WAGAMAMA

I love this restaurant. I first found out about it in 1999 when I was in the UK for 5 months. My first night in London my cousins treated me dinner there. Wagamama is an awesome noodle bar that serves freshly prepared Asian dishes.




I think the way they've approached the seating is such a fresh change from isolated "booths" found in most restaurants. They had these long trestle tables in rows ( not unlike camp mess halls ), so you often end up eating next to complete strangers. Which is not as bad as some might think. There's very much a community vibe to the whole spot, and all the food and fruit juices are prepared fresh for each meal. None of this pre-cooked nonsense. If anyone reading this has a chance to visit one of the stores, go for it.

ZELEN HOME

I'd love to be able to browse through this store Zelen Home based in LA. The store occupies an old 1920's building and aims to, in the owners words bring "together the mix of old and new......odd and unusual objects".





Thought I'd include my favourites from the three sections that they use to categorise their wares on their website.

LEE SCOTT HEMPSON

I popped into Artspace Durban this weekend as I was in the area. Found these interesting masonite and paint cut-outs by Lee Scott Hempson.

KITCHEN DETECTIVES

Today has been manic! But being the dedicated blogger I am I thought I had to post at least once.

I got given the first of these 3 books, ( I think there's about 6 in the series ) by a good mate as a housewarming gift. I then bought a second and my flatmate got a third as a present. Full of recipes from top chefs and page upon page of sublime recipes, this is a great Christmas buy. For those who have the "Cooking with Zest" one, you have to try the Pea and Fennel Soup and the Spiced pear muffins. Available from Mr Price and Mr Price Home for about R65 I think.

BLOG LOVE 1

I seem to be posting a wackload of kid-related posts lately and don't know why. Maye it's due to the fact that there's just such a range of amazing stuff out there. For those of you with young un's you have to pop on by Mama Said Shop.

STORAGE FOR THE SHOWER

Found this clever little contraption for keeping those bottles of shampoo, conditioner, two-in-one, veet, shower gel and who knows what else clogs up the completely useless shelf you have stuck or hung from you shower door. Come with adjustable loops and a choice of black and white. Available from uptoyoutoronto but found through wists on this really hot blog Urban Kinetics.

HANDLED WITH CARE

Found this really interesting event on Design Boom that was held in September this year featuring 163 ceramic artists, including CJ O'Neill who I featured a while back and Maxim Velkovsky who I posted about just the other day. So much amazing work in one place. I would have loved to have been there. Had to post a few snapshots.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL

Found this simple yet effective British ad encouraging parents to be aware of how there actions affect their kids, and emphasising the importance of teaching kids healthy driving habits from a young age. There are also some hard hitting TV ads on this site. In a season known for being jolly and festive please be responsible on the roads, and don't think speaking on your cell is acceptable. It takes less than a second to erase more than a few years. I pray you all have a safe one.

MADE BY MELD

Check out these earrings and other products from Meld and visit their eshop here. Their brooches were also worn by models during the Cape Town Fashion Week show. I'm thinking these would make nifty little gifts for a lady this Christmas.

NIGHT SWIMMING

Point 1. In my opinion, and these are no hard and fast rules, a great photo has to have great composition, moody lighting and has to be beautifully simple. If two of the three aren't present then the other has to be strikingly effective. Point 2. I love the heady and humid nights during Durban's summer and with it night swimming. In fact when I was still staying with my folks I used to have a swim almost every night in our pool. So when I saw these photos by German Londoner Esther Teichmann I was an instant fan. This series "Viscosity" was inspired by memories of childhood night swims in Germany in a lake surrounded by forests. I don't really know what it is about these evenings that hangs so heavily in my memory, tugging at my nostalgia but I know that she's caught it somewhere between the cold water and warm air . Found in the November 2005 Issue of Creative Review.

Read and see more of her work on the photodebut and creative review websites.

BEST FOR BABY

Two great products from Coochicoos, a fantastic furniture and design site for the modern parent. The Ovum Bassinet from Offi was initially designed as a rocker but was then adapted so that the base could be switcherooed to work on its side and add a little height and stability to the product. Then there's the award -winning Cula Belly crib from Italians Manuela Busetti and Andrea Garuti. Once again I love that they're both such simple yet functional pieces.

GNR-GREAT

Gnr8 has to be my site of the month. This site has made me go ooh more times than a overly verbose owl on the longest night of the year. Some of my favourites are the slightly weird Little Joseph porcelain candle holder by Czech Maxim Velkovsky, the very Scandi Scando Table, and the simple with great clean lines Alba alarm clock.

SEE SEE SAWS

I was inspired after seeing an installation by Future Farmers on their website featuring a see saw. The see saw, in their own words:

"is a reaction towards "interactive installations". It is a sketch of the simplest interface for interaction between two people (or more). When I asked myself: What is the simplest sculpture that could create: community, connection, exchange, play, human powered, physical, motion and interactivity between people or groups of people"

Now the see saw as an item is pretty simple but much loved. So I thought I'd spend some time scouring the web seeing what else was out and I'm not only impressed but amazed. The images from top to bottom are 1. See saw installation by Future Farmers. 2. The Log Rocker by Paul Frank as seen on 10grain. 3. Didi Dunphy's office see saw on Mocoloco which is part of a range of "interior play furnishings". 4. A rocking chair on Design Boom. 5. and lastly a see saw bookshelf by BCXSY as featured on gnr8 and Rag & Bone.

ETSY LOVE: CAMERA CASE

This sure beats the socks off the standard camera case and looks good to boot. Found this camera case by hine ( pronounced hee-neh ) ( who has a shop on Etsy ) on L'atelier de Kitty via Freshly Found. I have no idea what the blogger is saying as it's all in French, maybe someone out there can help me. Oh wait I've just checked out hine's shop and there's some really great stuff which I have to post about like that microb pin-cushion and some more matryoshka doll's which seem to be popping up everywhere, but read more about that on Print Pattern.

ARTYFAKT ON ETSY

I've seen a few bags over the years made from records, particularly in SA where initiative and craft are part our heritage and deeply ingrained, but it was cool to see another take with the same product. The different colour handles are also pretty neat. I found these babies by Artyfakt on Etsy via Another shade of Grey.

KAREN INGRAM

I had to post this in spite of the ongoing bird trend. The first I saw of Karen Ingram's work was on the cover of an issue of Computer Arts a year or two back. The illustration was fantastic and full of birds and flowers including some local proteas. I consequently responded to the article in which she said she'd post free limited edition postcards to anyone that was keen. A few weeks later and they arrived. Rare these days to find someone giving great stuff away...for free.

BRENDAN MONROE

Found via Notcot, which shall be one of my daily check-ins from now on, comes the fresh and original sculptures and paintings from Californian Brendan Monroe. The sculptures are a little creepy, but cool creepy not freaky creepy. I also love the world of bizarre characters and lunar-like landscapes he's created in his paintings.