Don't tell Joan

"I told you. No more wire hangers, ever!" Okay, if that quote means something to you then you're probably fascinated by kitsch and might have seen the crazypants Joan Crawford biopic Mommie Dearest. In one infamous scene Joan, in a scenery chewing performance by Ms. Faye Dunaway, ransacks her adopted daughter's closet, beats her with a coat hanger, and screams those now oft-repeated words. Where am I going with this? Ah yes, wire hangers - despite Joan's protests - are making a comeback in the design world. Take a look below at Hang On from Normann Copenhagen. Designed by Jade Barnes Richardson, and named with the help of suggestions from Normann Copenhagen's fans on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, the design plays around with the archetypal hanger shape and our view of their disposability. Hang On is made in steel, rather than wire, and is available here in four colours.

  

A snap in the laundry

I am a magpie at heart, and honestly can spy cool bits and bobs at twenty paces. My antique dealer granny, Lena, is probably to blame, since she dragged me along to jumble sales as a kid. She would bribe our way to the front of the line so we could head in and scour the tables before the hoi-polloi had a chance. Ah, childhood memories, lol.

Last night I spied that cool Snap tin below at a friend's house, high on a shelf in their front hall. Up until that point it held their dog Trav's cookies, and now it's sitting pretty on a shelf in our laundry room. Honestly, I offered to pay, but in the end I think we swapped it for tomatoes picked from our garden. So, thanks Michael, Jen and Trav! Those cool Number Mason Jars to the left are these fresh finds from Pottery Barn, while that rather odd carved teak bull I snagged ages ago at a Value Village. Oh, and don't worry about Trav; his cookies are now housed rather smartly in a vintage Peanuts lunch box.

Open doors

The idea of buying things that last has really been on my mind lately, at the ICFF the idea of 'anti-throwawayism' was quite the trend across the board. Fast fashion, and now fast decor, is here to stay, but hopefully people will look for better quality in everything they buy - its just more sustainable.

I came across this glam cabinet by Somerville Scott & Company this morning and just loved the attention to detail; the lacquered hits of red and green, and metallic leaf, against the ebonized walnut are wonderful. For most of us this is totally out of our snack bracket, but an investment piece like this - that mashes up art, design and craftsmanship - will stay fabulous for years to come.