Just as life is full of choices, it is full of surprises. And yesterday, after swerving off Perry Street and on to Bank Street to avoid a former coworker (one of those people in her 20s by whom this speech was inspired) I ran into my old pal Malcolm. Malcolm is one of those people who it’s really fun to get a laugh out of, so I told him all about the catalogue challenge, and he was in fact duly amused. As a little something to cleanse my palate, he suggested I check out Manufactum, a beautifully edited European site featuring items for the home and garden, as well as clothing, accessories, beauty products, office supplies and more. Sort of like the most highly evolved iteration of the SkyMall catalogue imaginable.
Is this not one of the most beautiful satchel bags in the history of ever? It comes from Provence, is handmade, and was apparently originally used to transport food on hikes in the countryside. I want and I want.
The notion of drinking coffee out of a bowl always seems so impossibly twee. But this particular bowl also makes it seem impossibly appealing.
Everything on Manufactum is so attractive that you find yourself thinking: I could probably really use a good stainless steel bucket.
Apparently, you put this stuff in the wash with your whites and it makes them whiter. Mostly I just like the super-old school packaging.
Similarly, I’m not certain I care if what of these soaps smell like, so pretty are they to look at.
How have any of us managed to live this long without an Italian naval blanket?
This is a cardboard suitcase with wood strips, made by a Czechoslovakian company and said to be quite sturdy. Checking it through baggage might be too dodgy a proposition to consider. But how great would this be for storage?
The little packets are laundry blueing, it used to be a laundry room staple but it’s kinda lost popularity along with Phels Naptha and other old school soaps and such. It does work, it really does make whites look whiter, basically it’s blue dye that cancells out yellow, which is what most whites start to turn as they age (think the yellow pit stains your T-shirts get). It can be hard on fabrics, and it really is intended for use on natural fibers, so be careful using it on anything delicate (it is dye after all, even if it’s super subtle). So yeah, there’s your little laundry history lesson for the day.
I’m laundry and cleaning product ( and vaccum cleaner! Mmmm Miele ) obsessed. I want a daily laundry history lesson from you!
I’m in love with this catalog. Of course it’s European! Did you see that beautiful tin of dental floss?
The tin of dental floss is to die.
Since I am a major “bag ‘ho” I love, love that satchel. Isn’t the euro about equal with the dollar these days? If so, the price is pretty reasonable. Can’t order it though since I only just today ordered two pairs of shoes from Ralph Lauren, on sale.
That cardboard suitcase . . . I have no idea what I would do with it but it’s very cute. Maybe put it on the floor in a corner, open it and put magazines inside.
Beautiful bag! It’s about $438.00 at today’s exchange rates.
At some point you will cover the whole Turkish Hammam towel dilemma, won’t you?
http://www.lavivahome.com/textile/turkish-hammam-towels.html
OH MY GOD I love this site! I’m totally posting about it today.
And BB: Pls expand on your dillemma–would love to include it in post.
I’m not totally clear on the concept of a “tea warmer,” but I’m pretty sure my life isn’t complete without one.
http://www.manufactum.com/filio-tea-warmer-p1401217/?c=193553
(And wasn’t there some sort of misadventure in one of the Beverly Cleary Ramona books that involved laundry blueing?)