Category: Uncategorized
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Geocache: Piccola Casa Curiosa
Update: The Casa is now a geocache at www.geocaching.com (and getting great traffic!) ********** We’ve been calling this piece of interactive art-in-progress the GiveOneGetOneBox. But knowing firsthand how search engines perv up any title that might possibly have something to do with naked women and intercourse, I’ve officially changed the name. Call it what you will. For… Read more
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Something Old, Something New
Seven years ago I snapped a photograph of a pair of doors that I fell in love with in New York City. I always carried it with me, hoping to find some of my very own. Four years ago I built a recessed, open-shelved cabinet in the dining room that never felt quite done. Two… Read more
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Stalking the Purple Beast
Immaculate, it was not. Or maybe I have a wildly different understanding of the meaning of that word: mint; without wear, tear or staining; something that can be used right away without an additional investment of time or money. But everyone knows by now that buying anything used online is always caveat emptor. I drove… Read more
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This Belongs in Your House
Dear Claire: The days are shortening, the nights are cool and I am, slowly, packing away my summer things for another year. When I see this dress hanging in my closet – the one you admired – I can’t bear to banish it to the basement. It reminds me too much of you, Ellen and… Read more
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A Rich Interior Life
Based on the storybook exterior, I anticipated a magical interior. And knowing the artists/potters Claire and Andy Squire, I expected it would be personal, handmade, intriguing and fun. Their living space, workshop and gallery are housed in La Maison des Sangliers, an iconic 15th-century, half-timbered building bordering the village square in Noyers-Sur-Serein, France. Like most… Read more
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All Manners of Eating With Children
I wish I had never raised the subject. We’re taking the family away for the summer to France and Italy, which have heavily ritualized food-based cultures. Husband was born and raised in Northern Italy and I have been a regular visitor to western Europe over the years, so we’re not unfamiliar with the cultural expectations… Read more
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CurioCabinet: “Lumbermen”
Credit: Ronny Jaques / National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada / PA-204120 Read more
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It’s Hard to Get a Life (But That Doesn’t Mean You Shouldn’t Try)
Take a couple of minutes to check out this August 14th, 2011 post from writer/blogger James Hoffmann on his site jimseven. I love that he differentiates between ‘consuming’ and ‘making’, and recognizes that he has been doing more of the former than the latter. He’s chosen to stop writing the blog he loves, quitting cold… Read more
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Restoration
One of my favourite summer experiences took place in one of Winnipeg’s roughest neighbourhoods. On a drive around town, I spotted the most amazing mosaic mural under construction in a most unlikely location. I made an illegal left turn into an empty parking lot and jumped out with my camera in hand. I happily snapped… Read more
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Building Model: Bensonwood Homes
According to New Hampshire builder Tedd Benson of Bensonwood Homes “we have a crisis of entanglement in our buildings.” In this 2010 video presentation to the College of the Atlantic, Benson discusses his Open-Built® Strategy for creating sustainable housing, and other buildings, that he expects to last several hundred years. Thanks to Andy C at… Read more