My "Aunt" Kathy gave me a pair of Ted Muehling Black Onyx Acorn Earrings when I graduated from business school in May, and they very quickly became a wardrobe staple. I am pretty certain I've worn them every day since then. They're that good. I am a very picky earring wearer - especially for work. I also have sensitive ears (and hate anything heavy). These earrings are light and face flattering, and there's something perfect and unexpected about the onyx and acorn shape (I wouldn't have normally been drawn to them if shopping for myself, and now I can't imagine not having them - which is part of the magic of gift-giving and -receiving). They're shaped and designed just so, so that I can hold a phone to my ear at work without experiencing both intense pain and the pervasive fear that I'm going to pierce my aorta and die while on a conference call (Paranoia? Maybe. But wouldn't that be a way to go?!). And, as you might imagine, wearing earrings while sleeping is not even close to an option for me (sleeping in jewelry = total heebie-jeebies), but the shape and lightness of these earrings are such that I actually forget I am wearing them (and thus sleep has occurred on more than one occasion with these little nuggets still secured to my ears). They're that comfortable. Before Kathy's gift, I'd previously never heard of Ted Muehling, and now I'm beyond obsessed. Ted Muehling's designs are inspired by "natural elements" and have really beautiful, organic lines and balanced, interesting proportions. They are delicate and studied. Earthy, yet modern. Light, but there. They go with everything, really (day, night, work, play), but I particularly like them with minimalistic looks and clean lines like the Vince blouses I mentioned here with a well-tailored blazer and the weekend wear I mentioned here (I might even say they inspired those looks!). And they're perfect for a quiet statement at the office. They assert their presence without being loud. They're quiet, but not shy, and that's what makes them perfect. As you'll recall, my mother has always told me to buy a favorite thing in multiple colors. If I were to get an additional pair, I would get the Carnelian (for a muted but fiery pop) and maybe the Rose Quartz (for a self-confident wallflower feel). Ted Muehling jewelry comes in a range of prices ($170-$2600+), and I think the acorn is the best both in style and in value (which works out nicely for your wallet). They're a bit of a splurge, but you'll wear them forever. All Available At Bergdorf Goodman with Free Standard Shipping: Ted Muehling Black Onyx Acorn Earrings $200 Ted Muehling Carnelian Acorn Earrings $200 Ted Muehling Rose Quartz Acorn Earrings $200 Happy shopping and accessorizing... Have a wonderful weekend! KK
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I have developed a healthy obsession with Eames or Eames-like molded chairs with sheepskin rugs artfully tossed on them. It's a mix of urban modern and rustic coziness. Love it. Especially as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter. My husband Matt and I are lucky to have a working fireplace, but we still have never outfitted the area with appropriate seating. I've been trying to find the right chair "mood" on a scale of antique/traditional to modern/non-traditional. We want something with some coziness to it but with a good deal of non-upholstery (e.g. wood or metal) to break up the seating experience in our living room (our living room is sectioned into "dining area," "TV-watching/living area" and "empty space around the fireplace area" - the dining area is all loaded up with wood and everything in the TV-watching area is heavily upholstered). So, how to achieve non-upholstered coziness? French antique Louis XIV/XV/XVI chairs with light upholstery? Or something more modern and bohemian involving wood or metal or - dare I say - plastic?? Mix in a little furriness for good measure? Because I have a lot of antique French and Italian going on in my apartment with a touch of Asian, I wanted to mix the overall aesthetic up with something a bit more modern but with the ability to blend into what I already have going on. The Eames chair achieves all that I was looking for: modern, but not glaringly so, and with a vintage throw-back quality; plus it's got plastic, wood and metal! It's all so very American! (Well, the originals were Fiberglass, but I digress.) Add in a cozy sheepskin throw (faux or real), and you're set for winter-time cozy fireplace lounging. Full disclosure: I would always prefer to own an original. I am not usually one to promote knockoffs. We could go over the pros and cons and IP issues, but at $500 a pop for the real deal, it's just not in the cards for me right now (if you want the real deal, go here at Design Within Reach - they have the rights and the original chair molds). But for you "chipper" chicken fans (go to 3:30 in the clip!), read on about my hunt for affordable Eames look-alikes and cozy furry throws. I found a pair of Eames-style Eiffel armchairs with wood legs on Craigslist on Sunday for $100 that I was pretty excited about, but I LOST THE SALE to an even more eager beaver Craigslist shopper than me (the horror). Sigh. Slight devastation, but obviously it wasn't meant to be. Fresh off of this loss, I decided that I need to own these chairs immediately and under mainstream, mass-produced conditions (I couldn't deal with the anticipation and high/low that comes from auction or Craigslist shopping) - so to established online retailers I went. After some Google searching and some helpful advice (and snobby comments) from Apartment Therapy, I settled on the Retro-classic White Accent Chairs (Set of 2) from Overstock.com for $166.99 (down from $219.91) with FREE SHIPPING (little in this world makes me happier than free shipping) and a DISCOUNT CODE that gave me an additional $20 off (the only thing better than free shipping is an additional discount code for extra savings!). (Note: White on White had good recs, but for $320 a pop, I'd rather splurge and buy the real thing.) Just for fun, let's compare the cost of purchasing the Overstock chairs v. the real deal from DWR (excluding tax). Overstock: Pair @ $166.99 (or $83.50 each) Shipping @ FREE Additional Discount: $20 off for spending $150+ Total: $146.99 DWR: Pair @ $998 (or $499 each) Shipping @ $79.84 Additional Discount: None Total: $1077.84 What do we save?? $930.85! Man, I love deal hunting. In addition to that sweet set of cheapo chairs, I am buying two lambskin rugs from a charming Canadian company called Southern Cross Sheepskins Inc. (website: Sheepskinstuff.com) to complete the look. The size (24"x42") runs a bit larger than the rugs I've seen on Joss & Main, Overstock, Pottery Barn, Ikea, etc. (all 24"x36"), which I think will work well with the chairs (I want some of the rug edges to hang over the chair edges). And the cost is reasonable ($67 on sale, plus $23 shipping in Canadian dollars, which is around $150 in total for two rugs plus shipping in USD). (All of the other rugs except Ikea ran in the $70-$80 range and become significantly more expensive when you add square footage. Ikea at $30 might have won my vote, but the items aren't sold online or at any store near me.) I also appreciate that 1) I'm ordering from an adorable, family-owned Canadian company; 2) it feels like the rugs are not terribly mass produced (and I have to offset the feel of my chair purchase), which means I can pretend that everything was done humanely; and 3) they showed me a photo of the backside of the rug, which is hard to come by online (and was stressing me out); and 4) upon checkout, I got a free pair of sheepskin mittens! Oh, Canada...! I can't wait to receive all of my loot and to try it out! Here is a mockup of what I think the chairs will look like in my living room! We shall see what really happens! 'Til then, here is some photo inspiration of cool modern chairs with sheepskin throws from Pinterest to get you in the mood! Happy shopping and fireplace lounging! KK |
Kate KellyI am an artist/designer and former financial professional with a background in comparative literature, business and design. I live in New York with my overworked lawyer husband and my two boys Michael and Theo and spend much of my free time dreaming about how to enhance the aesthetics of our little world. I am endlessly inspired and always in search of something new. This is a blog about my search, my inspiration and things I just really, really like or want. Archives
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