So we’re past the cut-off date to ship before this weekend, but what’s better than a well-planned and more thought-out yet slightly overdue (Mother’s Day) party for next weekend? Kick things off with the handmade ceramic Celebrate Party Plates by Rae Dunn (pictured above). If that’s not quite your old ladies speed, Rae Dunn also makes an elegant Espresso Set perfect for intimate gatherings. Speaking of close quarters, you’ll find nothing better to light those special settings than Roost’s photo-etched and silver-plated Lily Pad Tealight Holder (seen below).

The Wurkin’ Stiffs Collar Stays are the latest way to keep all of your dress shirts and sportswear collars absolutely perfect. Simply insert the stainless steel stay into a collar, and keep it in place with a tiny yet powerful magnetic button placed underneath. It gives you the ability to adjust your shirt collar spread exactly where you want it, and while that may seem insignificant, exacting men (pictured below) know that every detail matters.

Add a stylish new element to any setting with Ferm Living’s easy to apply and remove Wall Stickers (Power Pole Wall Sticker pictured right), or completely transform your living space with one of their unique Wallpaper designs (Family Tree Wallpaper pictured left). They offer something compatible for any room, from classically elegant to fun and whimsical. Check out our full collection of wall and window applications here.

If you were to call the Book Hook a somewhat frivolous and unnecessary invention, I probably couldn’t argue with you. But I’m all for anything that encourages and makes reading more accessible. Stash a couple of these around the house and it’s easier to steal a page every now and then. Now if I were only the least bit mechanically inclined I could just glue one together on my own.

From the clever minds at Megawing, a couple of great bag ideas for the modern traveler. First up, the Envelope (pictured above), features the classic elegance of a manilla envelope (just go with it) turned into a laptop bag made of beautiful kraft leather. If you’re anticipating inclimate weather, however, we recommend the more durable Rain Times. It’s just your typical bag, made to look like a newspaper sure, but when the clouds roll in, just hold it over your head to stay bone dry! It may look silly, but the newspaper biz can use all the help it can get right now.

Show off your appreciation for nature with a couple more nifty Oooms products. First, the Solar Birdhouse (seen below) not only illuminates your garden at night (slightly), but attracts an easy meal for any inhabiting birds. Be prepared to enlarge that entrance hole.



Odd USB storage devices are pretty ubiquitous at this point, but the wooden ones have always been among my favorite. Save yourself the trouble of carving your own with Oooms’ Wooden Stick USB. They can even be personally engraved, a great gift for the nature loving computer geek in your life.

Already a beautifully styled cutting board, the Puzzleboard by OOOMS is “ideal for cutting those long baguettes” (always a problem for me) but gets pushed completely over the top with an alternate wine tray function, perfect for cocktail parties or cheese-cutting get-togethers! Sold individually and shipped worldwide, you’re running out of excuses not to own these.

I came across this sleek, contemporary aquarium during my visit to a local pet store while in hopes of purchasing some sort of pet for amusement.  The Fluval EDGE aquarium is a self-contained unit with hidden filtration, halogen lighting, and 3D viewing from every angle to boot!  At 6 gallons, the aquarium is available in pewter, black, and burnt orange - definite to be an eye catcher in any modern design.  I did leave empty handed this time around, I suppose PJ can keep me amused for now =)

Thumbs up?  No pet owner should be that embarrassed with their dog’s booty
Available at Etsy.com…
”Rear Gear comes in many designs including a disco ball, air freshener, heart, flower, biohazard, smiley face, number one ribbon, cupcake, sheriff’s badge, dice, and you can even make yours custom, so there’s a Rear Gear for everyone.”

Maching shirt? [via CafePress]

The exquisite hand-crafted leather key chain figures from Vanca Craft are great to behold. A photo just does not do these pieces justice, considering the level of detail and craftsmanship that goes into each one. They’re made with the finest genuine cowhide organically tanned with eco-friendly materials. After 120+ years of operation, you can expect a certain level of perfection. Click here to see our collection.

While you can find an interesting selection of contemporary watch designs from Projects Watches, they also feature some wristwatches designed by Daniel Will-Harris with some amazing “reveal” mechanisms for displaying time. The face of the Twilight Watch (pictured left) actually changes from light to dark every 20 seconds; other watches such as the Iridium or Reveal display only the necessary numerals. Hopefully these will be showing up on Pure Modern before too long....

Because you can never really see too many great wall decal designs, Blik features a myriad of designers and styles to select from. Usually a bold design choice, there’s really something for any setting there. From more “traditional” decal stickers like those from boodalee to the unique and whimsical collection of community-created designs from Threadless.



Also catching a few eyes is their collection of ultra-modern minimalist “headboards” (seen below). They’ve always been a fairly superfluous piece of furniture, so save the space and pick a headboard you can easily switch out when your mood changes.

Another company who featured some interesting new products last week were Japan’s own Saikai. Established in 1946, they have been distributing their products in the US since 1991, and featured several innovative ideas for the classic porcelain teapot design. Sadly, it’s a little too soon to find those creations online, so pictured above you will see their 1961 Good Design Award Winning G-style Soy Sauce Pot, and pictured below, the Stone Mug designed by Yasuki Sakamoto.

Sleek, contemporary doorbell buttons illuminated by long lasting, colored LED lights from Spore Inc are the most recent additions to our product catalog at Pure Modern. While they’re designed to work with most standard doorbell systems, they also can be used for garage doors, security systems or home automation with some amazing results. See our collection [ here ].

Pictured below: Spore Inc’s True LED Illuminated Doorbell Button (in Black with White LED; Aluminum with Blue LED) and Square LED Illuminated Doorbell Button in Amber.

Sonia Spencer features so many amazing Cufflink and Keychain designs, we could easily feature them here all year long. But I’ve selected just a couple of pieces that are very striking and indicative of her type of fun, colorful and playful creations.

First, the Pantone Reversible Dark Slate Square Cufflinks (pictured below) feature true Pantone Universe colorways and are available in several different funky color combinations. In addition, each pair can be reversed for two distinct looks.



Next, the truly captivating Fire Dancer Cufflinks (pictured below) - made with a fine lenticular lens holographic image, her full collection of Moving Image Keyrings and Cufflinks are all guaranteed to add some flashy style with hours of entertainment for your friends.