The Modern Materialist : dining

Feeling Confined By Your (Lack of) Food Options

Steph Auteri — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:01:00 GMT

[Photo via]

Feeling confined by your lack of food options?

This will make you feel even worse:

[$15, Kikkerland]

This dinner tray is modeled on the Sing Sing prison food tray, a fact I believe was left out of this post.

Spring Resource: Pier 1 imports

Steph Auteri — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:01:00 GMT

[$5-$6, Pier 1 imports]

I think it's sad that Pier 1 doesn't show their full inventory online...

...because now I can't show you their other pretty, spring-inspired dinnerware.

Would you settle for some scanned-in images from my catalog?

Roundup: Andy Warhol Is Stalking Me

Laureen Mahler — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:36:00 GMT

It's the truth. Warhol is everywhere. Sure, the De Young is having a big Warhol exhibit, but it goes way beyond that. On Friday, a friend of mine returns from the bar with a cocktail that sports half of a banana floating in it: welcome to the (definitely not worth $11) Warhol cocktail. Later in the weekend, I open my CB2 catalog, and there's Warhol-themed partyware. A little after that, I visit a friend who just purchased a catnip-stuffed, Warhol-banana-shaped toy for her cat. WTF?

So fine, Andy Warhol. You're not the only one who can be a stalker. In honor of your apparent obsession with me, here's a roundup of some of the best Warhol products out there:

[$1.50 each, CB2]

The world fascinates me. And thanks to these plates, so does your dinner.

[$350, Uncommon Goods]

The iconic Campbell's Soup can gets bigger, taller, more porcelain, and perfect for flowers.

[$11 set of 2, Warhol Store]

Banana shaped... banana split dishes! Totally deep.

[$15, Etsy]

And finally, a little reminder of why we love Warhol.

I suppose this is better than the time that Salvador Dali was stalking me. That was just creepy.

Love It or Leave It? Eat Me

Steph Auteri — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:38:00 GMT

Or rather, eat off me, in the style of Nyotaimori, that controversial Japanese tradition of serving sushi on a naked women.

These plates were designed by Japanese designer Hiroshi Tsunoda.

Me? I'm as offended by these as I am by the original dining tradition. What do you think?

[Via Modern Urban Living]

Related: Trend Watch: Sushi

Mind Your Table Manners

Steph Auteri — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:30:00 GMT

My mother always told me that if I didn't learn some table manners, no boy would ever want to take me out on a dinner date.

Now I huddle in my condo in fuzzy Cookie Monster pants, eating Lucky Charms marshmallows straight out of the box while watching DVRd episodes of Stylista.

Live and learn, people. Live and learn.

No, seriously. You have to learn some table manners:

These Twenty Past Four plates designed by Willie Tsang tell you to “Place your utensils in the dotted lines when finished.” Just one more bit of etiquette to add to your arsenal.

[request pricing through site, Imm Living]

[Via Apartment Therapy]

Why Is This Baby Smiling?

Alex Zalben — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:34:00 GMT

Why is this baby smiling? Maybe because of this:

Awww... The plate is secretly smiling back. So kewt.

[$29, Generate]

Have Dinner in London

Alex Zalben — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Looks like a simple map, right? It's not. It's actually a great way to have dinner in London for cheap.

...or Tokyo, New York, and Paris.

[$34, A Plus R Store]

[Book of Joe]

Five Signs That Spring Is Upon Us

Steph Auteri — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:00:00 GMT

[$80, Three Potato Four]

I know, I know. I'm like the girl who cried spring. But!...

There are birdies chirping outside my window every morning now.
The other weekend, wearing a three-quarter-length-sleeve top and no jacket, I strolled (yes, it was definitely a "stroll") through Montclair and purchased a gorgeous spring wreath and a bunch of pussy willlows and then drove home with the windows down whilst playing a Lily Allen CD and felt as if my heart would burst with the joy of spring.
I got an Easter basket from my mommy! With Peeps! And Smidgens! Yummmmmmmmmmm...
It's sunny when I wake up.
Three Potato Four has this gorgeous line of robin's egg blue dinnerware:

[$16 a pop]

Dirty Minds

Steph Auteri — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:30:00 GMT

[$200, Supermarket]

Okay, I know this is incredibly juvenile of me, but seeing this Virginia is for Lovers plate from James Victore's Dirty Plates series made me snort.

Then again, until very recently, I was perpetually amused by my very own "Idaho? No Udaho!" t-shirt.

Am I too old for this?

Retro Arcade: Pac-Man Coasters!

Alex Zalben — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:00:00 GMT

For those of you who refer to vitamins as “power pellets,” and whisper “bonus points” every time you eat a pretzel, it’s time to grow up already… With these six Pac-Man coasters from Etsy user Lost Mitten.

The bead created set features everybody’s favorite living pie chart, as well as his arch enemies, Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde. For good measure, there’s also a dead ghost*, and the whole thing comes in an attractive case featuring sweet, delicious cherries.

Unfortunately, there was only ONE of these made, so it’s already sold out. But head on over to Lost Mitten’s Etsy page and demand more coasters!

*Was that ever confusing to anyone else?

[Via]

Pretty Up Your Boozing Habits

Steph Auteri — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:30:00 GMT

[$15, Velocity]

Geez louise, those woodwork bottle stoppers I bought down in New Hope last summer sort of pale in comparison to these flowery beauties by artist Tahmineh Javanbakht. They're pretty well-priced, as well, for something you can use to impress your friends when you have them over for that sophisticated wine-and-cheese party in your studio apartment. Just remember to hide all the clutter. And use wine glasses, for the love of god. You can pick them up for cheap enough at Target, even, rather than resorting to those novelty glasses you swiped from the pub back when you were backpacking around Europe. Have some class, man!

Design at Center Stage: Bill Campbell Pottery

Steph Auteri — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:42:00 GMT

[$29, Stowe Craft Design]

Once upon a time, I worked in retail, because no one else would hire me.

Well, I didn't have a college degree quite yet, so it wasn't as if the situation was due to a huge shortcoming on my part. There was just nothing else I was qualified to do.

(Though if you ask my co-workers from that time period, I wasn't qualified to work in sales, either.)

Sooo...when I was supposed to be pushing product, I was usually just making a mental inventory of everything in the shop that I wanted to buy. And I pretty much fell in love with the work of Bill Campbell, a potter from Pennsylvania whose porcelain pieces were made with a special glaze that dripped deliciously down the surfaces of his mugs and bowls and carefully arced bud vases.

Campbell's potteries can be found in a number of handmade craft shops around the country, but I managed to find this pretty good online resource, Stowe Craft Design, that carries a number of items from his studio, such as this batter bowl ($54), this goblet ($29), this small pitcher ($49), and this tulip bowl ($64). It certainlt beats the same old, same old from Bed, Bath & Beyond.