Welcome to the second installment of Fab 5 Friday. Where every Friday, we have a guest share with you his or her five favorite shopping discoveries that are sure to be fab! This is part of Rare Bird Finds' effort to bring you even more unique and interesting finds - we hope you like this new series.
Our guest today is Robert Mahar, owner of Mahar Drygoods, an online outpost of vintage and artisan crafted goods for kids and self proclaimed Grand Poobah of the Junior Society, his blog on kiddy culture and design.
Perched on the edge of the Pacific, he lives in Santa Monica, CA with his architect partner and an ever growing collection of miniature souvenir buildings, creating a fantasy skyline throughout their little apartment. Having had work from his shop featured in Real Simple, Parents, Child and Cookie magazines among others, Robert is constantly on the prowl for well-designed and ethically-produced online finds.
Address File - $75One of my all time favorite online items is the handcrafted address file by Sharilyn Wright of lovelydesign.com, created from maple or black walnut and filled with found paper address cards. Her sense of style is both thoughtful and elegant, and is reflected in all of her products and her web site design. While Sharilyn is on temporary maternity leave with her new bouncing baby girl only select items on her site are available, but the full line will be back in production shortly!
Japanese Goldilocks and 3 Bears Fabric - GBP 1.98I am secretly a sucker for Japanese zakka, created by a people who have essentially cornered the market on all things cute. Kitty-craft.com is a great online resource for imported Japanese textiles, including the Goldilocks and the Three Bears themed fabric above. Reminiscent of 1950s and 60s children's book illustrations, it so saccharin sweet (and I mean this in the best possible way!) that even if you don't sew you may want to consider framing some yardage as wall decor.
PUMA 8-Speed Urban Mobility Bike - $1,600Urban cyclists rejoice! Puma in partnership with Biomega has created the ultimate bike for the city dweller. Its impressive and compact frame features a semi-fold design, allowing easy in and out of elevators, transit cars and compact apartment storage. Available in two color, the PUMA 8-Speed Urban Mobility Bike will be available nationwide this month.
Nilla Sammie Soapsicles - $6Just in time for summer are master soap maker Debbie Chialtas' Nilla Sammie Soapsicles, a combination of fudgsicles, ice cream sandwiches and those foil-wrapped Eskimo Pies. Perfect for post beach tub time, these hand poured glycerin soaps smell delicious, lather up squeaky clean and are easy to grip with their popsicle stick handles.
Swallow Freedom Shirt - $150
I recently stumbled upon TrisHank Design's Etsy shop filled with hand-embroidered clothing and accessories for guys...for guys! These are fellas that “drink beer, watch cage matches and embroider their fingers to the bone” while pairing commercial ephemera, cultural objects and retro kitsch with thrift-shop finds. Masculine crafty can be surprisingly hard to find, but these guys are making it work. Their ‘Swallow Freedom’ design is among my favorites.
I can honestly say that I’d never really spent much time considering the aesthetics of my bathtub drain plug. But I confess that I am totally smitten with the Rare Bird Find of the Marina Universal Bath Plug at the wonderful Pedlars.co.uk shop. Such is the magic of great design. [See the original post]
We're looking for readers to be guest posters on Fab 5 Fridays! Interested? To be considered, send us an email with:
- Your 5 shopping picks and their links with photos (item must be available for purchase online)
- Tell us why they're your favorite
- Your favorite item you found through Rare Bird Finds
- Your name along with a brief bio about yourself
- A photo (can be a childhood pic or a partial face picture if you're shy!).
*If you're a designer, we ask that none of the 5 items you pick is your own product
If you're picked, we'll contact you the week your picks will appear on our blog.
sweet little tomato loving baby robert!
Posted by: mod*mom | Friday, June 15, 2007 at 08:04 AM