Category: Home sparks

Posted in Home sparks, Sparky gifts

Home sweet home

Posted on by Cate

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a house a real home. Those little touches that give you a real sense of the person or people that live there. As I look around my apartment at the various quirky bits and pieces that I have collected over the years and wonder what my home says about me. That I’m a little bit nuts, probably – and I can’t argue with that! Anyways, in case you’re looking for some statement pieces for your home, I have found some interesting things at Karma Kiss. I think they make a variety of statements – from, ‘I am trying my best to avoid acting like an adult’, to, ‘I am trying to scare you away, never to return’, to, ‘Yes, I really am too cool for school’.

Whether you have little people living in or visiting your home, or if you just want to level the playing field and watch as grownups try to sit down on a tiny (toad)stool, this could be the dining set for you. Apparently, it’s suitable for indoors and outdoors, so if you’ve ever dreamed of creating a fairy grotto in your backyard, this could be a great place to start.

Or perhaps you’re trying to create more of a hunting lodge feel. Or you have really competitive friends, who are always skiting about their success and telling tall tales about their achievements. Yeah, they might be impressive, but do any of them have the head of a ferocious dinosaur mounted on their wall? Didn’t think so.

And then there are these Raven Bookends. At least, they’re meant to be bookends. But I would rather set them up somewhere high, so they’re glaring down like a sort of winged home security system. I can also see their benefit at work – I could set them up on my desk and whenever someone comes to ask me something, turn to the ravens and say, “Hmmm…I don’t know…what do you guys think?” See, the fun you can have working in HR!

And I know this one isn’t really for your home, but this just seems like such a good idea to ensure adequate personal space when you’re in a crowd – or to put off other travellers from claiming your luggage on the carousel. They also sell backpacks in a very cool bubble design, similar to that amazing furniture I posted about a while back – kinda like carrying a science experiment on your back.

Oh, and one last thing in case you can’t get your hands on the thumb costumes from earlier this week. This product takes the thumb war to a whole new level. You’ve been warned.

If you’d like to check out these and other ‘unique gifts and novelties’, the Karma Kiss store is here.

Posted in Home sparks, Sparky gifts

Wax on, wax off

Posted on by Cate

A candle can make a lovely gift – but some people think they’re a little ho hum. Unless, of course, it’s a Man Candle. Or maybe one of these candles – something tells me you won’t find these in every homewares store in the village…

This ‘Thing’ hand candle is eerily life-like. Yes, yes, you can apparently ‘see every wrinkle and vein’, but even better (or worse, depending on your feelings about burning hands), as the candle burns, red wax oozes from the wrist. Uh huh. How’s that for a conversation stopper at your next dinner party? It’s made by JohnnyBWilde in the UK and you can check it out on etsy here.

And here’s another candle I don’t quite understand – it’s a wedding dress. Presumably, if you’ve had a lovely wedding day, you wouldn’t want to set fire to a pretty white wedding dress (even if it is made of wax)? Perhaps it’s for a runaway bride to light to celebrate her escape. Or for bachelors everywhere to send a subliminal message to their lady of the moment that there will be no trip down the aisle. It was featured in a candle post a while back on urlesque here.

I love this Lego candle best of all. It looks as though it’d be long-lasting, although in fairness I’m not sure about the scale. I love it,as long as the people can be removed before you light the eight wicks on the brick – I don’t fancy seeing those three little people melting down as they can’t handle the heat. That’s not right at all. This was shown on Smashing Lists here.

Last, but not least, is the candle range from Hotwicks. Made in the USA, the range includes delicate scents such as Beer, Campfire, Leather, Sawdust and Whiskey. Oh, and Stripper and Urinal Cake. Uh huh. Somewhat tame in comparison, but still just as baffling, here is the Bacon flavoured candle. You can check out the range here.

This collection of bizarro candles just proves my theory that there really is a market for everything. And with that, I’m off to make my own range of candles – That’s My Boy, a stinky aroma of socks, wet towels & other signature scents, to soothe empty nesters who are missing their sons; Dry July, a treat for anyone giving up alcohol, it releases vapours of vino into the air (after all, the rules don’t say anything about inhaling alcohol); and Kardashian, a sickly sweet candle, with a combination of over the top scents competing for your attention – a minute after lighting this, you’ll be forced to switch off reality tv, blow out the candle and get out into the real world for a breath of fresh air. If you’d like to contribute to the EverydaySparks Candle Collection, please get in touch to share your ideas…

Posted in Food sparks, Home sparks

Just Dough It?

Posted on by Cate

I first saw this range of fake food (uh huh) for sale on Fab.com and knew that I needed to find out more about it. Apparently, Just Dough It! has been making fake food for more than 15 years, handcrafting most of the “faux food items” featured on their website at their warehouse in Oklahoma.

But wait, is there really a market for fake food? I hear you cry. According to the company’s website, the answer to that would be a big fat YES – their fake foods have been used in several movies and tv shows, as well as stores and homes. Interestingly, they claim Pizza Hut as a company that has used their fake food, but I’m going to leave that one alone.

The range of fake foods is mindblowing – especially when I’m still not entirely sure why people would want to buy fake foods (other than for a display in a shop, when I can appreciate that you don’t want to use, say, real cheese or ice cream in your sunny window display). Basically, it seems if you can make it, they can fake it. (And that’s not a bad tag line for them, if I do say so myself.)

Care for a glass of champagne? Thankfully, it comes ‘with bubbles’ according to the product blurb. And for only $2 extra, you can ‘add condensation to the glass’. Yes, really. Or what about a decadent chocolate martini, complete with ‘chocolate drizzle on glass and chocolate shavings on top’? There is also a delicious looking fake mojito, which I’m sure would prove to be downright annoying on a hot summer’s afternoon.

There’s a fake lamb chop dinner (which looks eerily similar to hospital food – maybe this is where they get it?) and a fake plate of sushi. Fake beer, fake popcorn, fake pretzels, fake chocolate dipped fruit. Everything you need for a fake night in. There are fake ice creams, fake milkshakes, fake cupcakes and even fake chocolate frosted cake with a fake slice removed.

Apparently, you should “use our decorative fake wine, fake beer and decorative bar drinks as food props, or to spruce up your room and give that finished look”. And that gave me an idea. I’m going to buy the fake Old Fashioned (on the rocks, including orange wedge and cherry). Just so I can pretend that Don Draper from Mad Men is somewhere in my apartment.

Fancy fake food? You can check out Just Dough It! for your ‘realistic food and drink replicas’ here. Bon (faux) appetit!

Posted in Home sparks, Sparks at work

Pipe dreams

Posted on by Cate

I saw some of Kozo Lamp‘s amazing products on Fab.com and thought they were so cool that I went digging to find out more. Turns out that the company is based in Israel and is the brainchild of David & Anati Shefa – a genuine upcycled lighting brand, made by hand since 2008. The lamps are made from galvanized iron (‘old pipes’ to you and me), which apparently will only rust around the edges over time. They say that the bit of rust gives the lamp “an old era charm”. Here are some of my favourites…

Meet KozoMan. He is a desk lamp and he’s thoughtful – with magnetic hands to hold your keys and little padded feet so he doesn’t scratch your desk. And if you’re meant to be working or studying, I think he looks a little threatening, almost like he’s saying, “you think you’ve earned a break already, do you? DO YOU?” But you retain control, and can dim KozoMan’s light by turning the tap light switch.

And here’s Kozo 2, or KozoPup, as I prefer to call it. Granted, it’s a pup with only three legs, but it would make a cute little companion on your desk. And it won’t run away with your favourite pens. At least, I don’t think it will…

Perhaps you don’t have a very big desk space and you need something even smaller. If so, you might want to consider the Mono desk lamp. I can’t get past the fact that it looks sort of like a lamp being tortured or cramping over in pain. Though maybe that’s just me reading too much into an angled pipe attached to a low base. Maybe.

These are just three of the amazing Kozo Lamps (photos from Fab.com) and you can check out more of the range on the Kozo Lamps website here.

Posted in Home sparks, Sparks in the wild

A Tale of Two Kitties

Posted on by Cate

Helena is the talent behind Tokyo Inspired – selling ‘lovingly handcrafted’ cases for your iphone, camera or pencils. They are very cute and more than a little bit quirky. And they remind me of Zippy from Rainbow. I discovered Tokyo Inspired on etsy and although I can’t claim to be down with the mysteries of the animal kingdom, I am really not sure about the photos that Helena has used to sell her wares…

Take this lovely image of a cute snoozing kitty. The cat looks so happy snuggled up against her soul mate there on the rug. Except – it’s not her soul mate, IT’S A PENCIL CASE. And it has a fairly maniacal-looking zippered smile on its face. And eyes that never sleep. But then, I think there’s probably no harm as long as the (real) cat is happy, right?

Then there’s this pic of a grey cat laughing with his arm tucked around his equally delighted companion. Oh, he’s so chuffed that his partner mirrors his wide smile when he tells his favourite joke about that time with the saucer of milk. They are so happy and in sync and meant to be together. Except – hang on, that’s not a smile, that’s AN OPENING TO STUFF PENCILS OR A SMART PHONE THROUGH. And I start to feel like this is getting a bit out of hand.

And these two grey cousins, caught in a never-ending battle to see who can ‘freeze’ the longest. It’s just not right.

I love your work, Tokyo Inspired – the cases are very cute and I can think of lots of people (myself included) who would like them. But I’m just not sure that it’s fair to the real cats to keep up this charade. Because one day, maybe a zipper will break, or a sequinned eye will drop off, or an ear will unthread, and there will be heartache in the litterbox.

You can check out these very cool cases (and cats) at the Tokyo Inspired shop here.