Should they stay, or...

Should they go? Yes, they're awfully nutty, in fact, irresistably so - I scored a whole tea set (sadly, without the tea pot) the other day when I stopped in at  Value Village. 4 mugs, 4 side plates, plus a cream and sugar, and all shockingly 1980's and Post Modern looking. The pattern is called Clouds and was designed by Fujimori for Japanese firm Kato Kogei, yep, in the mid-80's sometime. The colour combo of sugary pink, grey and black is such a hilarious throwback to a time that style forgot, but really, should I keep them or should they head to eBay? And if they stay, will I think of Duran Duran every time I have a cup of coffee?

Of sport and flashlights

While I might not have a sporty bone in my body, I did recognize the baseball reference in Belgian designer Sylvain Willenz's Homerun chair. It's not just the yellow and grey colour choice, or the friendly, curvy cartoon influenced design, that makes them a standout for me (tho' I am an acknowledged chairaholic), it's also the fact they were a collaboration with a Japanese furniture firm - Karimoku - and use the waste wood byproduct of thinning out trees in managed forests. Check below for snaps of the chairs, and a couple of shots that show production and a prototype.

Willenz is also resonsible for the rather mouth watering Torch lights (that's flashlights to you North Americans) he designed for Brit firm Established & Sons, shown below in a shot from the Milan furniture fair, and then a closeup which I had to include, as much for the light as for that tiled floor. Yum. For more on Willenz you can become a fan here on Facebook (btw, I love all the shots people have sent in that show his designs in their homes).