It’s time for great sales! I love a deal, so I’m always happy to pass this news along.

It’s battle of the Marimekko sites! First up is Always Mod. They’ve got great Marimekko merchandise on sale through July 17th. Save 20% to 40% off the regular price.

Next, FinnStyle is holding their largest Marimekko sale ever. Again, save up to 40% through July 15th.

Stock up on your [insert holiday of choice here] gifts now!

NACSound is an Italian manufacturer of haute design speakers. Their line will now be distributed by Sonance in the United States. I think it’s good news.

Given the number of people with home theaters, it makes sense to have a new choice in the area of speakers. Misterarthur is a recovering audiophile, and I graciously put up with his giant speakers for the first couple of years of our relationship. Boys like to show off their equipment, I think.

When it came time to banish them to the basement, we had 3 choices for replacements. 1) Slightly smaller boxes. (Sound good, look like boxes).  2) Much smaller boxes - even tiny boxes. (Misterarthur thinks they don’t sound very good). 3) In-wall or in-ceiling speakers. (Misterarthur nixed that idea, but it isn’t really practical for 60 - year old homes, anyway).

Then there are speakers to be enjoyed visually as well as sonically.  Bang & Olufsen has pretty much owned that market until now. See below.

Bang & Olufsen’s BeoLab 9

These NACSound models are pretty cool, too. While they’re made of ceramic and wood, they come in a number of alternate finishes.  Here’s the Omni model (floor standing or suspended)

NACSound Omni

There’s also a suspended model called the Kayak.

 NACSound Kayak

I think these would look spectacular in the right space. Misterarthur says that NACSound has sonic cred, too.

Sonance is a little vague about where to find them, but I’m sure they’ll be happy to help you if you’re interested.

So what do you think? Yay or nay?

I have a graphic designer friend who would love one of these trays from Carolina Cottage. These decoupaged beauties are made of wood, measure 9-1/2″x6″  and are covered in a variety of papers.

You can find then at her Etsy Shop where they sell for $21.00 each.

Kirsty Anne Powell is the creative genius behind textile designs from Oromono. In the eight years since she graduated (with a first class honors degree in textile design) from Loughborough University in England her career has taken off like a rocket. More about Kirsty in a minute. But first, she’s kind enough to offer Design Hole readers a 20% discount. Details at the end of the post.

Kirsty began her career as a freelance textile designer and stylist in London. After styling within the industry for a year, she moved to Amsterdam. Living in such a creative city surrounded by such inspirational design, Kirsty decided start her own label and set up her own textile design company. Now that takes real guts in a city so devoted to design.

Paper & Ruffles Collections

Kirsty designs three-dimensionally with textiles to create sculptural forms. By manipulating fabrics with various techniques Kirsty created a range of individual collections that add their own unique style. Each textile design concept was then developed into home and fashion accessories.

Texture Collection (my favorite)

The Oromono label was launched in 2004 at the Maison en Objet Fair in Paris, where it immediately sprung into the limelight by winning the award for the best newcomer in Textiles.

Blooming & Stitch Collections

Can Kirsty make a wrong move?
No! Especially because she’s offering all Design Hole readers a special 20% discount on all orders.

Just enter the word HAPPY when you place you order online. You can also order via phone by calling 917-338-7568

Personally, I love the Texture collection and the slippers. What’s your favorite?

One of my favorite home stores here in Detroit is The Bureau of Urban Living. They’ve started a new initiative called First Thursdays. It’s a special day whereby they set aside a percentage of sales to benefit a particular Detroit charity.

This July 3rd, proceeds will benefit efforts to save the old Tiger Stadium. The store will be open late, until 9:00 PM. Mark your calendars and I’ll see you there.

Etsy shop owner, Jaime Derringer, has a new creation in her shop. Salmon Birds on a Chandelier is a limited edition print. It measures 8″x10″ and sells for $18.00 

Here are some ideas for decorating with a print this size. First, I suggest buying a matted frame. An image like this would look great in a fancier gold frame. This enlarges the piece so that it will fit on just about any wall. Or, keep it simpler with a small mat and frame. Hang it in a grouping, or team it with a complimentary piece. It can also be hung along on a smaller area. Finally, this size is perfect for decorating a bookshelf.

A final note: all 5″x7″ prints are on sale for $8.00 at Jaime’s shop.

Interior designer, Tamara Magel, has parlayed her creative energy into the creation of her own line of home fashions. Her Gothic Line, which opens her first year, might not be for everyone, but I like the fact that this line has a clear creative statement.

The line includes upholstery leather, mohair and cashmere pieces with fashion-inspired icons and a variety of embellishments such as embroidery and metalwork. Motifs include skulls, wings, flowers and crosses, presented with a soft design style and a light color palette. They’re featured on carpets, leather benches and headboards, cashmere throws, robes, boots, handbags, and other home and fashion accessories.

With a belief that interior design, like fashion, can change with the seasons, Ms. Magel utilizes neutral furniture pieces and alters home accessories throughout the year. Having already created a number of custom furniture lines, the natural next step was to delve into home and fashion accessories. Inspired by runway couture, her vision was to bring fashion into furniture and vice versa - something I’d like to do someday.

Have you heard the Blurb? It’s a wonderful site for custom, hardcover or softcover books. You design the pages and upload the photos. They do the rest. Blurb’s books are very affordable. Prices start at $12.95 for a 40 page soft cover book. Cheap! And they’re speedy. They’re turn-around is 7 to 10 business days.

Do you need a coffee table book to decorate your coffee table? Make your own! Here are a few ideas of the kind of things you can make using Blurb.

As I said, you can turn your photos into a 13″ x 11″ coffee table book.

Make your own wedding album. Or send one to a friend as a gift.

Need a new job? Make your own brag book - AKA - a portfolio.

If you’re after a particular job, or industry it would be worth the money to make up a few of these.
Do I sound like a walking ad? I suppose I do. I just love this idea. iPhoto has a similar product, which is nice because you can upload your photos directly from iPhoto. I’ve made some that way. But Blurb is much more versatile. If you need help designing your book, go to Blurb Nation for professional help. (Maybe they could figure out how to get these danged extra spaces out of this post! Grrr..)

Want more custom-made card making fun? Try Moo.

Personally, I’m making some books featuring some of my floral photography. Friends, now you know what you’re getting for Christmas. You have about 6 months to forget. What kind of book would you make? How about a compilation of your children’s drawings and poetry?

The Zulu people believe that Imbenge lend dignity to a home. Sets of Imbenge and beer pots are traditionally given by a bride to her in-laws during her marriage ceremony.

This Imenge bowl is hand made by Wire Weavers, a group of Zulu weavers who use using of plastic coated copper telephone wires to make these basket/bowls. The wire remnants are purchased by Deirdre Moser, the coordinator who has been working with the Wire Weavers, a group of mostly women weavers, who have lived in the rural area of KZN (KwaZuluNatal) South Africa since 1989. 

Moser markets the baskets to stores in South Africa and throughout the world. This is the main source of income for about 120 people. These sorts of bowls make great accessories for places like shelves, the bottom shelf of a console table, or beside a bed. They’re great in the bathroom, too.

You can find these at Eco-Artware. They come in two colors, are approximately 10″ wide, and sell for $130 each.

Just one more thing before the weekend break. The Bureau of Urban Living is having a 25% off sale this weekend.

The Bureau is located in Detroit, on Canfield. They sell wonderful home accessories and gifts. Don’t miss this opportunity to save some money, spruce up your house, buy a gift for Dad, and support Detroit small business owners.

See you there!

I watched Helvetica last weekend. For anyone interested in design of any kind, it’s a must-see documentary on the world’s most-used typeface. It’s much more interesting than it sounds. You can find in at Netflix, or maybe Blockbuster (depending where you live). Anyway, that’s why I thought I’d feature these posters from Esty seller, Type Junkie.

These posters celebrate the seemingly ancient world of hand-set type, and type in general.

They’re very reasonably prices, too. Most prints can be resized to fit your decorating needs.

Holli Conger is the creative genius behind Type Junkie. She hails from Nashville, Tennessee. Her other Etsy shop is called Found Whimsy.

Statement posters have recently become popular. Do you think these could take off, too?

It’s been a super busy day for me. It’s nice to find something cool as the appointments tick by. I found this catalog called Viva Terra and thought I’d share a favorite thing with you.

These balloon glass vases would look great grouped together, as they’re shown here. Or, one would look nice on an outdoor table. They’re made from recycled glass and range in price from $39 to $69. You can buy all three for $159.