The Factory Cart Table: Yea or Nay?

Design insiders have been touting industrial chic as the next big thing in home decor for a year or so now, but until fairly recently I'd been ignoring it as a passing fad that I didn't particularly have a great deal of interest in participating in. After all, metal chairs like the Lyle chairs from Crate&Barrel don't strike me as particularly comfortable and the rusty, dirty look has just never really been my thing.

But never say never, right? Despite my better instincts I keep finding myself surfing on over to the factory cart at Restoration Hardware. I can't get it out of my head. Made of white oak and iron, these tables are the real deal as they're all refinished factory carts from early 20th century factories in North Carolina. These carts aren't just made to look old (and there's little in design that I dislike more than "fake old"), they are old.

But as I continue to search for the "perfect" ottoman for my family room, I keep coming back to this piece. There's just something interesting about it that I think might really help shake things up in my otherwise brand-spankin' new space. That said though, I can't bear the thought of ponying up $1295 (not including taxes or shipping!) for what is essentially a wood crate on wheels.

At $599, this factory cart table from ZGallerie is less than half the price of the Restoration Hardware piece. And, while the ZGallerie version is not an actual antique from the early 20th century, it is still made from reclaimed wood from mills and warehouses making its industrial charm not entirely contrived.

Another great option online is Antique Factory Cart Coffee Tables, which has a large selection of original factory carts that start as low as $399 (though bear in mind shipping will run you over $100). With a little sand paper, Murphy's oil, and some serious elbow grease, I could refinish the table myself (or, for an extra $300, Mike will refinish the table for me, but then I'd be only a few hundred dollars less than the RH version). Of course, I might be able to snag something similar at the Urban Market in November, which would save me the cost of shipping such a heavy object.

So what do you think of the factory cart-turned-coffee table or the industrial trend more generally? Is this a great way to add a bit of character and earthiness to a room or is it doomed to become this decade's equivalent of Shabby Chic?

Goniatites from Morocco

Goniatites are extinct ammonoids, which flourished from the mid-Devonian to the Late Permian (251.4 to 390 Ma). These shelled cephalopods related to squid, octopus and belemnites forming the order Goniatitida. The Gonatitida originated in the Middle Devonian 390 Ma and survived the Late Devonian extinction. The goniatitids flourished during the Carboniferous and Perian and became extinct at the end of the Permian 251.4 Ma. They were survived by their cousins the ceratite ammonoids.

The goniatites all possessed an external shell, which is divided internally into chambers. The animal lived in the largest of the external chambers, and the internal chambers would have been filled with gas, making the animal buoyant in the water.

The general structure of the goniatites would have been similar to that of their relatives the ammonites, being a free swimming animal possessing a head with two well developed eyes and arms (or tentacles).

Goniatites provided by Panther Creek Minerals, San Antonio, Texas.

Visit our website for many unusual and uniquely handcrafted designs.

Shopping Trends of the Future

This was an article I got in a recent news email. It’s pretty interesting about how social media’s, specifically FaceBook and Twitter are playing a part in the future of shopping. It’s just another avenue that many people, even large companies are using to get to their current customer base and also connect with possible new ones. It’s interesting so see how the future is rolling out before our eyes.

“We talk a lot about social media marketing - using social networks like Facebook and Twitter to market brands and drive traffic to sites. There is no question that these can be effective tools for doing both of these things. As time goes on, it may become helpful or perhaps even necessary to use these tools for actual e-commerce. The common thinking behind social media marketing is that you don't want to be too sales-pitchy in your conversations, and in some ways that is still very true. However, while social media is largely about conversations, it's not only about conversations. As time progresses, social media becomes a lot of things to a lot of people. We've reached the point where social networks are simply "where we hang out" online. People are not only having conversations. They're sharing pictures. They're playing games. They're looking for information. They're using social networks to help them make purchase decisions. Sometimes this is through conversation. Sometimes it's as simple as being a fan of a brand's Facebook page and receiving timely updates.

Facebook has virtual currency, and is starting to open up possibilities for transactions for physical goods. Facebook Connect has just been made easier for webmasters to implement on their sites. That's huge. As people spend much of their time on Facebook, they are pretty much relinquishing a certain amount of trust to the social network, whether they realize it or not (and whether they should be or not, but that's another issue). If your site is plugged into Facebook via Facebook Connect, and they can log in to your site to make purchases just by being logged into Facebook, they may not find themselves as concerned with security issues. Security concerns have long hindered the true potential of e-commerce, and as a result, plenty of trustworthy e-commerce sites have likely missed out on tons of sales, just because of the distrust of the method of purchasing in general.”

What will the next 'big' e-commerce be and how will continue to impact the world of business, rather small local or large international companies.

Reprinted from WebProNews.

Classy Pearl Jade Look

An elegant and classy look in this set; all natural Arizona Black Jade that highlights freshwater cultured Pearls, adding a sterling silver toggle and end-spacers, with dangle matching earrings completes the look. Choose your look as casual in jeans, t-shirt/jacket or dressy with that little black dress number.

Pearl: Purity, faith, charity, innocence, integrity, focus, wisdom, spirituality, sincerity, fertility. Jade: Fidelity, dreams, realization of potential, peace, accord, resourcefulness, accomplishment.

For more custom handcrafted natural stone jewelry, visit our website.

Gift Giving Tips for Holiday Jewelry

With fall in full swing, winter is just around the corner. That means holiday gift giving preparations are just on the horizon. Many men are seeking out affordable alternatives to pricey jewelry, but of course, they still want to give meaningful beautiful gifts that will be appreciated and worn for years to come. Here are a couple of suggestions for jewelry that will have your special someone smiling from ear to ear.

Jewelry sets – It's always nice to receive a jewelry set, because it's the complete look. Choose from pearls, rhinestones, beads or metal. You can give jewelry sets that are meant for special occasions, or jewelry sets that are meant for everyday wear. When presenting it to the recipient, you can give the earrings, then the necklace or vice versa. You can even give one for Christmas and one for Valentines Day to get the most mileage out of your purchase. In the end, she'll love a complete set.

CZ jewelry – Every woman loves to get all dolled up and CZ jewelry is a great (and affordable way to do so). If you plan on giving CZ jewelry as a gift, find out her birthstone or favorite color. You should be able to easily find something she'll love. If you aren't sure of ring size, or if she has clip on earrings, opt for CZ jewelry in the form of a great necklace or bracelet, as these pieces are universal.

Sterling silver bracelets – This is a great way to give a gift that she'll hold close to her heart. Sterling silver bracelets is perfect for engraving with a special message. Or, you can choose to get an initial, locket, or charm bracelet that suits your lady's style. Sterling silver jewelry is considered classic, so you can be sure that she'll get her wear out of it, plus it holds its value well.

Halloween Crafting

I know it's a popular thing to say, but Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I've always loved the fun traditions surrounding the holiday, its religious roots, the folk lore -- and of course, getting a free pass to dress up and play pretend as an adult. There's also something about Halloween that just makes me want to bust out my Mod Podge and glitter and start crafting. Perhaps it's because the majority of ready made decorations available are either (a) heinous, (b) cheap looking, (c) overpriced or (d) some combination of the above. As a result, I'm often left thinking "I could make something cuter myself". Okay, well, maybe I couldn't, but Martha Stewart certainly could. And so, I thought I'd bring you some of my favorite craft ideas, courtesy of Martha Stewart.

I'm not generally a fan of Martha Stewart -- she's a bit too stiff, serious and unattainable for my tastes. That said though, I buy the Halloween issue of Martha Stewart Living every year. Because, if there's one thing Martha and I could bond over, it'd be our shared love of Halloween. Martha's website is a veritable smorgasbord of ideas for Halloween and while I've featured a few of my favorite below, there are literally dozens of other crafts, recipes, arrangements and even costumes to get you inspired.

I love this arrangement -- it's so dark and moody. Just goes to show you orange isn't the only color pumpkins come in and I love these gorgeous inky green beauties (according to Martha, they're Australian heirloom varietals called 'Jarrahdale' and 'Queensland Blue' ). And there's no need to try to improve upon nature with these pumpkins -- I wouldn't dare besmirch them with carvings. When Dave and I hit up the pumpkin patch (i.e., the local grocery store), you can bet we'll be looking for some of these to take home with us.

I love an easy craft project and boy are these candles easy. Simply light a red candle and drink the red wax down a white taper. For extra credit, why not try this with black tapers?

Think beyond a jack-o-lantern face when it comes to carvings. I love how eerily beautiful this moth and flame look. Another good tip is to let the shape of the pumpkin dictate the design. Here, the bell shape suits the shape of a candlestick.

While I love the look of a beautifully carved pumpkin, I'm not a huge fan of carving pumpkins -- it's just such a mess and I'm not a huge fan of the smell of uncooked pumpkin. Plus, I'm not so adept with a knife as to do some of the really gorgeously elaborate cut outs that Martha showcases. So for those of us who aren't so into carving, these glittering pumpkins are a wonderful alternative. A little Elmer's glue and a few coats of the glitter of your choice and you've got some beautiful pumpkins that will easily transition to Thanksgiving. Unless you want to purchase glitter by the bucketful, I think this project is best left for your small pumpkins.

Another candle idea but this one involves taking ordinary frosted glass hurricanes and decorating them with glittering spiderwebs. All this project involves is some glue and glitter. I'm fairly certain drawing a spiderweb is fairly fool-proof, but if you're nervous about free styling, Martha even provides a handy template that you can print out and trace on.

These paper lanterns are definitely the most complicated of any of the craft ideas I featured here, but I love them and think they'd look so fun hanging over your next Halloween spread. Don't let the multiple steps involved here daunt you though, Martha will hold your hand through the whole ordeal and even provides templates for all three of the lanterns and graphics.

For as simple as this idea is, it really makes a great impact. To make the tree, simply spray paint a branch a glossy black, use Styrofoam to secure it firmly inside the vase of your choice, hide the Styrofoam with moss (I think dead leaves would work nicely, too, though). Et voila! To finish off, just hang ornaments on the branches as you please. As for ornaments, you can either buy some or make your own (see Martha's directions on making the ones above here).

For your Halloween party, why not try whipping up some gorgeous black and silver pompoms? For less than $15 for the kit, you've got some seriously chic party accessories that will far outshine ordinary crepe paper.

If you're more of a baker than a crafter, Martha has a slew of ghoulish dessert ideas -- I particularly love all her cupcake options. So you can get to the fun part (decorating them!) faster, I'd recommend whipping up Nigella's Fairy Cakes (which you can make in a blender and cook/cool quickly) as a base for all that colorful icing and candies. Directions for decorating the cupcakes shown above are here.

If you lack the time and/or inclination for a little DIY, Martha Stewart's new Halloween collection over at Grandinroad has some really cute stuff (much of which is already on sale). Another great online source for creepy-but-still-cute Halloween decor is ZGallerie.

Happy Halloween crafting!

All photographs courtesy of MarthaStewart.com.

Natural Stone Pendants Wired

I’ve spent time wiring some natural stone pendants and included earrings with some of them; something new I’m trying this fall with the pendant line. With these, I’ve wire wrapped them using non-tarnish silver, bronze, brass or copper wire. I just received more exotic and unusual stones, so keep checking back as I get them done, either posted here or on our website.