Harry and Sal's Design Blog

SAL: Today's post comes winging its way to you from the fabulousness of New York City. I'm staying at the Soho Grand Hotel, which, with its industrial chicness, is too wonderful for words. They even give you a goldfish at check in, which I find, being so far from home, a great comfort - is that odd? Hmm, perhaps, but true nonetheless. Anyway, along the lines of Harry's giving for good this season, I wanted to highlight these delightful Xmas cards available through Sub-Studio. Not only are they cute, but all the proceeds from each sale go to benefit the Shama Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing educational opportunities for children of Madagascar. Thanks to Bloesem for this great find.

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Sal, Stationery

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 12/12/2007 1 Comments

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HARRY: OK, I am now officially a bad mother - kid's are being neglected so I can write about lighting! I have to make this quick. Velocity has some great new light shades. Check out the lovely Norm O3 by Britt Mornum (above). It reminds me of crinolines. Lush. And I just came across Tord Boontje's amazing Second Shadow lamp (below)...has this been around for a while? I know Sal loves these kinds of lights. This I would like for Christmas! Speaking of which I found some very cool LED christmas lights - much kinder on the environment - at NECO.

Labels: Christmas, Harry, Lighting

posted by cerentha harris at 12/10/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: This year my extended family has decided not to give presents to each other. Instead we have pooled the money and are donating it. The process of choosing a charity was interesting (we finally went with St Jude's in Tanzania run by Gemma Rice, an amazing Australian woman. It met our helping-kids-criteria and had an Aussie link which was important to us). While we were doing this I was reading Dave Eggers' What is the What - an amazing fictionalized account of a Sudanese man's plight. (And an excellent Christmas present for anyone trying to understand Africa). In the book Save the Children crops up as a powerful and positive force in the refugee camps. They've got the usual online shop (see the sweet baby's hat above). They also have a very smart Christmas gift program. You can buy a mozzie net, or a goat, or fresh water and are making that donation in a friend or family member's name. Last year our dear friends Ruth and David 'gave' us a beehive. This year maybe it will be a goat!

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 12/10/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: I recently got an email about Tonic - a website that is devoted to selling cool design t-shirts and sending the proceeds to Africa. I've always been a bit cynical about fashion forays into saving the world. These people look like they've got it right. Check out the Net Tee. A shirt covered in butterflies in the shape of Africa. The sale of each Tee buys 3 mosquito nets. It's worth having a look at the website, which is cleverly designed, even if you don't buy a shirt. I think they'd make great Christmas presents.

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Harry, Style

posted by cerentha harris at 12/09/2007 1 Comments

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SAL: I wrote about Swedish designer Isabelle Norman Sallstrom's delightful personalized prints a while ago and I had to revisit. I just bought a selection for gifts for the holidays and the quality of the prints is outstanding. I'm so pleased. You can choose your motif, colors and text for something totally unique for your child.

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Kids, Sal

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 12/08/2007 0 Comments

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I asked a few of my most tasteful girlfriends recently to suggest some of their favorite jewelry designers to share with you all. Beth pointed me in the direction of Susan Fleming (below). Her website profiles her work incorporating different Japanese paper, which is pretty, but I've recently seen Beth wearing some of Susan's more recent pieces with semi-precious gemstones which are even more lovely. Look forward to seeing some of those of on Susan's website soon.

A couple of folks recommended Becky Kelso (below) - semi-precious gemstones in classic settings- stunning! You can't buy anything at her own website, but online jewelry boutique Ylang | 23 (thanks Mickie!) has a small selection. Ylang |23 has an interesting range of designers well-worth checking out.

Liseanne Frankfurt now has her own store on - yes you guessed it Abbot Kinney. Unfortunately you can't view any of her pieces online, but you can download a PDF of her catalogue. Her chunky, burnished silvers and gold aren't cheap, but they are exquisite.

And lastly, my own personal favorite, Sonya Ooten. My husband has a habit of going to Sonya for birthdays and holiday gifts and I consider myself a very lucky woman! Her designs are beautifully delicate and you can personalize each piece to use the gemstones that mean something to you.

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Jewelry, Sal, Style

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 12/01/2007 1 Comments

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HARRY: There seems to be a bit of silver and gold coming together in jewelry right now. I found some lovely necklaces...perfect Christmas presents. Plus a rather wonderful pair of black rose earrings (am I influenced by Kate Moss' new perfume campaign? No idea what the stuff smells like but I do like that black rose). Click on the images to find out where the pieces are from...

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Harry, Jewelry

posted by cerentha harris at 11/25/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: My friend Liane sent me a link to ecorazzi. It's a fantastic blog...kind of like Who Weekly for people interested in all things green. I love it. They posted these cool bags from Gooc made from recycled canvas tarps. Clever. Stylish. Good Christmas gift...

Labels: Bags, Christmas, Gifts, Green, Harry, Style

posted by cerentha harris at 11/22/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: I'm getting right into games. I've started playing Uno with my 5 year old son (what a cool card game that is) and I'm looking for simple games I can play with my 2 year old daughter. DWR has a lovely memory game using Maharam fabric designs (above) and MOMA has a cool chair stacking game (below) that I think they would both like.

Labels: Christmas, Gifts, Harry, Kids

posted by cerentha harris at 11/17/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: Small Paul (from veteran Paul Frank) has partnered with 10 Grain to produce a new range of great furniture and toys coming out in December (above and below) - just in time for Christmas. The designs are witty and the materials are perfectly child friendly. I especially love the Julius house below. It's a really cool take on the doll's house. But the stuff is pricey. The stool is $158 and the house is $199. I know IKEA has a stool a bit like the one above for $29. Not sure about the doll's house. Maybe you just bite the bullet and this is there one big gift for Chrissie? Or, if anyone knows of a less expensive alternative please let us know!

Labels: Christmas, Furniture, Gifts, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 11/14/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: Holiday season seems well and truly here...I'm starting to think about christmas cards. I like the idea of a very simple card with no message that I can put a photo of the kids in. I've never seen one with a photo on the front that wasn't a bit tacky! I also like the idea of the kids making something. So may try that too. But I found this mix of cards around the web - click on each card for its link. Enjoy!

Labels: 94, Christmas, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 11/09/2007 0 Comments

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