The Eames Elephant Returns

Designed by Charles & Ray Eames, 1945

Last year saw the release of the Eames Plywood Elephant from Vitra, which was designed in 1945, but never actually commercially issued. Just 1,000 were issued in 2007, all selling (and selling out). If you missed out on that, there's a new Vitra Eames Elephant on the market for 2008.

Almost no other animal enjoys such popularity as the elephant. Admired for its majestic size and loved for its proverbial good-humour, it is part of our everyday experience as a child's cuddly toy, a storybook character and a majestic creature. Charles and Ray Eames also succumbed to their charms and in 1945 designed a toy elephant made of plywood. However, it never made it into mass production. The Eames elephant is now available for the first time in a plastic version for those it was originally intended for: children.

I want one.

{Vitra and Retro To Go}

Cute Kitties!!!

Lucy and Kelvin are adorable...they seem to love having their photo taken...aren't they pretty?

Travels

I just arrived in Addison, IL, a suburb of Chicago for a quick business trip. I'm happy to be at my old stomping grounds, but unfortunately, there just isn't enough time on this trip to drive downtown and hang out with friends. I'll be working all day on Sunday, departing Monday and then I fly to Detroit to catch a shuttle to Woodstock. I'm going home for 10 days! Yippee! I wish I could say I am taking a vacation but I'm not; my visa expires, requiring me to work from home in Canada. My new one starts October 1st.

I haven't had a trip home for this length of time in probably 4 years. It will be a nice change of pace and may help me relax before I close on my condo, which is October 10th. I just tried to check in on my kitties but the kittycam is already down. I miss my babies already! What made me miss them even more was seeing this really cute video, which I will share. Cats are so funny...

modern kitty dwellings

As the closing of my first new home approaches (tentatively October 10th), my yearning for new furnishings is increasingly becoming an obsession. The worst part is, my fixation is finding the perfect dwellings for my pets. Rolling Stone and Peanut Butter are the best kitties ever! I admit, I am being completely biased, but in their defense, they are really, really good cats. They are well-behaved, adorable, fun, sweet, loving kitties. Even with my hectic schedule and spontaneous trips (both business and pleasure), they are still fairly low maintenance creatures. Yes, they have their own kitty feeder. Yes, they have an automatic water reservoir. And yes, they even have their own Cat Genie. Don't even mention the fact that I have a webcam on when I'm away on trips! That's part of the beauty of technology and for my own peace of mind. Even with all these "things", I assure you, though they may not need their mommy to feed and clean up after them, they still need me. I keep them company, play with and give them love. Unlike the stereotypical cat who pays no attention to their owner, my kitties greet me when I come home, respond and come when I call them and always hang out with me when I'm home (both are sleeping on me right now). So why shouldn't they deserve the best? My search for the perfect modern dwellings will hopefully fit under the following basic guidelines:
1- Must look GREAT in my condo
2- Must FIT in my new condo
3- Should be able to accommodate both cats
4- Must be stable and durable
5- Must NOT cost more than a piece of furniture that I would buy for myself.
Pretty simple, right? Not quite. There are a lot of really great products out there and I'm having problems avoiding #5. The trouble is, I really LIKE those ones because they seem purrrfect (except for the fact they cost more than something I'd purchase for myself). It will likely boil down to where something best fits and if I can afford it. We shall see...

Get Built (again)

I participated in another CrossFit today. The website posted the following for the WOD (workout of the day), "Meet at the Box at 9:00. The free WOD will be hosted at GetBuiltChattanoogaCrossFit. We are leaving from the "box" by 9:10. Bring a friend and your running shoes. This is going to be fun for all ages! Total running will be under 3 miles." So I knew what I was getting into, though I'm not a big fan of running. But with the Olympics being my motivation, I figured I could handle it. The workout consisted of running across Market Street Bridge, running up and down the stairway at the Aquarium twice, running up the hill on 1st Street and power walking all the way across the Walnut Street bridge. From there, we ran to Coolidge Park, performed 100 crunches, ran beneath the Market Street Bridge to do 100 squats and then ran up "the boob" - an extremely steep, man-made hill. The last part of this leg was running backwards up the last hill and finishing in Renaissance Park. A quick game of tag with most of the group ended the WOD. The whole thing lasted about 30 minutes and I think it felt better than the last one I did - but we'll see how I feel tomorrow!

Amerivespa Chattanooga

This past weekend, Chattanooga was host of the largest scooter show in the country! Sponsored by the Vespa Club of America since 1993, Amerivespa showcases and promotes all motorscooters. It was well attended by scooter enthusiasts with many of the scooters uniquely personalized to each individual's taste...

Pooped but good.

Today was my first time trying Crossfit. If you've never heard of it, "CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience." -Crossfit.com.

The workout today consisted of less than 2 miles total of running, with 4 different stops which consisted of 250 jump-rope skips, 100 push ups, 100 step-ups, 50 jumping lunges. At the end, you had to run backwards up a steep hill. It lasted for about 35 minutes and was definitely tough. Boy, what a sweat. I took a power nap at 6pm today and I know I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight. Crossfit Chattanooga hosts free Saturday workouts every weekend at 9am. I probably won't join (I'm pretty happy with my weekday workout regimen) but an occasional get-my-ass-outta-bed beating on Saturday may be beneficial...

Scooters again

Stephen and I visited the scooter retailer yesterday and checked out their stuff. I think we are closer to getting one! We are most interested in the ones by Genuine Scooter Company - they are based in Chicago and their most popular models are The Buddy ($2,699, 125cc) and a really cool vintage/modern bike called Stella ($3,499, 150cc). Of course, I would love to get a Stella for obvious reasons but price-wise, it will probably be a Buddy. Also, the Buddy is 125ccs and doesn't require a motorcycle permit. If I were to get a Stella, I would have to take the course, though from what I've heard, it's not that bad and would be helpful in learning motorcycle safety. We had the opportunity to test ride a Buddy last night, as the people who were hosting the party we attended had one. It was fun.

Chattanooga has it

Chattanooga just landed the new VW plant.

This is big news and pretty historic for our city. Construction will begin immediately and the plant will be producing vehicles by 2011, but money and jobs will start to come to the area over the coming year, as people move to the area and collateral developments begin. It is a good day for Chattanooga, Chattanoogans, and even Smart Furniture-- Over the next 4 years, over $1 billion will be invested in the city and collateral development (and of course, interior design, furniture and fixtures). It a bright day to be a Chattanoogan, as this is a watershed day in our city's economic development.

And importantly, VW has committed to environmentally-responsible construction and manufacturing...

More details here...

kitty condo-ing

So the latest project that I'm working out in my head is to figure out a new kitty condo for my cats. The typical carpeted kitty condo just isn't going to cut it in my new modern home. I stumbled across an innovative concept, called "The Climber". This is an interesting option if it will fit my taller than normal doors. "The Climber is remarkable! It is a patented spring-loaded, door-mounted cat tree. It attaches safely to any door and provides a perfect perch for your feline. But more than just a perch — your cat can scratch, exercise and play on The Climber. Not only does it look great while packing in a ton of functionality, it is perfect for small space living. It mounts to a door so no floor space is used and very little room is occupied. It is also very easy to move so you can change locations in your home and you can take it with you if you move." www.smallspaceliving.net. Another interesting concept which is more design centric rather than fuzzy and soft for my babies is creating a tall staircase system using floating shelves. This seems a bit precarious though for my precious pets, and also requires drilling holes in my walls. After we figure out the kitty condo issue, the next task will be finding an inconspicuous place for the Cat Genie...

my new obsession

Scooters! I want one...well i think i want one. They're so fun and cute...and so economical! It only costs $6 to fill up the tank and you can get 85-100 miles to the gallon. Vespas are on the pricey side but are very fun with their retro look.

Then there is also the Buddy scooter, which is also a neat option and a bit less expensive. They don't require a motorcycle license, since the engine is a 125cc. If it were any larger I believe the license would be required. I'm excited about the idea of not driving my car to work. I initially considered buying a bicycle but the thought of arriving to the office wiping sweat off my brow and having my clothes sticking to me has been trumped by the fantasy of riding a scooter looking chic and stylish. Check them out! The top 2 are Vespas, the next, Buddy.

I took a ride on one last night and it was SO fun! Of course, I need to get used to riding it so I don't panic while riding, but I think I can do it.

My future home

I had the opportunity to do a hardhat tour of One North Shore, the condo development where I will be moving in September. My kitchen is going to look like the photos with the black cabinets - I'm really excited about it!

Post-Surgery

Christine is doing great...in fact, you can read about it on her blog, which includes detailed descriptions and photos! I had the opportunity to get on Skype with her this morning. Yay!

Good luck Sis!!!

My sister Christine is having surgery tomorrow to reconstruct her ACL. You can find impressive details of the surgery on her blog. I wish I could be there to help!!! Christine - GOOD LUCK tomorrow, hope all goes well. I'm thinking about you and miss you. xoxoxo

It's official

It has been over a year since I've posted. Forgive me for the lame excuse but I really have just been busy. I don't have any interesting news or world travels like my sisters to report so blogging feels more like I'm having a conversation with myself. Or it's almost like writing in a diary except the whole world can see it because it becomes searchable on the web. Thanks, Google!

Speaking of Google, my current profile pic was taken while I played with Legos at Google Headquarters (2 weeks ago), where I spent 5 days meeting Googlers and attending classes for SketchUp 3D Basecamp. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. Photos are on my Picasa public gallery here. Mark was there as well. He's a pretty cool dude to hang out with.

Other news, we opened up our Studio at SF in Chattanooga. It has already proven to be a success - we just have to make the rest of the city aware that they finally have a place to shop for modern furniture. That includes our signature product line, Herman Miller and BluDot.

Enjoy! Time for bed.