>> merkled pot rack

How cool is The Merkled Pot Rack ($325)!? It's made from salvaged steel loom ends collected from a weaving company ten blocks from the Merkled's Portland studio. Apparently the powder coated Merkled Pot Rack can hold the lightest whisk to the heaviest cast iron skillet. It comes in the standard L-shape for corner installations or a U shape for over an island and in white, orange or the above ice blue.

>> scout books

Digging this Portland-based company, Scout Books, who make pocket-sized notebooks that you can easily design yourself on their website. They're also made from 100% recycled papers and soy inks. And you can choose from blank paper, lined, or my personal favorite: grid. Custom notebooks start at $195 for a set of 50, but there are some already designed books that are pretty snazzy, and the price is pretty snazzy too (just $10 for a three pack + free shipping anywhere in the US of A). But don't you want to design your own? I do.

Man totes

I love these Chester Wallace totes ($95) made to look like a combo of a tote and a tool belt.

Pendleton Woolen Mills

I've posted (along with the rest of mankind) about how freaking dope The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs is. Well, my friend Ashley recently checked out the Ace Portland and became so smitten that she wanted to find a blanket like the ones at the hotel. Not a bad idea.

Many of Ace Portland's furnishings are sourced from Pendelton Woolen Mills, a Portland company that's been around for over 140 years! They've got some great Native American and Pacific Northwest-inspired bedding, blankets and tabletop items. But, beware it's hit or miss...really hit or miss. Ashley said it best when she texted me while at the store:

It feels a bit like a west coast Orvis with a tinge of Talbots.

I scream, you scream, we all scream

Life for Matt, me and the HareBall has been a little hectic lately. Red-eyes to the east coast, job interviews, deadlines, wedding planning, looking for apartments, LIVING WITH MY PARENTS WHO TAUNT ME DAILY. Ahhh! Make it stop! Luckily, we've devised a plan to not kill each other or become addicted to harmful substances (so far) and that's to go for the ice cream scoop whenever we feel the urge to seriously binge drink (note the word "seriously"), chain smoke, or jump of a cliff. It's hard to be stressed out when you've got a bowl of cold creamy goodness in front of you—or maybe it's the numbness from the ice cream headache that's doing it? Either way, I think I might get this classic Zeroll ice cream scoop ($19) designed in 1935 as a memento if we ever make it to the end of October with jobs, a marriage license, and our own apartment!

Beckel Canvas

I love Beckel Canvas bags. The Portland company is most famous for their canvas tents, which have given shelter to people everywhere from the Willamette River to Kamchatka, Russia. Beckel makes me wish I was an Oregonian. But, what doesn't? It's basically he coolest state in the country. I'm especially eying some of their "practically indestructible" luggage like the War Bag ($56)—ideal for a weekend away. But then there's also the Possibilites Bag ($50), which makes an ideal gym bag. Decisions.

Maptotes

When I travel I always throw a few empty totes in my suitcase, and they always get use, whether for it's to schlep tennis balls, dirty shoes, picnic blankets or cameras. Some of my favorites are these from MapTote ($15-$40). They have a great selection of cities, styles and colors—and I think they make an excellent gift too.

Heath Ceramics for dogs

The famed mid-century American pottery Heath Ceramics created a special-edition pet bowl ($65) exclusive to the Portland design store Canoe. The bowl comes in an aqua and matte brown finish and was produced from one of Heath's archived designs. If Harrison stops terrorizing the neighbor's poodle I might think about it. Ok, who am I kidding, I already ordered it.

Fisher Space Pen

Is it me or is the Space Pen back? Matt asked for one for Christmas this year and I think he talks about it every day—still. He claims his love for the space pen is on three levels. First, it's sleek and has a really good weight to it. Second, it's the perfect pen to travel with because it's small and reliable. And lastly and most importantly, it writes upside down, under water, on wet paper and without gravity! I can't say he's crazy on this one, it's a pretty perfect pen. You can get it at The OK store in L.A. ($23) as well as Canoe ($20) in Portland, OR.

Alexander Girard Plyprints

I posted about Girard's FLOR tiles about six months ago, but I am way more excited about these new Girard screen prints! Girard is one of (if not the) most influential American textile designers of the modern era. He is particularly known for his work for Herman Miller from 1952 to 1975, where he created fabrics for the designs of George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames. His work also includes designing the La Fonda del Sol Restaurant in New York which I briefly touched on in here. They're 14" x 14" and make a fabulous gift for the holidays or for housewarming. What's even better is that each Alexander Girard PLYprint ($89) is printed on US-made sustainably-harvested maple plywood panel.

Bud Vases 3 x 3

It might not be the best time to be talking about bud vases as I can already see the trees outside my window turning from green to yellow, but there's always something seasonal that can be placed in one of these and they make great gifts on the cheap. Above are Japanese Octahedron Vases ($10 each) made with an earthy ceramic glaze. I want a hundred of these! Below are Heath bud vases ($22 each); one of the few remaining mid-century American potteries still in existence. Below those are clear pebble vases ($19) by Sugahara Glassworks in Japan.

YACHT

So, last night Matt and I went to see my friend Claire's indie-electro band YACHT open for Vampire Weekend at Metro. Umm...when we got there they gave us back-stage passes and I totally felt like Garth when he got a back stage pass to Alice Cooper in Wayne's World, but I acted REALLY cool. I was like, "Oh hey Vampire Weekend bass player, yeah being back stage isn't a big deal for me either and I also drink beer on Sundays because I'm hardcore." In terms of design, I love the YACHT logo. Check out the YACHT website to see more of their really cool merch and to be directed to download their music and check their upcoming tour dates. The end.

Canoe

Here are two reasons why Canoe, a Portland shelter shop, is so awesome:

1. They sell Field Notebooks by Draplin Designs, a graphic design firm that sells all sorts of (honestly I don't know the right adjective to use here) merchandise that draws on Midwestern roots, like with the above old-school agricultural graph paper field notebooks ($9).

2. They sell old-school Pyrex canisters ($14), you know, the vessels that used to house tongue depressors and cotton pads in your friendly neighborhood doctor's office from the Norman Rockwell era?

I Heart Cast Iron

I'm crazy about cast iron these days, for cooking, for brewing and now for bottle opening. It's rustic, simple, and so solid. This bottle opener is so cute, it's basically a functional mini bird sculpture. I want one. $20 from Canoe.

School House Electric

My friend Heather informed me of this really amazing Portland-based company School House Electric the other day. They've resurrected schoolhouse-style shades and light fixtures, a style that was widely popular between 1900 and 1950 in private residences as well as institutional settings. Apparently by the 1960s only a handful of designs remained in production. A few years ago, School House Electric discovered a collection of original cast-iron molds in an upstate New York warehouse, covered with layers of rust and dirt. The company restored the molds and got them into production. Their lighting collection represents some of the best examples of true American lighting design, really amazing stuff. They also sell Edison light bulbs ($10-$19 each), which I'm a huge fan of because they look like they belong in a science lab circa 1912. Check out the the website.

Boiled Wool Dog Toys

My friend Priscilla (more on her genius coming soon) showed me one of these hand crafted dog toys this weekend and I thought it was so simple, funny, and awesome I had to get one for Hare. Pure wool is boiled to create a durable and soft yet dense texture, while 100% natural dyes provide color, so they're non-toxic and have that "certain folksy charm" that "certain folksy" dog owners can appreciate. Choose from the above three styles of "Boxer", "Dachsund", and "Lamb" (!!). Pick one up at the Portland, OR store, Canoe by clicking right here for $10.

Mighty Mice

I've never been a huge fan of cats, until I met my neighbor's cat, Dagger—who is half dog, half skunk. Now, I'm a little more cat-open, which might explain why I got excited about the above "plush mice" from the Portland design store Canoe. Designed by Lance Foley & Haruko Fukui, each toy is actually hand stitched from designer fabric remnants gleaned from New York's Garment District, stuffed with organic catnip and fattened up with poly fill, plus they won't look too shabby laying around the corners of your house. Get some at the Canoe website for $8.

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