Singgih Kartono Mango Radio

This way cool radio is the perfect gift for Misterarthur. It’s cool looking. No one else has one (yet). It’s made of wood. Best of all, it will pick up weird radio stations from around the world.

Designer, Singgih Kartono, kept eco-ethics in mind when creating this series. The radio is manufactured in Indonesia (thus helping employ local workers), from sustainably grown woods. The radios are mp3 compatible, and contain an AM/FM and shortwave radio. They’re a bit pricey - starting at $200. But Arthur’s worth every penny. You can find these at Design Public.

• Posted by Jennifer at 6:36 pm
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• Tagged: Accessories, Guest Blogger, Men

If most men were decorators (Part Three) by Misterarthur

Please don’t get me wrong. Most of the best furniture designers in history were men: Mies, Noguchi, 1/2 of the Eames, Corbusier. But that doesn’t let us off the hook. Men are also responsible for some exceedingly odd, though enduring, designs, too. Case in point: The classic “Let’s saw a couple of logs into pieces, and voila, furniture”.

That bench will last forever. Who cares if it weighs 700 lbs? That’s why they make pickup trucks, dang it. Durabililty is important for men and design, I think. Men would be delighted to have this as a cocktail table, for example.

And why not? You can’t break it, and you could probably use it to move engine blocks around your (no doubt beautiful) garage, should that become necessary.

• Posted by Jennifer at 12:44 am
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• Tagged: Miscellaneous, Rants and Raves, Guest Blogger, Men

If most men were decorators, (Part Two) by Misterarthur

I have found (through completely anecdotal evidence) that with almost every hetero couple, the woman takes on the responsibility for decorating the house. (Please don’t call painting the walls the color your wife chose “decorating”) Slowly, the man’s stamp of decor is reduced to one or possibly two “rooms”. The basement. And the garage. There you can see the man’s full decorating ability come to the fore. Here are some visual stimuli if you’re having trouble imagining what might happen with a man as decorator.

First, the basement. Please note the wall color. As I predicted yesterday, it’s white. I think this design is called modern hurricane.

Next, the only other room open to a man’s personal touch, the garage. I found this photo online, and I’m using it for illustrative purposes because the owner of this garage wrote: “I’m quite proud of it.” I think that’s because the owner can see the floor. I like the “wall treatment”.

• Posted by Jennifer at 11:48 pm
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• Tagged: Rants and Raves, Guest Blogger, Men

If most men were decorators. (Part One) by Misterarthur

I was thinking about how the average house would look if most men were the decorators. Let’s be honest. Sadly, the proportion of men with any sense of style is pretty small. First, you wouldn’t need color chips:

Think of frat houses and dorm rooms.
From my experience, most men would always choose white, off white, sort of white, cream, ceiling white, or bright white.

There’d likely be no curtains, either. The same goes for throw pillows, hand towels, candelabras, chandeliers, guest soaps, valences and duvet covers. I have nothing against any of these items, in fact, I like (most) of them.Same goes for table cloths. But I think most men could not care less. How do you think things would look with men in control?

• Posted by Jennifer at 10:00 pm
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• Tagged: Miscellaneous, Rants and Raves, Guest Blogger, Men