Vintage Gorgeousness in Wood: Almond Hartzog

 It's not very often that I wish that I still had money. Swarovski encrusted masks aside, I'm not much of a "stuff" person. OK, that is not entirely true... I have a lot of stuff. But it is a lifetime acquisition type of stuff... not a rotating roster. I actually am more apt to collect other people's glorious junk from garage sales and thrift stores than anything else... and it is usually with the intent on using it in a photo shoot or similar type experience. That's it. I have theoretical experience based junk. And lots of it. Buuuuut.... there might just be room in my home for one or more of these things from Almond Hartzog's Gallery. (This would be the continuation of my unfortunately resurrected obsession with 1st Dibs. Ugh.)

The issue that I have is that I have always been mentally preparing for my forever home. As a renter, I am stuck with the irony that while I need to have "whatever works in this space right now" pieces, I also really want to be collecting what I really actually want for my future home. If only I could really really decide on just ONE style that I truly resonated with... I am getting closer all the time... LOL... sorta.

Trend: Shipping Pallet Furniture

Pallet shelving (Love!) via Remodelista

 The most utilitarian piece of junk has recently stormed the design front in every application from headboard to sofa to wall shelf. The industrial look combined with everybody's favourite price (free) is definitely going to appeal, but there are two things that people may not be aware of. One very, very good, and one potentially very, very bad. Uh-oh.

This is actually wine crates, but same principle... and cooler IMO... via itsdesigned.

Years ago I dated a guy briefly who was figuring out how to build his house. He wanted to put as much re-use into it as possible and the creative genius he showed was waaaay out of the box. One of the things that impressed me the most was his research into things that, at the time, were unheard of.

Pallet pieces cut and placed in a herringbone pattern. Photo from a welltraveledwoman.com

 He decided to create the flooring from lathed pallets as they are found in alleys all the time with signs begging people to take them away. It occurred to him that since these pallets were generally coming from overseas, they would be made from wood that would be considered exotic to us. He took some samples to the woodworking school, and his suspicions were confirmed. Mahogany was everywhere, and many more types were found as well. The process of lathing the pieces down to similar size/thickness was offset by that gorgeous price tag. He was sold. So was I. I have been filing that in the back of my brain for over a decade now, and that is the very, very GOOD thing... exotic hardwood flooring, for FREE. Combined with my desire to reclaim and re-use and generally leave as small a footprint as possible... this is all good, right?

Headboard via desire to inspire

I have used pallets as sofa frames, fencing, and garden plot framing. I am the pallet PR person. It always seems like a good thing to me when you get creative with your sources, and some of these back alley pallets are new wood! The thing that kept me from using too many inside the home was the birth of Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Having kids meant that I started asking questions I would maybe not have otherwise. One year when I was looking for wood for a project, I hauled some pallets to my parent's place to use my stepfather's saws. He asked me if I was aware of the amount of toxins that were sprayed on the pallets before they were shipped overseas to keep any bugs or spores or what-have-you from traveling with them. Enter very, very BAD scenario. The things I was making were intended for the kids room, so I did some research, and what I found was not very happy.

Painting them out seemed like a good option. I really liked the wood look and feel though. And I am still unclear as to how bad the toxins are if they are painted over. Does it seal them in? Or are we taking chemical reaction on instead? Ugh. I am not here to scare the bejeezus out of anyone, but as I am seeing these everywhere (and loving the look) I thought somebody might want to bring it up. So far I haven't seen the subject of toxins raised anyplace else on the design blog front.

Like any worthy question, this one raises more questions... we all know that many of the furniture and finishing products in our houses conventionally are filled with toxins already, so if we are the type to just go and buy a whatever sofa, then wouldn't it be fine to jump on this trend? Absolutely. Many of the chemical treatments are the same (formaldehyde etc.) as a sofa from Target or Crate & Barrel or wherever, and this is far better for the environment in the sense that it is keeping these pallets out of a landfill. Could you varnish or somehow seal the wood first? Sure, if the woman down at "Colour Your World" is correct, any treatment of that type will seal in the toxins and you don't have to worry.

There is also the option of the greener pallet. They do exist, and if you are using pallets that were used to ship domestically (within your own country) there is a much greater chance that toxins were not used. There are also companies that use a heating process to treat their pallets instead of toxins. If you take the time to ask a few questions, not only will you find (hopefully) some answers, but you will have the added benefit of raising awareness with the companies using toxic shipping meathods. The demand for less toxins and environmentally damaging processes in the world from a consumer perspective always starts with asking questions!

Coffee table from upcycled pallet via Tina's Apt.

All in all, this is a trend that I LOVE. I really want to see more of this inventiveness and out of the box thinking during the time of economic crisis and the need of the common folk have always been the catalyst of such. I can't wait to see what's next!

Tick Tock... Wood Clock

This is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a while.

OH! Canadaaaaa...

Truth be told, I am more than a bit miffed about the way Canadians are puffing up about the Olympics happening shortly in my original hometown of Vancouver. I am fairly political and as far as I am concerned, this is exactly the time to be standing up for people's rights, not rolling belly up for the sole benefit of catching some of the cheap swag being handed out by the big corps who are leading the whole procession. Don't get me wrong, I am 110% behind anyone who has been devoted enough to their passion to actually make it to the games, and am patriotic enough to care about the Canadians involved... unfortunately though, the past couple of years has meant a whole lot of bad news for anyone not on the upper class end of this bandwagon. Many have been removed from their homes, programs for the area have been pulled while gentrifying the area and a ridiculous amount of money that should have been going to health care and education has been earmarked and overspent for "getting the city and province ready" for said event. Supremely uncool in my book, and yet all of a sudden, in spite of all of this, most people seem to be suddenly catching Olympic fever and rah-rah-rah-ing along with the Coca-Cola anthem.

Having had that rant, some good is coming from the event whether in the form of arts grants such as Legacy Now and the APCD (which funded over 6 million dollars worth of theatre, music, arts and cultural organizations,) to set the stage for the games. There were many artists who were able to tap into the Legacy Now funding to produce merchandise to represent BC while the world comes to visit, and many companies will, I'm sure, be able to expand their networks and their customer bases if the are paying attention.

This week I am tracking down some of the Canadian talent you might want to look for if you are visiting for the Games and are not familiar with those of us North of the American border. Some of us don't define Canadiana as moose heads and antler chandeliers, although I suppose it is true enough that "rustic" has seen more than its share of the spotlight as of late. For today though, we will focus on a more modern approach :)

First off, I can't go further without mentioning a few publications that I know can be difficult to find if you are not in a big city in the rest of the world and might be worth a subscription. I can't truly relate them to Domino or Blueprint, as they are a little less graphicly hip and slightly more sophisticated, but for those of you who are on the desperate hunt for replacement rags for the former, let me introduce you to House and Home and Style at Home magazines. The quality of these magazines have yet to be found (by myself anyway) in most publications and although I loved both Domino and BP, I have always wondered why the photography, styling and substance of other mags didn't quite live up to magazines made by a much smaller publishing company. Maison et Demeure is the french adaptation of House and Home and while I am sure there is some crossover, there is also plenty of ID eye-candy from in and around Canada's french quarter.

Looolo is one of my favourite "comfy things" designers on the market. Based in Montreal, their cushions are just stunning and are something you most likely have seen posted about because they are just so nifty. They are very careful about their impact on the planet as well, which always gets major bonus points from me. They have a waffly blanket that is currently ranked way high on my list of items I am dreaming of...



Molo devises sculptural furniture that is brilliant fun. The design team is made up of architects whose forays into what you can do with kraft paper boggle the mind. They have pieces in MoMA to back up my accusation of genius. I covet their Float champagne and martini glasses.



Fluf Design out of Toronto creates soft products such as pillows, napkins, bags and the like with both a modern aesthetic and a commitment to sustainability. They also make available their textile prints as yardage to the trade, which is pretty brilliant.


Manor12 creates lovely pieces of furniture, pillows and lampshades with funky patterns and designs. I am trying to figure out where I could possibly fit this bench into my apartment...


Centrifuge is one of my favourite places to find accessories that work as tiny pieces of art around the home. Their salt and pepper sets are gorgeous and their crayola pack of modern mailboxes are a welcome walk in another direction for those who are just not happy having their mail contained in "typical" little lunchbox-like contraptions.




Ceramic and glass is brought to new dimensions with aj from Montreal. I adore their cylindrical vases but their mortar and pestle sets are what really had me hooked on them... as are many others in the blogosphere I have noticed. They make a nifty teapot as well... I can't find a web address for them, but they are available for purchase here at Modern Karibou.



Gus Design Group from Vancouver is represented everywhere so it is easy to track down their most fabulous pieces...




Holtzundmetal is also based out of Vancouver and mixes industrial and sleek into some of the most stunning modern designs on the market. I don't know why these guys have not received more attention...