wishlist #3 – for home

i know, i said that i won’t publish any blog post for a while, but i guess i lied.

i just got too excited now about the possibility to redecorate our house (after more than a month of living in this junkyard) that i made a simple wishlist. and just like wishes often are, these things are wayyyy too pricey for our budget, but anyway: it’s okay to dream. 😉

i often notice quite a lot of similarity between Scandinavian/Nordic and Japanese design. they’re usually very simplistic, functional, and the colours are either white, black, or natural wood. and i LOVE them. thankfully, my husband also love them, and even said once that he couldn’t think of getting something for our house that’s NOT Scandinavian/Nordic or Japanese. 😀

so now please allow me to explain my wishlist, in clockwise direction, starting from the top left picture.

1. Marimekko Pirput Parput floor cushion. i’m pretty sure you’re all familiar with Marimekko, a Finnish design brand, mainly known for their bold & colourful patterns. with their patterns, they design interior stuffs and also clothes. for the longest time, i’ve always dreamed of having a living room with no sofa at all, just a big cozy carpet and lots of cushions… including floor cushions. don’t ask me why, it just feels kind of nice to sit on the floor. this Marimekko one steals my heart (though i’m afraid somebody has to steal the cushion for me, because it’s certainly out of our budget).

2. Iittala Vakka stackable boxes. Iittala is another Finnish design brand, mainly for glass and porcelains, but they also design other stuffs for home (you’ll see what i mean soon). this one is just a very sleek and nice-looking box for keeping small stuffs or whatever, but when you stack multiple boxes together, they look like a small table.

3. Iittala Meno felt bag. right, so how did a bag end up in my wishlist for HOME? well, because this is actually meant to be put on the floor, to collect your magazines and newspaper, or your knitting stuffs, etc. this is made of very thick & hard felt, which is also actually strong enough for you to put your groceries in if you want to carry it to the supermarket. i WANT!!

4. Ikea Regolit floor lamp. i definitely won’t have to introduce Ikea to any of you anymore. so yeah, this is a floor lamp that is quite huge in real life, and the paper-lantern shape is just nostalgic for me (used to have something like that at my parents’ place, i believe). i love the curved stand, it reminds me of a fishing pole, and it also almost gives the kind of relaxing/peaceful feeling to the whole lamp shape. (yeah, i know. it’s just a lamp, for crying out loud! but still.)

5. Kartell Componibili storage unit. this one is NOT Scandinavian/Nordic nor Japanese, it’s actually an Italian brand. seeing the picture along with the Marimekko Pirput Parput floor cushion at a website made me want to have them both, so that’s why it made its way to my wishlist. 😀

6. Artek Kanto magazine rack. this is, like, some ‘luxury’ brand of Finnish design, created by none other than Alvar Aalto himself. this has the same kind of purpose as the Iittala Meno bag, except that you can’t  carry your groceries in it. :p other than magazines, you can also put wood logs for your fireplace (not that i have one, but thanks for the idea).

7. Marimekko Oiva/Siirtolapuutarha teapot in Räsymatto pattern. i’ve wanted this teapot for years now. in my opinion, this is like the perfect marriage of Finnish and Japanese design. *sigh*

8. Iittala KitchenGarden table garden. i’m not a plant person, AT ALL. in fact, i have a teeny weeny phobia of plants. that’s why we don’t have any plants at our house. yet. but this one actually looks nice. and the most important thing is, the plant is in a CAGE. haha! well, actually, this is supposed to serve as a “jar” to the herb you’re planning to plant, or when you buy a ready-packed/potted herbs from the supermarket (they sell them a lot here). the idea is that you put this on the dining table (or kitchen), and when you need to cook/use the herb leaves, then you can just pick some of them from this thing, and then put the lid back on so it stays good (and sterile. another important thing! especially for when you make salad, or anything that you don’t need to cook the herb leaves). nifty, isn’t it? i wouldn’t mind that at all!

9. Muji aroma diffuser. Muji is a Japanese brand of no-brand. the name is actually short for Mujirushi Ryoohin, which literally translates to “no brand quality goods”. anyway, we saw this aroma diffuser on our short trip to Stockholm this summer, and we both kind of fell for it (but didn’t buy it back then for some reason). it can serve as an air moisturizer too, i believe, and that would be very handy for Finnish winter! (= extremely dry weather.) it uses ultrasonic waves to vaporize water, and it has a built in lamp so it would also look nice in the dark.

and that’s it. if you’ll excuse me, i’m gonna continue on dreaming about these things now.

wishlist #2

H&M group has done it again, and i must say, they really are smart! after their huge success with H&M, followed by Cheap Monday, Weekday, Monki, and COS, now they’ve created yet another brand called & Other Stories. i’m already quite sure it will be yet another huge success.

i took one look at their website/webstore, and fell head over heels with it. it’s a bit like COS, which means the clothes there are a bit more pricey than in H&M, and unlike H&M, & Other Stories has items that can last longer than one fashion season. the difference with COS is that, in my opinion, their items are a bit more playful and less serious. in a way, they are also more bold than those in COS. another difference is that & Other Stories also sell beauty products (skincare & makeup).

after going through the pages of their webstore, i made a wishlist (even though my birthday is still so far away, and Christmas is even more further away, snick!) consisting of things i’d love to get from & Other Stories.

i absolutely LOVE the plastic oxford shoes (top left), i want them so bad! the rubber clutch with wooden clasp is so crazy, it’s so right up my alley. the green satin clutch reminds me of old school Barbie bag that has a handle(s) on one side of the bag so that Barbie can hold it still (since Barbie doesn’t have bendable fingers), LOL. the white-blue box bag is P.E.R.F.E.C.T. i just love bags that have clear shapes like box-shape, round-shape, with somewhat stiff material… (that’s why i never fell for Longchamp Le Pliage tote bags, no matter how trendy and popular they were some time ago). i want my things to stay in shape when i put them inside my bag, and i imagine this box bag would keep my things in perfect order.

the peekaboo moccasin sandals are so cute, i probably wouldn’t mind wearing them even when they’re made of leather (something i usually don’t like using/wearing). the high heel sandals look like such a perfect Scandinavian design (= clean, simple, minimalist with a hint of wood). the blue and black dresses both have uncommon cut, my hands are so itchy to touch them, examine them, and figure out how to make them. the bras have straps going here and there (soft bondage? hmm… yes, i’m sold!) and even the hook at the back is interesting to look at!

the asymmetric dress is another eye candy for me, i’d love to find out how to create a pattern for a dress like that and then sew it myself. the silver slippers with peepholes at the back… *sigh* can you please stop tempting me?? they’re down to earth with just the right amount of flirt. the names of their beauty products are so inviting, i want to smell all of them (especially this one, Shinjuku Bloom!). and the seaweed bath (which is really dried seaweed! i wonder if you can actually eat them, LOL) makes me wish i had a bathtub.

needless to say, after all this, i just had to give in and get one tiny thing for myself from them, especially since they just opened recently, they had free shipping service (at least it was still on earlier this week, but now when i checked it again, unfortunately it’s not free anymore :(). it’s just a little something for me to welcome summer (which still hasn’t even made the tiniest hint that it really is coming this year…).

also, for every purchase from & Other Stories webstore, you get to choose 1 free sample of their Bath & Body products, yay! for now, the countries which they can ship their items to are still limited to European countries, but hopefully soon they will also reach out to the rest of the world. and they should! 🙂 i can already smell their success in the air.

birthday wishlist

made just out of boredom . of course it would be nice if i can actually get any of these, but i’m not expecting anyone to do so anyhow.

here they are, shown in no particular order:

What: Stylish Dress Book by Tsukiori Yoshiko.

Why: it contains 26 styles of dresses (i’m a dress-a-holic!) and includes patterns for ALL of them!

How can I get you that: from this Etsy store (clicky clicky!).

Note: actually, any patterned book from that same seller would be lovely, but i especially love dresses & i already have the other Stylish Dress Book, courtesy of my sister and mum!!

 

What: Melissa shoes, preferrably this Lady Dragon Love Heart by Vivienne Westwood, size 39 in Europe sizing.

Why: I HEART Vivienne Westwood, and these shoes are so Queen of Hearts! Off with her head!!

How can I get you those: um,…i have no idea perhaps from this store?

Note: there’re some more simple Melissa shoes on sale in Topshop too, in which case i’d prefer these yellow flats .

 

• What: adjustable tailor’s dummy, small size.

Why: since i can’t make my own patterns yet, it’d help me a lot to have a dummy which can be adjusted to my specific size. i can learn to drape at the same time . plus, if you buy me this, i’ll love you forever!!

How can I get you that: transfer me the money! it’d be the easiest & cheapest way, cuz i can order it from a local sewing shop here in Finland & pay it when i pick up the item from their store, so that there’s no shipping/delivery cost at all.

• What: a piece of clothing from Tsumori Chisato’s A/W 09-10 collection.

Why: because you love me and if you see the whole A/W collection, how can you not think of me? lol.

How can I get you that: by visiting the actual store, or from some place around the net? (i’ve tried to search for an online store, sadly to no avail…they’d usually only sell her sportswear..).

Note: my size is 36 for tops, 38 for bottoms in Europe sizing

• What: return tickets to Indonesia.

Why: do i really need to explain that to you?

How can I get you that: by going painstakingly to all kinds of airline websites, looking for the cheapest offer. (unless you’re very rich, in that case, it shouldn’t matter how much they cost.)

Note: i’d love to at least stay for a month there in Indonesia. what a waste it would be for your money if i only get to spend 1-2 weeks there . KLM and Finnair prolly offer the best prices & connecting flights.