{that one great thing} Cobi's ashtray collection

Back when she was Editor of Canadian House & Home Cobi Ladner was one of my many bosses (oh, the life of a freelancer). Now, as I'm sure you've seen, she's just launched her very own witty, colourful and happy line of fabrics, furniture and accessories called cobistyle. As you can imagine she's been a little busy, so I've patiently been pursuing her for a *that one great thing* pick, and here it finally is. And seriously, will you ever look at Cobi the same now that you know she's a little light fingered?

Cobi Ladner: I wonder what it says about a person if their 'one great thing' is a collection of stolen hotel ashtrays? Especially if that person has never smoked! I guess I have to admit here, in front of the entire world, that yes, I did personally steal one of these little beauties myself. It's actually my least favourite of the bunch. It's the one from The Plaza hotel in NYC. I was lucky enough to stay at the Plaza for business  (back in the day when Ivana Trump briefly owned it). The crest is only cheaply printed on, probably in China, but I had to have it as a memento. 

I use these little dishes all around the house -  in the bathroom to hold loose jewellery; at the kitchen sink and bedside for my watch; on my desk for business cards (some days I need to remind myself of who I am); on my husband's dresser to hold change. I look for them whenever I'm in junk stores, the Sally Ann and flea markets. It's a total high to find a lovely little dish that originally sat in a beautiful room in Paris, on a dusty shelf in a thrift store in Southern Ontario. Who's suitcase did it travel in and was it a sentimental impulse to bring it home as a memento of a fabulous holiday?   

Although I love to see kitsch in other people's homes - pillows from Niagara Falls, shot glasses from Florida - I'm not into that myself. No, I love the idea of elegance - Paris - London - New York - Darlin', I love ya, but give me Park Avenue.... and the notion that a hotel would have fine bone china from England printed with their fabulous address. 

My favourite little dish isn't here unfortunately. It was from the Hotel Scribe in Paris and was a little fluted square with a fine orange line around it. I loved it so much I tried using it as a soap dish in our powder room and my clumsy 13-year old broke it. So much for the elegance of Paris in our house.  I guess that's what makes it all the more appealing.

{that one great thing} Jen's (two)one great vintage chair(s)

Can someone please explain to me how it's already Wednesday? I'm having a really work-y week and time is just whizzing by, which is why I'm super glad Jenn Hannotte's *that one great thing* pick popped up in my inbox, since she's always such a smartypants whilst I am - right now at least - feeling awfully fuzzy in the brain department. And yes, before anyone says anything, I know Jenn is slightly cheating by picking 2 things, but that's just how she rolls...

Jenn Hannotte: My One Great Thing is actually Two Great Things, but their stories are the same and I didn't want to leave either one out! When I was living in Winnipeg (holla!), I was working as an art director for a specialty advertising company. I was 20 years old, and while I cared a great deal about how my various apartments looked, I didn't really *know* anything about the history of industrial/furniture design. In a corner of the office sat these two chairs, stacked and dusty. I thought they looked cool and asked the boss if I could buy them, but he generously (it turns out!) gave them to me. This was my first experience exploring the history of an object; I turned over the chairs and discovered they were Fritz Hansen chairs and went to eBay (pretty much the only source at the time!) and learned their worth. From there, armed with a little more information I soon found myself hooked on learning about the history of design. I consider the discovery of these chairs the fuel for my passion for design, and on the downside, the impetus to my chair addiction! They always make an empty corner pop, and they've always worked with whatever look I'm loving. Here's round-up of their recent history of resting places in my various homes as an homage.

{that one great thing} Jan's handmade frame

I once had a landlord who mentioned that old chestnut, You scratch my back, I scratch yours while I was signing a lease, and delightfully went on to say You kick me, I kick you. Memorable, yes, but not exactly charming, so the first part - definitely not the second - came to mind when Jan Halvarson of Poppytalk kindly asked if she could grab the shot and story from Susie Sheffman's *that one great thing* pick to post on her fantastic blog. I said of course, and then proceeded to bug her into contributing one in return. So here goes!

Jan Halvarson: I have fond memories of my Swedish grandfather whittling away on a chair outside in the back deck on warm summer days. I would be playing in the yard, and he would watch me and whittle away. He made this frame, and I really don't even know the back story, nor does anyone else, but it's just always been around, following me everywhere I go; always there. And as I write this I'm realizing how profound that is. I remember it having three hearts, and I'm sure at one point there were four, but now only two remain. I love how he painted them gold, and left the rest. It's housed a favourite black and white photograph of my mother, at times my drawings and right now I love it best just left as is. Without even knowing it until now, it could very well be the inspiration to why I love handmade so much today.

In the photograph the frame is shown with a collection of found driftwood I wrapped a bit of yarn around and a crochet covered rock from artist Margie Oomen.

{that one great thing} Michael's Blue Willow dishes

I totally get people who are kind of nuts about collecting, and Michael Penney from House & Home is just one of those kind of nuts. I bet you've seen his stories in the mag, or on the H&H blog, as well as on Design*Sponge. In fact, you'll see his new house featured in H&H's upcoming June issue, where I'm sure you'll catch a glimpse of a wall filled with his that one great thing pick - Blue Willow china.

Michael Penney: My one great thing is my growing collection of Blue Willow china. It started as a love of all things British and cottage-y in style, but I've since decided I like it with almost anything. I love the story behind the pattern (of two young people in love escaping a disapproving father, their souls flying off into the distance represented by two birds) and how the narrative is told on the plates and platters themselves. The clear blue glaze mixed with the time-worn creams and whites is perfection, as are any chips or blemishes that occur over time. This makes the piece look all the better to me!   

I bought a whole lot of dinner plates this past summer at Antiques USA in Kennebunk Maine for very little and have continued collecting everywhere from thrift shops to Cynthia Findlay Antiques (where I got this gorgeous platter). I've since hung the plates on my dining room wall in a symmetrical, geometric pattern radiating out from this central platter. I love the way they look en masse and they really have a big impact that way too. 

I also pick up blue and white ginger jars and vases when I can, and even small bowls and things in Chinatown. I guess I just can't get enough of this English, WASPY staple!

{that one great thing} Lynda's clock collection

Check in on Covet Garden's 'About Us' page and you'll see that stylist Lynda Felton - one of the 3 folks who started the online mag - is in charge of Style Stuff. No big grand title for her or, for that matter, her two compadres Jessica and Rhonda, which is refreshingly laid-back and just how these 3 talented women roll. I asked Lynda a while back for that one great thing, and this gorgeous vintage collection showed up in my in-box. No surprise, since ask her to descibe her house and she'll say - "It's all old clocks, wasps nests, framed insects, and beat up furniture over here." Lovely!

Lynda Felton: My first clock belonged to my grandfather (the Westclox Big Ben, third from the left, with the silver ring on top) it is over 100 years old and still works perfectly. I love the sound it makes when it is ticking -  gentle and reliable - like my grandfather. The Lux Claridge (second from the right) is from the 30's and it was my grandmothers. My grandparents collected clocks and it was my job to help wind them  - all 37 of them, no matter how hard I tried I could never get them to go off at the same time. It felt like there was always a clock chiming off somewhere in the house.

When I see the old clocks I can't help but think about who might have owned it. What was that person doing in the 20's, 40's? Did this clock get them up for work? What kind of work? Most people had these clocks by their beds, they touched them everyday. These old timers have seen a lot.

My biggest splurge was my Early Bird clock (first on the left). I couldn't resist this fabulous little gem, the bird bobs up and down, pulling the worm out of it's hole in time with the ticking - come on - you have to admit that is pretty neat. See for yourself here... Other than the Early Bird I've never spent more than $5.00 on one and I'm always on the look out for a good deal.

{that one great thing} Michelle's store clips

While I'm wrapping my head around a particularly difficult bit of writing today (oh, deadlines), I thought I'd hand things over to the talented Michelle Carangi of Montreal design firm, Holley & Gill, who, along with her husband Conrad Buck, creates gorgeous cushions and headboards with hand-printed patterns - love their Feathers design - in water-based inks on 100% cotton. Anyway, after meeting Michelle at the Interior Design Show I bugged her into contributing that one great thing, and she picked some very handy-dandy vintage clips.

Michelle Carangi: On becoming home owners almost seven years ago, Conrad and I have collected many special little items that have allowed us to inject some personality into our decor. 

Most of our finds have been vintage as of late simply because our taste tends to sway more towards the traditional and classic. Having been lucky enough to have traveled quite a bit over the last couple of years, we’ve collected so many different postcards, business cards and photos from places we’ve been and from people we’ve met. And so, when I found this set of vintage wall-mount store clips from Etsy shop AM Radio, I knew it would be the perfect solution to display them all. 

We need to be surrounded by what we love, and we’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that buying things because they’re on trend will result in pieces that have no meaning and ultimately end up collecting dust. Whenever I walk by this display, I walk by all of our happy and unique memories and can add to it forevermore.

{that one great thing} Marie-Eve's cabinet

I miss Montreal. In fact, I lived there for 3 crazy/fun years before moving to Toronto. Fellow blogger Marie-Eve Best of Lake Jane calls Montreal home, and I must admit to being more than a wee bit jealous, not to mention that I'm also a tad envious of the lovely little cabinet that Marie-Eve picked as that one great thing. Oh, and if you're planning on heading to MTL any time soon (and you REALLY should) be sure to check out Marie-Eve's Montreal Design Guide that she created for Grace at design*sponge.

Marie-Eve Best: My grandfather worked for the Post Office in High River Alberta for over 15 years. In the 1970's, the Post Office did some renovating and they discarded many of the old pieces of furniture that had been around for decades. My grandfather rescued this antique set of drawers used for storing stamps from being thrown into a garbage pile. He brought it home and it became my dad's bedside table/record stand. Later on, my dad added oak legs to the piece and it became a side table in my parent's living room.  As a child, I remember being so impressed with its automatic locking system. You have to open the bottom drawer in order to unlock the top ones - It still works today! 

When I moved out, I inherited it and used it in almost every room. It was an entryway catch-all, a bedside table, a TV stand, a tiny vanity… Now it sits in our living room and is mostly used as a catch-all for receipts and cables.  Although the piece is over 70 years old, the wood has just the right amount of wear and tear. It's a quirky little item filled with sentimental value.

{that one great thing} Troy's Panton

My e-mail inbox gets clogged up on a daily basis with all sorts of rubbish, but numbered among the few things I actually enjoy opening are the regular mailings from Caviar20. It's simple really, since Caviar20 mailers are always jammed with drool-worthy collectibles sourced by Troy Seidman. I bumped into Troy at the recent IDS and bugged him to let me in on that one great thing, so hear goes.

Troy Seidman: As a 20th century design dealer, the distinction between what belongs to Caviar20's inventory and my own personal collection is sometimes unclear. It's a pleasure of the business to get to live with beautiful objects. Sometimes pieces are in my life for only a few days... sometimes years. Of course I'm happy when pieces sell quickly, but I can also feel a bit melancholy when I don't get to spend more time with pieces, as I only buy things that I'm passionate about.  

I acquired this amazing Verner Panton panel about a year ago. About 8 months later, I thought it was sold to a collector in France and so removed it from my site... but then it was never paid for. So I've been happy to keep it for myself... for now.  

Most people who see it in my apartment assume that it's a contemporary work. For a piece that's over 40 years old, the colours are incredibly vibrant and the overall piece is in very good condition. Most importantly, the composition and the choice of colors feel very fresh (I'm a big fan of deep purples). Other panels (in scales of orange and brown) from this series have perhaps not aged so well.

The piece has a dual significance for me, since it's both aesthetically powerful/decorative while simultaneously being an important piece from Verner Panton's oeuvre. Panton is best known for his iconic cantilevered eponymously named chair, first made in 1967 from a single-piece of molded plastic. It's possibly one of the most popular (and copied) chairs from the 20th century. He designed quite a bit more than chairs (Panton's "Cone" "Heart Cone" and "Relaxer" are also staples of his design canon) including lighting, other furniture and accessories. His aesthetic is a bold intersection between space-age and 60's pop.  

In 1969 he created a number of highly graphic and groovy designs for the Swiss company Mira X applying his geometric compositions to rugs, upholstery fabric and single tapestry-like panels. This period was arguably the apex of his career and around the time he created his "fantasy interiors" (where these graphic fabrics were essential elements in the overall design of the projects). 

As for my Mira X panel, I might be willing to part with it (provided - this time - it's paid for). The fact that I've only been able to find one auction record, (Philips in London, 2004) for an identical panel makes it that much more special and rare. 

{that one great thing} Jennifer's chandelier

You guys might know Jennifer Flores as the smarty-pants behind that great blog, Rambling Renovators, while I've gotten to know her better as the tireless organizer - along with her husband Sean - of the always interesting and inspiring Pecha Kucha design talks that happen at the IDS and throughout the year (which, thanks to Jennifer, I have loads of fun hosting). You can find more about Pecha Kucha Toronto right here, and below you'll get the scoop on Jennifer's fave piece in her home in my series, that one great thing.

Jennifer Flores: This chandelier is my favourite thing in our house. Its made of translucent capiz shells edged in metal. I love its mix of hard and soft, masculine and feminine. Capiz comes from the Philippines so having this in my home reminds me not only of my heritage but also brings back fond memories of those kitschy capiz lamps and souvenirs scattered about my parents’ home in the 1970’s. 

I bought the chandelier on eBay seven years ago for $60. It was such a beautiful piece that I didn’t want to hang it just anywhere – so for most of the last seven years, it sat packed away in a box! I first hung it in a bedroom in my old condo when I needed to stage the room to prepare the condo for sale. The condo sold quickly so only two weeks later the chandelier went back into the box, no real time to enjoy it. 

Since then, it has survived two moves and only recently found a permanent home. We renovated our master bedroom and essentially planned the space around the chandelier.  Can I tell you how much I love lying in bed looking up at it? It was meant to be there all along.

{that one great thing} Meg's chair

I've known Meg Crossley, House & Home mag's senior editor for, well, ages. We've shot a gazillion things together over the years including a memorable out-of-town home shoot where the place actually turned out to be haunted. Fun times? Yep, especially with us both squeezed into a twin bed terrified about having another 'visit'. And so, with that kind of history I just had to ask her to contribute to that one great thing.

Meg Crossley: I love love love this chair my father made sometime in the early 60s. It was for the first little house he shared with my mom when they were newlyweds. As they got more established, their tastes changed and the chair ended up in our toy room -- where my brother and I kept Barbie's and GI Joes, games, the record player, the Meccano set, you get the picture. It became part of our "pretend" house or apartment furniture. Then the lovely thing was moved into the garage not to be seen again for years. My brother resurrected it in the 80s for his university pad (the cushions upholstered in something I would call School Boy stripe, very dark and masculine), then back to the garage. I rescued it just a couple of years ago, when I started to reno and furnish my basement. I needed low furniture because the ceiling was so low in the basement and I wanted to fool the eye into thinking it was higher. This did the trick. After a little lemon oil on the wood and a slipcover in white denim (it is a testament to how well it was made that it was so easy to resurrect), it mixed well with some of my quirky vintage things and my more traditional furnishings -- it is all about the mix after all. We shot my basement for a Makeover issue for House & Home and it landed front and centre, on the cover of that mag. Needless to say, my dad was thrilled.

{that one great thing} Susie's Bahamas photo

I'd gotten to know Fashion magazine's fashion director Susie Sheffman a little over the years, mostly by bumping into her around town (as well as catching her lovely home in the Sept '08 issue of H&H). But then, in a curious case of it's-a-very-small-world, Susie's smart as a whip daughter ended up on a work placement with my other half, David. So, with that great serendipitous small-worldness in mind I thought I'd get Susie to share something for my occasional series - that one great thing.

Susie Sheffman: This is one of my all time favorite photos from my all time favorite fashion shoot EVER in Eleuthera, Bahamas. I've been styling and directing fashion shoots for almost 30 years and by the time a shoot is printed and bound I'm somewhat over it and dreaming up the next one!

But not this time.

This photograph taken by my best friend, photographer Gabor Jurina was blown up life-size, framed in white (his suggestion) and is a visual magnet in my home. Everyone who sits on my couch is immediatley drawn to and transfixed by its hypnotic power. From the deep turquoise waves (I have a water obsession) to the haunting sky and the timeless, classic appeal of model Marie Eve Nadeau, we literally sit transported. fantasizing about being there (and being her!). It's hung beside my TV, and I often catch myself watching it instead of whatever show is on.

Here's the backstory:
We named the shoot Swept Away- and trust me we almost were! What? You thought this was all calm and serenity? Trust me it was anything but! Gabor was shooting from a teey weeny dinghy, tied a few feet from the boat. The sun was rapidly going down, the waves were enormous and pitching him every which way. Both of our asssitants were rendered completely useless- lying over the side of the boat seasick and vomiting... I stood (barely hanging on) just out of camera range trying to help him, running in every 2 seconds to adjust the jewellery while bobbing up and down like an apple. Gabor smacked his head on a wayward boom and to this day I have no clue how he held onto the camera much less captured such a moment. But here you have it- one of the most tranquil, serene looking photos and one of my favorite things!

{that one great thing} Lucy's black cat lamp

My sister Lucy has a great sense of style, plus an absolute love of car boot sales and hunting for vintage gear, she's also the brains behind BlinkLondon, a pretty darned fantastic fashion consultancy and reporting service in the UK. Oh, and she scored an amazing lamp a while back (which I've been not so secretly coveting) which is the latest entrant in my new occasional series - that one great thing.

Lucy Williams: I spotted this lamp when I popped into a dusty antique store in Maidenhead to enquire about an Ercol rocker that they had in the window. I didn't actually need a new lamp but I couldn't resist, - the black cat is just so poised and elegant. It could be either 30's or maybe even 70's, and I like that it's so sexy and chic, yet minimal enough to sit back with the rest of my pretty eclectic style. I found a great gold lined, black linen shade for it - after canvassing both my brother and my talented friend Paul for their thoughts on shade shapes and styles - and now it sits proudly on my telephone table in the living room casting a lovely mellow glow over my phone calls. I did buy the Ercol rocker too, but that has since been moved on (it didn't quite make the cut when I brought it home). The lamp, however, will be here for the duration I think.

{that one great thing} Paul and Ashley's action figure shelves

Other than being total smartypants, illustrator/designer Paul Dotey and his other half food stylist Ashley Denton (who's work you've seen on the glossy pages of H&H magazine) are also incredibly creative outside of their respective fields. So, with that creativity in mind (as well as a v. cool collection) here goes with Ash and Paul and another post in my new occasional series - that one great thing.

Paul Dotey: My husband Ash has been reading comic books since he was little, and collecting action figures almost as long. We wanted to display them in a stylish way without being too kitsch; we figured if you collect anything you should display it proudly, otherwise why bother? 

Finding a home for sixty plastic figures wasn’t immediately obvious, but while Ash was away for a long weekend I surprised him with a freshly painted bathroom and some slender shelves over the toilet. Four narrow strips of pine from our local Home Hardware did the trick, added a couple of coats of glossy white, and the tiniest of L-shaped brackets since the figures don’t weigh much at all. Of course, the Justice League was standing proudly at centre stage. 

Ash was over the moon! It adds a lot of colourful fun to a room we’re kind of stuck with as renters. More than a couple of our friends have outed themselves as comic nerds, and after a good dinner party we always find a few figures in creative positions. Not surprisingly, almost everyone goes for Green Lantern.

{that one great thing} Jason Hudson's birdcage lamp

I bumped into Jason Hudson at a party over the Holidays and bugged him about his lovely birdcage pendant lamp that I'd seen over on his great blog These Roving Eyes. Anyway, he was happy to share the story behind the piece, and thus begins a new occasional series on the blog - that one great thing.

Jason Hudson: My partner Jeff fell in love with this old wooden cage when he saw it at an antique shop when he was a kid. He proudly brought it home and it sat in the living room for years. After his father passed away, we found it amongst junk in the garage and I could see that it had a special place in Jeff's memory.  

I'm a firm believer in taking meaningful objects and adjusting them to work in a contemporary setting. Like your Grandma's old piano - the cherry finish isn't working in your mid-century modern dwelling, but it holds a ton of sentimental value, so have that sucker refinished! It's still the same piano, still full of memories, its precious ivories untouched. So make it work! 

Because the honey-coloured wood and sad-Cat-Lady-overtones weren't working for me, I convinced Jeff to let me spray out the cage in a high-gloss black. We wired-it-up with a great Edison bulb and just like that, had our very own, ultra-cool, one-of-a-kind lamp, rife with Jeff's childhood memories but within the limits of our (read: my) personal style. 

It casts lovely shadows on the walls and adds a certain warmth and organic quality the room was lacking before.