color Combination

Louis Vuitton Bag in brights by Murakami

Clearly, Murakami has a keen eye for textiles, product, media and fashion.  I am sure we will see more of his work in the future.

…

Zoli Havazelet Neuman is an Israeli interior designer who I found while doing a random search on google.co.il. Her work leaves a blank canvas for the homeowner to put their personal touch on (read that whatever way you would like - you would probably be right.) The salon (above and below) have a ‘carpet’ of wood inlay giving a coziness to the space. I would have liked a bit of color, but designers have to go within the realms of their clients taste.

The fake brick wall above has me torn. I can understand why the spaces would be separated in order to create a more formal dining area. I understand how the brick ads interest and texture. I just don’t know if I actually like it or not. I’ve always thought of brick as an outside of the house material. It should be red, and the home should be located somewhere in the Northeast US surrounded by trees and a white picket fence. Here brick is used as the modern equivalent of wallpaper, only it can’t be changed as easily. My concern is that this will end up being a fad, and once the fad is over it will look sad and dated and will be a pain to change.

I love the color mix on the walls of the TV room above. I find it funny that the TV is the focus point instead of the cool old school looking furnace. That is a strictly Israeli thing IMHO - here one can’t be bothered acting as if the room is used for anything but TV, when any other country would want to focus on the oven and have the TV as an afterthought.

I like the clean walkway above. The white built in drawers are a practical addition and the chairs have a nice shape. I also like the wood detail bordering the room.

The kitchen design is simple, but effective. The set-in handles are interesting and I love the pot-rack. I’m not totally certain what the point is of the hood over the stove when there are two windows which can be opened…

You don’t have to be a drag queen to love these lamps, but having a strong sense of humor is required. These are so over the top and insanely kitsch you just can’t but like them.

Merav makes table lamps from found objects, turning the mundane into a work of art.

I especially like the dolls head in the middle of the first lamp (left). It’s art d’Chucky.

These wouldn’t fit into every space, but I could see them working in an almost stark atmosphere. They would need to be the statement piece in the room (not too difficult - can’t imagine much that would stand out compared to these lamps).

I could also see them working well in a kids room (well, all of them minus the ones with the doll’s head - that might give your kid a nightmare.)